Matthew Chadder

Mon 24 July 2023 12:00, UK

Tottenham might soon be in the market for a brand new central-midfielder.

Ange Postecoglou has officially begun his Tottenham Hotspur reign after leading out the North London club for a friendly with West Ham Down Under.

It is an era that will bring with it a very different style of football from what supporters would have become used to seeing under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte.

The Italian and Portuguese manager’s defensive and pragmatic styles will be substituted with an attacking, forward-thinking style, which hasn’t been seen at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since the days of Mauricio Pochettino.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg was brought into the club by Mourinho and became an integral part of the team under Spurs’ previous two managers, however, there are now question marks over whether or not he is suited to Postecoglou’s style.

As a result, it seems as if the 27-year-old could be on his way out, and if he is to make a move, he will certainly need replacing. According to Italian journalist Rudy Galetti (24 July), Spurs might look to replace the Dane with Barcelona midfielder Franck Kessie.

And this is a signing that could go one of two ways. As mentioned, Spurs’ new Australian boss likes to play on the front foot and prefers that his midfielders get forward with the 57-year-old demanding they press high. If Tottenham get the 2021/22 version of Kessie, he could be a perfect fit.

During his final season in Serie A with AC Milan before he moved to Spain, the 26-year-old midfielder demonstrated signs that he could thrive in the former Celtic manager’s system.

As per stats provided by FBREF, he scored 0.23 goals per 90, placing him in the top nine per cent of Italian league midfielders. However, it was more than just his goalscoring that suggested he could fit Postecoglou’s system.

On the ball, he was also clearly confident as he possessed a passing accuracy of 87.5 per cent per 90, ranking him in the top 11 per cent compared to his positional peers and his 92.2 per cent pass completion rate over a medium distance placed him in the top eight per cent.

Precise, accurate passing is an important part of the new Spurs boss’ game plan, and Kessie has certainly proven he is capable of this. Although the Ivorian has not been so successful during his short time in Spain so far.

Kessie only started seven times in La Liga during the 2022/23 campaign and wasn’t exactly the ideal fit for Xavi’s team, which could raise concerns as the Spainaird’s style of play could be likened to Postecoglou’s; a modern style built around possession and high-pressing.

With Barcelona, Kessie’s goalscoring was dramatically reduced, only finding the back of the net 0.09 times per 90 in the league and his passing accuracy also slightly decreased (85.6 per cent per 90). Defensively the midfielder also struggled.

He placed in just the 20th percentile for the number of tackles he made (1.36 per 90) and in the 23rd percentile for the number of those tackles that he won (0.82 per 90).

This signing would therefore pose a risk for Spurs. If the Milan version of Kessie was to arrive, he could be a success, however his time in Spain and under Xavi suggests he might not be suited to the style of football Postecoglou is looking to play in the Premier League next season, and this is perhaps a signing that should be avoided.

In other Tottenham news, Rebecca Spencer got her Women’s World Cup off to a flyer as she kept a historic clean sheet.