News out of Spain suggests that Tottenham have made a bid for out-of-favor Riquelme and that Villarreal are currently considering the ‘serious offer’. It comes from Riquelme’s agent, so you can either expect that he’s telling the truth or that it’s a last-ditch attempt to get a Spanish club to bid for Riquelme.
In any case, the bigger question here is if Tottenham need Riquelme or not. He’s a top-quality player, will link up beautifully with Keane and Berbatov (not to mention Lennon and Malbranque) and will bring a lot of experience to Tottenham’s midfield, something that’s been lacking for a while.
But I have two concerns – one, Riquelme is not the fastest of players. However, having seen Paul Scholes wreak havoc over at Old Trafford, I’m sure that you can agree that Riquelme has a shot at coming to terms with the Premiership’s tempo (even though the comparison doesn’t work as Scholes has been at United for all his career). The second concern is more relevant, and it’s that Riquelme is not the player Tottenham’s midfield needs.
Right now Tottenham’s main problem in midfield is a lack of discipline, experience, grit and defensive nous. Riquelme is a creative, attacking midfielder and as a result he doesn’t solve the defensive midfielder problem for Spurs.
Having said that, it would be terrific to see Riquelme in the Premiership and I’ve no doubt that he could improve Tottenham – just not sure that he’s exactly what Tottenham need at the moment.
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