Tottenham must move on from 100% star player in January as billionaire owner speaks out

Tottenham should let go of the Lloyd Kelly transfer in January as the transaction has been cancelled by the wealthy owner.

Ange Postecoglou needs a new center-back, and Tottenham Hotspur knows this. The January transfer window is quickly approaching.

Spurs are down to their bare bones as a result of injuries, especially in the defence, and the manager of Tottenham has expressed his intention to buy at least one new player when the transfer market opens in January.

Over the last several months, Lloyd Kelly’s name has been often associated with a transfer to North London. Alasdair Gold [29 September] speculated that Spurs may try to recruit the Bournemouth defender in January after expressing interest in him in the summer.

The billionaire owner of Bournemouth, Bill Foley, has said that the club’s door is “closed and bolted” and that they have no intention of moving any of their players during the January transfer window, which may have put a stop to Tottenham’s pursuit of the 25-year-old [talkSPORT, 14 December].

Kelly would be a fantastic option for Spurs in the January transfer window since she has been in incredible form while healthy so far this season. In his last game, he started at left back against Sheffield United and performed well.

In the 45 minutes he played, the 25-year-old produced two opportunities after connecting with a teammate on 79 percent of his 33 passes tried. He demonstrated his skill with the ball by completing 100% of his attempted dribbles, with seven of those attempts coming into the final third [Fotmob].

Kelly performed nearly flawlessly while not in possession. In the contest, he prevailed in three of his four duels and won all ten of his aerial encounters, securing possession every time. Kelly didn’t commit a single foul in all of the encounters he had with the opposing front line.

Despite Bournemouth’s poor league position, the Bournemouth defender tackled 68.4% of players who tried to dribble past him during the previous season, placing him in the top 25% of Premier League center-backs [Fbref].

But what really distinguishes Kelly from the majority of Premier League defenders is his skill with the ball. He can play left or centre defence, but his creativity is much more than that of most other defenders in the division.

Few centre backs make as many passes into the penalty area as this one does. In terms of balls into the opposing box per ninety minutes and crosses into the penalty area, the 25-year-old finished in the 86th percentile of his positional peers last season.

Kelly was in the bottom 49% of defenders for predicted aided goals, but his quality of delivery allowed him to surpass his projected assist rate, being in the top 9% of defenders for assists made per 90 minutes.

Kelly’s current south coast contract is set to expire at the conclusion of the current campaign. Instead of trying to weaken Bournemouth’s resolve in January, Tottenham would be better served trying to set up a free move in the summer if they really want to sign him.

Midway through a season, the Cherries won’t want to let go of such a key player, thus they’ll just push up his price. When the season comes to a close, Spurs would be much better off reevaluating their interest and exploring alternative possibilities in January.

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