Why Max Aarons would be a shrewd signing by Tottenham

According to a report by the Daily Mail, Tottenham are targeting Norwich City right-back, Max Aarons, in January.

The young full-back is one of manager Jose Mourinho’s primary targets as he looks to add more strength to his squad in the upcoming winter transfer window, the report added.

Aarons, 19, had a breakthrough season last year at Norwich, making 41 appearances for the Canaries, winning the Championship title and thereby attaining promotion into the Premier League.

He has continued his rich vein of form from the lower division into the Premier League by establishing himself as a regular in the Daniel Farke-led side, starting in all of their league games except two.

After joining Norwich City’s academy from Luton Town in 2016, Aarons slowly rose through the ranks, featuring for their youth team until he finally got his taste of senior team action last season.

Despite still being in his teens, Aarons did not find the going tough as he featured regularly in his debut season with the senior side. The young full-back has recorded a total of 59 appearances for the Canaries so far and has scored 3 goals and 6 assists.

Meanwhile, Tottenham, who did not bring in new defenders in the summer, are in dire need of some reinforcements after conceding a lot of goals this season. As a result, they dropped to a mid-table spot in the league standings.

However, since Mourinho’s arrival, the side has seen a resurgence in form and confidence.

An experienced manager like Mourinho would be more than aware that it wouldn’t take long before things go back to how they were unless he solves their existing issues at the back.

Since former defender Kieran Trippier’s move to Atletico Madrid in the summer, Serge Aurier has been entrusted with carrying out the duties at right-back.

However, Aurier, who arrived at the North London club in the summer of 2017 from French giants PSG, had failed to nail down a regular spot due to injuries and inconsistent form.

Trippier’s departure finally opened the doors for the 26-year-old but he struggled immensely, which reflected in Tottenham’s performance early in the season.

Since Mourinho’s appointment, he has looked like a man reborn, putting in some impressive displays at the back. However, his inconsistencies have been a cause of worry in the past and Mourinho would be quite aware of it.

Moreover, Kyle Walker-Peters has featured in very few games and has less experience playing big matches.

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With the right-back position clearly being a cause of concern, Mourinho’s decision to target a young established defender like Aarons does not sound surprising.  

Verdict

Having not made any recent signings in defence, Spurs are in clear need of a new face in their backline, which includes the likes of old guards Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen.

With his immense potential and youthfulness, Aarons could bring in new energy and life to a backline which seems to lack it at the moment. Moreover, he would be available for a cheap price now, which makes it a pretty good bargain for Tottenham if the deal really pans out.