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Opinion: Mauricio Pochettino shouldn’t sign Fulham man to replace 28-year-old

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Danny Rose has an uncertain future at Tottenham after admitting he could leave the club this summer due to his advancing age, but Mauricio Pochettino would be making a mistake by replacing him with Ryan Sessegnon. The Fulham midfielder has a £45m asking price and doesn’t yet possess any of the defensive qualities to justify the outlay.

Last season, Sessegnon made 35 Premier League appearances, scoring two goals and making six assists. He created 33 chances, made 32 successful dribbles (47%) and whipped in 66 crosses with 20% accuracy. The 19-year-old’s defensive statistics weren’t up to scratch for Fulham, however.

Sessegnon made 22 tackles but was dribbled past 16 times and only won 31% of his aerial duels. He had 68 unsuccessful touches and was dispossessed 51 times for the Cottagers but did block 11 crosses from 35 appearances. Tottenham aren’t likely to spend lavishly this summer, so it’s vital their money goes in the right areas.

Letting Rose leave and replacing him with a more expensive makeshift defender isn’t the best business move – it would weaken the Tottenham squad for next season. Rose impressed last season and should be kept at the club at all costs. But if Pochettino must let the England international go, he needs to identify a more natural defender as his replacement.

Read Crippy Cooke’s previous article

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Sports journalist who is an avid football fan, enjoys debunking transfer rumours, loves to write pieces about players out in the cold and takes a large amount of pride getting a predicted XI 100% correct.