With his team’s victory over Newcastle United on Sunday night, Ange Postecoglou will be overjoyed that Tottenham Hotspur has ended a terrible run of form that included four losses and one draw from five Premier League games.
Before the Australian’s summer appointment, Spurs’ vulnerability—still plagued by issues from their eighth-place finish the previous year—was exposed by these set of results.
Angélique Postecoglou of the Tottenham Premier League.
The remarkable rise to the top of the table in the first few months of the season demonstrated the quality of the team, but if the London club is to have an outstanding season-ending performance, January reinforcements are required.
Transfer news for Tottenham: Samuel Iling-Junior
Tottenham has reportedly moved quickly to acquire Juventus winger Samuel Iling-Junior, with the young Englishman causing quite the stir with his lightning-fast performances, according to a recent report from Football Insider.
Although Newcastle United is also keeping an eye on the 20-year-old, it seems more likely that he will move to London, as Spurs chairman Daniel Levy has made him his top priority for the January transfer window.
Iling-Junior’s contract with Turin expires in2025, and it is understood that the Old Lady would accept a £20 million offer for him. This is an intriguing and reasonably priced proposal for Postecoglou and company to take into consideration.
How Samuel Iling-Junior compares to James Maddison: Iling-Junior was once a promising prospect in the Chelsea academy, but he left for better opportunities in Italy. He trained at Juventus and eventually made his way into the first team, albeit very much in the background this season with no league starts despite one assist.
Talent scout Jacek Kulig praised Iling-Junior for his “flamboyant” style. Possessing electric pace and versatility, the Old Lady manager Massimiliano Allegri fielded him both up the channel and as a left-back during his time at the club.
Samuel Iling, a junior in the Juanus Premier League.
Because the £11k-per-week star is left-footed, Iling-Junior prefers to stay close to the touchline and linger out wide, where he can launch balls into the box and expose defenses, proving his abilities as a “assist machine,” as journalist Michele Neri put it.
The gifted player is among the top 4% of positional peers in Europe’s top five leagues for goals scored during the previous season, as well as among the top 16%, 17%, and 14% for successful take-ons, progressive carries, shot-creating actions, and tackles per 90 minutes, according to FBref.
His versatility of skills demonstrates how well he could fit into Postecoglou’s fluid Spurs lineup; he might even turn out to be a repeat of the £40 million summer transfer of James Maddison from Leicester City.
Now, to draw specific comparisons is a bit tenuous, even though Iling-Junior’s countryman is also one of the best creators in the Premier League, having been called a “magician” by Statman Dave and producing an incredible 2.9 key passes per game while providing five assists.
The opinion of Dejan Kulasevski, James Madison, and Tottenham.
However, both offer thrilling attacking options, and more significantly, Newcastle is pursuing Iling-Junior, just as they did Maddison prior to Spurs signing him.
Eddie Howe must be regretting the Magpies’ failure to land Postecoglou, who is one of the most important players on English soil, even though the 26-year-old made a move that ultimately cost them £50 million in 2022.
Now that they are in first place for Iling-Junior, the Lilywhites have the opportunity to repeat the performance. In order to maintain the comeback and guarantee their place among the top names at the front of the division, they must do so.
