Tottenham Hotspur need a right-back badly and maybe they should have signed Leicester City’s Ricardo when they had the chance.
Tottenham Hotspur missed out on signing Ricardo Pereira in the summer of 2017 but, according to former Spurs defender Jason Cundy, Mauricio Pochettino’s side could do a lot worse than renew their interest in the Portuguese international.
It’s hard to believe now that right-back was once a position of strength for the North London giants. But Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier are long gone, replaced by the limited Kyle Walker-Peters and the famously erratic Serge Aurier.
So it’s tempting to wonder what might have been had Spurs signed Ricardo instead of Aurier in the summer of 2017. O Jogo (21 March, page 15) reported that Tottenham had made a bit of around £13 million, only to turn their attention to the Ivory Coast international when Ricardo joined Leicester instead.
“He gets in those advances areas, he is the perfect example of what a modern day right-back is. They are not just a defender,” Cundy told the Sports Bar on talkSPORT (10pm, 11 November).
“They paid about £20m for him. When you look at other clubs who are looking for a right-back, like Arsenal, they are always going to be that team to compare Leicester too, and Spurs.
“Spurs’ right-backs are nowhere near. They released Trippier in the summer and Pereira is exactly the kind of player they should be signing at right-back.”
Cundy has a point. While Aurier continues to look a million miles away from the sort of reliable performer a side like Spurs need, Ricardo has established himself as arguably the most impressive right-back in the entirety of the Premier League.
The former Nice and Porto flyer is aggressive and solid at the back and a real threat going forwards too, evidenced by his tally of four goals and seven assists since the start of last season.
His £17.5 million price-tag looks like a snip now. And, just a reminder, that is less than Tottenham paid for Aurier.
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