Had Tottenham Hotspur been extra aggressive in 2015, they might nicely have prevented their present defensive struggles when the north London outfit got here near signing Dayot Upamecano, who at the moment performs for each Bayern Munich and France…
Did Spurs nearly signal Dayot Upamecano?
Based on The Athletic, Spurs scouts had hailed the then 16-year-old expertise as they appeared for a pure successor and a centre-back with the same profile to former large Toby Alderweireld.
After impressing on the U17 European Championship, the fresh-faced Upamecano was thought-about an ideal match for Mauricio Pochettino’s mission and a reasonably low cost signing, with solely a charge of £300,000 anticipated in compensation.
Ultimately, Lilywhites supremo Daniel Levy wouldn’t match the charge or wage supplied by RB Salzburg, and even regardless of different curiosity from the likes of Manchester Metropolis, 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?
How good is Dayot Upamecano?
The 24-year-old impressed the rising Bundesliga giants to such an extent that perennial champions Bayern Munich paid his €42.5m (£38m) launch clause with out 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 worth rise to a whopping €80m (£70m), in response to the CIES Soccer Observatory, which means Spurs have certainly missed out on a high quality participant and given their present issues defensively. , it is one they now have to hassle.
The Lilywhites have conceded essentially the most targets of any crew within the prime ten, even Chelsea, who’re backside of that vary. In the meantime, in the course of the week, errors within the backline value them towards decrease league opposition within the FA Cup fifth spherical once more.
Had a participant like Upamecano been within the ranks, then it might have been a very completely different outcome.
The 12-time worldwide is among the many greatest on the planet proper now, as seen by evaluating his strongest attributes together with his positional friends throughout Europe, the place he ranks within the prime 1% for tried passes and progressive passes and the highest 4% for tackles per 90, by way of FBref.
Upamecano can also be being in comparison with present Spurs star Cristian Romero by the identical stats web site, and contemplating the Argentine is a reduce above Antonio Conte’s different choices, that is definitely constructive.
A few of his performances for Bayern in current seasons have seen the French titan hailed as a “beast” by expertise scout Jacek Kulig, in addition to “formidable” by BT Sport professional Rio Ferdinand (by way of Day by day Mail).
Given how poor Spurs have been on the again beneath the Italian, you possibly can’t assist however think about what might need been if Levy and co had pursued Upamecano with extra aggression again in 2015.
AND in different information, £90k-p/w 13-pass star ‘had a stinker’ towards Sheffield United…
