2 Nkoudou in action for Marseille last season

Football statistics experts WhoScored.com assess the merits of Tottenham Hotspur target Georges-Kevin Nkoudou. Read their assessment below, then check out WhoScored’s Spurs stats page.

Tottenham Hotspur’s first match of their pre-season tour of Australia culminated in a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Serie A champions Juventus. While hardly the ideal start, it leaves room for improvement, of that there is no doubt.

New signings Victor Wanyama and Vincent Janssen were on show in Melbourne; yet despite an outlay just shy of £30m for the pair, Spurs are unlikely to settle for the duo alone in the transfer market this summer.

Indeed, reports in recent weeks have linked Spurs with a move for Olympique Marseille youngster Georges-Kevin Nkoudou. Having established a statistically calculated WhoScored.com strength of ‘attacking down the wings’, a player of Nkoudou’s style is an ideal, and somewhat sensible, target for the north London outfit. Of players aged 21 and under to make five or more Ligue 1 appearances last season, only Ousmane Dembele (4.1) averaged more successful dribbles per game than the Frenchman (2.3).

Spurs require further strength in depth in the final third, particularly after Andros Townsend, who has since joined Crystal Palace, departed for Newcastle United back in January. The England international may not have been a first team regular for the north London outfit, but he offered an alternative attacking threat from the likes of Christian Eriksen, Nacer Chadli and Erik Lamela out wide.

Pochettino does favour his wingers to cut inside – allowing the full-backs to provide the width from deep – but against teams that sit back and soak up pressure, Spurs struggled at times last season.

Pochettino, in Nkoudou, would thus have at his disposal the much-needed attacking threat to help stretch opponents in the final third. Plus, at 21 years of age, there is much more to come from the Frenchman. The Argentine manager has made a habit of scouting the hottest young talent on the continent, within the club’s transfer budget, before helping youth prospects realise their potential. Nkoudou, therefore, fits the bill perfectly.

Nkoudou is very much a raw, unpredictable player. Hardly the household name outside of France, the young winger has the potential to cause upset in the Premier League. His searing pace on the flank and confidence using both feet – a quality lacking in Pochettino’s side – would be a huge boost to Spurs’ attack.

Having been fouled an average of two times per game in Ligue 1 last season – one of the higher returns – opponents are quick to identify the threat he carries and stop him, by any means necessary. Yet this hasn’t hindered Nkoudou’s development, with the young winger more than capable of taking the game to rival defences.

His protracted arrival would further swell Pochettino’s offensive ranks and offer the Spurs boss another dimension to his attack. Given the Argentine’s track record at nurturing young players and Nkoudou’s confidence in his own ability, the youthful winger would surely benefit from his guidance as he continues to go from strength to strength.

For more stats on Georges-Kevin Nkoudou, click here to view his WhoScored.com player page.