Tottenham have been linked with Tonny Vilhena, with Calciomercato reporting that Mauricio Pochettino is eyeing the Feyenoord midfielder. The 23-year-old is highly creative, has a good eye for goal and can turn defence into attack with his runs from deep, but he’s arguably more of a replacement for Dele Alli than he is for Mousa Dembele.
Vilhena rose through the youth ranks to the Feyenoord first-team in 2012 and has gone on to make 237 appearances in all competitions, scoring and creating 60 goals. Last season, the Netherlands international scored 11 league goals for Feyenoord and has notched four goals in 15 Eredivisie games this campaign, scoring in each of his last two appearances.
He would improve the Tottenham midfield but may not be a player Pochettino wants in the squad. Vilhena doesn’t have the same positional discipline like Dembele so he could risk being exposed in the middle of the park. The long-serving player is combative, averaging a tackle or interception every 30 minutes, but he prefers to be in possession and playing forward.
It’s hard to see Feyenoord being open to a sale for Vilhena, however, and his asking price could be lofty as he’s a key player at De Kuip.
Crippy Cooke’s previous article
Tottenham won’t make £79m transfer decision on Spaniard – opinion