If Tottenham are able to bring Mateo Musacchio to White Hart Lane, it will thoroughly complete Spurs’ defensive transformation
Purchasing another centre back isn’t exactly priority number one for Tottenham this summer, but it wouldn’t be a bad idea. In particular, the purchase of a centre back with the quality of Mateo Musacchio would thoroughly complete Mauricio Pochettino’s defensive transformation.
Reports from claim that Tottenham are, at the very least, kicking tires on the Villarreal defender. If you’ll recall, he was a prime target for Pochettino early in his Spurs tenure, but injury concerns scuppered any potential deal.
Spurs currently have three terrific options in central defense. Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld are nailed on as starters, and young Austrian Kevin Wimmer was stellar when called upon last season. The only question mark is what the club would do if the right-footed Alderweireld went down for any extended period of time.
Such an injury would likely cause Eric Dier to return to the back four until his Belgian teammate could regain fitness. That wouldn’t be a disaster given the young Englishman’s ability to man the position, but it certainly wouldn’t be idea. The only other option for Spurs would be to thrust starlet Cameron Carter-Vickers into the immediate limelight.
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By far, the ideal solution would be for Spurs to add a right-footed centre back this summer. Most expected the club might add a young option similar to the Wimmer acquisition of last summer. Reports that the club are back in on Musacchio have surprised quite a few Spurs fans.
Perhaps we shouldn’t be so surprised after the club’s initial interest in Samuel Umtiti before he ultimately chose Barcelona. If we take that interest at face value, it’s pretty clear that Pochettino is in the market for another starting-caliber defender this summer. Musacchio would make as much sense as any other potential target.
The Argentinian defender was a rock for Villarreal after returning from injury last year. He posted an excellent Whoscored.com player rating of 7.17 in his 12 La Liga starts. That sort of performance generally translates well to the Premier League.
The real question about Musacchio is whether or not Tottenham are truly willing to pay a fee of approximately 25 million pounds for a defender who might spend a lot of time on Pochettino’s bench. For that matter, I have serious questions as to whether or not Musacchio would be up for a move to White Hart Lane given the uncertain playing time.
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No matter what, Tottenham fans should be pleased if Spurs go after Musacchio again. He’s a quality option who shows the high level of ambition that Tottenham are showing in this summer’s transfer window.