In a recent interview with Give Me Sport, journalist Pete O’Rourke tipped Tottenham Hotspur to land Atalanta playmaker Ruslan Malinovskyi. O’Rourke said, “He’s a good player – a Ukrainian International who can play further forward in midfield, score goals and create goals.
“I think, ideally, that’s something Antonio Conte wants to add to his side – somebody who can maybe provide goals from midfield and also creates assists as well. Malinovskyi, I think, ticks a lot of boxes for Tottenham, and this is a deal they’re definitely exploring to try and do in January.”
Malinovskyi’s Limited Role In Italian Football This Season
The 29-year-old is having a decent campaign in Serie A as he has managed to put in a few eye-catching displays for Atalanta in the final third despite being a sporadic presence in their first XI. Malinovskyi has made 14 appearances for the Italian club in the league, registering two goals and two assists on all fronts.
The talented attacker has appeared as a substitute more often than not but has done well to average 1.0 tackles, 1.4 shots and 0.9 key passes per 90 minutes in Serie A. He has even been excellent when distributing the ball in the final third, as evidenced by his pass completion rate of 79.5% in league football (stats via whoscored).
What Will Malinovskyi Bring To Tottenham Hotspur?
Malinovskyi can get stuck in with some solid tackles to make life difficult for the opposition defenders and is proficient at generating space for himself to get a few shots in on-target. He has got the vision to cut open the opposition defence with a killer pass in the final third but needs to be more consistent with his offensive productivity if he wants to establish himself as a top attacking threat in European football. Malinovskyi is primarily an attacking midfielder but can also operate as a box-to-box midfielder or as a secondary striker if required.
The Ukrainian sensation has got a lot of experience under his belt but is still unproven at the highest level. We can expect Malinovskyi to increase competition for places within Tottenham boss Antonio Conte’s squad.
Malinovskyi could even bring some goals and creativity to Spurs‘ attack if he can make a smooth transition to life in English football. With all things considered, it makes sense for the North London club to engineer a move to secure the services of the Ukraine international this winter as he could help them compete across all competitions in the coming seasons.
