Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly interested in Alex Grimaldo.
If rumours are to be believed, Tottenham Hotspur have identified Benfica youngster Alex Grimaldo as the man to replace left-back Danny Rose, if he leaves in January. Portuguese outlet A Bola claimed that Spurs are interested in signing the 22-year-old next month as Tottenham draw up a shortlist of names to replace Manchester United-linked Rose.
But would signing him represent a big gamble on behalf of Lilywhites chairman Daniel Levy? Losing Rose would be a major blow for Tottenham’s Champions League hopes and their chances of finishing in the top four of the Premier League.
He’s a massive player for Mauricio Pochettino and relying on someone with 36 senior appearances under his belt to replace him can’t be anything other than a big risk, even if he is a former Barcelona starlet.
You could argue that Grimaldo – valued at £35 million according to Calciomercato – doesn’t have much less experience in senior football than Davinson Sanchez, who has taken to Premier League and European football like a duck to water.
But signing the Portuguese would be a far bigger gamble by virtue of the fact that he would be coming in to replace a huge player at Tottenham. Sanchez didn’t replace a key player. It’s a different story if he was signed in the wake of Jan Vertonghen or Toby Alderweireld leaving.
At 22, Grimaldo would certainly have time on his side to develop into a fine player for Pochettino, but is the Argentine manager supposed to persevere with Ben Davies until then?
Davies’s deficiencies have been exposed by Rose’s return following a nine-month absence through injury and the Welshman simply isn’t good enough to be a regular starter.
He isn’t on Rose’s level, but if Spurs don’t find a player of similar quality then it’s another big backwards step, after losing Kyle Walker and replacing him with Kieran Trippier and Serge Aurier.
Simply put, Levy can’t afford to get it wrong with Rose’s replacement or the team suffers in a big way. Question is, is it the right time to gamble on Grimaldo instead of finding a tried-and-tested left-back?
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
