Werner upgrade: Spurs hold talks over signing 25m star who’s like Son

With the first month of the transfer window now in the rearview mirror, Premier League clubs will have to step up their business if they don’t want to be left behind when the season comes around again next month.

Among those teams needing to do more business is Tottenham Hotspur.

They may have signed Archie Gray and extended Timo Werner’s contract, but if Ange Postecoglou is going to lead the club back into the Champions League, he’s going to need more than that.

The good news is that, based on recent reports, Daniel Levy and Co appear to be hard at work looking for the right additions. However, the latest player touted for a move to the club, who has been compared to Son Heung-min, could spell trouble for Werner’s prospects in North London next season.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

According to a recent report from journalist Graeme Bailey, Tottenham are one of several clubs interested in signing Juventus ace Federico Chiesa this summer.

Alongside the Lilywhites, the report claims that Chelsea and Newcastle United have held talks with the player’s representatives. At the same time, Atlético Madrid, Marseille, Roma and Napoli have shown interest from the continent.

While the level of interest in his services is far from ideal for the North Londoners’, the good news is that Juventus are looking to sell him this summer and, due to his contract expiring next season, are only looking for around £25m, per reports earlier this week.

It could be challenging to secure Chiesa’s signature ahead of so many interested clubs, but given his reputation and affordable price, Levy and Co must do what they can to bring him to N17, as he’d be the ideal Werner upgrade, and the comparison to Son is just a nice bonus.

How Chiesa compares to Son and Werner

So, the first thing to look at is Chiesa’s comparison to Son, which stems from FBref concluding that the South Korean is the seventh most similar forward to the Italian across Europe’s top five leagues.

They arrive at this conclusion by examining how closely the pair ranks in certain underlying metrics. For example, the two wingers produce similar numbers for metrics such as shots on target, key passes, passes into the penalty area, interceptions, successful take-ons, carries, and ball recoveries, all per 90.

That said, with the former Bayer Leverkusen ace being the club captain and one of the best players for Postecoglou last season, it seems more likely that the Juve winger would be battling it out with Werner for a place as back-up to the 32-year-old next season – a battle the former Fiorentina man would win.

For example, in 37 appearances last season, he scored ten goals and provided three assists for the Old Lady, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 2.84 games.

In contrast, across his time with RB Leipzig and Tottenham, the former Chelsea forward could only muster four goals and four assists, equating to a goal involvement on average every 3.5 games.

Ultimately, the Italian “galactico,” as data analyst Ben Mattinson dubbed him, may not be at his highest point at the moment, but last season proved he can still be productive when given a chance, and while Werner isn’t a terrible player, he’s not quite on the level of Chiesa anymore. Therefore, Levy and Co should be doing what they can to bring the Juve ace to N17 this summer.