Tottenham Hotspur are making headway under Ange Postecoglou but his expansive, intense and attractive brand of football does present a chink in the armour.
Defensively, Spurs have left plenty to be desired this season and last, and though they looked to suffocate and swamp with slick triangular passages and overloads, it did bear that caveat.
High risk, high reward. That’s the motto. Tottenham are still pushing and have demonstrated through big victories over Manchester United and West Ham United in the past month that they can make it work to title-clinching success.
On paper, the north Londoners have two of the finest defenders in the Premier League, and a little more fine-tuning might bring Postecoglou’s vision right to the fore.
The Premier League's finest defenders
The Premier League is host to many fine centre-backs, with Tottenham’s dynamic duo of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven among the best.
Tottenham have only conceded nine goals across eight top-flight fixtures this season, joint-fifth in the divisional table, but have also kept just two clean sheets – something to work on.
Matches (starts)
7 (7)
8 (8)
Goals
0
1
Assists
2
0
Touches*
85.3
95.6
Pass completion
93%
91%
Dribbles completed*
0.4
0.0
Ball recoveries*
5.9
5.9
Tackles + interceptions*
1.9
3.2
Clearances*
2.9
2.8
Total duels won*
3.7 (46%)
5.3 (62%)
As you can see, this is a pair of first-class defenders. At least, bordering on first class. Ahead of them in the Premier League pecking order are Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and William Saliba of Arsenal.
The respective centre-halves have had significant impacts on their sides’ development, with Saliba on the cusp of hitting his prime and Van Dijk at the end of his.
Paolo Maldini has praised the Liverpool sensation as “the best defender in history”, while Saliba has been utterly breathtaking in recent years, with his performances under Mikel Arteta this season largely imperious – as per Sofascore, the France international has won a whopping 70% of his ground duels.
Tottenham’s titans are creeping toward such a standing, but Postecoglou may well rue his side’s failed bid for a defender already operating at the level of English football’s finest.
Let’s take a look at Tottenham’s effort to sign Alessandro Bastoni.
One that got away
The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.
When Spurs nearly signed Alessandro Bastoni
Predating Postecoglou’s appointment by one year, Tottenham fought to sign Bastoni from Inter Milan in 2022. According to reports from Italy, Inter opened contract talks with their prized defensive asset following intrigue from Tottenham and Manchester City.
It worked. In 2023, the Italy international extended his stay with I Nerazzurri until 2028, boasting a £164k-per-week contract. Given that he’s now valued at €70m (£60m) this certainly looks like a missed opportunity.
According to content creator Nieve Petruzziello, purveyor of Italian football, the Inter defender is now “as good as Van Dijk and Saliba”, with the Milan-based side owing to Bastoni’s incredible mix of defensive strength and ball-playing brilliance.
Indeed, as Inter ran rampant in Serie A last season, Bastoni won 59% of his duels, completed 90% of his passes and created ten big chances.
His creativity and drive set him apart from the lion’s share of European defenders. As per FBref, the left-footed ace ranks among the top 1% of centre-backs across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for shot-creating actions and progressive carries, the top 2% for assists and the top 8% for passes attempted and progressive passes per 90.
A carry is considered progressive if the ball is moved towards the opponent’s goal at least 10 yards from its starting point or is carried into the penalty area.
A superlative technician, it’s no wonder the 25-year-old has been hailed for his qualities by another Italian football expert, Conor Clancy.
Clancy said: “He’s the best Italian centre-back around. He’s a phenomenon. He is going to be the next generation of Italian defence himself.”
Named as the Serie A Defender of the Season for 2023/24, you can’t help but wonder if Postecoglou and Daniel Levy watched his exploits with a bitter taste, for he could have been signed, providing Tottenham’s backline with the defensive part to fire it to trophy-winning, Champions League-qualifying success.
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