Who Should Spurs Target to Replace Fazio?
By Ryan Wrenn
If there has been one fact about this Spurs team that’s been made more abundant than Eric Dier’s majesty, it’s the fact that Federico Fazio is not long for White Hart Lane.
In a more just world, Fazio would be casually standing around in West Brom’s backline every week rather than in occasionally doing so in Spurs’. The Midlands club was interested in the Argentine centre-back this summer but the deal fell through – perhaps in part due to the two clubs’ falling out over Saido Berahino. Were it not for that hiccup, Fazio would have been the last broken puzzle piece removed from Tottenham’s defense this summer, joining the likes of Vlad Chiriches and Younès Kaboul.
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Instead, he currently sits somewhere off the bench as Spurs’ fourth choice centre-back. Mauricio Pochettino didn’t even trust Fazio to start against lowly Qarabag FK in the Europa League opener two weeks ago Thursday. Instead, starting XI regular Toby Alderweireld was risked.
Fazio did appear last week in the least significant fixture to date, the Capital One Cup third round matchup with Arsenal. It’s safe to assume he did little for his reputation within the club in the 2-1 loss against Spurs’ primary rivals. He was – in the words of Hotspur HQ writer Rucker Haringey – statuesque in that game, hardly the kind of mobile player required to check any team in the Premier League, much less Arsenal.
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It’s relatively easy to see what Spurs’ saw in Fazio when they bought him in the summer of 2014. He was a big – if lumbering – physical centre-back, the kind you could expect to defend well against long balls over the top or in set piece situations. He was to, in theory, complement the mobility of Jan Vertonghen.
In a select few games he did just that, most notably against Manchester United in just before the New Year. There, he was a vital part of Spurs’ efforts to blunt United’s preference to send long balls forward to Marouane Fellaini. In that very specific role, he thrived. The problem, of course, is that the Premier League increasingly demands a jack-of-all-or-most trades in just about every position. Specialists simply don’t fly these days.
So given the likelihood that Fazio will be showed the Spurs’ exit in January, who can we expect to see slot into that coveted fourth depth chart position in the centre-back roster? It’s safe to assume that no one at Spurs would want to upset the delicate balance in defense that has seen the club tie for the least amount of goals conceded so far this term. Nor would anyone want Kevin Wimmer to think his spot on the team is in jeopardy. The Austrian has actually performed fairly decently in his two appearances in a Spurs shirt so far, even if in one of those games he was paired with Fazio.
The simple answer is to promote from within. The two best options for such a promotion are Eric Dier and Miloš Veljković. The former option might be ideal in a vacuum, though wildly disruptive on practical terms. Moving Dier from his current defensive midfield position would likely be more damaging to this Spurs team than fielding Fazio for every game. Dier has quickly solidified himself as not only the best midfielder on the roster, but arguably one of the best players period. Barring a very surprising drop in form, he won’t be moving out of his defensive midfield role any time soon.
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That leaves us with the supremely promising academy product Miloš Veljković. Like Dier, he’s particular versatile and can play either as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. Including him amongst Spurs’ first team would give him opportunities to start in either the Europa League or FA Cup while also accelerate his development due to his proximity to proper professionals. That makes any such roster move a win-win: Spurs get the deep roster cover they need from yet another of their preferred crop of talented youngsters and Veljković earns experience he simply wouldn’t get in the academy or out on loan.
Of course, all of this remains up in the air until January. Until then the team and fans alike will have to continue hoping that circumstances don’t deteriorate to the point of having to rely on Fazio in any capacity.