With Tottenham set to start the Premier League season and the clubs transfer activity fading out, I wanted to talk about whether Spurs should’ve moved for Yannick Bolasie.
Following the signing of Andros Townsend and the attempt to move for Cristian Benteke, Palace appear to be happy to part with Bolasie for the right price. Everton have agreed a deal according to Sky Sports, but should Tottenham have made a bid?
With a deal for Georges-Kévin N’Koudou continuing to stall, Tottenham should perhaps be looking at alternative attacking options.
Whilst time will tell if the likes of Vincent Janssen and possibly N’Koudou can succeed in the Premier League, Bolasie has already done it and whilst his record of 5 goals and 3 assists in 26 league games last season is not great, I think Bolasie is a player who can improve his end product a lot in a team like Tottenham. Due to Crystal Palace’s style of play, Bolasie didn’t get much of an opportunity to inflict his damage last season. At Tottenham, with the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Erik Lamela and Cristian Eriksen alongside him, Bolasie could seriously make his mark in the Premier League.
Bolasie is a seriously strong direct threat on the wing, but he can also play as an attacking midfielder or a striker and that versatility would certainly be welcomed at a club that currently lacks attacking diversity. One statistic that really stands out to me when looking at his overall performance is his successful take ons. He managed an incredible 75 take ons, that’s 3.25 per 90. He’s an extremely positive player that made more forward passes (11.84) than backwards (10.02) last season: statistics via Squawka.
For all the brilliance that the likes of Lamela and Eriksen can offer, I do feel that Tottenham would benefit by adding an attacking midfielder like Bolasie who is more direct and has more pace. It is the pace and power that Bolasie has that would have really made him a useful addition as even Kane can lack those qualities.
Bolasie had 3 years to run on his current contract at Palace and unfortunately, that has seen his price sky rocket. The amount of money in the Premier League means that the ‘smaller’ clubs no longer have to sell their most valuable assets. A great example is Crystal Palace, who are officially sponsored by Mansion Group that responsible for other successful brands like Mansion Casino. That has led to Bolasie’s value reaching around £30million. For that money, perhaps Tottenham were right to avoid him but with the market in its current state and in order to compete at the very top, should Tottenham be paying up?
At around £20million, I think this would’ve been a good move for Tottenham but when you pay £30million you expect to sign a more established player, especially considering that Bolasie is hardly young, aged 27. I think if he had scored more goals he would be worth the £30million, but his current ability can’t justify that price tag. It’ll be interesting to see how he performs at Everton should a move go through.
Have your say on this by commenting below, I’d love to hear your thoughts.
