Stats show Chris Waddle was spot on about Tottenham Hotspur’s missing piece

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Former Tottenham Hotspur winger Chris Waddle has identified the missing link at his old club.

“A dribbler”, was Chris Waddle’s response on Twitter when the former Tottenham Hotspur player was asked what the current Spurs team need to become Premier League champions.

Waddle, who spent four seasons at Spurs during the 1980s, was a flying winger in his day, and statistics compiled by WhoScored.com suggest the 62-times capped England international is spot on.

Tottenham only have one player ranked in the top 30 for most successful dribbles per game in the Premier League this season – central midfielder Mousa Dembele who comes in at 25th with an average of 1.8.

It is not until Harry Kane at 46th that one of Tottenham’s forward players makes the list, and it is a dynamic missing from Spurs’ attacking play that could help them open teams up at Wembley.

Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool all have a player in the top seven dribblers, while Manchester City have the trio of Leroy Sane, Raheem Sterling and Kevin de Bruyne all in the top 31.

Waddle went on to suggest on Twitter that Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez is the missing piece of Tottenham’s title jigsaw. The Algerian is ranked at 14th with 2.1 successful dribbles per match.

Crystal Palace speedster Wilfried Zaha, a player who Spurs have previously tried to sign according to Sky Sports, is the second best dribbler in the division (3.6 per game), and would also be a good fit.