Tottenham Hotspur’s summer hasn’t quite been Newcastle United levels of rejection bad, but it has been a trying first few months in the hot seat for Thomas Frank.
While everything would appear rosy on the field, notably defeating Manchester City on Saturday, it’s not been plain sailing off it.
The treatment room has a new visitor in the form of James Maddison, who will reside there for a lengthy time, while moves for Morgan Gibbs-White and then Eberechi Eze fell through.
They were two game-changers capable of taking Frank’s side to the next level. They will have to settle for alternatives instead.
Tottenham's plans for the last week of the window
Missing out on Eze in midweek was a gut-wrenching blow for the Lilywhites but they responded emphatically by beating City this weekend.
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Yet, their chances of picking up more vital points across the campaign will depend on what happens in the remaining week of the window.
The Lilywhites still want to do a deal for Savinho and are reportedly preparing a club-record move for the Brazilian to get it over the line.
Also of interest, according to Fabrizio Romano, is Como midfielder Nico Paz.
Claims suggest that Spurs have already come forward with a clear move to sign the Argentine, offering a fee of £60m.
That being said, the Italian outfit, managed by Cesc Fabregas, are reluctant to let the player go. As it happens, the midfielder isn’t too keen on leaving Como behind yet either.
He wants to stay alongside Fabregas for the time being, while Spurs were also faced with fending off his former side, Real Madrid, who are set to match any proposal that comes his way.
How Nico Paz compares to Mousa Dembele
Mousa Dembele, eh? Spurs have longed for a player like him in the middle of the park ever since he left White Hart Lane all those years ago.
Joao Palhinha, scorer at the Etihad on Sunday, may well be a player capable of evoking those qualities in north London again.
But, he’ll have to go some to replicate that impact. After all, in the words of Kyle Walker, “Dembele was probably the best player I’ve ever seen play football.” Former Spurs man Eric Dier also suggested that he was “a freak of nature”.
Very few midfielders have been capable of providing just what the Belgian could for Spurs. To put it simply, he was an all-action machine.
One of his best years at Spurs came in 2015/16 where he was involved in four goals, registered 2.9 successful dribbles per game and won 3.6 tackles per match. He was everywhere, he did it all.
Well, Paz is very similar in that regard. Back in January in a game vs Atalanta, the Como sensation completed four dribbles, won ten duels and also scored. It was a Dembele-esque performance.
As analyst Ben Mattinson notes, he’s capable of “crashing the box” and “playing killer final balls.” Like Dembele, he’s capable of getting forward and influencing play in front of the defence as well.
“One of the best playmakers in Europe” according to scout Jacek Kulig, throughout the course of the campaign, Paz registered 14 goal involvements and his all-round game was akin to that of Dembele.
Shots
3.1
0.8
Key passes
1.5
1.0
Dribbles
2.0
2.9
Times fouled
0.9
1.1
Tackles
1.5
3.6
Analysing the data, what we can gather from Dembele in his prime is that he was more defensive than Paz. The Como superstar had more of an influence in the final third, but their ability to manoeuvre the ball, dribble and progress play via their excellent carrying makes them so similar.
Over the last 365 days, the 22-year-old ranked in the top 2% of positionally similar players in Europe’s top five leagues for progressive carries, as well as in the top 7% for tackles, via FBref.
So, while Spurs may not quite get the defensive coverage Dembele brought to the Lane, they would be getting another all-action asset who’s capable of dominating in a whole host of phases of play.