Had Tottenham Hotspur been extra aggressive in 2015, they may properly 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 practically signal Dayot Upamecano?
According to 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.
In the top, 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 City, 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 time 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 Football Observatory, which means Spurs have definitely 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 probably the most targets of any staff inside the highest ten, even Chelsea, who backside out in that vary. Meanwhile, throughout the week, errors in the backline value them towards decrease league opposition in the FA Cup fifth spherical as soon as once more.
Had a participant like Upamecano been in the ranks, then it may have been a really totally different end result.
The 12-time worldwide is among the many finest in the world 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, through FBref.
Upamecano can also be likened to present Spurs star Cristian Romero by the identical statistical web site, and contemplating the Argentine is a minimize above Antonio Conte‘s different choices, that is definitely a optimistic.
Some of his performances for the Bavarians over current 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 (through the Daily Mail).
Given simply how poor Spurs have been on the again beneath the Italian, you’ll be able to’t assist however think about what may 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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