Big things were expected of Matt Doherty this season, but he’s not having the best start to life at Tottenham. The 28-year-old was signed from Wolverhampton Wanderers in August and has played in all three of our games this season, but he’s looked uncomfortable at right-back and may need a lot of time to settle in.
Ineffective defensively and offensively
No Tottenham player has given away more fouls in the Premier League this season than Doherty (5), no Tottenham player has picked up more bookings than Doherty (1), no Tottenham defender has been dribbled past more than Doherty (2), no Tottenham defender has had more unsuccessful touches (3) and only two Tottenham players have a worse pass completion ratio than Doherty (70.1%).
Does he need a positional shift?
At Wolves, Doherty operated as a right-sided wing-back. Under Nuno Espirito Santo, he’s been given a licence to get forward and supplement the attack, contributing nine goals, creating 45 chances and making 39 successful dribbles in 2017/18, 18 goals, 38 chances and 20 successful dribbles in 2018/19 and 12 goals, 21 chances and 28 successful dribbles in 2019/20.
At Tottenham, however, Mourinho has Doherty playing as a generic right-back and it’s not working. He’s made two dribbles, hasn’t created any chances, hasn’t whipped in an accurate cross and has registered only one shot so far. It’s still early days for Doherty, but he won’t be pleased with how things are currently going. Mourinho won’t be too happy either and may have to take him out of the spotlight if things don’t improve.
Sergio Reguilon could be the key
Reguilon’s arrival from Real Madrid could be beneficial for Doherty, as he’s an attacking fullback who may thrive in a wing-back role. If Mourinho admits defeat and changes his system to one that suitors his wide players, Tottenham could thrive in all areas of the pitch.
It would mean the likes of Heung-min Son and Gareth Bale can play more narrow to get among the goals and create chances, but it remains to be seen if Mourinho will make a change.
In other news, Dele Alli could leave Tottenham, as Inter & PSG want a transfer