Tottenham look to sharpen edge with Spanish winger

AC Milan winger Suso seems to be the latest subject of Tottenham’s interest as the north London club look to fortify their options in attack.

Marca — via SkySports — bring news that Tottenham are sounding out Milan about Suso in hopes of beating out Napoli.

Tottenham, of course, aren’t lacking for options in that area of the pitch. Mauricio Pochettino might feel there is a Suso-shaped hole that needs filling however.

After suffering through a stint at Liverpool early in his career and then enjoying some modest success in both Spain and Italy, Suso finally broke through this past season. The 23-year-old elbowed his way into Milan’s starting XI and promptly made himself indispensable.

Through 33 Serie A starts, Suso scored seven and assists nine more goals. Milan stumbled in the final weeks of the season, but the club came close to a return to Europe thanks in no small part to the Spaniard’s contributions.

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Milan coach Vincenzo Montella used Suso in a very advanced wide role, usually on the right in a 4-3-3 formation. With full-backs and midfielders teaming up to cover the right flank, Suso was free to play off the shoulder of opposing defenders and wait for the right punt or throughball to chase down.

Suso, then, is the point of Milan’s long counter-attacking spear. He might not create opportunities for transition, but he certainly knows how to exploit those moments when they come. Fans of Jamie Vardy and Leicester — or Pedro and Chelsea — will recognize the value in having a forward tuned on a hair-trigger.

It’s easy to see, then, why Pochettino might see some potential in Suso. Tottenham’s gameplan is built around creating opportunities in transition, after all.

Usually those opportunities get made far up the pitch though, meaning that Tottenham rely much more on the interplay between devastating finishers the likes of Harry Kane and Dele Alli rather than players who can chase down balls in space.

Pochettino clearly wants to be able to jump on transitions created far deeper on the pitch however. Among Toby Alderweireld’s myriad talents is an uncanny ability to see chances far down the pitch and then deliver accurate long-balls into the path of the on-rushing offense.

While Spurs consistently benefit from bypassing the midfield area like this, thus far under Pochettino’s rule they have lacked a player specifically designed for those kinds of situations. Clinton Njie and Georges-Kévin Nkoudou were likely attempts to find a player like that, but clearly neither lived up to Pochettino’s standards — at least not yet.

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Spurs’ purported interest in Suso, then, might be the club hoping that third time is a charm. If Milan will part with the player for a reasonable enough fee — say, less than £20 million — Spurs might finally possess the long game they have long coveted.