The transfer window is right around the corner, and after a Premier League season full of ups and downs, Tottenham Hotspur has a few months to reinforce and improve the team ahead of another gruelling campaign to secure a Champions League spot.
Ange Postecoglou looks like the man for the job so far, but with six teams scoring more goals than his own last year, he could do with some attacking additions from Daniel Levy and Co.
Luckily for the Australian, recent reports suggest that could be precisely what he gets in the coming weeks, as the latest player touted for a move to N17 is an incredibly exciting winger who could well spell trouble for Dejan Kulusevski's place in the team.
Tottenham Hotspur transfer news
According to a recent report from Spanish publication AS, Tottenham are one of several clubs interested in signing Girona's incredibly exciting winger, Viktor Tsygankov, this summer.
Unfortunately for the Lilywhites, the report has also revealed that North London rivals Arsenal and Serie A giants AC Milan are both keen on the player and have already approached the Spanish side.
That said, while they might not be favourites to land the Ukrainian international, AS's claim that he has a 'termination' clause in his current contract valued at just €30m – £26m – means that they still have a chance to land the wideman.
So, while it might prove challenging, the costs aren't astronomically high, and Levy and Co should be doing all they can to get this deal done and beat the Gunners to the talented winger, even if it could impact Kulusevski's future in the team.
How Tsygankov compares to Kulusevski
Now, it should be said that Kulusevski is an incredibly talented footballer, and when he's at his best, he can be one of the most entertaining wingers to watch in the Premier League. However, over the last couple of years, his pure output has not quite matched up with his talent.
For example, last season, he scored just two goals and provided eight assists in 37 games for Spurs, which equates to a goal involvement every 3.7 games.
This season, he did slightly better, scoring eight goals and providing three assists in 29 games, equating to a goal involvement every 3.5 games.
Appearances
42
37
Goals
12
2
Assists
12
8
Goal Involvements per Match
0.57
0.27
Appearances
34
39
Goals
8
8
Assists
7
3
Goal Involvements per Match
0.44
0.28
In contrast, Tsygankov scored 12 goals and provided 12 assists in 42 games last year, which is a goal involvement every 1.75 games, before scoring eight goals and providing seven assists in 34 games in 2023/24, which comes out to a goal involvement every 2.26 games.
However, it's not just in raw output where the 26-year-old comes out ahead, but also in their underlying numbers.
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
0.53
0.40
Non-Penalty Goals
0.35
0.26
Assists
0.31
0.10
Progressive Passes
3.90
4.69
Progressive Carries
2.85
4.92
Shots
1.93
1.86
Goals per Shot
0.18
0.14
Passing Accuracy
78.9%
77.2%
Shot-Creating Actions
3.21
4.14
Goal-Creating Actions
0.57
0.26
Successful Take-Ons
0.96
1.76
Aerial Duels Won
0.57
0.23
For example, while the former Juventus star edges it for progressive passes and carries, shot-creating actions and successful take-ons, he falls short in metrics like aerial duels won, non-penalty expected goals and assists, actual non-penalty goals and assists, goal-creating actions, passing accuracy, shots, and goals per shot, all per 90.
Ultimately, with the "outrageous" Tsygankov, as talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed him, outperforming Kulusevski in both raw output and underlying numbers, bringing him to the white half of North London this summer should be a priority for Levy and Co, especially at just £26m.
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