Jose Mourinho’s attempts to rejuvenate Tottenham continue.
The Portuguese boss was brought in to replace Mauricio Pochettino, who was relieved of his duties last November as Spurs sat in 14th place in the table after winning just five matches in the Premier League, and he has certainly helped push the north London outfit in the right direction.
They are now sixth in the table and just four points off the top four, although long-term injuries to Harry Kane and Heung-min Son have threatened to derail their season.
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Dele Alli has been included in all but one starting line-up in the league since the 56-year-old took over. He has shown his worth, recording seven goals and three assists in the competition, but he now has just one strike in his last eight appearances.
Mourinho, of course, has yet to have a real opportunity to put his stamp on this squad – he managed to bring in Steven Bergwijn and Gedson Fernandes during the January transfer window, but it is notoriously difficult to complete a squad overhaul halfway through the campaign. As such, the attention will now turn to next season and the summer window.
According to Sport Bild (via Sport Witness), RB Leipzig’s Emil Forsberg has been offered to Tottenham, amongst others, with a fee of around €20m (£17m) being mentioned. The 28-year-old has 16 appearances to his name in the Bundesliga, having scored five goals and provided two assists and, were he to arrive, Alli would have another individual to worry about.
The Sweden international’s arrival could indicate a change in direction.
Going forward, Forsberg is more involved – he has an 81% passing accuracy and has averaged 31.6 touches per match, whilst the England international had managed 77% and 26 touches. Forsberg also has a slight advantage in terms of key passes as well, leading with 1.2 compared to 1.1 per game.
That is not to say that Alli is not an attacking weapon himself, but he is not as pronounced in the final third as Forsberg from an offensive point of view.
Defensively, though, the England international is superior. So far this season, he has averaged 1.4 tackles won per match, as well as 0.7 interceptions – the Swede has managed just 0.6 and 0.3 respectively – whilst he has also won possession in the final third 0.6 times per match. Forsberg has done so just 0.3 times.
Former Chelsea boss Mourinho has made a career of being a pragmatic, defensively-minded coach. For example, the 15 goals his Blues side conceded as they won the Premier League during the 2004/05 season is the least of any team in the division’s history.
Forsberg’s arrival, though, could indicate a change of approach, and perhaps a move to, in part, abandon those principles. The Leipzig man clearly offers something different from 23-year-old Alli – or rather, he doesn’t provide the same defensive intensity as the former MK Dons midfielder.
Of course, it would unlikely mean that Alli would be out of the door – currently valued at £81m by Transfermarkt, he is still an important asset to Daniel Levy and co – but Forsberg’s arrival could indicate that Mourinho is willing to tweak his principles and trust an option in attacking midfield who doesn’t provide the same level of defensive solidity.