Recent reports have linked Tottenham Hotspur with moves for FC Porto’s Hector Herrera and Ajax’s Frenkie de Jong.
Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly looking at both Hector Herrera (Calciomercato) and Frenkie de Jong (the Telegraph) over potential January moves. As simple as that sounds, it actually represents a big decision at the club.
The two players are at opposite ends of their careers, with Herrera turning 29 next April and De Jong just 22 a month later. Both would fill the same role, however, as a replacement for the soon to be out of contract Mousa Dembele and that is why it’s such a big decision.
Mauricio Pochettino currently boasts one of the most talented starting elevens in the league – possibly even the best – and the choice between a young player who will need to settle and an experienced international is one that could stall the side or move it up a gear.
De Jong is the more naturally talented player with a higher ceiling (there’s a reason Barcelona are interested, after all) and the potential is there for a genuine star who could create a bridge between this current generation and the next one. He’s unlikely to be an immediate success, however, given his age and the leap from the Eredivisie.
Herrera, on the other hand, has the experience that you can rely on, being both in his late 20s and having played for Mexico at two World Cups. But he isn’t a player of De Jong’s talent and surely wouldn’t offer much beyond the next two or three years.
Therein lies the choice for Spurs: do they try and consolidate the future and perhaps sacrifice a little now, or do they plug a gap now with a steady hand in order to take further advantage of the current crop?
It’s a tough one for Spurs and a decision that they’ll certainly be judging in a few years – hopefully, with pride and not regret.
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