Which Winger Should Tottenham Sign?
Yannick Bolasie (26) – Crystal Palace
What he’s done recently
At 26-years-old, the DR Congo international is the second oldest winger on this list. He’s now entering the prime of his career/life and is going to be getting offers very soon if rumors are true — Tottenham being one of the clubs interested.
Since joining Crystal Palace in the 2012-13 season, Yannick Bolasie has been consistent at finding his teammates and getting the assist. For the past three seasons this has been happening.
- ’12-’13 season: 48 appearances, 3 goals, 7 assists in all competitions
- ’13-’14 season: 30 appearances, 0 goals, 5 assists in all competitions
- ’14-’15 season: 35 appearances, 4 goals, 11 assists in all competitions
While it would seem that he isn’t much of a scorer, based on these numbers, he is still a threat and gets involved in the attack and goal scoring. That alone — having assists — shows that he is able to link up well with teammates and is an invaluable trait to have on any squad.
How would he fit with Tottenham
Having the amount of pace that he has will make either the left or right side of the pitch very difficult to defend. His natural position is playing as a left winger. If Mauricio Pochettino wants to keep him at his normal spot, then he would have to move Nacer Chadli over to the right side.
Whatever Pochettino decides, with already having a proven goal scorer in Harry Kane and good contributions from both Nacer Chadli and Christian Eriksen, all three players could see their number of goals rise higher.
Having Yannick Bolasie as a starter and tire out defenses, then sub in Érik Lamela to continue that pace or Chadli to overpower the defense would be great to have.
Can Tottenham afford him
Putting Alan Pardew’s comments into perspective from this Sky Sports article, it’s still possible to sign the 26-year-old DR Congo international. Bolasie isn’t worth the amount that Pardew placed on him: £40 million to £60 million. At most, Bolasie is worth half of that (£20m-£30m).
The outrageous price is because Pardew knows full well what kind of a talented player he has on his squad. Obviously selling one of your top players at a cheap price is a terrible business move. With that said, if any club puts down a good enough bid he’ll accept — Tottenham could be that club.
Short term, the money will be too much if Alan Pardew does ask for a lot, but in the long term, Pochettino would have a solid group of wingers: Yannick Bolasie, Nacer Chadli and Érik Lamela (plus Andros Townsend if he’s not sold).
Next: Who Should Tottenham Sign?