Tottenham they gave themselves a real chance to succeed League Cup final with their 1-0 win over Liverpool last night, but apart from that, this season has been a difficult one for the club.
By Andze Postecoglou side have been riddled with injuries, which have massively contributed to their downward slide Premier League last months table.
However, on top of their injury woes, the team has been extremely inconsistent on the pitch and a number of stars have looked well off the pace for much of the campaign, such as Son Heung-min.
The South Korean superstar still managed to find the back of the net seven times but he has been limited to 69% of available minutes in the league, so recent reports linking the club with a potential upgrade come as no surprise.
Tottenham target an exciting striker
According to in a recent report from Caught OffsideTottenham Hotspur are one of a number of clubs interested in signing Borussia Dortmund star Doniel Mullen.
Along with the North Londoners, the report claims that Aston Villa are incredibly keen on the Dutchman and that, while they are understood to have agreed personal terms with him, they remain somewhat off the German side’s valuation, thus making room for Daniel Levy and Co to jump.
A possible value is not mentioned in the report, but a story from earlier this week revealed that the Bundesliga giants value their exciting striker at around £21million.
It could be a tricky move to pull off ahead of the Villans, but given Malen’s reasonable price and ability, it’s worth fighting for, especially as he could come as an upgrade on Son.
How does Mullen compare to Sean
Okay, so the first thing to say is that given the incredible talent and physical ability that Son possesses, fans shouldn’t expect Malen to come in and reach the same heights he did a few years ago – that would simply be unfair on the Dortmund man as few players are capable of such a thing.
However, while Son can still chip in with a goal and assist here and there, age gets to us all and as most fans will probably attest, he has struggled to make the same overall impact on games that he used to.
This is where the former Arsenal academy gem could come in and, as his numbers from the start of last season suggest, be an immediate upgrade for Postecoglou’s side.
According to FBref, the “extremely fast and very dangerous” Dutchman, as dubbed by former Dortmund midfielder Mario Gotzeit tops most of the relevant metrics.
For example, he scores more goals without penalties, takes more shots and shots on goal, completes more crosses and brings into the penalty area and completes more successful attacks and more, all per 90.
|
Mullen vs. Sean |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Statistics per 90 |
Grind |
Son |
|
Goal without penalty |
0.56 |
0.40 |
|
Shots |
3.57 |
2.47 |
|
Shots on target |
1.70 |
1.17 |
|
It goes into the penalty area |
1.46 |
2.08 |
|
Crosses in the penalty area |
0.23 |
0.14 |
|
Actions to create shots |
3.02 |
4.24 |
|
Goal Creation Actions |
0.56 |
0.55 |
|
Successful withdrawals |
1.84 |
1.27 |
|
Advances to the Final Three |
2.19 |
1.68 |
|
He enters the penalty area |
2.19 |
1.84 |
|
Aerial duels won |
0.38 |
0.14 |
|
Ball recoveries |
3.36 |
2.87 |
|
All stats via FBref for the 23/24-24/25 domestic & European campaigns |
||
As well as being more of an all-round threat, the 26-year-old also comes out on top in terms of defensive stats, making more blocks and clearances, making fewer mistakes leading to shots, finishing more. recovers the ball and wins more aerial duels, also all per 90.
A ball recovery is defined as the number of loose balls a player recovers.
Ultimately, Son is undoubtedly a Spurs and Premier League legend, but he is set to turn 33 this year and while he can still be a useful player in the team, he simply cannot be a regular starter in Postecoglou’s system.
Levy and Co must therefore act quickly to secure Malen’s services before Villa do.
