Opinion: The centre-back that Tottenham are crying out for
Recently, Gianluca Di Marzio revealed that Tottenham were in advanced talks with Nuno Espiritu Santo but also declared that French international, Jules Koundé was now the club’s “first target as central defender”.
Interestingly, Fabrizio Romano followed this up by stating that Koundé could leave for less than the €80m (approx. £68m) release clause in his contract with Sevilla, whilst he is valued at £54m according to Transfermarkt.
Regardless, Tottenham will most likely have to sell a few players before they attempt to sign the 22-year-old.
One of these outgoings could be Davinson Sanchez who, in fact, has been previously linked with Sevilla for €40m (El Gol Digital); perhaps he could be used in a swap deal which would see Koundé move the other way.
Nonetheless, this is what Koundé could bring to the team if Spurs are able to pull this transfer off…
Firstly, what Tottenham have been sorely missing this season in defence is composure. Too many times Spurs have dropped points because of silly mistakes from the defence. Jules Koundé has bundles of confidence and always looks comfortable on the ball no matter how much pressure he is put under.
Not only does he have a wide range of passing, but he is a very assured defender and never seems phased by any situation he is faced with, almost reminiscent of Liverpool ace, Virgil Van Dijk.
I believe that this composure and leadership is what makes him such a unique player, and it does not surprise me that he is regarded as one of the best young centre-halves in the world.
Furthermore, another thing about Koundé is that he is deceptively strong in the air despite being 5’10” which is considered rather short for a centre half.
He won 3 aerial duels per 90 in La Liga in 2020/21. To put this into perspective, Eric Dier won 3.1 per 90 in the Premier League this season – the highest of any Spurs centre half (whoscored.com).
Of course, it should be noted that the Frenchman can play at right-back as he has done for the national team at Euro 2020 so far, displacing Bayern Munich player, Benjamin Pavard.
Hopefully, he could also provide healthy competition for Spurs’ first-choice right-back next season, whoever that may be.
The signing of Jules Koundé would be a huge statement of intent ahead of next season and hopefully, Levy can get the deal over the line.
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