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Tottenham outsmart Chelsea by preferring Sanabria over Batshuayi

By Rucker Haringey

DORTMUND, GERMANY - MARCH 09: Head coach Mauricio Pochettino attends the Tottenham Hotspur FC press conference prior to the UEFA Europa League match between Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Signal Iduna Park on March 9, 2016 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Sascha Steinbach/Bongarts/Getty Images)
DORTMUND, GERMANY - MARCH 09: Head coach Mauricio Pochettino attends the Tottenham Hotspur FC press conference prior to the UEFA Europa League match between Borussia Dortmund and Tottenham Hotspur FC at Signal Iduna Park on March 9, 2016 in Dortmund, Germany. (Photo by Sascha Steinbach/Bongarts/Getty Images) /
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If Tottenham are able to sign Antonio Sanabria from Roma they will have made a much better deal than Chelsea did by purchasing Michy Batshuayi

Chelsea fans are currently over the moon with their club’s signing of Michy Batshuayi. Fortunately for Tottenham fans, Spurs will have the last laugh if they’re able to sign Antonio Sanabria for about half the price the Blues paid for the Belgian international.

Sky Sports reports that Chelsea have captured Batshuayi for a fee of around 33 million pounds. The talented striker had been linked with Tottenham, West Ham, Arsenal and a number of other clubs over the past few weeks. In the end, Chelsea were the only club willing to meet both Marseille’s asking price and the player’s obscene wage demands.

Tottenham are likely to turn their attention to Roma attacker Antonio Sanabria in response to missing out on Batshuayi. Fortunately for Spurs, the Paraguayan striker is likely going to be a far superior purchase.

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When you compare the two players objectively, it’s pretty easy to see why Sanabria is the much superior choice for Tottenham. As a matter of fact, the former Barcelona man would be the far superior choice for almost any club in the world.

The first obvious advantage for Sanabria is that he will cost significantly less. On the high side, he might cost Tottenham 20 million pounds. Spurs will save an initial 13 million pounds on the transfer purchase. That’s not an insignificant amount of money with a new stadium to construct.

Mauricio Pochettino’s club will also save significantly on the difference between both player’s wage demands. We don’t know a ton about the salary that will be required for Sanabria, but it’s a safe bet that it won’t be nearly the rumored 100,000 pounds a week that Batshuayi’s camp was looking for from his new club.

Sanabria isn’t only a better financial proposition for Tottenham though. There’s also a very strong case to be made that he is already a better player than Batshuayi. At the very least, he seems likely to eclipse his level of play rather quickly.

Keep in mind that the young Roma striker is only 20, while the Belgian front man is already 22 years of age. That two-year age difference could make a huge difference in the development of Sanabria. Even if you believe that Batshuayi is the superior player now, the difference is marginal at best. Sanabria will almost certainly be a better player when he is 22 than Batshuayi is currently.

Consider their performances last season for their respective clubs. Both men were the primary starting striker for their clubs. Both Sporting Gijon and Marseille finished in the bottom half of their domestic leagues. Despite their league position, that’s a pretty impressive accomplishment for both men.

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It must be said that La Liga is a tougher league than France’s top flight though. Whereas PSG is a clearly dominant force in Ligue 1, La Liga features multiple heavyweights with Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid and Barcelona. There’s just more talent in La Liga top to bottom.

As such, you have to grade Sanabria’s relative performance on a slight curve. Ligue 1 features solid competition, but it just can’t measure up to Spain’s top flight. Batshuayi had a better Whoscored.com player rating last season at 6.93, but Sanabria’s season was close behind at just 6.72. That difference can easily be explained away by the difference in the two leagues. The two players performed at roughly the same effectiveness last season, but Sanabria has the advantage of being two years younger.

Sanabria is also a better choice for Spurs because he’s more willing to play a reserve role behind Harry Kane. It is clear that Batshuayi was looking for serious playing time as a central striker and that could have caused serious discord in the dressing room at White Hart Lane.

Related Story: Batshuayi will be a flop at Chelsea

Chelsea fans are rejoicing at the fact that Michy Batshuayi accepted their offer ahead of Tottenham’s interest. The truth is, Spurs have a cheaper, better option lined up if they can close the deal for Antonio Sanabria.

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