Recently Tottenham completed the £15million signing of Republic of Ireland full-back Matt Doherty from Wolves. The Irishman has signed a four-year contract with the North London club.
On paper, it looks like this could be a very shrewd move for Spurs, who were looking for a right-back, as Ivory Coast international Serge Aurier has failed to convince in the English capital. Ironically, both players previously expressed their love for Spurs’ local rivals Arsenal on social media before their moves to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Arguably Aurier’s biggest strength is going forward, which is similar to Doherty. However, Doherty does have decent defensive attributes. His attacking numbers are far more impressive than Aurier. Last season, the full-back, who has played as a wing-back for Wolves in the last two seasons, has scored four league goals in each of the last two seasons, while also producing eight and seven assists respectively.
If Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho is going to play with four at the back, Doherty will have to adapt his game slightly and improve the defensive side of his game. He has improved immensely in recent years and the iconic Portuguese boss could be the man to improve the 28-year-old’s defensive abilities.
Doherty has Premier League experience and is costing a relatively small amount in the modern game. Therefore, he could be a very clever signing for Tottenham.
Tottenham have already strengthened their squad with the £15million signing of Hojbjerg and former England number one Joe Hart, as the north London outfit looks for a return to the Premier League’s top-four next season.
Spurs have always been shrewd in the transfer market under wily chairman Daniel Levy. This summer so far they have been no different. Their signings so far this summer have not been flashy, but they could well be enough to assist Tottenham to mount a far more realistic challenge for Champions League football next season.