Better than Johnson: Spurs racing to sign prolific £25m "physical beast"
da winzada777： While this season has been an incredibly tiresome one for the Tottenham Hotspur faithful, there’s a real chance it could now end in glory.
da bwin： Thursday night saw Ange Postecoglou’s side beat Norwegian champions FK Bodo/Glimt 3-1 in the first leg of their Europa League semi-finals.
The scoring was opened by Brennan Johnson, who is now far and away the club’s top goalscorer, yet it would be fair to say he can be a player who splits opinion among fans and pundits alike.
That might explain recent reports that have linked the club with another free-scoring forward who could be even better than the Welshman.
Spurs' transfer targets
It’s no secret that Tottenham need to add more quality to the squad this summer, so before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other stars they’ve been linked to, like Jonathan David and Rayan Cherki.
Thanks to his contract running out at the end of the season, the former wouldn’t cost the club a penny in transfer fees, which could be simply sensational business, as in 46 appearances this year, he’s scored 25 goals and provided 11 assists.
Cherki, on the other hand, could cost up to £30m, but even that would be practically a bargain, as in 41 appearances, totalling 2894 minutes, the mercurial Frenchman has scored 12 goals and provided 19 assists for Lyon.
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However, another name has now been thrown into the mix, one that should be familiar to Postecoglou: Daizen Maeda.
According to a recent report from journalist Graeme Bailey, Spurs are one of several teams interested in the Celtic star.
Moreover, alongside the Lilywithes, the report has revealed that Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool have all sent scouts to watch the dangerous forward this year.
The good news is that even though so many teams are interested in the Japanese international, he could be available for as little as £25m this summer.
It might not be a name that Spurs fans were thinking of before, but if Spurs can sign Maeda, they should; as if his record is anything to go off, he could be better than Johnson.
How Maeda compares to Johnson
So, the first thing to say is that while Maeda tends to play down the middle or off the left, he has got experience of playing on the right of a front three before, so it wouldn’t be a massive surprise to see him play there for Spurs.
In turn, this would put him directly up against Johnson for game time, so who comes out on top when we compare them?
Well, when it comes to the most important metric of all for an attacking winger, their output, it’s the Celtic monster who comes out streaks ahead.
For example, in just 47 first-team appearances, totalling 3711 minutes, the Hoops’ prolific ace has racked up an unreal tally of 33 goals and 11 assists.
In other words, the Osaka-born “physical beast,” as dubbed by none other than Postecoglou, is averaging a goal involvement every 1.06 games, or every 84.34 minutes.
Maeda vs Johnson
Player
Maeda
Johnson
Appearances
47
46
Minutes
3711′
3077′
Goals
33
17
Assists
11
7
Goal Involvements per Match
0.93
0.52
Minutes per Goal Involvement
84.34′
128.20′
All Stats via Transfermarkt
In contrast, the Lilywhites flying Welshman has scored 17 goals and provided seven assists in 46 appearances, totalling 3077 minutes.
That means he’s currently averaging a goal involvement every 1.95 games, or every 128.20 minutes, and while that is undoubtedly impressive, it pales in comparison to the Japanese dynamo.
Ultimately, while it would be absurd to expect his output to completely carry over to a tougher league, Maeda has been so effective this season that he’d certainly be worth signing for Spurs, and there is every chance he’s better than Johnson.
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