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Had Tottenham Hotspur been extra aggressive in 2015, they may effectively have averted their present defensive struggles because the north London outfit got here near signing Dayot Upamecano, who at present stars for each Bayern Munich and France…
Did Spurs almost signal Dayot Upamecano?
Based on The Athletic, Spurs scouts had raved concerning the then 16-year-old expertise as they looked for a pure successor and a centre-back of an identical profile to former colossus Toby Alderweireld.
After impressing on the U17 European Championship, the fresh-faced Upamecano was deemed an ideal match for Mauricio Pochettino’s challenge and fairly an affordable signing, with solely a £300k price anticipated in compensation.
Ultimately, Lilywhites supremo Daniel Levy wouldn’t match the price or wages that RB Salzburg supplied, and even regardless of different curiosity from groups like Manchester Metropolis, he swapped Valenciennes for Austria earlier than becoming a member of sister membership RB Leipzig a yr later.
Did Spurs make a mistake by not signing Upamecano?
YES!
NO!
How good is Dayot Upamecano?
The 24-year-old impressed on the rising Bundesliga giants to the extent that perennial champions Bayern Munich paid his €42.5m (£38m) launch clause with no hesitation in February 2021 forward of the summer season window.
His continued rise on the pitch for membership and nation has since seen Upamecano’s price improve to a whopping €80m (£70m), as per CIES Soccer Observatory, which means Spurs have actually missed out on a top-quality participant and given their present woes defensively, it’s one they have to now rue.
The Lilywhites have conceded essentially the most targets of any workforce inside the highest ten, even Chelsea, who backside out in that vary. In the meantime, throughout the week, errors within the backline price them towards decrease league opposition within the FA Cup fifth spherical as soon as once more.
Had a participant like Upamecano been within the ranks, then it might have been a really completely different consequence.
The 12-time worldwide is among the many greatest on this planet proper now, as seen by evaluating his strongest attributes along with his positional friends throughout Europe, the place he ranks amongst the highest 1% for passes tried and progressive passes and the highest 4% for tackles per 90, by way of FBref.
Upamecano can also be likened to present Spurs star Cristian Romero by the identical statistical web site, and contemplating the Argentine is a lower above Antonio Conte‘s different choices, that is actually a optimistic.
A few of his performances for the Bavarians over latest seasons has seen the French titan lauded as a “beast” by expertise scout Jacek Kulig, in addition to “formidable” by BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand (by way of the Each day Mail).
Given simply how poor Spurs have been on the again below the Italian, you’ll be able to’t assist however think about what might have been had Levy and co pursued Upamecano with extra aggression again in 2015.
AND in different information, £90k-p/w star with 13 passes “had a stinker” vs Sheffield United…
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