Tottenham Transfer News: How Roberto Soldado Will Impact the Way Spurs Play

Irrespective of what’s happening in the transfer saga between Gareth Bale and Real Madrid, there’s another Spanish link set to impact White Hart Lane, as Roberto Soldado closes in on a move to Tottenham.

According to Spurs’ official website, the club has agreed to a deal with Valencia for the striker’s services, subject to a medical, which is expected to go through without a snag. The deal is reportedly worth £26 million, according to Matt Barlow of the Daily Mail. 

For several years now, the North London club have struggled to boast a truly reliable forward in front of goal and last season had to rely on Bale’s contributions in attack to see them through the campaign. Jermain Defoe, Emmanuel Adebayor, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Peter Crouch and Darren Bent have all tried to plug a gap that, in truth, hasn’t looked quite so safe since it was Dimitar Berbatov patrolling it. 

Between Adebayor and Defoe, Daniel Levy has invested in two quite opposite forwards who, while admittedly showing great potential at times, just are not the answer to Spurs’ hopes of Champions League football. Whereas Adebayor’s style of play relies on the Togolese international either dropping deep to collect the ball or providing a target for the long pass, Defoe is more about the poaching aspects of a striker; being in the right place at the right time coupled with short bursts of accelerated play.

In that sense, Soldado is a mixture of the two. According to Squawka, last season saw the Spaniard not only score 24 goals in La Liga competition but create 34 scoring opportunities for those around him. To put that into context with Spurs’ current strike batch, neither Defoe nor Adebayor created more goals for their side, and Soldado scored more than the two of them combined.

A move to the Lane might be an easy transition for the 28-year-old, too, given Tottenham’s similarities to Valencia when it comes to playing style. As a No. 9, Soldado operates best as a lone striker aided by his wide players who can, in turn, develop into forwards who drift into the centre when fit.

With Los Che, it was Sofiane Feghouli and Jonas feeding their frontman with ammunition, whereas with Spurs, it would (based on the current squad) be the likes of Bale, Aaron Lennon, Nacer Chadli and Clint Dempsey providing the crosses.

With a 4-3-3 setup looking most likely for Andre Villas-Boas, the switch would undoubtedly be made easier for Soldado if there were a suitable strategy awaiting him.

Although his age means Soldado represents little in sell-on value, he’s something Spurs need right now: an accomplished source of goals in the prime of his playing career who can take the club to that next level. Not since the 2008-09 season has the player failed to score 20 club goals in a campaign, and his numbers are only improving.

Able to be the more inconspicuous asset as well as the strong platform in attack, Soldado is a versatile striker with teamwork inherent in his play.

Regardless of what might be going on with their beloved Bale, Spurs can be glad of one transfer that will do them a world of good should it come to pass.