Juan Quintero fits the bill for Tottenham boss’ pre-transfer window concerns. Should they stay away?
Tottenham Hotspur are reported to be eyeing a transfer for Juan Quintero, with Ole in Argentina claiming they are keen on the playmaker.
Quintero has starred in the World Cup so far for Colombia, scoring one and assisting another.
Quintero is an exciting player who could improve Tottenham if he can reproduce his World Cup form, but Spurs must be wary.
He fits the profile of a player who manager Mauricio Pochettino warned before the tournament that his side should be cautious over.
Spurs overpaid for Moussa Sissoko after his Euro 2016 exploits and Quintero’s flaky club career so far means the North London side should not get carried away by his two games in Russia.
Pochettino was quoted by The Times in April, commenting: “It is so dangerous to go and scout players in the World Cup because if a player is good, how after are you going to sign him?
“Sometimes you need to anticipate, ‘OK, this player can be good for us’ and then he goes to the World Cup but you need to sign before it starts because he is doing well and then you will have competition if they are good [at the World Cup].
“We are thinking and trying to anticipate because it will be difficult if not at the World Cup. If the performance is not good at the World Cup you are going to sign players that have not performed in the way you have expected and if you are going to sign players where the performance is so good it will be so complicated.”
Tottenham were not proactive enough to get their deals done before the tournament and now their transfer business is falling into the trap Pochettino wanted them to avoid.
Quintero is a serious red flag because while talented, his club career has not shown the consistency which would suggest he can bring his Colombia displays successfully to the Premier League.
He struggled to hold down a place at Porto and he has spent the past season on loan with River Plate in Argentina.
He is hardly the proven Champions League regular Spurs need to kick on.
To add to the complication, AS report Real Madrid are interested, with the Spanish side notoriously happy to sign World Cup stars.
Quintero could be a success at Tottenham, but his track record suggests he is far from a surefire option, and the path to bringing him aboard will get more complicated as his time at Russia 2018 goes on as more and more teams take notice.
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