Tottenham should move on from Lloyd Kelly transfer in January as billionaire owner shuts down deal
The January transfer window is just around the corner and the priority for Tottenham Hotspur is clear, Ange Postecoglou needs a new centre-back.
Injuries have seen Spurs down to their barebones, particularly at the heart of defence and the Tottenham boss has been open about his desire to sign at least one new option when the window opens in the new year.
One name that has been consistently linked with a move to North London over the last few months has been Lloyd Kelly, with Alasdair Gold [29 September] suggesting that Spurs may look to sign the Bournemouth defender in January having held an interest in the summer.
However, Tottenham’s pursuit of the 25-year-old may have hit a bump as billionaire Bournemouth owner Bill Foley has vowed that the Cherries’ door is “closed and bolted” and they have no interest in selling any of their players in the January transfer window [talkSPORT, 14 December].
Kelly has been in phenomenal form when fit so far this season and would represent a great option for Spurs in the January window. His last appearance came against Sheffield United at left-back where he went about his business incredibly well.
The 25-year-old created two chances in the 45 minutes he played, as he found a teammate with 79 per cent of his 33 attempted passes. Seven of those efforts were into the final third and he even completed 100 per cent of his attempted dribbles to demonstrate his quality on the ball [Fotmob].
Out of possession, Kelly was almost faultless. He won three of his four duels in the match and managed to come away with possession in 100 per cent of his aerial battles. Despite entering that many battles against the opposition forward line, Kelly didn’t commit a single foul.
Throughout last season, the Bournemouth defender managed to tackle 68.4 per cent of players who attempted to dribble past him, a figure that placed him in the top 25 per cent of Premier League centre-backs, despite Bournemouth’s low league position [Fbref].
When he enters a challenge, it’s very rare that the England youth international doesn’t come away with the ball. On average last season, he only lost 0.26 battles per game which places him in the top 20 per cent of his positional peers.
However, it is Kelly’s ability on the ball that sets him apart from most defenders in. the Premier League. He is capable of playing both as a centre-back and a left-back, but he is a much more creative presence than most defenders in the division.
Few centre-backs play more passes into the penalty area a game, last season the 25-year-old placed in the 86th percentile of his positional peers for balls into the opposition box per 90 minutes and the 91st for crosses into the penalty area.
The quality of Kelly’s delivery saw him exceed his expected assist rate, sitting in the top nine per cent of defenders for assists made per 90 minutes despite being in the bottom 49 per cent for expected assisted goals.
Kelly’s current contract on the south coast expires at the end of the season. If Tottenham genuinely want to sign him, they would be better off attempting to arrange a free transfer in the summer, rather than attempting to break Bournemouth’s resolve in January.
The Cherries will be reluctant to sell such an important player midway through a campaign and therefore they’ll only drive his price up. Spurs would be much better off revisiting their interest come the end of the campaign and instead look to other options in January.
In other Tottenham Hotspur news, Darren Bent has urged Spurs to avoid signing Kalvin Phillips during the January transfer window