The transfer saga surrounding Pedro Porro has finally come to an end with Spurs securing the Spaniard’s signature in a £42 million move from Sporting Lisbon (more on that here).
Following the announcement of Porro’s signing, we here at VitalSpurs thought it would be worthwhile taking a look at how the 23-year-old could make an impact in North London.
The eye test
Although stats are important in the modern game (more on that later), a player of Porro’s quality sometimes does not need numbers to justify a move. Quick, explosive and fantastic in the final third – you only need to watch the highlights of Sporting’s 2-1 victory over Vizela last week, to realise just how good the full-back is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApVzZiauZSo
Stat heaven
When it does come to the numbers, however, Porro arguably impresses even more – with 14 goal contributions in 25 games so far this season (via Transfermarkt), the Spaniard provides an attacking threat that Spurs currently don’t possess.
The underlying numbers also make for good reading as well – for example stats from FB Ref show that out of all the full-backs in this year’s Champions League, Porro ranks in the top 5% for tackles won per 90.
Porro has also excelled going forward in the Champions League, ranking in the top 8% for dribbles completed out of fullbacks. These stats should not be sniffed at as Porro is ranking amongst Europe’s best for a lot of metrics.
It is also worth taking a look at how Porro compares to Tottenham’s current wing-back – namely Emerson Royal. For example, even though Emerson plays much higher up the pitch than Porro does for Sporting, he only contributes to 0.23 goal-creating actions per 90 in the Champions League – far behind Porro’s total of 0.69 per 90.
The Spaniard also blows Emerson out of the water in terms of defensive statistics as well – with his 2.3 tackles won per 90 absolutely dwarfing the Brazilian’s total of 1.64.
All being said and done, I don’t think anyone can doubt that Porro is an absolutely fantastic signing for Spurs, providing some much-needed quality down the right-hand side – giving Spurs that extra bit of talent they need if they want to secure a top-four spot.
Spurs fans, do you think Porro will make an impact in North London? Have your say by visiting the VitalSpurs fan forum here