Tottenham Hotspur are mulling a £30 million move for Valencia midfielder Carlos Soler, it has been reported.
The Lilywhites will be keen to add to their midfield options following the departure of Mousa Dembele and according to ESPN, the North London giants could launch a £30 million bid for Soler in the summer transfer window.
However, Spurs could face stiff competition from PSG in the pursuit of Soler. But is he really a viable target for the club?
Carlos Soler: the missing piece of the jigsaw
Tottenham have experienced a few problems in their midfield department this season. While Victor Wanyama and Dele Alli have struggled with injuries, Mousa Dembele’s departure has put on more pressure on Mauricio Pochettino, who has had to resort to the services of young players Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp.
Moussa Sissoko has also emerged as a first-team candidate due to Spurs’s lack of resources in central midfield and Soler, in that regard, could help resolve Tottenham’s lack of depth in the middle of the park.
Soler is a versatile midfielder, who is known for technical quality as well as passing efficiency, making him a tailor-made fit for Pochettino’s tactical setup at Tottenham.
Indeed, Soler, at times, has been deployed as the central midfielder despite being labelled as a right-sided midfielder while his passing accuracy of 80% is enough to suggest his efficiency in the build-up game, considering a majority of his passes have been in the forward direction.
Soler also likes to dribble, having attempted over two dribbles per game. But what makes him such an appealing target for Spurs is his ability to find key passes in the final third as well as his control over the ball.
The Spanish Under-21 international has averaged over one key pass per game this season, and has been dispossessed only 16 times in 19 matches.
Therefore, the Valencia star can be entrusted with the responsibility of completing Tottenham’s transition from defence to offence.
Soler can be utilised as the supporting midfielder alongside Eric Dier and Christian Eriksen in Tottenham’s three-man midfield setup. This would not only make the team less reliant on the services of Eriksen, but also make them much more efficient in terms of their build-up play.
The Spaniard’s versatility will offer Pochettino with more options in terms of his tactical choices in midfield, making Soler a viable target for the Lilywhitesnext summer.
Stat courtesy: Whoscored