Should Tottenham sign player that Unai Emery rejuvenated at Aston Villa? – Opinion

With Thomas Frank taking charge at the helm at Hotspur Way, Daniel Levy will be looking to start planning his transfer structure in a way where the North Londoners are shifting towards playing in a compact structure under the Dane head coach, who wants to build a transition-focused system at N17 that relies on playing on pressing triggers complemented by intelligent movement but in a more structured manner than the haphazard way that Ange Postecoglou was doing.

And amid this tactical reset, Tottenham have reportedly expressed interest in bringing Marcus Rashford to Hotspur Way as they look to bring in attacking reinforcements to the current roster. The fact that the Lilywhites skipper Heung-Min Son is set to leave the North Londoners in the ongoing summer transfer window and then Timo Werner’s loan spell is unlikely to be made permanent gives Spurs a space in the current roster to bring in attacking reinforcements. But then the question comes up whether the Manchester United academy graduate is ideal for playing in the Thomas Frank wants to deploy at N17.

Current status at M16 and Rashford playing at Villa

The Manchester United academy graduate has shown the capacity that he still possesses during his loan spell at Aston Villa in the recently concluded campaign. He netted 4 goals at Villa Park after joining them for half of the season.

And the fact that it didn’t take long for Unai Emery to unlock him shows how there is still a sense of capacity for the England international to regain his confidence and rejuvenate his career in the English top tier.

Now the Lilywhites have Thomas Frank, a coach widely known to bring confidence to the players with his structural manner of playing.

So how can Rashford fit at Hotspur Way?

Thomas Frank likes to deploy a compact mid-block pressing structure where he uses his wingbacks, promising to give some width to his structure while the inverted forwards are rotating centrally (and this is where the need to bring in dynamic players comes in, given how the attacking line generally relies heavily on movements and vertical transitions).

And this system that the Dane head coach is expected to deploy at Tottenham demands players that have the capacity to rotate intelligently whilst pressing effectively and exploit half-spaces.

The thing with Rashford is that he has that pace and directness about him, and this rapid burst makes him quite ideal to play in quick transitions and in a counter-attacking system. He is also quite adaptable across the front line, which makes him quite suited to Frank’s shape-shifting frontline.

But that being said, he doesn’t have that consistent emphasis on pressing without the ball, which is suddenly a bit of a problem given how Frank likes to deploy a pressing and hard-working front line.

Rashford also has that spatial awareness which rather gets him touching through to the touchline than the smart half-space movements that Thomas Frank would want out of him.

Strengths

He has proven his credentials in the Premier League, and his versatility makes Rashford quite a fit to play in the floating roles under Frank. And he can make an instant impact, particularly in transitional opportunities.

Weakness

There are a lot of off-the-field problems that you’re signing on with securing his services. His defensive contributions and pressing abilities also make him a liability in a structural role that the North Londoners want to deploy at N17 under Thomas Frank.

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Author Opinion

In signing Marcus Rashford, the North Londoners will add a lot of creativity and direct threat from the goal, but then I think we also have to consider the possible impact it will have on Thomas Frank’s pressing system and the shape. Yes, his arrival is a high-impact one, but it also carries high risk.