The Tottenham midfielder is said to be interesting Watford after a season at White Hart Lane, but did Spurs make a mistake in signing him over other options?
Sky Sports have been reporting that Tottenham are willing to offload the French defensive midfielder Benjamin Stambouli after just one season at White Hart Lane, which raises question marks over his signing in the first place.
Spurs brought in the former Montpellier star last summer after missing out on Morgan Schneiderlin, and, according to Sky Sports, turning down the chance to bring in former Arsenal midfielder Alex Song from Barcelona.
The Cameroon international instead moved to rivals West Ham, where he exhibited some promising form early on only to lose his way, along with his teammates, in the Hammers decline at the end of the season.
Though Stambouli did little on the pitch to warrant his limited minutes and disposability, he obviously was unable to sufficiently impress Pochettino either in training or in his few appearances.
Links to Marseille, as well as other Premier League clubs such as Watford, have since emerged, but the table below shows that although he has under 500 minutes to his name in the league this year, he still posted some stats comparable to Schneiderlin, and better than Song.
| Team | Passing Accuracy | Minutes per Tackle | Tackles Accuracy | Minutes per Ground Duel Won | Minutes per Interception Won | Goal Assist | Appearances | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Schneiderlin | Southampton | 89.3% | 27.7 | 82.3% | 12.56 | 34.68 | 1 | 26 | 2185 |
| Benjamin Stambouli | Tottenham | 84.1% | 19.70 | 79.3% | 9.245 | 41.18 | 0 | 12 | 453 |
| Alexandre Song | West Ham | 76.7% | 30.8 | 79.3% | 11.25 | 54.86 | 3 | 28 | 2249 |
Stambouli is superior to former Arsenal man Song in every category except goal assists, which is understandable considering his limited minutes on the pitch. The Frenchman was way ahead in traditional defensive midfield stats such as passing accuracy rates, and minutes per tackle, ground duel won and interception.
Even against Schneiderlin, Tottenham’s probable first choice option last summer, the 24-year-old stood up in a couple of areas, again making more tackles per minutes and winning more ground duels per minute than his compatriot.
So a couple of questions remain, were Spurs wrong to pick Stambouli over a loan for Song, or putting their money where their mouth was over Schneiderlin last year, or are they wrong to be so eager to sell him this summer?
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
