Spurs make first move to sign “unplayable” £60m Kulusevski replacement

Tottenham Hotspur bolstered the ranks during the January transfer window and with Heung-min Son soon to return from the Asia Cup, Ange Postecoglou will be confident that his side can achieve their goals by the close of the campaign.

What exactly is the Australian’s objective? Well, Spurs were in ruin when he took the helm last summer and after an eighth-placed Premier League finish it was clear that Harry Kane, club record scorer, was going to depart after many years of service.

It was a blow but Tottenham prepared for the daunting eventuality and spent shrewdly to give Postecoglou the best chance of succeeding, and while there has been much promise throughout the 2023/24 season, much work has yet to be plied.

The winter market presented the perfect opportunity to strengthen the existing crop and chairman Daniel Levy whirred into action, replacing Eric Dier with tough-tackling Radu Dragusin and boosting the frontline with Timo Werner, formerly of Chelsea.

Now, the onus is on crafting a purple patch that will secure a spot in the top four by the close of play, with Champions League qualification pivotal for the narrative of Tottenham’s summer spending.

Spurs’ summer transfer targets

One player who has recently been linked with a move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is Barcelona star Raphinha, who would likely only entertain a transfer if Postecoglou could present the allure of Europe’s premium competition.

According to Spanish outlet Sport, the La Liga champions have already received a €70m (£60m) offer from Spurs ahead of a possible summer move, with Liverpool also interested amid uncertainty surrounding Mohamed Salah’s future.

Barcelona has financial issues and could be convinced to recoup funds through the Brazilian’s sale, with Tottenham in need of more depth if they wish to challenge across multiple fronts next season.

Why Spurs are interested in Raphinha

In 2022, Barcelona signed Raphinha from Leeds United in a £55m deal, beating off interest from Arsenal and Chelsea, having been hailed for his “unplayable” displays in the Premier League by presenter Oscar Marrio.

Winning the Spanish top-flight under Xavi’s wing last season, Raphinha impressed while never looking like the most important member of Barcelona’s squad and given the club’s monetary problems it’s not far-fetched to assume cashing in might be an attractive option.

This season, as per Sofascore, the 28-year-old has only started eight matches in La Liga but has posted three goals and five assists, completing 80% of his passes, succeeding with 59% of his dribbles and averaging 1.7 key passes per game.

A right-sided winger, Raphinha is not the most prolific but he is technically proficient with pinpoint delivery and natural creative flair that would certainly open up a new dimension to the Tottenham attack.

Indeed, as per FBref, he ranks among the top 8% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 11% for shot-creating actions, the top 15% for passes attempted and the top 5% for progressive passes received per 90.

That final metric is particularly important, noting his high position up the right channel, looking to latch onto passes and thread balls into the box from the wing; with James Maddison the playmaking conduit at No. 10, this could work a treat.

It seems pretty clear that Barcelona will want to recuperate the outlay to bring Raphinha to Camp Nou a year and a half ago, however, and whether Tottenham should spend such a large sum on the player is questionable, especially since he would rock the boat as far as Dejan Kulusevski is concerned.

Bad news for Dejan Kulusevski

Kulusevski has been crucial under Postecoglou’s leadership this season and has been praised as the London club’s “unsung hero” by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare, working tirelessly to pump energy and flair into his team.

Across 21 Premier League matches this year, the 23-year-old has scored five goals and supplied two assists, averaging 2.2 key passes, 1.7 tackles and 4.3 ball recoveries per game while completing 83% of his passes.

Kulusevski has played centrally on occasion this season and looked good while doing so, but with Maddison now returning from injury it’s unlikely that he will get regular minutes in that role.

While Raphinha, described as a “magician” in the past by former Leeds teammate Dan James, has attributes that would improve Tottenham in certain phases of their attacking play, he doesn’t offer the rounded skill set that the Swedish Kulusevski does.

For example, Raphinha is averaging 0.5 tackles, 2.6 ball recoveries and 2.4 successful duels per appearance, and merging these numbers with his high placement up the pitch suggests that he lingers in areas where he knows he can wreak havoc.

In some ways, this is fine, effective, but Postecoglou’s system demands fluency and application of the highest order, and given that Kulusevski is already doing such fine work, with Brennan Johnson, signed from Nottingham Forest for £47.5m in the summer, boosting the options and dynamic on that flank.

Moreover, Kulusevski ranks among the top 10% of attacking midfielders and wingers for touches in the attacking penalty area but also ranks among the top 17% for tackles and the top 21% for interceptions per 90, highlighting his robustness and tenacity across the different facets of his game.

Ultimately, Spurs may well maintain their interest in Raphinha but given that he is not actually going to be an upgrade on Kulusevski and would require a big sum to procure his signature, it’s just not worth it.

Especially given the importance of signing the right players to benefit the system come summer.