Plucking lynchpin away from Leicester makes sense for Spurs
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Yet another Leicester star is attracting attention from a Premier League rival, as Danny Drinkwater emerges as a rumoured target for Tottenham.
First Jamie Vardy shunned Arsenal, then N’Golo Kante flew the nest for Chelsea. We aren’t likely to know what club owns Riyad Mahrez until after the close of the transfer window and now Drinkwater’s future is under the microscope.
Such pandemonium about his squad surely isn’t helping Claudio Ranieri orchestrate his side’s top-flight title defence, especially as he’ll have to source a replacement if the England midfielder moves to north London.
Linking Drinkwater to Spurs appears curious on first glance as the Foxes were almost the anti-Lilywhites in the way they played last term. Despite that though, the two parties would be a good fit.
In a side that preferred not to have too much of the ball and looked to launch devastating counter attacks, Leicester’s number four thrived.
The 26-year-old made the most passes in Ranieri’s team last term, finding his teammates with 1984 balls in total.
That would have ranked as the third-highest total at White Hart Lane even though Mauricio Pochettino’s outfit looked to play on the front foot, either in their pressing play or with the ball at their feet.
Energetic closing down was also part of the Foxes’ armoury, but it was far more aggressive at Spurs. Nevertheless Drinkwater’s tally of 106 successful tackles paled in comparison to Kante at the King Power Stadium, but would have topped the charts in north London.
In those two areas it’s clear that the three-cap international could make a seamless transition from blue shirt to white.
It’s arguable that Spurs need him too. Mousa Dembele, Eric Dier and Victor Wanyama look the only first-team candidates in the double pivot positions, with Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb and Tom Carroll all dubiously suited to provide backup.
Adding Drinkwater would therefore bring depth to one of Spurs’ most energetic areas of the field, while simultaneously weakening a rival for the top four. It’s a transfer that makes sense all round for them.
After their 1-1 draw with Everton, Spurs are 2/5 to get their first win against Crystal Palace at home this weekend.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
