Forget Kieran Trippier – Tottenham signing this 28-year-old Ligue 1 ace would get them an ideal replacement

Tottenham Opinion: Should Spurs make a move for Hiroki Sakai?

Tottenham Hotspur are on the verge of losing their key player Kieran Tripper, who has set his sights set on joining La Liga giants Atletico Madrid. (h/t The Guardian)

The 28-year-old has been heavily linked with a summer exit and now the Roji Blancos have reportedly won the race, leaving Spurs in dire straits.

The North London side’s right-back options are currently looking bleak as Serge Aurier is yet to recover from injury, leaving the inexperienced Kyle Walkers-Peters as the sole option.

Given this, the North London side has expressed their interest in signing a player like Marseille’s Sakai.

The 29-year-old has been a regular for the Ligue 1 outfit for the past three seasons, playing more than 100 games. However, the 2018/19 campaign turned out to be more productive, where he eventually bagged Marseille’s Player of the Season award.

The 32-year-old racked up a goal and 5 assists in the process with one Man of the Match award.

Sakai is more of a versatile player, as he tends to play as an inverted full-back and also a wide midfielder.

How would Sakai be a great addition for Pochettino?

Trippier’s contribution to the North London outfit has been massive over the course, as he put in a string of earnest displays.

The former Burnley man remained a pivotal figure for Mauricio Poechettino’s side, which didn’t shy away from being in the title contention for the past few seasons.

While progress has been made since the arrival of the Argentine manager, Spurs are still deprived of any silverware after missing out on the Champions League title last season by inches.

As a means of retaliation, the former Espanyol manager has made an emphatic statement in the current transfer window, which is also their first active one in two years, by bringing some promising talents namely Tanguy Ndombele and Jack Clarke to North London.

Given that Trippier’s departure is on the cards, Spurs must make a move for Sakai.

The Japanese international played for Bundesliga outfit Hannover for around 4 years and has earned 49 caps until now.

In terms of stats, Sakai was one of the prominent full-backs in the Ligue 1 the last term, holding a pass success percentage of 81.

Read more Tottenham News, click here –Latest Tottenham News

Due to his tall and strong build, the Japanese international is quite good in the air as he won an average of 3 aerial duels, 2.1 tackles and 2.4 interceptions per game.

Final Verdict

Spurs have to plan for a future without the exit-linked Trippier and the South Asian full-back Sakai can be his successor at least temporarily.