Tottenham have the wrong idea about Hakan Calhanoglu

Tottenham are in the market for an attacker to replace Christian Eriksen this month, but Hakan Calhanoglu isn’t the No. 10 Spurs need.

At some point this month, Christian Eriksen will mercifully stop holding Tottenham hostage by moving abroad. The minute that happens, Spurs will naturally want to purchase a No. 10 to replace him. Hakan Calhanoglu is not the player do that for Jose Mourinho.

Calhanoglu is an interesting potential purchase, but the reality is that he’s not a natural No. 10. He’s played that position at times during his career, but he’s played his best football for AC Milan this season when deployed as an attacker on the left.

To quantify it, he has earned a  Whoscored.com player rating average of 7.22 when deployed as a left forward compared to a pedestrian mark of 6.64 as a central midfielder. That gap is wide open to label him as a below average central midfielder compared to an above average forward. It’s clear he’s more productive when given the freedom to attack from the wing.

That is arguably something Mourinho could stand to add in January. The point here isn’t that Calhanoglu would be a bad signing. Instead, the issue is that he’s not the No. 10 Spurs are allegedly shopping for. Reports from Turkey insist that Tottenham see him as the heir apparent to Eriksen in the middle of their attack.

That simply isn’t true. Instead, Spurs supporters should view Calhanoglu as the player is. He’s a suitable alternative to Heung-Min Son or Lucas Moura as a wide forward, but he’s not a productive player through the middle

Interestingly, Mourinho’s decision to deploy a 4-3-3 formation in Wednesday’s victory over Norwich might foretell a need to buy additional wide players. If those tactics persist for the Portuguese manager, it could make Calhanoglu a really productive player for Spurs. At the very least, it’s something Tottenham supporters should keep an eye on moving forward.

The better plan for Spurs seems to be simply trusting Giovani Lo Celso to handle Eriksen’s workload in the middle of the pitch. He’s a very different player than the Dane, but his tenacity has already endeared him to Tottenham fans. He should get every opportunity to fill Eriksen’s void.

Hakan Calhanoglu might end up a Tottenham player this month, but it’s only a smart purchase if Spurs understand his talents are best used out wide. Buying him as Eriksen’s replacement would be a waste of money.