We might only be 11 games into the Premier League season this year, but it’s already been a campaign full of ups and downs for Tottenham Hotspur.
In their usual fashion, the North Londoners have put in some outstanding performances, like the ones against Manchester United and Aston Villa, but have also looked utterly hopeless in games against Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace.
Ange Postecoglou has been able to get his team to play the ultra-attacking and entertaining football he wants them to, but he hasn’t been able to create a sense of consistency in their performances, and a player who perhaps encapsulates that best is James Maddison.
The former Leicester City ace has looked sublime in some games this season but like a complete passenger in others, and the club may well be running out of patience as recent reports have linked them to a young midfielder who could become his ideal rival.
Tottenham Hotspur transfer news
According to a recent report from Spain, Tottenham are one of several clubs interested in signing Gabri Veiga.
Alongside the Lilywhites, the report has revealed that Serie A sides Napoli and Fiorentina are keen to bring the Spaniard back to European football just a year and a bit on from his surprise move to the Saudi Pro League.
A potential price is not mentioned in the story, but given the fact that his £191k-per-week contract is only set to run until summer 2026, we can assume that Al-Ahli won’t be in a particularly strong position to demand too much more than the €36m – £30m – they paid for him last year.
Signing Veiga could still prove to be complicated and costly, but given his ability and potential, it would be well worth it, and he could be the ideal rival for Maddison.
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How Veiga compares to Maddison
So, if Spurs are successful in their pursuit of Veiga next year, his propensity to play in central and attacking midfield areas would put him in direct competition with Maddison for a place in the starting lineup, so how do the pair stack up against one another?
Well, the first thing to look at is their raw output, and to his credit, this is where the Lilywhites star comes out ahead, as over the last two seasons, he’s scored seven goals and provided 13 assists in 45 appearances, while his potential rival has scored eight goals and provided five assists in 37 appearances.
However, there are a few other reasons why signing the young Spaniard to rival the Englishman would be a good idea, and the first is his age.
Squad building is immensely important, and if the last transfer window is anything to go by, then Postecoglou and Daniel Levy are looking to build a team of young exciting talents.
So, at just 22 years old, the Porriño-born dynamo is at the perfect point in his career to become a core part of this evolving side.
Moreover, as his output suggests, he’s not too far behind the Englishman, and with transfers expert Fabrizio Romano describing him as “one of the best talents in the world” only last summer, he sounds like the ideal addition to the North Londoners’ forward-thinking project.
Furthermore, while the Coventry-born star is capable of going on a brilliant run of form, he cannot be relied upon to remain fit for an entire campaign. For example, across the last six seasons, he has suffered 16 injuries that have kept him sidelined for a total of 320 days and have seen him miss a whopping 56 games for club and country.
In contrast, despite making his senior debut four seasons ago, the Spain U21 international has only been sidelined for 15 games due to an ankle injury and a lack of fitness afterwards, so when it comes to availability, he’s far more reliable than the man he could rival in England.
Finally, if there are some of you out there who are still unconvinced by the possibility of Veiga coming in to challenge Maddison either in January or the summer, you only need to look at his final season of European football.
Appearances
39
Minutes
2482′
Goals
11
Assists
4
Goal Involvements per Match
0.38
Minutes per Goal Involvement
165.4′
In the 22/23 campaign, the up-and-coming prospect made 39 first-team appearances despite being just 20 at the time and ended the year with a sensational haul of 11 goals and four assists, meaning he maintained an average of a goal involvement once every 2.6 games in a top five league.
Ultimately, there will always be an element of risk in signing talent from the Saudi Pro League, but Veiga was receiving rave reviews just over a year ago, and it seems incredibly unlikely that a season and a bit of football away from Europe would see that ability disappear. Therefore, while it might not be a move that gets the fans overly excited, Levy and Co should look to bring the 22-year-old to N17 in 2025.
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