Pep Guardiola hasn’t found life in the Premier League as easy as it was for him in the Barcelona and Bayern Munich dugouts. Despite cruising to straight victories in his first 6 Premier League games, Manchester City have encountered some brick wall afterwards, failing to win 6 of their last 9 games.
The Catalan is keen on adding quality defensive recruitments to his squad having seen 19 goals enter into the net, and has identified the fullback department as the area in need of topmost priority.
Guardiola has set eyes on Tottenham’s left-back and England international Danny Rose and is said to be preparing a £25million deal to lure the 26-year-old former Leeds United defender away from the White Hart Lane.
In September, Rose signed a 5-year contract extension to commit his future to Spurs, yet it hasn’t detracted City and other suitors like United and Chelsea, who all have plans to convince the north London outfits into selling.
While Guardiola will no doubt continue to test Tottenham’s resolve in getting them to sell Rose, under no circumstances must they give in, as the left-back is one of the most important members of their lineup that should and must never be sold for the time being.
Spurs have conceded just 11 goals in the Premier League this term – the least of all 20 top flight clubs, and Rose’s impact in solidifying the left section of the defence accounts for a lot in contributing to such impressiveness.
The full-back has missed 5 league games this season, with his last absence, due to suspension leading to Tottenham’s 1st ever loss of 2016-17 against Chelsea. Could that have been a coincidence? Especially considering that his stand-in in the position on the day, Wimmer, was missing when Moses ran almost 30 meters to power in Costa’s cross.
In all the 11 games he has played in the Premier League, Danny Rose has won 29 tackles and 17 headed duels, completed 13 take-ons, made 17 interceptions, 50 clearances and 1 block. Meaning he has averaged 6 defensive actions and won 1.7 aerial duels every 90 minutes.
Rose is known for his immense attacking contributions down the left flank, and it is a huge reason why Guardiola and these other top clubs are after him. This season, he has averaged 1.4 shots per game, with 44% of his shots hitting the target.
The Tottenham’s front line has enjoyed his ability to constantly help them out, with him creating 12 goal-scoring chances, weighing in an assist and scoring on one occasion. Rose is one of the few ball-playing full-backs in the Premier League and has completed 77% of his passes thus far, with an average pass length of 21meters.
There is the dearth of quality full-backs in the game right now, and once one is lost, securing a replacement might be practically impossible. Barcelona are learning that the hard way, Arsenal are holding on to Bellerin with their dear life while Guardiola’s scouts continue to scour the planet for one.
Tottenham will be very wise to hold on to Rose until the foreseeable future, as if they let him leave for the Etihad, their huge loss would be Guardiola’s great gain in so many ways.