Southampton’s Ryan Bertrand vs Ben Davies – Stats Show That Tottenham Should Avoid Splashing £30m On The Englishman
According to the Daily Star, Tottenham Hotspur are set to launch £30m summer move for Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand.
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino reportedly sees Bertrand as the ideal replacement for Danny Rose, who is likely to leave the club at the end of the season.
Bertrand would have Ben Davies for competition if he were to move to Tottenham, with the Wales international performing well at left-back. Let us have a comparison between Bertrand and Davies to see whether Spurs should move for the Southampton star or not.
Speaking about the attacking traits, Davies trumps Bertrand. The Welshman has 6 goals and 2 assists to his name, while the England star has only 4 assists. It is a mismatch mainly because of their style of play.
Both the left-backs are good passers of the ball as they tend to keep everything simple. While Bertrand possesses 79% pass completion rate, Davies enjoys 80% pass success rate. When it comes to successful take-ons, Davies is way ahead than Bertrand, enjoying 73.68% success as compared to Southampton star’s 45.71%.
In terms of interceptions, the Saints star has made an eye-catching 41 interceptions in comparison to the Tottenham man’s 24. However, stats show that Bertrand is dominated aerially more than Davies, with the former winning just 44.83% aerial battles in contrast to the latter’s 50%.
Both of them are defensively sound and composed. They aren’t error-prone.
Speaking about Davies, the Welshman is decent in the attack but is defensively very reliable. He has a sweet left-foot and possesses a powerful shot. He may lack speed and agility but the former Swansea man’s intelligence to read the game makes him one of the important players in Pochettino’s set-up.
Bertrand, on the other hand, would simply move this summer if Southampton are relegated to the Championship. They are 18th, one point from safety, with three games left to play. He has been excellent at left-back in an otherwise mediocre season.
Comparing both the players, it is safe to say that Pochettino must stick to Davies. Even if the Spurs manager is attempting to bring Bertrand as a replacement for Rose, he should simply avoid it.
First and foremost, Bertrand won’t buy the idea of playing second-fiddle to Davies, having done so for many years at Chelsea. Secondly, he will turn 29 in August which would see him give only 3-4 years of top quality football.
Instead, Pochettino should aim for a young left-back, ready to play second fiddle to Davies. Hence, it is better for the Lilywhites to avoid signing Bertrand in the summer.
Stats courtesy: Squawka