Heung-Min Son, Gareth Bale and Harry Kane move deeper? How Tottenham could line up with Milan Skriniar and Carlos Vinicius
Tottenham Hotspur aren’t done yet in the transfer market.
Having been the only Premier League club ever to not sign a single senior player in a summer transfer window back in 2018, now they’re working hard to make up for lost time.
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is working some magic this summer
In 2019, Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele, and Ryan Sessegnon joined, while this time out it’s been another blockbuster with Matt Doherty and Pierre-Emile Hjojberg signing before the season had started.
After the defeat to Everton, chairman Daniel Levy went all out for Spurs and signed Gareth Bale, on loan, and Sergio Reguilon from Real Madrid, exciting supporters across the globe.
Now another double signing could be about to take place in N17.
Reports suggest Tottenham are ready to do business for Serie A star Milan Skriniar and Benfica star Carlos Vinicius.
Skriniar reacts after Inter Milan’s Europa League final loss to Sevilla
Inter Milan defender Skriniar has found himself out of favour with manager Antonio Conte using a back-three and a high line.
Once considered one of the best centre-backs in the league, he’s now stylistically unsuited to his current club and Tottenham, with Jose Mourinho now in charge could take advantage.
It’s believed they have been quoted £55million to land the Slovakian but its likely Levy can negotiate this fee down.
Meanwhile, a striker has long been a necessity for Spurs and Vinicius could now become Harry Kane’s latest backup.
Vinicius emerged as one of Europe’s top goalscorers during his first season with Benfica
Vincent Janssen and Fernando Llorente have come and gone and now the Brazilian could be the perfect man to help give Kane a break while not altering Spurs’ style.
Vinicius has taken a long and winding road to the top, which included signing for Napoli back in 2018 but not playing a single game for them.
It was his loan spell with Rio Ave which boosted his profile, while he also spent as a backup for Monaco in 2018/19 behind Radamel Falcao.
Last season, though, having signed for Benfica permanently in a £15.5m deal he showed what he was all about as he ended the year as the Portuguese league’s top scorer, netting 18 times in 32 games.
In the heat map above from smarterscout.com we can see the striker very much plays toward the left of the penalty area, which could see him link well with Heung-Min Son.
He makes a lot of shorter passes in an around the penalty area, while he’s not afraid to dribble, unlikely many strikers of a similar 6ft 2in frame.
Below, his goal map illustrates how he gets into the right area to score – only five are outside the frame of the goal – so he’s got the movement to get into threatening positions.
Although, a mild concern may be his tendency to shoot to his left, but this can be worked on.
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How Tottenham could look with Skriniar and Vinicius
In the, perhaps, unlikely event the duo start in the same side as the other new signings this summer, a 4-4-2 formation is the natural starting point.
Within this we would see Vinicius occupy a more traditional centre-forward role, with Kane dropping back slightly deeper to help create, just as he did against Southampton.
The England captain’s all-round ability makes this a real possibility, while the thought of him arriving slightly late into the penalty area will frighten defences.
He might even find some extra room between the lines so he can get off some of his excellent long range shots leaving the Brazilian to mop up chances from close range.
Kane has needed a deputy since the exit of Llorente last summer
This formation would push Gareth Bale and Heung-Min Son a little deeper but in possession the duo will always be marauding forward at pace, it would take a lot to hold them back.
A central midfield of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Giovani Lo Celso offers graft and technique aplenty, but there isn’t much room for the likes of Moussa Sissoko, Harry WInks, Dele Alli, or Tanguy Ndombele, which makes the squad look very bloated.
In the back-line, new boys Doherty and Reguilon are the obvious picks at full-back, and Skriniar should play on the right side, possibly taking over from Toby Alderweireld.
Across the season, though, he will likely be alongside the Belgian at some point, and probably Davinson Sanchez too.
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