Spurs Should Splash Out On Little Pea
Javier Hernandez (Chicharito) has arrived at a crossroads at Manchester United. The Mexican striker has to decided whether or not he should stay at Old Trafford and risk never becoming a first team regular or should he depart and start a new challenge elsewhere?
Plenty throughout Europe would be keen to add the forward to their books as he has proven to be a prolific scorer when given game time. English Premier League sides Tottenham and Arsenal are known to be interested.
Staying in England, could make a lot of sense for the twenty-six year old. He knows the country and has adapted to the EPL’s footballing culture and style.
At Man United he’s viewed as a fine squad player who has been able to come off the bench and score valuable goals. But with Wayne Rooney and then Robin van Persie at the club, his chances in the first eleven have been getting less and less frequent. That’s caused his goals to dry up. He was no longer as sharp, probably due to his confidence being at an all-time low as he knew constantly he’d be overlooked.
Unlike Rooney and Danny Welbeck, Chicharito doesn’t offer anything in other positions. He isn’t competent enough as a winger to be played as a wide-man and he hasn’t got the eye for a creative, killer pass to be viewed as a number ten: Teddy Sheringham type.
When he originally joined the Old Trafford side, he was looked at; as the future and a possible frontman for years to come to partner Rooney up top. But the European footballing style changed as did Man United’s. Although Hernandez had stepped in-front of Dimitar Berbatov in the striking queue, Sir Alex Ferguson decided to go with just one up top and brought in the Dutch star Van Persie who could operate better as a lone striker.
The chances of playing two up-front again seems to be back in vogue. But at Man Utd, new boss Louis van Gaal looks set to keep Wayne and Robin and maybe even add another. Hernandez may do well in a 4-2-3-1 with an emphasis on attacking, like Pochettino had at Southampton.
So it would probably be better for the Mexican fan-favourite to look at getting a move.
I think Spurs would offer the best chance of getting consistent first team opportunities, with ‘Little Pea’ operating alongside Emmanuel Adebayor or Roberto Soldado.
If Tottenham could get a deal done for say £7m then that could be a bargain. Javier has banged in 59 goals in 152 appearances, not bad considering the majority of those came from the bench. His tally of 36 goals in 65 games on the international stage is also quite impressive.
He’s a poacher. He seems to score lucky goals but don’t forget he’s not lucky in finding himself in the right positions at the right time. He is also very resourceful in his finishing, using any part of his anatomy to get that strike on target. His pace is a plus and he has a great leap for a shorter footballer, that means he can get goals with his head.
A fresh start could be just what the player needs at this stage of his career. Javier Hernandez would be hungry to prove himself as a top goalscoring forward and Tottenham could really benefit from that.
But Mauricio Pochettino would have to sort out his wingers and creative midfielders for the move to work. Too many players last season at White Hart Lane provided little in the way of assists. Aaron Lennon, Andros Townsend, Erik Lamela and co need to start delivering or Spurs will have the same problems with the strikers they had last season.
For a decent fee, Chicharito would be worth the gamble as Tottenham try and build a squad that can once again break into the ‘Top Four’.
Posted on June 26th, 2014 by scott
Filed under: Article
Why on earth do we need another poacher when we already splashed out £25mil on Soldado and can’t even give him a decent supply?
Who do you suggest we sacrifice out of the midfield so we can accommodate two strikers? We sure as hell haven’t got the personnel to play 3-5-2?!
Thanks for the comment Jamie.
Obviously it all depends on the personnel at start of the season & who Pochettino takes too.
Maybe instead of a full on 4-4-2 you could go 4-2-3-1? I think you will see more from Lamela, Capoue, Sandro and Paulinho next term. Plus who knows with Soldado.
At £7m I think it would be good business.