Which Winger Should Tottenham Sign?
Kevin Mirallas (27) – Everton
What he’s done recently
Despite dealing with an injury this past season, the 27-year-old Belgian international was able to put in a good year. Kevin Mirallas would go on to appear in 36 games, score 11 goals and have 3 assists in all competitions.
He only missed 8 games due to injury so it’s not as bad as it should be, except for the fact that the Belgian has dealt with an injury for the past three seasons since arriving at Goodison Park in 2012. While the term injury prone might seem well deserved, Mirallas hasn’t missed significant time for the past three years.
In fact, he still found away to put up a good season each time.
- ’12-’13 season: 33 apps, 9 goals, 9 assists (all comps), 10 games missed – injury
- ’13-’14 season: 37 apps, 8 goals, 11 assists (all comps), 3 games missed – injury
- ’14-’15 season: 36 apps, 11 goals, 3 assists (all comps), 8 games missed – injury
Missing only 21 games due to injury compared to the 106 games that he appeared in is very good to see. In total Kevin Mirallas played in 106 out of 127 games. While seeing him pick up an injury yearly since 2012 is never good, these numbers suggest that he can still produce when he’s healthy.
How would he fit with Tottenham
The most obvious point would be filling a position of need.
Heading into the 2015-16 season with only two wingers is not ideal. Even if Andros Townsend stays — Tottenham did this last season — it’s not good enough. The amount of games Nacer Chadli racked up proved to be too much as he became fatigued due to a lack of depth.
In a non-serious way, Kevin Mirallas would fit in at Tottenham because they have four Belgians already on the squad: Jan Vertonghen, Mousa Dembélé, Nacer Chadli and Toby Alderweireld. Mirallas would feel at home and settle in quickly with national teammates to help him out along the way.
Can Tottenham afford him
The Express has Tottenham looking at a double swoop for two Everton players, one involves Kevin Mirallas. The double deal would cost £23.5 million with a supposed low bid of just £3.5 million for the Belgian winger, which is hard to believe.
Everton would want at least double or triple that amount (£7m or £10.5m) for a player that has averaged 35 appearances, 9 goals and 8 assists in all competitions per year since coming to the Premier League in 2012.
Whether the offer is as low as £3.5 million or goes as high as £10.5 million (assuming Everton triples the amount they want back), Tottenham would be able to afford this transfer. Being able to sign Kevin Mirallas will only give Mauricio Pochettino more options to choose from on a game-by-game basis on who starts.
Next: Xherdan Shaqiri