Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a £26 million deal to sign Roberto Soldado from Valencia. The Spanish striker will undergo a medical in the next few days before finalizing his move to the White Hart Lane.
The 28-year-old will become the third major signing of the summer, after Spurs announced through their official Twitter account this morning: “We are delighted to announce that we have reached agreement with Valencia for the transfer of Roberto Soldado subject to medical.”
Fans embracing to a new hero
Soldado joined Valencia at a time when the Los Che were resigned to the prospect of losing their cult-hero David Villa.
Being an academy graduate from Real Madrid, the talent was always there in him, but till then he didn’t get the scope to showcase his calibre for any big club. But, how well he won the hearts of the Valencia fans in no time!
Similar sort of situation can be observed here. Spurs could lose their precious star Gareth Bale in the summer to Real Madrid and the onus is upon the former Madrid player to win the hearts of the fans again. If he can deliver, Tottenham fans will start falling in love again – for a new hero.
Goals and more goals
The Spain international is enjoying the form of his life at the moment. Since joining the Mestalla club from Getafe, he has gone from strength to strength. In each of his three seasons at the club, he has always scored 25 goals and over while netting 30 goals in his last season.
One can easily feel the best is yet to come from him. He has two to three quality seasons left in him and if he can acclimatize quickly to the Premier League, the White Hart Lane faithful will be privileged to see some great goals from the Spaniard.
Spurs were searching for a prolific goal scorer for some time now. Last season, the two strikers at the club have scored only 16 goals combined, and no wonder why the Portuguese was so determined to land a quality forward. Soldado could be the right man to ease Spurs’ woes.
Flexibility to the formation
Soldado would provide a tactical flexibility to Andre Villas-Boas’ side. The Spaniard plays as a typical no9, but managers can use him in different formations easily – coz of his brilliant movement and capability to grapple the tactical nuances.
He can be used in 4-2-3-1, 4-4-1-1, 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 as well. He can be a dangerous player in a 4-3-3 system. Villas-Boas used the system last season using Bale and Dempsey as wide forwards with Jermain Defoe up front.
Soldado is technically a better player than Defoe (with due respect to the player) and therefore he can change his positions like moving wide and allowing the wide players to drift in and have a crack at the goal. Also, by swapping positions with other wide players, he is constantly drifting away from his markers, therefore making it difficult for the central defenders to focus on one single player only.
Centre of attention
For the first time in his career, he will feel like being valued. Spurs are breaking their bank to sign him and instead of taking it as a pressure, it should act as an impetus for him. It should make him more determined to repay the faith and in this process can take his game to a new level as well.
If Bale leaves, he will enjoy the centre of focus, in terms of team shape and structure. At Valencia, he was the focal point of all their attacks and the same trend is likely to continue here too.
And if he continues to honour the service of the creative players in the side, like he did at Valencia, White Hart Lane will have found another hero to adore.
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