Roberto Soldado: Statistical Analysis of Spurs' New Transfer Signing

Tottenham Hotspur confirmed they would complete a club record signing on Thursday, bringing Valencia striker Roberto Soldado to White Hart Lane.

BBC Sport reports that Spurs will pay £26 million for the Spain international, who will have a medical on Friday before officially being unveiled as the club's third new signing of the summer.

Soldado has been at Valencia since 2010 and previously played at Getafe, Osasuna and Real Madrid Castilla.

Here's a complete statistical breakdown of Tottenham's newest recruit and his performances from the last campaign.

Basics: Shots, goals and chance conversion

As an out-and-out No. 9 striker, Soldado is first and foremost a man on a mission to score goals. He found the net 24 times in La Liga last season, which was the fifth-highest total behind Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Radamel Falcao and Alvaro Negredo.

He registered exactly 100 shots during the league campaign, for an average of 2.9 efforts on goal per match. This gives him a conversion rate of 24 percent, which is better than the four forwards who scored more goals than him with the exception of Messi.

Although he attempted 39 shots from outside the penalty area, all 24 of Soldado's goals came from within the penalty box. He recorded a 57 percent accuracy rate overall with his shooting, combining shots from within and outside the area.

Four of his goals were headed, and one came from his left foot, while the majority came from with his stronger right.

Areas of play, link-up and creativity

Primarily a central striker who prefers to play off the last line of defence, Soldado is adept at utilising good movement and anticipation of a pass to create space for himself, particularly between central defender and full-back.

He showed that he is more than just a goalscorer by being a good source of chances for his team. He created 32 chances over the season and claimed four assists. As detailed by the image below, his tendency to stick to the centre of the pitch, rather than work the flanks and channels, is almost total.

He was also successful with five through balls and completed 74 percent of his passes.

After holding up the ball, the Valencia striker is very much the type to combine quickly with his attacking midfield teammates and get himself into the penalty area, instead of running at the defence or holding his position in the buildup areas of play.

On average, he attempted one dribble of the ball every two matches and made an average of less than 20 passes per match.

Defensive contribution and pertinent weaknesses

Most of Soldado's defensive interventions came as a result of helping to defend set pieces, where he was able to make a number of clearances for his team.

He won a hefty 76 percent of his tackles, which in real terms was 16-of-21 made throughout the season. He won 52 free kicks for his side but was largely unsuccessful in his aerial battles despite scoring four times with headers last season. His headed duels saw him win only 37 of 131 attempts, equal to a 28 percent success rate.

Key comparisons vs. Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor

In joining Spurs, Soldado will be up against England striker Jermain Defoe and the oft-maligned Togolese front man Emmanuel Adebayor.

Defoe was Spurs' usual starter over Adebayor last term, but Soldado outperformed both of them. Indeed, he scored more on his own than the two Spurs forwards combined in league play during 2012-13.

Striker	Games	Goals	Shot Accuracy	Shot Conversion	Chances Created
Soldado	35	24	57%	24%	32
Defoe	34	11	53%	10%	31
Adebayor	25	5	70%	12%	27

In terms of finishing and goals—and price tag, no doubt—everything suggests Soldado will earn an immediate starting role under Andre Villas-Boas.

Spurs' functional yet talented midfield will be tasked with creating the chances necessary for the Spaniard to add the regular goals that the side lacked at times last season.

Should the second line of attack prove successful in that—with or without Gareth Bale—then Spurs fans should rest assured that the direct approach of Soldado—while neither fancy nor lightning quick—will ensure the ball ends up in the back of the net on a regular basis.

The jury will be out on whether Tottenham have overpaid for him, but if he fires them into the top four of the league table, nobody from White Hart Lane will be complaining about his price.

Follow @karlmatchett

Statistical data from Squawka and WhoScored. Imagery from Squawka.