Imagine him & Maddison: Spurs considering move for £60m PL "monster"

Submitted by daniel on
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It may be about as clichéd as you can get, but last season was a campaign of two halves for Tottenham Hotspur.

Ange Postecoglou got off to a flying start in the Premier League, leading the team to ten unbeaten games before that disastrous match against Chelsea halted their momentum.

An avalanche of injuries followed, and despite looking incredible at the start of the campaign, the Lilywhites eventually limped into fifth place and Europa League qualification.

James Maddison's season mirrored that of the club's as his influence waned as the year went on - racking up just five goals and assists in his final 17 appearances - but based on recent reports, Daniel Levy and Co could soon sign an incredibly exciting player who'd surely help the Englishman's creative numbers explode next season.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from Football Insider, Tottenham have maintained their interest in Wolverhampton Wanderers' star winger Pedro Neto.

The report claims that the Lilywhites are keen to bolster their attacking options this summer, and while they have some concerns over the 24-year-old's injury record, they are still impressed by his sheer skill and ability.

However, it won't be cheap to get over the line, as the story has revealed that the Old Gold will likely ask for between £50m and £60m for their dynamic wideman, although the prospect of seeing how Maddison and Neto could combine in North London might make that fee easier to swallow.

Why Neto would be a great signing

Now, the elephant in the room is Neto's injury record; unfortunately, as he missed 19 games last season, it cannot be ignored.

However, were he to join Spurs this summer, he could be used as more of a rotational option alongside Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson on the right, so as not to overplay him too much.

That said, every transfer involves an element of risk, and in the case of the Portuguese star, that is his fitness, but with how well he played at points last season, it feels like a risk worth taking.

So, with that said, let's take a look at the primary reason why he'd be a great signing and a great teammate for Maddison: his output.

In 24 appearances last season, the mercurial "monster", as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, scored three goals and provided 11 assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.71 games for the Old Gold, and he did so playing all across the front line.

This attacking ability and tendency from the former Lazio prospect to make things happen out wide for his side would be incredibly beneficial for the former Leicester City ace.

Opposing teams would no longer be able to focus solely on stopping the Englishman's creative output and would instead have to dedicate players to stopping both stars from impacting the game, thus freeing up that bit more space to operate centrally.

Moreover, having the creative prowess of the Viana do Castelo-born winger to his right would likely help the Coventry-born ace improve his own goalscoring record as well, which would, in turn, help Postecoglou's progressive attacking system flow more seamlessly from defence to attack.

Ultimately, starting an attacking threat as potent as Neto on Madison's right and Son Heung-min on his left would undoubtedly go a long way in helping the 27-year-old get back to his creative best for Spurs next season. While injuries will always be a concern for the Wolves man, his raw ability makes this potential transfer a risk worth taking.