There are two kinds of transfer rumors I generally post on Cartilage Free Captain. One type looks at rumors that drop from reliable to semi-reliable sources that have real connections, making them plausible to write and/or talk about. This is a distinction from the numerous Bat Country rumors emerge like demons from a Hellgate with frightening regularity and that we generally ignore until (if?) they end up being repeated from a reliable or semi-reliable source.
Which then brings me to the OTHER kind of transfer rumor I like to post, which is “this is a badly sourced rumor that probably isn’t real but I’d like it to happen” rumor. That’s what this one is. There is a twitter report from Pedro Almeida, ostensibly a Portuguese journalist with Connections™, that says that Tottenham Hotspur have made a €50m bid for 23-year-old Como attacking midfielder Martin Baturina.
I do not know if this is a real rumor or not, but Martin Baturina is an amazing player, would be an excellent addition to Tottenham Hotspur’s playing squad, and I would like this to happen very, very much, thank you.
When you think of Como, you probably first think of Dele, who had a brief loan there as he tried to resurrect his playing career. Think a little harder and you’ll remember this is the home club of Nico Paz, a midfielder whom Spurs tried to sign last summer, and who is very likely going to be sold to one of the big Spanish clubs for an astronomical fee this summer.
Como has a lot of good players, and Baturina is one of them. In his first season at Como after signing from Dinamo Zagreb last summer, Baturina has tallied 8G+4A in all competitions, including World Cup qualifiers. He’s a full Croatia international who was named part of Croatia’s World Cup squad. He’s also extremely passy, and there are people in Carty Free’s Slack chat that say he’s about as close to a Christian Eriksen analogue as Spurs are likely to get in today’s transfer marketplace.
Check out his passing and chance creation statistics. Me likey.
He’s apparently had some finishing issues this season, so his shot and shot conversion numbers look a little less exciting. He played most of his minutes at Como (2100 minutes all told) in the attacking band, either centrally or as a left sided inside forward. In that role he appears to have served in a role better suited to assisting his teammates than getting his owns shots.
But the Green Bars speak for themselves somewhat — Baturina is a good young player who if Spurs don’t sign him first will likely end up at a Bayern, Barca, or Madrid in a few years, assuming his production continues to rise and he continues to improve.
That said there’s a giant Nico Paz-sized obstacle in the way of this transfer rumor being a thing. If Paz is sold for big money this summer, the sense is that Como are going to want to try and retain the remaining good players they do have so they can eventually sell them again for big money, and Baturina looks poised to be one of Como’s future stars. Now, that’s not necessarily to say that Spurs can’t buy him even if Paz goes — famously, football players and clubs both like money and that’s something Spurs definitely still have, even after two 17th placed finishes.
Como, however, is unlikely to want to part with him so it’ll probably take an overpay to get him and his club on board. I’m actually okay with Spurs overpaying for someone like Baturina in this case — Spurs are in a situation where they might need to overpay for the players that they really, really want. But if they’re going to spend northwards of €50m for a player like Baturina, we better hope that they’ve nailed their scouting because it’s a big, big swing.
Thankfully, I think Baturina is probably the real deal and I’d be okay for purchasing a player with his skillset, ability, and potential. With Xavi Simons out for at least the rest of the calendar year, James Maddison only barely healthy and also ageing, and Dejan Kulusevski being… well, whatever he is right now, signing a new attacking midfielder would make a ton of sense, especially one with such high upside as Baturina.
Again, I’m not saying this rumor is real, accurate, or even exists. But I hope it is, because I think a player like Baturina is exactly what Roberto De Zerbi and Tottenham Hotspur need to improve. If Spurs haven’t actually bid for him, they should.