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Left-back Danny Rose’s time at Tottenham Hotspur appears to almost be up. The England international has spoken out recently about his future – stating that he aims to see out the remaining 18 months left on his contract with the club – but reports are now coming in that he could leave North London in January.
Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho appears to have made his mind up; he’s been using Jan Vertonghen as a makeshift left-back recently despite Rose being available, but with the Belgian also out of contract this summer, it’s clear that he’s not a long-term solution.
That means Tottenham could be in the market for a left-back soon, and so here are 3 potential replacements for Danny Rose at the club.
1. Lucas Digne
Prising a star player away from a fellow Premier League club might be tricky these days, even for the ‘Big Six’, but with chaos currently reigning at Everton – with the club about to appoint a new boss in Carlo Ancelotti after firing Marco Silva weeks ago – and the team struggling for results on the pitch, it could be the right time for Tottenham to make a move for the outstanding Lucas Digne.
The left-back has arguably been the Toffees’ most outstanding performer this season; even as Everton’s defence has crumbled around him, with the centre-back pairing changing seemingly week-to-week, the Frenchman has performed well, starting in all of their Premier League games and registering 3 assists thus far.
Digne is no one-season wonder, either; in 2018-19 he scored 4 goals and registered 4 assists in 35 games, earning 4 Man of the Match awards from WhoScored.com in the process. An able defender – averaging 2.4 successful tackles per game this season – who can also contribute tremendously to attacks, the 26-year old Frenchman is in the prime of his career right now, and would definitely be an excellent replacement for Danny Rose at Spurs.
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2. Alejandro Grimaldo
Benfica’s 24-year old left-back Alejandro ‘Alex’ Grimaldo might’ve suffered from some injury problems over the past few seasons – he was sidelined on 3 occasions in 2017-18, for instance – but the Spaniard is still a fantastic talent who would certainly fit the bill for Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham side as a replacement for Danny Rose.
Grimaldo has pace, technical ability and a tremendous passing range – averaging a success rate of 84% in the Primeira Liga season thus far – but he also ranks highly in more defensive statistics too, averaging highly when it comes to tackles, interceptions and clearances. Offensively, the Spaniard is dangerous too – he’s registered 6 assists in his 14 league games thus far, and is known as a dead-ball specialist.
At 24 years old, Grimaldo is probably not quite in his prime just yet, and that’d make him an attractive proposition for a side like Tottenham too; the club likely wouldn’t need to break the bank to bring him in, and he’s young enough to be moulded into the image of a modern left-back that a boss like Mourinho would require. Essentially, he ticks all the boxes.
3. Alex Telles
Brazil’s 27-year old left back Alex Telles almost certainly fits the bill when it comes to a potential Jose Mourinho signing at Tottenham. The Brazilian has been at Mourinho’s old club – FC Porto – since the start of the 2016-17 season, and over that time he’s improved his overall game to become recognised as one of the world’s best in his position.
Telles has plenty of experience – he’s played for Galatasaray in Turkey and Inter Milan in Italy, and has over 30 Champions League appearances to his name with Porto – and boasts fantastic statistics in both offensive and defensive play. The current season has seen him deliver 4 goals and 4 assists in just 13 appearances in the Primeira Liga, and he also averages 2.1 key passes per game.
Perhaps most curiously though, Telles is also represented by super-agent Jorge Mendes – who of course, also represents Mourinho. At practically every club he’s managed at, the Portuguese boss has brought in players represented by Mendes – meaning that even though he’s slightly older than Tottenham’s usual type of signings, a move for Telles could definitely make sense for the North London side.
