Better than Gallagher: Tottenham missed out on Hojbjerg upgrade in £30M wizard

A year ago, the Premier League was winding down after an exciting January transfer window that had seen dozens of deals done. However, teams were far more careful with their money this year, and the midseason market witnessed a startling reduction of almost £700 million.

Tottenham Hotspur, on the other hand, was one of the busiest teams. After Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven missed significant amounts of time due to injury and suspension, Ange Postecoglou demanded a new center defense.

While Timo Werner, a former Chelsea player, brought some flair and energy to the attack, Radu Dragusin was brought in to cover for him. However, Postecoglou also wanted to acquire a center-midfield player and was unsuccessful in doing so.

Alright, maybe he didn’t fail. At the last minute, the Lilywhites hijacked Lucas Bergvall’s move to Barcelona. The 17-year-old, praised by one scout for his “generational” skill, will join the team at the conclusion of the season.

Though Conor Gallagher of Chelsea was the top target, Postecoglou may believe that the greatest setback to his seasonal ambitions was the inability to recruit Wolverhampton Wanderers star Joao Gomes. However, an experienced player to bolster the engine room was not discovered.

Joao Gomes is of interest to Spurs

According to reports from Brazil last month, Tottenham was interested in acquiring Gomes and had been informed that an offer of around €35 million (£30 million) may be sufficient to complete the deal; the London club was seen as the front-runners amidst a flurry of interest from other bidders.

Spurs had been linked to a’substantial’ offer, but Postecoglou was really interested, and a summer return is certainly a possibility.

Joao Gomes’s season in numbers: After some encouraging performances in the first half of 2023, Gomes has settled into the Premier League and has been a key component of the team’s success.

In 20 games, Gomes has completed 83% of his passes, averaging 3.2 tackles, 5.5 ball recoveries, and 5.7 successful duels per game, in addition to successfully dribbling 60% of the time, according to Sofascore.

One of the best tacklers in the Premier League, Gomes has been crucial in the Wolves engine room, as the graphic above illustrates. Gary O’Neil’s team has leapfrogged Chelsea into tenth position after defeating the struggling Blues in their home stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Gomes’ performance in the match—winning seven duels and logging six tackles—was crucial to winning the crucial midfield fight.

The 22-year-old’s aggressive, unwavering approach on the field has earned him the nickname “The Wizard” from The Athletic’s Steve Madeley. He may not have the greatest creative spark or the broadest passing range, but he is a hard worker.

Spurs have shown that they are well above the disaster that was the 2022–2023 season, and Postecoglou’s management has inspired hope that further success may be ahead in the next seasons.

Gomes would be the ideal player to bolster the midfield and provide another dimension, but the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium still needs improvement.

Gallagher, as indicated above, has a lot of skills and would be a wonderful fit for Tottenham, but Gomes, with his natural defensive aptitude, could end up being a superior choice since players like Rodrigo Bentancur and Pape Matar Sarr already play flexible midfield positions.

Conor Gallagher is not a better match to Joao Gomes

Gomes joined Wolves in January 2023 after a £15 million deal from Brazilian side Flamengo. During the second part of the 2022–2023 season, Gomes made seven starts, showcasing his skills. This season, under O’Neil’s guidance, he has reached new heights.

According to FBref, the Brazilian’s outstanding defensive skills are shown by the fact that he is in the top 3% of midfielders in terms of blocks per 90 and in the top 1% of players in Europe’s top five leagues for tackles throughout the previous season.

Gomes could be a wise addition for Tottenham, especially with the team anticipated to return to European competition the following year. Malian star Yves Bissouma serves as the team’s tough-tackling technician in the center and does an excellent job in that capacity. However, he has missed five games this season due to suspension.

While Gallagher has been commended by The Athletic’s Mike Stavrou for being “absolutely relentless with his pressing and energy” and has averaged 2.5 tackles per Premier League match this season (just a little less than Gomes), he is not a natural anchor and Chelsea touted him at £80 million in the final days of January.

The England international’s ability as a tremendous ground-covering midfielder is further shown by the fact that he is in the top 10% of midfielders in Europe’s top five leagues for touches in the offensive penalty area and the top 11% for progressive passes received per 90.

In addition to being a better stylistic match, Gomes would be the wiser choice to sign, therefore Postecoglou should seriously consider giving up on the Stamford Bridge star come summer.

Particularly considering that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg—a Danish midfielder who has only started six Premier League games this year—is expected to leave at the end of the season. Despite his poise and composure when in possession, his lack of development and mobility prevents him from playing a significant part in the team.

Although Hojbjerg has completed 89% of his passes, he has only produced 0.2 important passes each game. Moreover, although his defensive statistics might be excused if he were playing well, the 28-year-old only averages one tackle and 2.3 successful duels per game. That puts the hardworking Gomes quite a distance behind.

Hojbjerg was linked to a move away during the January transfer window, but he turned down bids from a number of sources, indicating that he was happy to remain there until the summer, when he could have more choices.

Talent scout Jacek Kulig once described Gomes as a “accurate & tenacious tackler” when he was practicing in his own country; he has undoubtedly brought this fundamental skill to the English shores.

With players like Sarr and Bentancur already providing outstanding multi-functionality, Gomes would be a better match for Postecoglou’s squad given his raw defensive skills and potential to bring something new to the Tottenham club.

Gomes’ comparatively cheap price tag may cause Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to look back with regret on a chance lost next summer, when money is more readily available and the scouts will undoubtedly come calling.

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