Is Nathan Collins the ideal Cristian Romero replacement at Tottenham Hotspur? – Opinion

It is no secret that Tottenham Hotspur vice-captain Cristian Romero has been pushing for a move away from Hotspur Way, and his wishes have been complemented by links with a move to the Spanish top tier as Atletico Madrid expresses interest in landing his signature.

But despite the interest from Diego Simeone’s side, many of the Lilywhites faithful would love to keep hold of the Argentine centre-back, as he is maybe the North Londoners’ most naturally gifted defender, and we see that in a lot of the defensive dynamics of the game. The World Cup winner is not only aggressive going into duels but also is absolutely elite at stepping into the middle of the park, and he does leave his intense emotions out there (which at times is not as good as it sounds as well). But that being said, with his growing injury concerns complemented by the disciplinary issues that he has had off lately and the fact that there are clubs ready to pounce on his signatures, Daniel Levy has started planning for a world where Romero may not be at N17.

Spurs have been linked with a lot of defenders of late, with the likes of Evan Ndicka and Marc Guehi taking the headlines in the past weeks, but with the Lilywhites announcing Thomas Frank as the head coach, the Dane comes with his own set of targets that are quite different from those of Ange Postecoglou. And this is where Nathan Collins enters the fray…

He is a defender that Frank knows well after having developed him into a reliable right-sided centre-back at Brentford. He is physical and has that ability to aerially dominate his side of defence, complemented by having a decent ability to progress the ball. And to add to it, he is quite disciplined in his positional presence as well. The 23-year-old is also quite effective in covering multiple zones and comes with a lot of experience in the Premier League, given how he has played for Burnley, Wolves, and Brentford.

How will Collins fit at Tottenham under Thomas Frank?

This was not quite difficult to establish, as I only had to look at how he has played at Gtech Community Stadium under the Danish head coach. But let’s also consider how Frank is expected to flatten the pressing curve at Hotspur Way by preferring structured mid-blocks supported by double pivots and compact spacing at the back, and as we have seen time and again, Collins excels in this kind of setup. He is someone who, despite not necessarily overcommitting, gets into duels and is good at protecting half-spaces. The 23-year-old is also happy to defend in narrow and deep structures.

While when we directly put him side by side with Romero, who often steps aggressively into midfield and lives on a risk-reward edge, Collins offers a sense of consistency over chaos. He is someone who believes in zone-first defending. And the. He doesn’t take any necessary bookings either, nor does he vacate his zones.

Collins is made for a manager that builds from tactical control, and that is what we are expecting this defence at N17 to transition into.

That being said, while Collin may not be a standout line breaker like Romero, he can play quite comfortably in the midfield, and then he rarely overplays under pressure.

Collins also has that safe circulation about himself, and his diagonal switches are equally apt. And as we have seen, his composure and simplicity on the ball end up suiting Thomas Frank’s short build-up patterns, especially when playing from a 4-3-3 or a back three with conservative outlets.

I am expecting Thomas Frank to prioritise availability and tactical discipline complemented by low-risk decision-making at the back. And this is where I think Collins fits that checklist even better than Romero, even if he lacks the same elite ceiling that the Argentine possesses.

Strengths

Well, to start with, he comes in quite familiar with the defensive structure of Thomas Frank, and that would take the adaptation time out of consideration if he were to sign at M17. Moreover, he is a solid zone defender who has a wide aerial coverage as well. And given his age and familiarity, he has the potential to grow into an integral player at Hotspur Way under Frank.

Weakness

To me he is not as much of a mental profile as Cristian Romero, and this should play a part in big games where the Argentine used to absolutely dominate the opponents by not only actions but also words and presence. At times I do feel that he runs a risk of being too conservative.

John Wenham agrees with bringing Collins to N17.

Lilywhites Rose owner John Wenham, in a recent exclusive interview with Tottenham News, admitted that Collins could be an ideal replacement for Romero if the Argentine were to be sold.

He said:

“Proven Premier League players are hard to come by. Collins did well before joining Brentford, and it was seen as quite a coup when they signed him. They paid a decent fee to bring him to the club, and there were bigger clubs looking. Therefore, if Frank wants him and knows him well, that deal would make sense. However, I think that transfer would only happen if Romero were to leave Tottenham.”

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Author Opinion: He is a Frank defender through and through

Ange Postecoglou demanded a lot of emotion, while Thomas Frank will come in and swap all of that with wanted emotion; Frank’s Spurs will want discipline. And Nathan Collins isn’t the heir to the risky approach that Romero implemented at Tottenham; in fact, he is more of an antithesis of it, and that is exactly why he makes sense at N17 now. The thing is that he will not give you fire, but then Collins won’t burn your backline either.