It’s somewhat surprising that Christian Tello hasn’t arrived in the Premier League yet. Linked with a move for several years now, the 24-year-old again finds himself again amongst the gossip columns in England.
This time Spurs, and Mauricio Pochettino’s ongoing revolution in North London is the apparent destination. On some levels the link makes a lot of sense.
On others, it does not. Spurs are seeking firepower in their attack as everyone knows, with Pochettino looking to ease the weighty burden on Harry Kane. The England striker played himself into the ground last season, and didn’t have the luxury of an entire summer to put his feet up. If Tello is being eyed for impact, his speed, and ability to run at teams - then that’s fine. If it’s for goals however, then Spurs may have a problem.
Blunt
Tello’s hardly been known for his end product. He’s a diversion striker in teams to a degree. He’s quick, smart with his movement in general, and his dribbling can strike fear into teams. It opens up space for others who take advantage, as Tello looks to distract sides. That’s where it ends with the player however. Goal scoring and assisting is something that has continuously evaded Tello, and why he found himself unable to make the cut at Barcelona. A loan to Porto was meant to be a breakaway from the confines and pressure of Camp Nou, but after an average campaign with the Portuguese giants he found himself farmed out on loan again, this time to Fiorentina. There he barely made an impact whatsoever, appearing on just 15 occasions and scoring twice.
Tello certainly has some uses, but if you scour the Spurs squad it’s quite evident there are similarities between the Spaniard and Nacer Chadli. Even Erik Lamela to an extent, though he was always blessed with far more natural talent than either. Meanwhile Tello and Chadli operate best from wide berths, pack scintillating pace and ability to dribble, but often frustrate when it comes to arriving in the penalty area. Tello often gets himself in there, his ability allows him to, but with the end product missing it’s difficult to see him as a key player for any team. More so, he turns 25 in August and still does things that you’d expect from a much younger player. The unfortunate thing is Tello still has those flaws in his game that should’ve been ushered out many years ago. If they’re still there now, there’s a good chance they always will be.
Suspect
Defensively he’s never been strong either, and despite his speed he is not one for tracking back. He can, he’s capable of it, but has never done so. It would require a lot of work from Pochettino to drill the player, and he must question whether the positives justify the effort. There is probably better out there for Pochettino to look at, given Tello’s inability to step it up to the next level. In fact, you could reasonably say Tello would be more suited for a promoted side who play on the break or a mid-table side looking to punch above their weight for a European place.
Spurs are genuine title contenders these days and their lofty ambitions are probably beyond the player, and they should be looking at someone of a far higher level. Vincent Janssen has already arrived at the club and will likely provide extra goals for the team, as well as hard work up front. Tello would then surely be used out wide, and again there are questions marks over the point of bringing him in for this purpose.
This is one Spurs can rule out immediately, and look on to players that can bring a much higher level of quality to the squad.