It wasn't the smoothest of first seasons, but with Europa League qualification secured and a brand of football fans can get behind, it'd be fair to describe Ange Postecoglou's first year at Tottenham Hotspur as a success.
The job now turns to Daniel Levy and Co to secure their manager the best players possible for the job at hand, although at the same time they have to plan for the future, and the latest player touted for a move to N17, someone likened to James Maddison, would tick both boxes.
Tottenham Hotspur transfer news
According to a recent report from French outlet Sports Zone, Tottenham Hotspur are one of several clubs keen on Lyon's exciting wonderkid, Rayan Cherki.
Alongside the Lilywhites, Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain are said to be the most interested sides in the young Frenchman, who wants to leave himself.
The report does not mention the potential price, but the CIES Football Observatory has valued the 20-year-old at €40m – £34m – which seems reasonable enough considering his £60k-per-week contract expires next summer.
It might not seem like a priority signing, but if Spurs can get their hands on Cherki this summer, they might be very thankful in a few years.
Why Cherki would be a great signing
Now, there are two main benefits to signing Cherki. The first is that he has been compared to the Lilywhites' star midfielder, Maddison, and the second is his high potential. Let's start with the first.
Of all the players to be compared to in the North Londoners first team, the former Leicester City star is probably one of the most flattering – even if he had a lacklustre end to the season – as last year he racked up 19 goals and assists in 32 games for the Foxes and this year he's managed 13 goals and assists in 30 games for the Lilywhites.
The comparison itself stems from FBref, which looks at all the players in Europe's top five leagues and creates a list of the ten most similar players in the same position, and in the case of the Frenchman, the six-capped Englishman is the fifth most similar attacking midfielder.
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
0.49
0.52
Shots
2.98
2.44
Shots on Target
0.89
0.97
Passing Accuracy
77.6%
80.7%
Goal-Creating Actions
0.73
0.80
Tackles Won
0.79
0.80
Touches
69.4
73.8
This similarity can be seen best in some of their underlying numbers, such as their non-penalty expected goal and assists figures, shots and shots on target, passing accuracy, goal-creating actions, tackles won and touches, all per 90.
The pair are also both attacking midfielders who are more than capable of playing out on the wing, with Cherki already making 51 stars between right and left wing in his short career.
However, aside from comparisons to Spurs stars, arguably the main reason that Levy should bring the young "difference-maker", as talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed him, to N17 this summer is his sky-high potential, or as data analyst Ben Mattinson puts it, "ballon d'Or level potential."
Just a year ago, U23 scout Antonio Mango described the France U23 star as "one of the biggest prospects" in the country due to his "sublime technical ability, intelligence, low-centre of gravity" and his "equal ability with both feet."
His incredible ability is also represented in his FBref scout report, which ranks him in the top 1% of attacking midfielders across Europe's top five leagues for successful take-ons, top 3% for progressive passes, top 7% for shot-creating actions, top 9% for attempted passes, top 10% for assists, and the top 15% for total shots, all per 90.
Ultimately, while it could be an expensive deal to complete, the fact that clubs such as PSG and Liverpool are so interested, along with the rave reviews from those in the know, suggest Spurs should be doing all they can to bring Cherki to the white half of North London this summer, as they might just have a world-beater on their hands in a few years.
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