View: Pedro Porro Spain omission as much a mystery as it is a blessing for Tottenham
Tottenham fans will be holding their breath, hoping that their stars don’t pick up any serious injuries while jetting around the globe to represent their nations.
Spurs sit top of the Premier League during the second international break of the season and will need their key players to return to Hotspur Way unscathed if they have any hope of keeping it that way.
Luckily there is one player they won’t have to worry about, right-back Pedro Porro, who has not been selected to represent Spain during their European Championship qualifiers against Scotland and Norway.
This will be a surprise to many Spurs supporters considering the wonderful form the 24-year-old has shown this season, during which he has locked down the right-back position as his own amid competition from Emerson Royal.
Porro made a mixed start to life in England following his arrival from Sporting Lisbon in January, yet has flourished so far under Ange Postecoglou.
He has made more progressive passes (69) than any other Tottenham player in the Premier League this season, according to stats by Wyscout. He also makes the most progressive passes per match (8.77) compared to his teammates and is usually quite accurate, completing 69.7 per cent of these particular passes, which are defined as “a forward pass that attempts to advance a team significantly closer to the opponent’s goal”.
One of the best examples of Porro’s fabulous passing range that he has displayed so far this season comes from the game against Burnley, where he provided a delightful assist for Son Heung-min to complete his hattrick and add Spurs’ fifth goal in a resounding away victory.
In the image above, Porro can be seen calling for the ball as he ventures into midfield, a position he has become more comfortable in as he plays this new inverted full-back role.
Upon receiving the ball, he gets his head up and spots the run of Son, who can be seen pointing exactly where he wants the pass to be played. However, with two Burnley bodies in the way, this seems a very difficult ball to get right.
Yet the Spaniard manages it, playing the pass right into the path of his captain who has a clear run at goal and makes no mistake with the finish.
However, Porro’s range of progressive passing was never the quality in doubt as he demonstrated his attacking ability on numerous occasions last season, it was his defensive capability which had some people concerned that he wouldn’t be capable of transitioning to play as a right-back, rather than a wing-back, this season.
But Porro has so far put all of those doubts to bed with his solid defensive displays this season, averaging 6.23 interceptions, 11.19 successful defensive actions and 0.64 blocked shots per 90 minutes of league action. In addition to this, he has been successful with more than half (50.75 per cent) of his 8.52 defensive duels per 90 minutes.
His heatmap also makes for positive reading, showcasing that he has been everywhere and anywhere on the right-hand side of the pitch for the club so far during the current campaign.
It is clear that he is instrumental to Spurs’ style and has been a key component of their early success so far and Tottenham supporters will just be grateful that they don’t have to watch on anxiously as he lunges into a heavy tackle with a Scottish or Norwegian player over the next two weeks.
In other Tottenham news, Paul Robinson has urged Spurs to sign a forward who is an outcast at his current club.