So, there will be no Champions League football at Tottenham next season but that hasn’t stopped the Lilywhites from pressing ahead with their plans for the summer window.
Timo Werner has been signed, sealed and delivered for another campaign on loan but he might not be the only figure to arrive and potentially play on that left-hand side.
Spurs are ready to spend and they could do so by luring one of the quickest young talents in LaLiga to north London this summer.
Enough talking, then, who is it?
Spurs looking to bolster their forward options
Werner has been signed for another campaign on loan and Tottenham do boast the ability to make that a permanent transfer.
However, with doubts surrounding Richarlison’s future at the club, another wide player could join in the forthcoming months.
Who is it? Well, The Telegraph reported during April that Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams is one player on Spurs’ radar.
It is stated that the Spaniard is set to receive approaches from Premier League clubs this summer, one of which could be Ange Postecoglou’s men who are ‘keeping an eye’ on the attacker.
Possessing a release clause of £43m, it might not even blow the bank to sign him.
Why Williams could help revive Heung-min Son
After Harry Kane departed London last summer there was always going to be a hole not just in the Spurs team, but Heung-min Son’s heart as well.
They have been one of the most dynamic duos in Premier League history and it was now up to Son to be the starring man all by himself.
Did he flourish? Well, in stages he did. The South Korean took on the captain’s armband and fired his way to 17 goals and ten assists throughout 2023/24.
Those are pretty damn good numbers but he rather ended the term with a whimper. Son scored just twice in his last nine league outings as Postecoglou’s side failed to secure a Champions League place.
So, what can be done about that? It’s not necessarily about finding Spurs’ next Kane. Instead, it’s about finding the right profile of player to create more goal-scoring opportunities for a player of Son’s calibre.
This is where Williams comes into the picture. Capable of playing off both wings, it was from the left that the 21-year-old starred in 2023/24.
A scorer of eight goals for Bilbao, he was particularly effervescent on the flanks, registering 17 assists in all competitions for his teammates.
To put that number immediately into context, no player at Spurs last term supplied more than Son and Brennan Johnson’s haul of ten assists apiece.
So, the South Korean would immediately be getting a better supply line here. Combine that with his “electric pace”, as it was described by analyst Ben Mattinson, and Son’s numbers would surely improve.
Let’s compare things a little more closely, shall we?
Williams vs Johnson & Werner
Stat (per 90)
Williams
Johnson
Werner
Assists
0.44
0.39
0.27
Key passes
1.87
1.78
1.50
Passes into final 3rd
1.04
1.32
0.88
Passes into penalty box
1.91
1.51
1.77
Crosses
0.88
0.39
0.44
Shot-creating actions
4.82
2.98
3.72
Goal-creating actions
0.96
0.62
0.71
Stats via FBref.
Well, if the Tottenham skipper is in need of a better supply line then Williams would certainly provide it. He wipes the floor with Johnson and Werner when it comes to creating goal-scoring opportunities.
Just look at the sheer number of shot-creating actions the Bilbao sensation provides every 90 minutes. That should be enough to have Son salivating at the mouth.
This is undoubtedly a target that would take Spurs and their star man to the next level next season.
Related
Spurs “looking at” signing £30m Werner upgrade who was at Chelsea
The gifted winger could be the perfect replacement for the German.