Reasons to Believe Roberto Soldado Can Be a Success at Tottenham Hotspur

Roberto Soldado's career at Tottenham began well enough and there is reason to believe he can yet resurrect it. 

Goals in each of his first two Premier League matches seemed all that could have been hoped for as Andre Villas-Boas' team adjusted to the loss of talismanic forward Gareth Bale. 

Unfortunately, Soldado failed to trouble the scorers for the next five games. He finally scored from open play against Aston Villa in October 2013 and added a third penalty in the next match but could only manage two more by the end of that season. 

For many observers, Soldado was emblematic of Spurs' failure to sensibly spend the enormous sum earned by the sale of Bale.

It had seemed to be an obvious move. The only one of Spain's top four goalscorers not to play for either Real Madrid or Barcelona, Soldado earned a reputation as one of Europe's most effective strikers. His aggression and his reliability in the box appeared to indicate that he would be a great success in England. 

He hasn't been. 

While nobody would argue that Soldado has returned a profit on Spurs' investment, there are reasons to believe that they should persist with him.

The emergence of Harry Kane could be perceived as the final nail in the coffin of Soldado's Tottenham tenure.

The Englishman is eight years Soldado's junior and has scored more Premier League goals in fewer appearances. His star performance against Chelsea in Spurs' 5-3 triumph has all but assured his place in Roy Hodgson's next England squad, and he rivals Christian Eriksen as Spurs' most important outfield player. 

While Kane's development does mean Soldado is unlikely to start often in the Premier League, Soldado still has a role to play.

Kane earned his place in Spurs' first team by scoring regularly in Europe. His performances drove Spurs into the Europa League round of 32, but he most likely won't start against Fiorentina. 

Soldado can take his place in the secondary competitions while Kane takes centre stage. Certainly that is not what the club envisioned when they signed him from Valencia, but it remains an important role. 

It is more a case of luck than good performances that have earned Soldado's Spurs career a stay of execution. The club cannot afford to lose him at this point in their season.

In the continued absence of Emmanuel Adebayor, Soldado remains a huge part of Spurs' squad. He is the only senior striker available if Mauricio Pochettino wishes to rest Kane. 

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Tottenham are potentially facing more fixtures than any other @premierleague club over the next few months. #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/55D3HZDIAL

— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) January 6, 2015"

With the glut of games ahead of Spurs, Soldado will have many opportunities to prove his worth to the club. 

He has seven goals in 40 games in the top flight, but in other competitions he has eight in 17. He has already shown that European competition and cup games are his forte. 

Now that the winner of the Europa League joins the Champions League in the following season, Europe's secondary competition is a higher priority than it once was. Soldado has eight goals in Europe for Spurs. His is a reassuring presence when Spurs play on the continent. 

Beyond his role as Kane's understudy, Soldado also has a tactical role to play. 

Soldado came to the Premier League as a predator. The absence of good service and his own failure to take chances when they came saw him move into deeper and wider roles towards the end of last season. He was unable to find his scoring form, but he began to contribute to build-up play and that continued this season. 

His discipline and willingness to bring others into the game make him an ideal closer. When Spurs are leading, Pochettino can rely on Soldado to make sensible decisions and ensure they don't drop points. He played 10 minutes as Spurs beat Burnley 2-1 in a tight match in December. 

Pochettino also clearly believes that Soldado has a role to play. He has made 21 appearances in all competitions this season, only four fewer than Kane. 

Tottenham's Spanish striker will not be the 20-goal-a-season forward that they thought he would be. He will not replace Dimitar Berbatov as Spurs' last true centre-forward. He won't threaten to take Harry Kane's starting place. With all that in mind, Soldado can be a qualified success at Spurs. 

He can lead the club in Europe and in domestic cup competitions. He can play a tactical role to help his team finish matches and he can take the pressure off Kane. 

Fernando Torres' 2012-13 season is the blueprint for Soldado. In that year, the once-brilliant striker accepted his new-found limitations and exploited his strengths to plunder 22 goals in all competitions.

Chelsea won the Europa League and returned to the Premier League's top four. If Soldado could mirror that performance, he would have proven he's worth every penny of his sizeable transfer fee.