Spurs could land their own Reece James in swoop for teen “wonderkid”

The January transfer window is a matter of weeks away and Tottenham Hotspur may dip into the market to improve the depth of their squad.

Ange Postecoglou’s side has been ravaged by injuries of late, with the likes of James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, and Manor Solomon, among others, missing, and have only won one of their last six Premier League matches.

Tottenham transfer news – Sam Curtis

90min reported in November that Spurs are one of a number of clubs interested in a deal to sign St. Patrick’s Athletic right-back Sam Curtis in January.

The outlet named Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool, Celtic, Hull, Middlesbrough, and Leeds United as the other sides keeping tabs on the 18-year-old whiz.

It was stated that his current club expect the player to move on before they return to action in February, which suggests that Tottenham need to move quickly to secure his signature.

Postecoglou could land his own version of Chelsea star Reece James by winning the race for the defender, who could come in as a long-term heir to Pedro Porro.

Why Curtis could be James 2.0

In an interview with the Independent, Curtis revealed that the England international is an inspiration to him and that the Blues ace contacted him on Instagram to offer any advice that the teenage gem may need, having read about the Irishman’s admiration for him.

The St. Patrick’s Athletic star said he does not want to be known as the next James but the comparison is now there due to his connection with the Chelsea academy graduate, who he has the opportunity to learn from if Curtis takes the full-back up on his offer.

James has averaged 2.5 tackles and interceptions combined per game and managed 23 assists across 195 career games for club and country, which shows that he is a dynamic right-back who can offer quality at both ends of the pitch.

Sam Curtis’ season in numbers

Curtis, who turned 18 at the start of this month, caught the eye in the Irish top-flight with 34 starts as a 17-year-old throughout the 2023 campaign.

The teenage battler, who was once lauded as a “wonderkid” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, showcased his attacking potential with four goal contributions, including three goals and one assist.

He also stood out with his impressive defensive work at right-back. The reported Spurs target made 3.4 tackles and interceptions combined and 5.2 ball recoveries per match to go along with a duel success rate of 63%.

23/24 Premier League

Pedro Porro (via Sofascore)

Appearances

15

Goals

Zero

Assists

Five

Tackles and interceptions per game

3.8

Ball recoveries per game

5.1

As you can see from the table above, Porro has been in superb form for Tottenham so far this season in the Premier League as he has made an impact at both ends of the pitch.

However, the Spaniard has also been dribbled past 2.2 times per match and only won 52% of his duels in those 15 games, whilst Curtis won 63% of his battles and was only dribbled past 0.4 times per game in the Premier Division.

This suggests that the exciting teen whiz, who is six years younger than Porro, could be harder for opposition players to get past due to his ability to win a higher percentage of his physical contests.

Curtis could, therefore, develop into a dream heir to Porro and Postecoglou’s own version of Reece James over the years to come if they can bring him in.