Various reports have surfaced linking Bologna defender Takehiro Tomiyasu with a move to North London.

Teamtalk have stated that Tottenham Hotspur are ‘close’ to getting a deal done, while football.london have added a twist to the story by claiming Arsenal are ready to step in and compete for Takehiro’s signing.

So just why would these two Premier League giants be interested in the defender?

At twenty-two years of age, he’d represent a good age to develop under coaches Mikel Arteta or Nuno Espirito Santo. Even though he is still a youngster, the Japanese star is already pretty experienced for his age. He has already played in sixty Serie A games and represented his national team twenty-three times, that’s another tick for potential suitors.

Tomiyasu is also very versatile. He can play anywhere in the defensive backline, as he showed during his thirty-one league appearances for I Rossoblù last term.

He’s a defender that won’t just rush in for the sake of it. The Japan international will judge the situation and read a pass before it’s played and then stepping in and disposing an opponent. That shows us that he possesses high concentration levels and strong in-game intelligence.

The defensive star only picked up three yellow cards last year, again showing he’s smart when timing his challenges. He’s also terrific in the air, last season on average he was winning around 3 headers per league game in Italy.

According to stats website Whoscored: Tomiyasu made 1.5 tackles per game, 1.7 interceptions and a whopping 3.3 clearances. He’s a player that sticks to his task, who will cover for any teammates mistakes and try and get himself in between shots and his goal.

Takehiro is very accomplished with the ball at his feet. Again he’s a defender that doesn’t seem to get easily flustered, in or out of possession. His passing success rate of above 80% will be another plus point for visiting scouts. He can read the game well with his interceptions and then take it out of a dangerous position with his unique dribbling technique. He’s pretty nifty and awkward for a player of his size and that can see him beat opponents too. He has quite the engine on him and he always has the willingness to push forward and get back.

Tomiyasu is a player that has shown in Italy that he can be consistently good throughout a campaign. At Arsenal he’d probably come in and look to start at right-back if Hector Bellerin leaves this summer. At Spurs, they’ve had various defensive issues in the last twelve months so he could do a job at centre-back or at right-back depending on what Santo needs from him.

Tottenham are still working on Takehiro Tomiyasu deal. Opening bid around €18m [add ons included] to Bologna still on the table, price tag around €20/25m. ⚪️ #THFC

Negotiations ongoing. Tomiyasu wants to join Spurs. ?? #Spurs

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 5, 2021

Respected football journalist Fabrizio Romano has reported that Tottenham are in continued negotiations with Bologna regarding the defender and that the player himself would welcome that particular move.

I believe that Takehiro Tomiyasu would fit into the Premier League style and he’d flourish at either club given half a chance. He’d be a player that I’d expect to see improve rapidly if one of those clubs could secure his signature.

Posted on July 7th, 2021 by scott
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