A lot of English clubs are surprisingly yet to make an impact in the summer transfer window so far, despite a host of players making moves from one club to another. Tottenham Hotspur is amongst those clubs yet to start their transfer campaign so far. Spurs have looked very promising in the past few seasons, and last season, they finished as the second-placed side in the Premier League.
Mauricio Pochettino should really look to strengthen his squad even more, as they once prepare themselves for Champions League football. And the recent rumours does look promising! According to reports, Tottenham are readying themselves for the swoop of two Bundesliga stars, in Max Meyer of Schalke and Matthias Ginter of Borussia Dortmund.
Max Meyer looks to be the real deal for Tottenham and the Premier League as well. The Lilywhites were halted in their pursuit of the German U-21 star last summer, when Schalke slapped a massive £39m price tag for the attacking midfielders, forcing Pochettino to make a hurried deadline day decision to sign £30m flop Moussa Sissoko. However, because of Meyer’s breakdown in contract renewal talks with Schalke, his price has now dropped by half, and the 21-year-old is all set to leave his boyhood club.
Tottenham scouts were at Poland, to see Meyer score his team’s opener in their 2:0 win over the Czech Republic at the Euros Under-21 Finals. It’s been reported that the club is preparing a £17.5 million move for the German International.
But is he really worth the value?
Max Meyer has long been admired as one of Germany’s finest young talents ever since he made his breakthrough at Schalke roughly two years ago. A midfield dynamo, who is extremely efficient with his passing and running despite his shortage of height. He mostly features as a central attacking midfielder who has the tendency to start off counter attacks in Schalke’s counter attacking game. He often bridges the gap between the midfield and offence, acting as a transitional midfielder in advanced positions. Meyer is a very handy customer when it comes to playing an offensively high pressured situation, as he likes to nip the ball from the feet of the defender or at least put a substantial amount of pressure, which eventually results in defensive errors.
However, Meyer’s value in the Schalke team has substantially decreased, since the appointment of Markus Weinzierl and with the superb form of newcomer Nabil Bentaleb. In fact, the former Tottenham midfielder has outshone the German Under-21 so far. Meyer created only 29 chance for his team, which is fourth most in the team but lags behind Leon Goretzka, Nabil Bentaleb, Johannes Geis and Choupo Moting.
He hasn’t been flashy for the Royal Blues this season and sometimes, lacked the individual quality to break through the opposition by himself. He barely helped his side in the defensive department, averaging just one defensive action per games. In addition, he also won just 13 out of his 20 take-ons this season which is pretty bad especially for an attacker who roams in advanced positions throughout the entirety of the game.
Should he be a better option compared to other Spurs attackers? I’d say no. Meyer’s definitely not as good as Christian Eriksen, who has created a whopping 111 chances this season. While Erik Lamela matched 66% of Meyer’s total tally of chance creation in just nine games. However, he surely is a better option than transfer flop Moussa Sissoko and a fee of just £17.5 million seems perfect for Arsenal’s arch rivals. Even though he’s in no rush of leaving Schalke, which means he could end up being available for free next summer unless Spurs get ready to meet Schalke’s requirement for the German whizkid.
