Immediately following Tottenham Hotspur’s disappointing 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat away to Newcastle United in October, Pedro Porro, wearing the captain’s armband for the night, demonstrated his leadership credentials.
Having been knocked out in the competition’s round of 16, Spurs duo Djed Spence and Randal Kolo Muani headed for the tunnel. Noticing them leaving the pitch, Porro waved them over to the group of team-mates instead, ensuring they joined the visitors’ other players in applauding the near-3,000 strong away section at St James’ Park, many of whom had travelled long distances from north London to the north-east of England for a midweek fixture.
It’s fitting that the 26-year-old would first captain Tottenham in the 3-0 home defeat of Doncaster Rovers from third-tier League One in the previous round of the Carabao Cup in September, before being named for the second time in that tie against Newcastle.
In English football’s second-tier cup competition, where clubs prioritising success in the Premier League and Europe tend to rotate their nailed-on starters, the Spain international led the group and played the full 90 minutes in both fixtures. If the best ability is availability, Porro is Tottenham’s machine-like MVP.
Since making his debut in February 2023, he ranks 21st in game-time minutes among outfield players in the Premier League, and leads all right-backs, with 7,702 across 94 matches. The next most-active Spurs player is goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, and he’s played 21 fewer games and logged 1,132 fewer minutes than Porro, who is the only player to have made 90 or more league appearances for the club during this period.
It’s also worth remembering that Ange Postecoglou consistently rested his starters in the Premier League once Spurs reached the latter stages of the Europa League last season, with Porro sitting out five of nine league fixtures before the May 21 victory over Manchester United in that competition’s final.
As Tottenham have struggled against a seemingly never-ending barrage of injuries since Postecoglou’s summer 2023 arrival and into successor Thomas Frank’s era, Porro’s reliability cannot be overstated.
He has a near-perfect availability record, having missed just two Premier League games through injury since joining from Lisbon’s Sporting CP, and can be relied on to complete 90 minutes consistently. With Spurs now competing on two elite fronts having qualified for the Champions League as Europa League winners, being assured of his availability at right-back is aiding Frank’s early efforts at building a formidable defensive structure.
But with Spence now providing international-calibre competition at his position, Porro has had to step his game up, too.
Compared to his positional peers across Europe’s top five domestic leagues as well as the Champions League and Europa League, the Spaniard ranks in the 85th percentile or better per 90 minutes in assists (0.22), expected assists (0.18), shot-creating actions (3.3), passes attempted (64.5) and progressive passes (4.99).
The data details his versatility. Porro is Tottenham’s only defender as adept at creating opportunities from the wing as he is at helping build through central positions, and he is crucial to Frank’s plan to move the ball up the pitch.
His importance in aiding Tottenham’s progression through the thirds has been particularly evident when Destiny Udogie has been absent from the team, with the right-sided combination of Porro and summer signing Mohammed Kudus tasked with providing the lion’s share of creativity without the balance of the Italian left-back’s threat on the other wing.
Their connection hasn’t always been fluid, with Frank yet to land on a system that retains defensive solidity while maximising their attacking talent, but that relationship has been as influential as any in keeping Spurs near the top of the Premier League and Champions League tables.
He’s also among the best in Europe in his position at providing the final ball. Porro has three assists this season, and his delivery from set pieces has been essential in Spurs’ impressive growth from dead-ball situations under Frank. Xavi Simons, who has been in and out of the side since joining this summer from RB Leipzig, is the only other obvious right-footed set-piece taker. Given that 32 per cent of Tottenham’s Premier League goals have come directly from corners and free kicks, Porro’s availability has a direct relation to the team’s attacking potency.
As one of the league’s outstanding attacking right-backs, a reductive narrative has grown around Porro which overlooks his defensive value.
He ranks within the 98th percentile across the same sample size for blocks per 90 (1.84), and is in the top 11 per cent of players for clearances (3.89). While he’s not as strikingly dominant as Spence as a defender, the data — which, admittedly, does not always paint the whole picture — is very comparable, aside from 6ft 1in (185cm) England international significantly outperforming his 5ft 8in team-mate in aerial duels won, 1.7 to 0.55.
Undoubtedly, Spence’s emergence over the past year has pushed Porro to improve as a defender.
That consistency at both ends of the pitch with his club has been rewarded in the form of further international recognition, with Porro now an established member of Luis de la Fuente’s Spain squad less than seven months from the World Cup — which, of course, means even more game time.
He started the European champions’ first four World Cup qualifiers in September and October, playing at least an hour in each, and was also in the XI for last week’s 4-0 away win against Georgia, before being replaced at half-time with Atletico Madrid’s Marcos Llorente. Spurs will welcome that he was then rested for their 2-2 draw at home to Turkey on Tuesday in the sixth and final group match, a rare opportunity for a player who is one of the first names on the team sheet at club level.
International windows had once been a chance for a breather for Porro — as recently as their Euro 2024 triumph, he was being left out of the Spain squad completely — but now they just mean more football. This could prove to be the biggest test of his consistency of availability yet.
Against arch-rivals and Premier League leaders Arsenal in the north London derby on Sunday, Tottenham will need the best of Porro if they are to leave the Emirates Stadium with a result.
Given his importance to their attacking potency and defensive solidity, he could prove a key difference maker.