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Pedro Porro could leave Spurs this summer - but they may have an ideal replacement lined up already.
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Just how many players do Tottenham Hotspur need to sign in the summer transfer window? The answer isn’t immediately obvious. There’s plenty of talent in the Spurs squad, but the whole has added up to far less than the sum of its parts this season – and then there’s the question of who might leave.
One important player who has been linked with a move away from North London over the coming months is Pedro Porro. It goes without saying that Ange Postecoglou (or whoever ends up in charge in a few months’ time) would rather have the Portuguese right-back on the books, but recent reports hint at the possibility that several elite sides have him on their shortlists.
That means that Spurs could be considering a contingency plan – and a new story from GiveMeSport suggests that they may have a new wing-back in mind, with a potential price tag of £30-35m.
Spurs ‘tracking’ Vanderson as Pedro Porro replacement
The player that Spurs are alleged to be tracking is AS Monaco’s Brazilian right-back Vanderson, who has five caps for his national team and a burgeoning reputation as one of the best all-round players in his position in Europe.
GiveMeSport’s article suggests that Spurs would want the 23-year-old to provide Porro with competition, but given that we’re likely to see significant expenditure in other positions, especially up front, it’s more probable that such a substantial transfer only takes place if Porro leaves, especially given the impressive late-season resurgence enjoyed by Djed Spence.
The link with Vanderson isn’t new, with reports that he was on Spurs’ radar dating back at least as far as last summer, and his continued positive progress with Monaco will only have served to increase their interest. Still, right-back will only become a position of urgent need if Porro is lured away.
While Vanderson is noted as a genuine all-rounder who contributes in all three thirds, it’s his defensive work which stands out, especially in a concerted high press. Never one to shy away from a chance to make a tackle, he has made 45 successful tackles in Ligue 1 this season at a hugely impressive 71.4% success rate. Few full-backs can boast such impressive numbers, and he’s excellent in one-on-one situations while closing the space opposing wingers have in effective fashion.
He's also blessed with the speed and work rate to find plenty of space for himself going forward and has the technical quality to beat his man one-on-one relatively reliably, making him a dangerous player on the counter-attack and a right-back who can not only force turnovers but get the ball back downfield quickly and efficiently.
He creates a healthy – but not remarkable – number of chances with respectably accurate crossing and a decent eye for a pass, but his overall output in the final third (two goals and five assists in all competitions this season) is good rather than great.
For a team to get the best out of him, they would want to play an aggressive, pressing style of football which looks to generate quick opportunities for counter-play and which has high-class attacking players ahead of him that he can tee up to finish the job. As it happens, that’s a fair description of Spurs’ style of play under Postecoglou, even if those high-end attacking players spend rather too much time injured.
Will Pedro Porro leave Tottenham this summer?
Still, Spurs’ interest in Vanderson may be academic if Porro stays put. Four teams have been linked with him in recent months, however – Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
It seems unlikely that either of the Spanish sides make a move. Real seem set to land Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free transfer and Barcelona are only likely to bid for a full-back if Jules Koundé leaves. The Frenchman has been rumoured to be of interest to a handful of team, with Chelsea’s name routinely cropping up, but the newly-reinstated La Liga champions seem determined to keep Koundé around.
Manchester City are on the hunt for a permanent replacement for Kyle Walker, but may prioritise other targets such as Juventus’ Andrea Cambiaso. Normally a left-back at his current club, Cambiaso can play on either flank and if he moved to the Etihad, then City may view the right-back issue as solved between him and Rico Lewis.
Bayern Munich, meanwhile, have Konrad Laimer installed as right-back and are already doing their best to spend as much as £100m on Florian Wirtz. If that deal goes through, then they are unlikely to have much spending power left to cover a bid for a player like Porro, who could cost as much as £60m.
In short, it remains likely that Porro stays put given the state of the current market and the fact that he still has three years left on his Spurs contract. The club are in a strong negotiating position and could hold out for more money than any of the interested parties are willing to spend – but dominoes could fall in such a way that the situation changes quickly.
If Porro does leave, Vanderson seems to be a strong candidate to be his replacement, and previous stories have suggested that he would cost around half as much as Spurs would get from the sale of Porro, undeniably a good deal given that Vanderson would not be likely to prove a downgrade.
The biggest stumbling block should Spurs make a move is that other teams could be interested as well. GiveMeSport suggest that Manchester United are also among the suitors for the Brazilian, while Manchester City and Barcelona are mentioned too, although their interest may be irrelevant given that they would surely only move for Vanderson if they didn’t bid for Porro.
As it stands, the likelihood is that Porro stays put and Spurs prioritise other players this summer – but if they do end up with the Monaco right-back on their books, the chances are that they’ll be content with their business in the long run, even if it meant losing one of the more reliable performers in their current side. Spurs have an impressive recent history when it comes to right-backs, from Porro and Walker to Kieran Trippier, and Vanderson could easily continue that tradition.