Rio Ferdinand blown away by ‘unreal’ Pedro Porro development under Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham
The improvements Ange Postecoglou has made to Tottenham since taking charge can be seen right across the pitch, from goalkeeper through to the forwards.
An often unheralded part of the team – although increasingly less so in the modern day – is that of the full-backs and what they can bring to the team at both ends of the field.
In Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro, Spurs have a couple of wide defenders – or should that be midfielders? – who are anything but under the radar.
They provide an attacking threat, as highlighted by their combined 10 direct goal involvements in the league this term, can defend and also provide an all around balance to the side.
Indeed, in the view of Rio Ferdinand, one of the Premier League’s all-time great defenders, there is no better full-back partnership anywhere in the division right now.
“As a pair, they’re the two most in-form full-backs in the league,” he said on his Vibe With Five podcast [15 January, 20m 8s]. “They can play inside like new full-backs. Porro can dribble out under pressure.”
Porro has been sensational this campaign, with his seven assists already the most a Spurs defender has ever managed in a single Premier League campaign [Squawka].
The fact he reached that figure after just 20 appearances makes it all the more remarkable, and you imagine he is only going to add to that tally further.
As per FBref, Porro has generated an expected assisted goals (xAG) return of 6.0 this season, which is bettered by only only four other players in the league, one of those being team-mate Son Heung-min (6.1).
It highlights that, while sometimes a player’s assists total can be enhanced thanks to the finishing of team-mates, that is not quite the case with Porro.
Tottenham fans have been aware of Porro’s attacking qualities for a while, but the defensive side of his game has come on leaps and bounds under Postecoglou.
Indeed, the 43 tackles the 24-year-old has registered in the Premier League this season is the second-best return, bettered only by Joao Palhinha (47), who is of course a holding midfielder.
Porro’s 11 attacking third tackles, meanwhile, are bettered only by Bukayo Saka (13), which highlights the fact he is able to win the ball back at both ends of the field.
It was not always like this, though. As Ferdinand added: “Udogie and Porro – the way the manager has improved those two…
“Porro, I was caning him last year. I was asking ‘how have they paid that money for him?’. He was horrendous last year. A new manager comes in and he’s a new player, unreal – a bargain.”
If Porro has been capturing plenty of attention for his performances, the same is true of Udogie, albeit on arguably a slightly lesser scale.
The Italy international has just two assists, compared to Porro’s seven, but he also found the net himself in the Premier League this season in the 4-1 win over Newcastle.
In that match on 10 December, not only was Udogie a serious attacking threat, he also helped keep things ticking along for Spurs in a dominant display.
That is best reflected in his 91-per-cent pass-accuracy return, which was the best of any Spurs player who started the contest [WhoScored].
Udogie’s two clearances that day were bettered only by Ben Davies (four), meanwhile, despite his average position that day effectively being as a left-sided attacker.
That game was a snapshot of his whole campaign, as Udogie ranks highly in the defensive actions, such as being joint-top among Spurs players for interceptions per game (1.3) and second for fouls per game (1.7).
It is Udogie’s ability to get up the field when on the ball that garners the most plaudits, though, as reflected by his 1.53 take-ons per 90 minutes, placing him in the top 11 percentile among all full-backs in Europe’s top five leagues.
Udogie also ranks in the top 15 per cent for pass-completion percentage (83.8%), as per FBref, and in the top 12 per cent for progressive carries – carries that move the ball forward at least 10 years towards the opposition’s goal.
As Ferdinand was right to point out, this improvement from both players is mainly down to Postecoglou and the system he has adopted in North London.
If the pair have improved this much in the space of six months, then Spurs really could have a couple of truly world-class defenders on their hands in the not-too-distant future.
In other Tottenham news, Spurs’ position among the richest clubs in the world has been revealed.