TTLB OPINION: Why this Colombian star an ideal signing for Tottenham Hotspur

We head into the summer transfer window with a lot of pressure on Daniel Levy, given how he will be expected to add more quality and depth to the current roster, especially given their faulty performances domestically, and one of the key priorities remains to bring that veil in raising personnel at the heart of defence, someone who will not be a stopgap solution (like Danso) but someone that has that ability to fit into the system at the North Londoners over the long term, and one such high-potential, low-risk signing is Jhon Lucumi.

There have been reports suggesting that the Lilywhites have been scouting the Colombian international given how the 26-year-old has been playing some splendid games for his current employers of late, and he does stand out as more of a Daniel Levy signing given how he would be a low-risk transfer, would have that high tactical impact and is tailor-made for the modern game.

If you have been following Serie A, you’d know that the Colombian international is an integral part of Bologna’s back line under Thiago Motta. And if you look at how Lucumi has been playing, he has shown a lot of calmness about him, and technical assurance has followed. He has also shown that structural awareness in how he goes about himself. Many would believe that he is a veteran already given the maturity he has been showing this season; then his profile is ideal for the North Londoners. Let’s get into the whys around it.

What makes Lucumi ideal for Tottenham?

So Lucumi is a left-footed centre-back who brings a lot of traits to the table. And we need to consider how Ben Davies is ageing, and his place in the squad needs to be replaced. Now in the Colombian, Ange (or anyone who is in charge at Hotspur Way) would get someone who has that natural progressive capability down the left channel. He knows how to open his body well under high press and can play line-breaking passes into midfield/second phase.

But there is more than that; Lucumi is quite comfortable when you throw him in a high defensive line system, and this is critical for how the Lilywhites play under Ange Postecoglou. The 26-year-old role likes to hold territory, and his ability to recover into space (especially on diagonals) allows full-backs to push higher without always looking over their shoulders. The thing is that the way he plays, he uses more anticipation than mere reactions (something very rare in players who are yet to reach their peak age).

If we are talking tactically, where does he fit in at Tottenham?

I am going to go through this more based on an assumption that Ange Postecoglou is going to continue at N17. So if he were to play with this 2-3-5 in possession shape, you can fit in Lucumi on the left side of a back two or possibly even in a back three if needed. And his presence will end up helping others around him; to start with, it allows the left back (Destiny Udogie) to invert or overlap aggressively. He can push into wide zones and defend 1v1 without panic (especially considering how the current situation at Hotspur Way is given the opponents consistently try to create overloads from wide zones).

Having him in the backline can bring that balance required for the likes of Romero or Dragusin to step up high to intercept, given that he has that capacity to reshuffle the defence and maintain the structure. He would also bring a lot in the first phase of the game, helping Tottenham build more cleanly from the back, especially against mid-blocks that cut lanes from the middle.

Lucumi is not your “safe passer”; he is somebody that can switch play out wide, split lines down the middle, or end up engaging in a dribble to trigger third-man runs.

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Author Opinion

If you were to ask me, Tottenham needs someone like John Lucumi in their roster, and because he is a tactical defender, he will end up helping the whole system. The thing is, if Daniel Levy wants to take this Lilywhites side from one that barely makes it through games to one that systematically controls it, then they need someone like Lucumi in the squad. He is a long-term strategic investment that complements every aspect that Tottenham have been looking at in a signing of late.