Roberto Soldado has joined a long line of star strikers who have flopped dramatically in the last couple of years, but Tottenham would be foolish to let him go just yet. Soldado, or Torres mark II, has had a torrid time in England and White Hart Lane hardly has a positive memory for the former Valencia man.
Missed chances and touches that Andy Carroll would be ashamed of still haven’t seen the Tottenham crowd get on Soldado’s back. Much like Torres’ time in the blue of rivals Chelsea, Soldado has kept the support of fans who value the continued work rate even of a player whose reputation is crumbling.
For any player who has dropped from such a height, finding form again is always a big ask. However, it is time to revisit an old cliché, ‘class is permanent.’ Soldado’s years of brilliance in Spain and failings in England might just suggest that he is not suited to the faster, more combative English football, but it would be rash of Spurs to give up on Roberto quite yet. The price paid for Soldado raised a few eyebrows, but with his goal scoring record, he looked like one of the less risky ‘Bale signings.’
Fans may think it’s time to cut their losses on Soldado, or at least sign another replacement, but Pochettino shouldn’t be so hasty.
Harry Kane is unlikely to have a season quite like his last and Soldado is the sort of experienced mentor (regardless of form) that would be ideal to help a young man like Kane find his feet. Kane will be under immense pressure both mentally and physically in the coming campaign, thankfully taking some of the pressure away from Soldado. With another season of Europa Thursdays, a replacement of quality who is already settled at the club just makes sense for Levy and Pochettino.
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One of the best reasons to keep Soldado is in the only other striking option. So, say that Spurs were to move him on, do they then use Adebayor as second fiddle? Adebayor is hard enough to manage anyway, but keeping him motivated as second fiddle is a lost cause. The Togolese star is a blot on the accounts and moving him on is far easier to justify than Soldado.
Ageing players as supporting acts in the squad do so much more than warm the bench. When a rising star like Kane has a blip, the wise head of Soldado will be invaluable to the club.
If Daniel Levy needs a financial justification to keep Soldado, he must think of the amount of money they splashed out on the Spaniard. Considering his shambolic goal scoring record to this point, any sale would represent a disastrous loss and this can only be rectified if Soldado is given more time to regain the form that earned him the big move. With the wages in mind too, it is hard to imagine too many clubs that would be willing to gamble on Soldado.
Roberto Soldado could return to his glory days and fire Tottenham into the top four, or he could continue to decimate his reputation and Spurs lose a lot of money on him. Selling Soldado should not yet be an option in the minds of Pochettino and Levy with so little to gain from moving him on at this point.
Anyhow, a new signing would be even less thrilled with sitting on the bench while Harry Kane starts week in and week out.
