Why Spurs would be mad to swap Townsend for QPR’s Remy
Published:In October last year Andros Townsend’s career only seemed to be heading in one direction, as his first England goal capped off a series of fine performances for Tottenham Hotspur.
His impressive loan spell at QPR in the 2012/13 season had finally convinced Spurs to take a chance on the winger, with record-signing Erik Lamela often left on the bench while Townsend thrived.
Fast forward to this summer, however, and Townsend finds himself in almost exactly the same position as before, on the fringes at Spurs with a move to QPR mooted.
This time the Lilywhites are apparently weighing up swapping him for Loic Remy, who recently fluffed a medical when on the brink of moving to Liverpool.
On the face of it, many Spurs fans would jump at the deal. For all the danger he seemed to create, Townsend scored just one league goal last season (from a cross), and registered no assists.
Meanwhile Remy scored 14 times in 26 appearances for Newcastle United, firing them into the top half of the table.
The France international can play anywhere across the attack, providing cover for a number of positions where Spurs are currently light on quality, especially at striker where their current trio all have substantial question marks next to their name.
However, despite all this, Spurs should keep the faith with their youth academy prospect Townsend who, at 23, still has time to develop into a top-quality player.
Last season no player in the Premier League completed more take ons per 90 minutes than Townsend’s 4.91, and if he could improve his final third decision making at all, he would become a major threat.
Remy is hardly past-it at 27, but with injury issues and a reputation for being somewhat of a mercenary, Spurs should ignore the temptation of short-term gain and stick with their own youngster for once.
Spurs are 7/2 to claim a place in the top four in their first season under Pochettino.
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