Tottenham News Scout: Tottenham should swoop for ‘untouchable’ Roma defender Roger Ibanez
Tottenham News is delighted to welcome Matthew Chadder as our exclusive columnist for our ‘Spurs Scout’ features. Each week, he’ll be providing his expertise on researching players to give insight on the biggest talking points at Spurs…
Tottenham have a big summer ahead as they look to revamp a tired squad with a new manager at the helm and Brazillian international Roger Ibanez could be one of many fresh faces at the club.
Spurs need to press the reset button and finally undergo that “painful rebuild” now Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino called for many years ago while still with the club.
Ever since the Champions League final Spurs have been in a steady decline – excluding a strong end to 2021/22 which saw Antonio Conte guide the North London club to a top-four finish.
Too many players have been at the club for too long, and now, under new manager Ange Postecoglou, Spurs need to bring in some fresh faces. One of those fresh faces could reportedly be Ibanez who plays as a centre-back for Roma under former Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho.
As reported by Gazzetta dello Sport (5 June), Ibanez could be sold by the Italian club in order to raise funds and Tottenham are the most interested Premier League team in his services.
Here, Spurs Scout has had a look into the player and identified whether or not he would be a good fit.
Superpower – Front-foot defending
The statistics suggest that the Brazillian is clearly a no-nonsense defender who enjoys defending aggressively and on the front foot.
As per stats provided by FBREF, Ibanez was in the top seven per cent of Serie A defenders last season for interceptions made per 90, making 2.12. As well as this, the area of the field he is doing his tackling in suggests he enjoys engaging higher up the pitch.
Naturally, the defender made most of his tackles in the defensive third, making 1.22 per 90. However, this only put him in the 69th percentile in regard to this particular statistic among his positional peers in the league.
In the middle third, however, Ibanez was in the 87th percentile for tackles made, making 0.84 per 90. This clearly demonstrates that compared to most defenders in the league he is more equipped to tackle higher up the pitch.
Shooting and getting involved in the attack is another one of the 24-year-old’s strengths. He made 0.32 shots on target per 90 last season, putting him in the top four per cent of Serie A defenders and scored three goals, a rate of 0.10 per 90 which put him in the top eight per cent.
Ibanez is also clearly comfortable moving forward with possession, attempting 0.71 take-ons per 90 and completing 0.42 of those per 90, which placed him in the 91st and 89th percentile for these statistics, respectively.
Weakness – Sloppy passing and concentration
The stats suggest that Roma’s reliable defender is not a ball-playing centre-back, which could make a transition to the Premier League tricky unless he was able to quickly adapt.
Italian teams have long been known for defensive styles of play and low blocks, rather than possession-based passing football and it seems Ibanez in particular has fallen into that pattern.
The centre-back’s 53.53 passes attempted per 90 placed him in the 55th percentile in regard to this particular statistic and his pass completion rate was just 47.06 per cent.
Roma legend Vincent Candela recently backed Ibanez but gave him a word of warning when speaking with Corriere Dello Sport, via Romapress, “Ibanez can become one of the world’s best defenders, but he must work on his concentration.”
How much will Ibanez cost?
According to the report in Gazzetta, Roma values Ibanez somewhere between £30million and £35million.
For Tottenham, that is a price which should be more than achievable and with the club being able to offer Ibanez Premier League wages in any potential move, there is no reason why money should be a stumbling block in this reported interest.
Whether or not Spurs believe he is worth the fee, however, is a different question entirely.
Where would Ibanez fit in at Tottenham?
If Tottenham were to go and sign the defender, he could certainly be moulded to Postecoglou’s style. The Australian coach enjoys a high-pressing and aggressive style of football which stats suggest Ibanez could certainly be accustomed to.
Of course, with the levels of the Premier League being so demanding, the Brazillian would very quickly need to become comfortable on the ball and with his passing in order to thrive in English football.
Ibanez would slot straight into Tottenham’s first-team squad if he were to arrive and could certainly be brought in as a starter with Spurs’ current centre-back options not performing entirely convincingly, especially after the club shipped 63 goals during the league last season.
Should Tottenham buy Ibanez?
The club are certainly in need of defensive reinforcements and could look at Ibanez as a real option. The young defender has shown consistent levels of performance in Italy and lifted the Conference League with Roma in 2022.
He still has plenty of time to improve and work on the weaknesses in his game however the raw talent and potential are clearly there for all to see. The reported fee is not particularly high and is certainly good value for money for the player Tottenham would be bringing in.
Learning his trade for the past couple of seasons under one of the greatest defensive coaches of all time in Mourinho would have certainly helped.
And the Portuguese himself only has positive things to say, speaking to the official club website on 8 November 2022, the legendary coach said, “I have a lot of respect for someone that, from the first day I got here, has given everything he has. And, on more than one occasion, even when he has had a few issues.”
“For me he is untouchable. There is nothing more to be said.”
With praise that high coming from a man of Mourinho’s calibre, Tottenham should certainly be on the phone with Roma.
In other Tottenham news, the stats suggest there is another player the club should be making their move for.