Spurs never had to look back since they appointed Mauricio Pochettino as the head coach of the club in 2014. This is Pochettino’s third season at White Hart Lane and the work he has done in such a small span of time is remarkable, to say the least. From a side that struggled to make it to top four, Spurs are now one of the frontrunners for the title and the credit mostly goes to the gaffer.
Spurs are one of the major powerhouses in the Premier League now and that is getting well-reflected in the transfer market as Spurs are nowadays getting linked with big players. Media house talkSPORT claims that Spurs are interested in bringing in FC Koln left-back Jonas Hector but they will face competition from the likes of Liverpool and Inter Milan.
Hector is quite a familiar player in European football right now thanks to his brilliant displays for both club and country. The 26-year-old is a regular in Joachim Low’s German national team now and boasts 24 senior caps for Die Mannschaft now. However, not taking away anything from Hector, Spurs do not really need the 26-year-old if we look carefully.
Danny Rose is Spurs’ first-choice left-back by some distance and that was once again proven when the English international extended his contract with the Lilywhites last month committing his future to the North London side until 2021. Pochettino wants his full-backs to bomb forward on every opportunity and Rose does exactly that. The 26-year-old English international is one of the best attacking full-backs in the Premier League right now if not the world.
Spurs have a decent cover for Rose in Welsh international Ben Davies who is also a quality player and is a long-term project considering that he is just 23. Hector is undoubtedly a world-class left-back but Spurs do not need him right now. Hector’s career is craving for a step-up now from Koln but he will also be looking for regular first-team opportunities which he won’t get at White Hart Lane.
If we compare Hector’s attacking duties with Rose’s, it would be clearly visible why Rose is much better-suited for the kind of game Spurs play. Rose has made as many as 32.50 forward passes on an average this season compared to Hector’s 20.33. Hector’s backward passes every game is 16.50 while Rose has played only 11 backward passes every game.
Even though Rose’s game is mostly about his attacking forays and deadly crosses, it would be wrong to presume that he is not a good defender. Rose’s average defensive actions every game this season has been 11 (3.50 tackles, 2.25 interceptions, 0.25 blocks and 5 clearances) whereas Hector’s average defensive actions are 7.66 (1.50 tackles, 3 interceptions, 0.33 blocks and 2.83 clearances). So, it is quite evident that Spurs do not need Hector and should avoid breaking the bank for the highly-wanted defender.
Stats courtesy- Squawka
