Tottenham Hotspur eased the pressure with Tuesday night’s Champions League win over Borussia Dortmund, but many supporters will feel the win is just a reprieve.
A clearer picture of the current state of Thomas Frank’s side will be provided by how they fare against Burnley in the Premier League at the weekend. Progress is essential after last week’s league defeat to bottom side West Ham United.
A lack of attacking fluidity has formed the core of Tottenham’s struggles this season, with Frank’s midfield receiving much criticism for its lack of progress.
Conor Gallagher has joined the ranks, but it’s clear they need to add more creative players.
Spurs make Premier League midfielder their dream target
Tottenham’s midfield options have been quite deceptive this season, with neither João Parinha nor Rodrigo Bentancur able to fully demonstrate their ability with progressive passing, stifling the club’s overall playmaking.
Premier League 25/26 – Minimum xG total | ||
|---|---|---|
team | Number of points scored | xG |
(16) Tottenham | 31 | 25.2 |
(17) Knotts Forest | twenty one | 24.3 |
(18) Sunderland | twenty three | 22.7 |
(19) Burnley | twenty three | 20.5 |
(20) Wolf | 15 | 19.8 |
Data via Understat | ||
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability that a shot will result in a goal.
Gallagher brings new grit and experience to Frank’s system, but he’s also not a natural playmaker and that’s a vacancy that needs to be filled.
Sporting director Johan Lange will list any number of candidates, but Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton appears to be their “dream target”.
This is according to TEAMtalk, who believe Wharton has an agreement with the Eagles to play out the rest of the season before getting a chance to move to a bigger club this summer.
Manchester United are also pursuing the 21-year-old and the bid is likely to be around £65m, making him Spurs’ most expensive player in their history.
Why Adam Wharton is perfect for Spurs
Wharton has firmly established himself in the Premier League and his technical skills make him the perfect candidate to star in a team like Tottenham’s championship aspirations.
Hailed as a “passing machine” by journalist Henry Winter, Wharton has created 26 chances and completed 45 long balls in the Premier League this season, ranking high on these metrics, according to data-driven site FotMob.
Xavi Simmons (and the injured James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski) all boast strong creativity, but Palace’s talent differs in that they ply their trade in the heart of midfield, defend well and keep an eye on the goalmouth from afar.
If Tottenham complete this deal, they would provide the perfect partner for Gallagher, but it would likely be to the detriment of Lukas Bergvall and limit the young Swedish star’s game time.
Bergvall, 19, is one of north London’s most promising players and Frank believes he will be a major player in a Lilywhite shirt in the future. However, he has yet to prove that he can take on talismanic responsibilities in the Premier League.
Comparing Bergvall and Wharton only emphasizes that point.
Not only did Wharton play a major role in the rise of Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace, he was also thrust into the Three Lions’ activities with the World Cup just months away.
Bergvall is a supreme talent and would be worth retaining if he were part of Tottenham’s hierarchy, but he is still a raw and unrefined talent and if we’ve learned anything from the length of this campaign over the last few months, it’s that Frank and his team need to hit the ground running.
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