Spurs left-back target Faouzi Ghoulam does not look like the answer

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Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly interested in Napoli left-back Faouzi Ghoulam, but he does not look like the answer to that particular problem.

Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a move for Napoli left-back Faouzi Ghoulam, who made two appearances for Algeria at this summer’s World Cup.

The 23-year-old played in the matches against Belgium and Germany and Eurosport has since claimed that Spurs and Manchester City are both interested in him.

The most notable factor when considering any alleged interest is that Napoli only signed Ghoulam from St-Etienne in January for a fee in the region of €5million. But that has not stopped the claims that Mauricio Pochettino’s new side are monitoring the player.

But while Tottenham are in need of a new left-back, is Ghoulam the answer?

His World Cup stats would suggest not. After all, he played in just half his country’s matches and in that time he won just four tackles and made just three interceptions in 210 minutes of football (after extra-time in the last-16 match against Germany).

He fared slightly better in terms of duels won – eight in total – but over that much game-time it is still not much to write home about; although it is worth noting the standard of opposition Ghoulam was up against.

That said, he faced a number of English-based players and did not stand out, something you would expect him to do if he was to interest the likes of Tottenham.

Ghoulam provided no real attacking threat during his time on the pitch, going on just one successful dribble and playing no key passes He did however make 45 forward passes (no surprise given his position) and had a passing accuracy of 70.2%.

That was his World Cup campaign, but how did the player perform after his winter move to Serie A?

In 15 league appearances (14 of which were starts) he provided one assist and averaged 0.9 scoring attempts and 0.8 key passes per match. His passing accuracy was considerably better than it was this summer, at 86.2%, but he averaged just 0.3 dribbles per game, not great when you consider Spurs will be on the look-out for an effective attacking full-back.

Statistics can tell you many different things, but in truth Ghoulam does not look like the answer to Tottenham’s ongoing left-back problems. So Pochettino may have to keep looking.