Tottenham Hotspur – Transfer Window Ranking: January 2022/23

Tottenham Hotspur have had a window that went slightly under the radar. Sure enough, they did not spend big; although their squad has undoubtedly improved by some smart acquisitions. Antonio Conte has got the players he likes that fit the system that the Italian manager is trying to impose on his Spurs side.

Pedro Porro – (Loan) €5M

✍️ We are pleased to announce the signing of Pedro Porro from Sporting CP.

Welcome to Spurs, @Pedroporro29_! 💙

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 31, 2023

It’s a very different transfer storyline than most, Pedro Porro seemed like an uncatchable star that Tottenham wished for at a point. With talks completely breaking down and the deal seemingly off for a couple of days after long and strenuous negotiations with Sporting, it felt like it wouldn’t happen. But it did. And Spurs did get their man.

Porro is a brilliant right-sided full-back/wingback who has been on the radar of Europe’s top clubs for a while now. A proficient wingback in the system at Sporting, he’s been putting in top performance after top performance since he moved to Portugal from Manchester City. Yes, Porro was a City player at one point.

The Spaniard is an all-round complete player. Playing as the widest attacker in Sporting’s 3 at the back system, he marauds his flank putting in a shift both in attack and in defense. He’s excellent at driving upfield with the ball with his dribbling, & shows really good athleticism and pace and he often tends to go infield too. Porro is very similar to Chelsea’s Reece James in his gameplay & abilities.

He’s a wide playmaker in terms of profiles. But he is equally good off the ball too. A ferocious presser, Porro likes to defend on his front foot, knowing that his pace will often make up for any mistakes that could contrive to occur. His decision-making can be slightly off at both ends of the field at times; making the wrong pass or dribbling when not needed offensively and being caught by feints and fakes when defending. However, his pace redeems any errors made in those situations.

In terms of how this transfer impacts Spurs; Porro could be a quintessential signing. Having failed to replace Kieran Trippier since his move away, with rather unimpressive replacements in Matt Doherty and Emerson Royal; Tottenham needed to address this position for a while now and with an eye on the future especially in Conte’s system where WBs hold high importance in all phases of play.

Arnaut Danjuma – (Loan) €3M

✍️ We are pleased to announce the signing of Arnaut Danjuma from Villarreal.

Welcome to Spurs, Arnaut! 💙

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) January 25, 2023

Yet another loan move, this time a different story from that of Porro; Danjuma was set for his move to Everton for a good length of the window until Spurs snatched the Dutchman in the final days before the winter window slammed shit. Lampard expected Danjuma, only to lose Anthony Gordon and eventually his place as manager on Merseyside.

Danjuma comes in with plenty of talent that is not widely known around Europe since he played for Spanish minnows Villareal. His name began to come to the forefront of the media during the Yellow Submarines’ historic run to the Champions League semis last season, defeating Bayern Munich in the quarters.

He’s a typical secondary striker who can also play as a left-sided winger. He makes effective off-the-ball runs to drag defenders and exploit space for himself, and he works best when he has runners around him; which shouldn’t be an issue at Tottenham. 

His best skillsets would be the direct nature and tenacity in his play, which fits perfectly into Conte’s style of play. He has often been deployed on the left flank recently, although granted freedom to come inside whenever needed. He offers very little defensively though, which needs to be worked on considering the change from Villareal to Tottenham, given Spurs play more pragmatically than the La Liga side.

Danjuma’s arrival is guaranteed to reduce the workload of Son and Kulusevski. He could even partner with Kane upfront although the chances of such a system are lesser viable on the horizon. However, he will be a key addition to the Spurs squad in terms of experience and depth, given the injury problems that have nagged Spurs’ offensive players all through the season.

Alfie Whiteman – Return from Loan

Another incoming, although one that may not make any impact at all was the return of Alfie Whiteman from his loan at Swedish side Degerfors. Whiteman is expected to be the third-choice keeper for the rest of the season, although, with Lloris’ injury, he could enjoy the number 2 spot behind Fraser Forster, of course until the captain returns.

Summary

Total Amount Spent: €8m in loan fees (Porro has a €39m obligatory buy clause that will be activated in the summer)

Number of Players Brought in: 2

Tottenham’s chase of Porro bore fruit in the end, and it will be a crucial one too, considering how depleted they were at that position with Spence leaving on loan and Doherty leaving for Atleti. Danjuma was an opportunistic yet well-executed acquisition that may surprise a lot of people but a decisive one nonetheless.

Although, overall they still seem a bit short in certain positions, such as in midfield, where they could be stretched coming towards the end of the season. However, overall, it was shrewd business by Levy, but it might not be enough to carry the North Londoners into the Champions League places.

Grade: B+

Also read: Chelsea – Transfer Window Ranking: January 2022/23