Why Tottenham signing Ricardo Pereira would be a top move

According to Gazet van Antwerpen (h/t Leicestershire Live), Tottenham have expressed an interest in Leicester City’s Ricardo Pereira.

Pereira, 26, was brought to the King Power Stadium at the beginning of last season. Since then, he has been a regular for the side. He provided 7 assists and scored 2 goals in 35 league games in his first full season at the club.

At the end of the campaign, he was chosen as the club’s Player of The Season and has continued the good form into this term, already racking up 2 assists and 1 goal so far. He has established himself as one of the best right-backs in England within a short span.

With his impressive performances, he has caught the eye of Tottenham, who are interested in him and want to make him their player as early as possible.

Since replacing Mauricio Pochettino at the helm, Jose Mourinho has helped the team transform their bad start and has won 4 out of the 5 league games he has managed, with the only defeat coming against Manchester United.

However, there are a lot of issues for the former Real Madrid manager to look into. Tottenham’s defence has been vulnerable this season and have conceded 32 in 17 games. Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen seem to have reached the twilight of their career, whereas Davinson Sanchez has not been at his best.

The Lilywhites failed to address the right-back issue. After selling Kieran Tripper last summer, they failed to bring in a proper replacement. Serge Aurier was far from good initially but seems to be doing better after Mourinho’s arrival. Despite that, he has been prone to making errors in defensive situations.

Juan Foyth and Kyle Walker-Peters have not been convincing and don’t seem good enough to make it to the starting line-up. And going into the tougher phase of the season without an established right-back could cause all sorts of troubles for the manager, who is trying to make amends at the backline.

Having said this, Tottenham should make a move for Ricardo Pereira in January. The 7-cap Portugal international has made 56 appearances for Leicester and has quickly become a favourite. An intelligent and pacey player, Pereira can also play on the left flank.

The 26-year-old’s versatility must be noticed by Tottenham’s hierarchy as he has done equally well when deployed in the midfield as well. This would help Mourinho to come up with a different dimension to a game’s approach.

A hard worker on the pitch, Pereira has made 4.4 tackles and 2 interceptions (Whoscored) per game in defensive situations for Brendan Rodgers’ side this season. He has the ability and stamina to cover the right side with ease, and is a reliable option.

Read more

• Why Tottenham should reignite their interest in Luiz Felipe
• Why Andre Onana would be a perfect replacement for Spurs’ Hugo Lloris
• Why Tottenham must go all out to sign Vedat Muriqi in January

Verdict

At 26, it would be the right time for Pereira to play at a higher level and if he moves to Tottenham, he would get to play in the Champions League. Mourinho’s side would look solid at the back if he is in their squad. Therefore, Tottenham must buy him at any cost in January.