It is by no means quiet at Tottenham Hotspur. The January switch window was billed as one to get enthusiastic about for these of a Spurs persuasion, however followers have maybe been left wanting.
Thomas Frank‘s facet have been poor in assault this season, to place it merely. The Lilywhites languish in 14th place within the Premier League, and Brennan Johnson was bought to Crystal Palace final month. Mohammed Kudus and Richarlison are each injured for the foreseeable future.
Outcomes want to enhance shortly if Frank is to save lots of his pores and skin, placing that just too, and there is a sense Tottenham may have finished with extra exercise available in the market, one thing Cristian Romero pointed towards when he seemingly criticised the board after Sunday’s spirited draw with Manchester Metropolis.
It isn’t strictly true to say the north Londoners have not strengthened their assault.
Why Spurs signed James Wilson
Hearts striker James Wilson, 18, was pinched from Arsenal on deadline day, the promising striker transferring to Spurs on an preliminary mortgage with the choice to make the transfer everlasting come summer time.
Wilson joins an array of attacking expertise within the Tottenham Academy, with Irish goalscorer Mason Melia, 18, additionally becoming a member of the membership final month.
Final week, Dane Scarlett moved to the Scottish Premiership from Hibernian on mortgage, and Will Lankshear is out with Oxford United for the season.
However in Wilson, who is eighteen and already has eight senior objectives with Hearts, the board will really feel they’ve signed a surpassing expertise, doubly so after bitter rivals Arsenal had been overwhelmed to his signature.
Wilson has the potential to be a star at Tottenham, however the younger Scotland worldwide might not be the cream of Spurs’ youthful crop, with one other possessing generational potential as he goes from power to power out on mortgage.
Secure to say the younger ranks down at N17 usually are not unhealthy in any respect.
Spurs have gotten the brand new Luka Modric
Luka Modric is among the best gamers of his era, and he constructed these elite blocks with Tottenham earlier than transferring to Actual Madrid in 2012.
In Luka Vuskovic, Tottenham might have landed their new model, with the 18-year-old Croatian defender sharing together with his countryman a pure potential that’s suggestive of greatness.
The Londoners reached an settlement with Hajduk Cut up in 2023, however the teenager wouldn’t develop into a Tottenham participant till 2025, thereafter transferring out to the Bundesliga, on mortgage with Hamburg.
Hamburg are thirteenth and threatened by the potential of relegation, however Vuskovic has been immense this season, so younger and but so sturdy, an age-belying chief.
The features he has made as an expert to date definitely defy his younger age, and this means he stands a far higher likelihood of nailing down a place in Tottenham’s senior set-up than Wilson, extra apt for normal first-team involvement from the get-go.
Have a look at how he compares to Micky van de Ven. The Dutchman is rightly heralded as one of the vital gifted centre-backs within the Premier League; an athletic phenomenon, he has been linked with a transfer to Liverpool of late, and Spurs have responded by pricing him at £100m.
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League Stats 25/26 – Van de Ven vs Vuskovic |
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|---|---|---|
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Match Stats (* per 90) |
||
|
Matches (begins) |
22 (22) |
17 (17) |
|
Objectives + Assists |
4 + 1 |
4 + 0 |
|
Clear sheets |
6 |
4 |
|
Touches* |
64.3 |
79.6 |
|
Correct passes* |
48.0 (89%) |
51.6 (85%) |
|
Probabilities created* |
0.2 |
0.5 |
|
Recoveries* |
3.5 |
4.3 |
|
Tackles + interceptions* |
2.1 |
1.7 |
|
Clearances* |
4.0 |
8.5 |
|
Floor duels* |
2.0 (61%) |
2.1 (52%) |
|
Aerial duels* |
1.3 (42%) |
5.4 (80%) |
|
Errors made |
2x |
2x |
|
Knowledge by way of Sofascore |
||
Like Van de Ven, Vuskovic is “turning right into a objective machine“, in keeping with journalist Antonio Mango, however he is additionally establishing himself as one of the vital sturdy defenders in Europe, his 8.5 clearances per Bundesliga recreation an absurd effort.
He’s having fun with a shocking season within the German prime flight, for positive, and has been hailed by analyst Ben Mattinson as a “freak expertise” for bodily and technical abilities that almost all defenders may solely dream about.
Whereas Vuskovic doesn’t share with Modric a flair as a midfielder, he is additionally remarkably gifted, artistic on the ball and devastating when seeking to get better possession.
He’s one-of-a-kind and can solely get higher over the subsequent few years. On this, Tottenham might have landed themselves a prodigy, one with extra potential than Wilson and maybe anybody else seeking to break into the large time underneath Frank’s administration.
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