Rumor Surfaces Tottenham Still in for Center Back Help
By Aaron Coe
Despite the display of new boy Joe Rodon on Sunday against Chelsea, rumors are emerging José Mourinho still wants a left-sided center back for Tottenham.
Tottenham Hotspur lost their only natural, left-sided center half this past summer when the club choose to not renew the contract of Jan Vertonghen. Since then Mourinho and company have used a variety of players to cover the position. While Eric Dier is the clear top choice in the Premier League, Davinson Sanchez, Ben Davies, and Japhet Tanganga have all taken turns in Europe. With a clear need for the club, apparently Mourinho is on the hunt for January help.
Tottenham Sources Say Ferrari a Target
According to 90min.com sources within Tottenham Hotspur are indicating the club are looking for left-footed help on the defense and will be able to spend up to £15m from Daniel Levy’s coffers. While not a ton of money, considering that is about the cost Spurs spent on Pierre Højbjerg, one can begin to dream a little.
According to the report Gian Marco Ferrari – a left-footed Italian – currently playing at Sassuolo in Serie A is the target. With the only natural left-footed center back in the team being Ben Davies – who is really a left back – the idea of signing a left-footed player here is a good one. It is something HotspurHQ wrote about previously as part of the overall imbalance with Spurs squad.
In doing a bit of research on Ferrari, the link seems plausible as whoscored.com describes Ferrari with one word defensively the fits the José Mourinho prototype, which is concentration. Ferrari is solid in just about all aspects of defending, doing so with attention and tenacity, rather than aggression and recklessness.
This is not to say he is not tenacious defensively, as he does well in space and wants the ball and wins the ball. It is just that Ferrari’s approach is not one that will put his team at risk to get possession. Once he has possession Ferrari is an excellent passer. A career completion rate of 84% belays the fact that he has completed more than 90% of his passes the last two seasons at Sassuolo and has a nice left foot. A player that likes to get forward, his desire and style likely will remind some of Vertonghen.
All this said, this is just a rumor on the internet at this point. However, as far as rumors go for Tottenham, this might be one that makes sense as Gian Marco Ferrari checks the boxes that José Mourinho is looking for in a defender and is left-footed to boot. This is one rumor worth keeping an eye on as January approaches as it meets a need for Spurs and matches the philosophy.