Tottenham try to succeed where Juventus have failed
Tottenham are reportedly preparing a bid for Palermo midfielder Franco Vazquez
Tottenham are in the process of chasing the best player on one of Serie A’s worst teams. Time will tell if Spurs are able to successfully pry midfield ace Franco Vazquez away from Palermo.
It won’t be the first time that a big club has expressed interest in the Palermo star, but reports claim that he’s finally willing to leave the Serie bottom-dwellers to experience European football elsewhere. The Mirror report that Tottenham will need to overcome interest from several of the Serie A elite if they intend to win the race for Vazquez’s services.
I must confess that at first, I wasn’t terribly excited about the prospect of Tottenham chasing a 27-year-old midfielder whose Serie A side barely managed to avoid relegation this season. However, once I examined Vazquez more closely, it was easy to see why Mauricio Pochettino would fancy the Argentine star.
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Despite Palermo’s struggles, Vazquez still put together a marvelous campaign. His Whoscored.com player rating average of 7.51 in 36 League appearances was one of the top five player ratings in all of Serie A. That sort of performance put him behind only Paul Pogba, Gonzalo Higuain and Paulo Dybala in the Italian top-flight.
That qualifies as pretty impressive company. What is even better from a Spurs perspective, is that Vazquez’s style of play also fits Tottenham perfectly. He’s a true box-to-box player who aids his team equally on the offensive and defensive sides of the pitch. His ability to score goals is matched evenly with stellar defensive work-rate. He’s exactly the sort of attacking player that Pochettino covets.
His prodigious talent also allowed Palermo to deploy him at multiple positions on the campaign. He performed well as an attacking midfielder, central striker and wide forward in various matches. That versatility would prove very valuable to a Tottenham attack that needs support in a couple different positions.
Vazquez might be the perfect signing for Spurs this summer, but getting him out of Italy is going to represent a significant challenge. You have to wonder if the presence of Argentinian countrymen Erik Lamela and Mauricio Pochettino might tilt the transfer scales in Spurs favor. At the very least, it might allow them to enter the bidding for the Palermo star on equal footing with the Serie A clubs involved.
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This summer transfer window is going to be crucial for Tottenham, and you can expect Spurs to be linked with a variety of players across Europe. Franco Vazquez might be new name for most Tottenham fans, but he’d be a welcome addition at White Hart Lane.