Tottenham Hotspur have expressed interest in signing Roma midfielder Niccolo Pisilli in the ongoing summer transfer window as Daniel Levy looks to keep up with his sign them young transfer strategy despite changing the head coach at Hotspur Way with Thomas Frank taking over as the man in charge from Ange Postecoglou, who was relieved of his duties despite the Australian’s recent Europa League triumph. With fans closely tracking Tottenham results during this period of transition, Pisilli’s link to the club has sparked new excitement.
We have seen how the North Londoners have bagged on signing young players and developing them through the corridors at Hotspur Way, and this has been quite relevant given how we saw the likes of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall progressing and developing in the last campaign.
And now the Lilywhites are targeting teenage star from Serie A, Pisilli, who is seen as one of the most tactically intelligent young midfielders to emerge from Roma’s academy since Lorenzo Pellegrini but someone who is more cautious and structurally aware. He also has that ability to carry the ball, which makes him a versatile profile in the midfield of the park, given how he can feature as a central midfielder as well as in a box-to-box role and then as a defensive midfielder.
If we are speaking positionally, Pisilli is seen as more of a classic #8 profile who is quite capable of going forward as well as with his defensive work. And he is someone who is excellent on the ball and can read the game well as well. Moreover, given his precision, he is also quite capable when it comes to long-range passing.
To give you a context of how impressive he is in the final third, he has notched up 39 goals complemented by a further 19 lay-offs in his 152 appearances in all competitions for his current employers and their Primavera sides.
And there is already a Tottenham connection given that former Lilywhites manager Jose Mourinho handed him his first team debut in Serie A.
How can Pisilli fit into Thomas Frank’s framework at Tottenham?
The Dane head coach uses midfield in different ways where his players double pivot when they have four defenders lining up in the backline where one is covering the spaces while the other advances. He also uses ball recyclers in 3-5-2, which has holding players who are tasked with protecting the back line while releasing the offensive players on the ball.
And then you need players who deploy a more zone-based pressing system that requires players that read press triggers and rotate defensively.
Pisilli can play in that right-sided pivot in a 4-3-3 with Bentancur or maybe Archie Gray and can also feature in the mid-block systems (which Frank is expected to deploy at Tottenham), which demands a sense of discipline over dynamism. He could end up being tasked with bringing that balance in the middle of the park given how he can shield the backline in defensive phases while linking with an attacking 8 (e.g., Maddison) in offensive phases of the game.
Under Frank, I think he would fit keenly as a deep connector given how he can become someone who offers passing options and has that intelligence with spacing.
Strengths
He is someone that has shown capabilities beyond his years, and this also translates to tactical maturity. Moreover, he is quite efficient when it comes to operating in tight spaces and is controlled during the build-up phases, which goes well with how Frank would ideally want to play at Tottenham. And you can also rotate him with holding midfielders in structured setups.
Weaknesses
He is neither a raw ball winner nor a destroyer defensively, and he would have to work a bit on that if he were to play the balancing role in the midfield. And I would think that it would also take him a while to adapt to the pace and physicality of the English top tier.
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Author Opinion
The Wijnaldum-likened midfielder has that tactical IQ which makes him a standout, and whilst he complements that with a sense of shape discipline and coverage in the middle of the park, all of that would go well with the traits that Thomas Frank would be looking for in the central areas. And while he is quite good, I would think that ideally he would be rotating minutes initially, and then he has that potential to develop into an important long-term midfield piece if the North Londoners were to sign him, just as Thomas Frank developed players like Mathias Jensen and Vitaly Janelt at Brentford.