For the second time this season, Tottenham Hotspur’s loss to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Thursday night condemned Ange Postecoglou to a third straight Premier League defeat.
“If you’re really going to build for success, you need to go through bad moments,” Postecoglou pondered after the defeat to Mauricio Pochettino’s eighth-place team, who had defeated Spurs twice.
That’s all well and good, buddy, but there’s plenty of proof that some players on the team are unfit for long-term duty with this team, which has had brief moments of success this year but has been derailed by injuries and a loss of the early-season conviction and optimism.
Moves must be made by chairman Daniel Levy, steely signings must be welcomed down at N17.
Spurs eyeing Premier League midfielder
According to Caught Offside, Tottenham have joined London rivals Arsenal in the race for Everton midfielder Amadou Onana, corroborating revelations from The Telegraph earlier in the week that the Belgium international had been added to the Lilywhites’ shortlist.
It’s understood that Everton will assent to Onana’s sale this summer if their £45m valuation is met, stirring up a swarm of interest in his signature, with Newcastle United and La Liga champions Barcelona also registering an interest.
Onana is contracted to Goodison Park until 2027 but the Toffees are searching for funds and the 22-year-old is one of the most profitable assets on the books.
Why Spurs should sign Amadou Onana
According to the article, Tottenham’s interest in Onana and aspirations to sign him are contingent upon Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s potential transfer. With a contract that expires at the end of the following season, the Dane is expected to be sold. Serie A teams AC Milan, Juventus, and Napoli are among the many foreign bidders interested in the £20 million holding midfield player.
Talent scout Jacek Kulig has called Onana a “one-man army” in the middle of the park, but he also has the ability to unseat Yves Bissouma, Postecoglou’s starting star at the base of the midfield.
After establishing himself as one of the most intriguing rising stars in Ligue 1, Onana signed a £33 million deal to join Everton from Lille in August 2022. Everton has struggled to avoid relegation both this season and last, but his formidable presence has added the necessary mettle and mojo.
Tough as a player, Onana is among the top 14% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for tackles made in the last year, and he is in the top 5% for aerial duels won per 90, according to FBref, demonstrating his strong defensive foundation and determination to win back the ball whether it is in the air or on the ground.
In addition, he has 12 caps for Belgium after making his debut in the summer of 2022. Antonio Mango, a journalist and U23 scout, has referred to him as a “midfield behemoth.”
Although Tottenham has some strong foundations in place, there is still far too much to be done. Onana would significantly improve the engine room, which would both charge Postecoglou’s high-octane system and add strength to guarantee that the defense is finally restored to its former strength.
The aforementioned Bissouma is Tottenham’s first-choice holding midfielder, but he has drawn criticism for his inconsistent play. His last extended period of success came just before he left for the African Cup of Nations with Mali in January, and even then, he was on suspension after making a careless lunging challenge against Nottingham Forest in December.
This season, Postecoglou has been reluctant to start Bissouma on the bench, but this is more because he hasn’t had many solid options to choose from. Oliver Skipp and Hojbjerg, who Perry Groves criticized last season for their “don’t-action,” and Hojbjerg lack the mobility to hold down a starting position in the first team.
There are a number of noteworthy and significant aspects to consider while analyzing and contrasting the separate sets of metrics listed above. One: Onana is about five years Bissouma’s junior, and he already shows a full skill set that the Malian will probably not match. Two: The Blues star is more adept at challenging opponents and is more eager and proactive in shutting them down and regaining possession. Three: Because of Bissouma’s disciplinary history, he is a much cooler head and has little chance of becoming fluent.
Might it be that Tottenham’s No. 6 might have simply hit a brilliant, but unsustainable, purple patch during the early phase of the campaign, now exposed for his frailties, foibles that have devolved into something more pressing: an internal obstacle inhibiting the Lilywhites squad from taking that next step in the Premier League and securing a spot among Europe’s elite once more.
Bissouma has the inborn technical quality, he’s imbued with a sense of swagger that, when shining, performs masterfully well. But he’s inconsistent, irregular in his influence and command in the centre of the park.
Reports on the matter of Spurs’ interest in Onana believe that selling Hojbjerg could be the best way to free up space for the Goodison Park phenom’s arrival.
But if Tottenham truly seek prominence and prosperity of a kind beyond anything that the devoted supporters have been treated to over the past several decades, then bold, purposeful ventures must be made, statements of intent that signal toward the divisional heavyweights that here is an outfit soaring to the top.
Lest we forget that Postecoglou’s project has not yet finished its first year, there’s plenty more to come but only if the impressive recruitment is continued under Levy and built upon to narrow the canyon between Tottenham and the top.
