It wasn’t the smoothest of debut campaigns for Ange Postecoglou last season, but considering the injuries he had to deal with and the departure of Harry Kane before a ball was kicked, qualifying for the Europa League has to be seen as a success.
However, the Australian will be looking to guide a club the size of Tottenham Hotspur further up the Premier League table than fifth next year, and with the right transfers, he might just be able to.
Daniel Levy and Co have already secured the signature of Leeds United’s wonderkid Archie Gray for just £30m, but the latest start touted for a move to N17 plays at the sharp end of the pitch and may well be an upgrade on Dejan Kulusevski.
Spurs looking at Premier League forward
According to a recent report from insider Paul O’Keefe, Tottenham have reignited their interest in Wolverhampton Wanderers ace Pedro Neto in the last few days.
O’Keefe does not mention a potential price, but another report from Football Transfers last week revealed that the Old Gold have reduced the winger’s asking price to just £43m and that the Lilywhites North London rivals Arsenal were potentially interested in the 24-year-old as well.
While the transfer could prove complicated due to the Gunners’ interest, if Levy and Co can land a player as talented as Neto for the reported price, then it’s certainly worth pursuing – even at the detriment of Kulusevski.
How Neto compares to Kulusevski
So, if Neto does end up signing on the dotted line and moving to the white side of North London, the fact he favours playing off the right of a front three will inevitably put him up against Kulusevski for a starting role. So how do they compare?
Well, from a pure output perspective, it’s a comprehensive win for the Portuguese international. In 24 appearances last season, he scored three goals and provided 11 assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.74 games.
In comparison, the Swedish international scored eight goals and provided three assists in 39 appearances, which equates to a goal involvement every 3.54 games.
Unfortunately for the former Juventus ace, it is. For example, while he makes fewer progressive passes, maintains a lower passing accuracy and takes fewer shots on target, the 24-year-old “monster”, as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, comes out ahead in most other metrics, including non-penalty expected goals and assists, progressive passes, shots, key passes, shot and goal-creating actions, successful take-ons, ball recoveries, key passes and aerial duels won, all per 90.
Overall, it starts to look like the Wolves ace is the better option here, but the major concern with the talented winger is his injury record, which has seen him miss 46 games for club and country in the last two campaigns.
However, this could allow Postecoglou to play him and Kulusevski regularly throughout the season, ensuring they get adequate game time and rest time.
Ultimately, it’s practically impossible to find the perfect transfer, and while his injuries are undoubtedly a concern, Neto is too good a player to pass up on, especially at this lower price.
