As Pedro Porro completed his move to Tottenham he became the fourth right back signed in less than four years since selling Kieran Trippier to Atletico Madrid.
Spurs banked £20million for Trippier in the summer of 2019, at a time when they also had Serge Aurier and Kyle Walker-Peters and boss Mauricio Pochettino was tinkering with Juan Foyth at right back.
In 2020, they signed Matt Doherty for £14.7m. In 2021, they spent £25m on Emerson Royal. In 2022, they signed Djed Spence in a deal worth up to £20m. Now, they have completed the £40m deal for Porro from Sporting. That is a total outlay close to £100m on right backs.
Pedro Porro (pictured) signed for Tottenham from Sporting Lisbon on transfer deadline day© Provided by Daily Mail
Djed Spence has been loaned out to French club Rennes© Provided by Daily Mail
Matt Dhoerty has joined Atletico Madrid© Provided by Daily Mail
Still, they cannot be sure they have the solution to the problem, but they will expect 23-year-old Porro, who joins initially on loan before the move becomes permanent in July, to transfer his fine form from Portugal into English football.
His strengths ought to suit Antonio Conte, who likes his wing backs to have the creative qualities of a winger allied to stamina, strength and an ability to work back and adopt his often detailed strategic defensive instruction.
Porro is primarily attack-minded, creates chances and can score goals. Conte will trust he has the presence of mind to quickly grasp his tactical method and provide him with what he considers a complete wing back on the right.
Brazilian Emerson Royal (pictured) has also not been a complete success since signing in 2021© Provided by Daily Mail
It did not work out that way for Doherty, who has now joined Atletico Madrid following the termination of his Spurs contract, signed from Wolves when Jose Mourinho was Spurs boss and nor has it worked entirely for Royal, signed under Nuno Espirito Santo.
Nor Spence, who was signed last summer from Middlesbrough and has not forced Conte to reconsider his first impressions, that he was too inexperienced and not ready for the Premier League.
Spence rejected several options to take a loan at Rennes, where he hopes regular football will prove the key to recapturing the form of last season, when on loan at Nottingham Forest.
Spurs boss Antonio Conte values creativity, strength and work rate in his full backs© Provided by Daily Mail
Recruitment and continuity problems lie at the heart of all this.
Tottenham are firmly in the habit of signing players for huge fees and then farming them out on loan within a matter of months because the manager has changed and deems that player surplus to requirements or never really wanted him in the first place, like Conte with Spence.
Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso fit neatly into the same category. As does Joe Rodon, already on loan at Rennes.
As does Bryan Gil, who was signed from Sevilla in 2021 for £25m plus Erik Lamela. Gil will spend the rest of this season back on loan at Sevilla, who still have Lamela.
They all represent expensive mistakes in the market. The success ratio has improved since Fabio Paratici took over the recruitment division in the summer of 2021.
Paratici’s future is in serious doubt, however, since the 30-month ban handed out by the Italian FA, relating to the valuation of deals done when sporting director of Juventus and expected to be extended globally by FIFA.
There is work to do for chairman Daniel Levy in this department but, in the short term at least, Porro and Dutch international forward Arnaut Danjuma, on loan with an option to buy from Villarreal, should satisfy Conte’s desire to keep developing his team and produce a positive end to a hitherto underwhelming season.
Chairman Daniel Levy may be concerned about the number of players signed by Spurs for large fees who are then farmed out on loan
Source: msn
