After just two seasons with Barcelona, the Catalans’ Portuguese right-back Nelson Semedo wants to move away from Nou Camp in the upcoming transfer window, and has been linked with a switch to Tottenham Hotspur.
The full-back was signed from Benfica in the summer of 2017 for €30.5 million, and the La Liga champions could let him go if an offer of €35 million arrives in the summer.
Semedo is keen to leave as he wants to be the first-choice right-back at a club; at Barcelona this season, Sergi Roberto and he have been rotated in the right-back position by manager Ernesto Valverde.
According to Marca, the Barca management will be willing to let go of the full-back as the money from his sale could go into buying transfer targets like Antoine Griezmann and Matthijs de Ligt, while the report states that Barca could promote Barcelona B star Moussa Wague to the first-team as a backup right-back.
Semedo hasn’t been to replicate the performances he put in his first season at the club which has forced Valverde to pick Roberto ahead of him.
The Portuguese made 42 appearances in the season for Barca, 12 of which were from the bench. His passing percentage was an impressive 91%, while he registered an average of 1.5 tackles each game.
Would Semedo be a good signing for Poch?
The 25-year-old Portuguese international could be a good signing for Mauricio Pochetino’s side with his solid defending and excellent passing ability. The Spurs manager prefers players who can keep the ball and move it around quickly, which makes Semedo the perfect player in the Argentinian manager’s system.
With reports of Kieran Trippier moving to Napoli in the summer, and Serge Aurier also to get offloaded by the club, signing Semedo, a 25-year-old full international, for a fee of €35 million makes good sense for Spurs.
Semedo’s accurate passing, dribbling, and tough tackling would make him a good player for the Premier League, and an upgrade on the current options at right-back for Spurs.
While Semedo may not be a great crosser of the ball like Trippier, he makes up for it with his good short passing and 1-2s in the wide areas.
A steal at the price that he is rumoured to go for.