Tottenham Hotspur have put a lot of faith in incoming right-back Pedro Porro this month, as Antonio Conte‘s side made the decision to loan out Djed Spence to Rennes and remarkably release Matt Doherty on deadline day.
Tottenham Hotspur’s Matt Doherty and manager Antonio Conte celebrate after the match
Fabio Paratici was able to get a deal done for the Sporting Lisbon defender with plenty of time to spare, with the Spaniard likely to compete with Emerson Royal for a starting spot at right wing-back for the remainder of the campaign.
So far, Conte has alternated between the Brazilian and Doherty in that position, with Spence failing to get much of a look in since his summer switch from Middlesbrough, so it is a bold decision by Paratici to get rid of the Republic of Ireland international completely.
Although he perhaps hasn’t lived up to expectations since joining from Wolves in 2020, he had still made 12 appearances in the Premier League this season and certainly wasn’t amongst the poorest performers, with WhoScored awarding him a 6.70 average rating for his displays in the top flight.
However, the 31-year-old has now joined Atletico Madrid after his Spurs contract was cancelled by mutual consent, in a move which could see him follow in the footsteps of former Spurs man Kieran Trippier.
The Englishman would swap north London for Madrid in 2019, eventually helping Diego Simeone’s side to the La Liga title during his spell in Spain before returning to England with Newcastle United this time last year.
He has since established himself as one of, if not the, very best right-backs in the division, playing a huge role in the Toon’s drastic turnaround following the Saudi takeover at St James’ Park.
This season has seen Trippier make 20 appearances in the top flight, in which he has contributed one goal and four assists, averaging a phenomenal 7.71 rating from WhoScored for his performances, with the 32-year-old showing no signs of slowing down.
Harry Kane’s 7.49 average rating sees him ranked as the best performer in Conte’s squad so far this campaign, so it could definitely be described as a disaster by Daniel Levy to let Trippier go back in 2019.
While Doherty is also struggling for consistent form at Spurs, he was dubbed “sensational” in 2022 after a superb performance against Leeds United, so perhaps just needed a regular run in the team to find his best form.
If he can impress with Atletico Madrid and see his value increase then the Irishman could well be looking at an Indian summer of his own with Spurs potentially set to repeat their blunder of a decision on Trippier.
Source: msn
