Frank has a future superstar to end Polo’s Spurs career

Tottenham Hotspur wanted a degree with a last-minute objective in opposition to Manchester United on Saturday and have received simply one in every of their final 4 video games in all competitions.

The Lilywhites turned the sport round from a 1-0 deficit and took a 2-1 lead, however they fell asleep in stoppage time and allowed Matthijs de Ligt to go in on the again publish, stopping them from gaining greater than three factors.

Since this end result, Spurs have solely received one in every of their final 4 Premier League video games and have fallen out of the highest 4 within the division.

Thomas Frank will little question be upset with the 2 targets conceded. That is as a result of they have been each free headers within the field that ought to have been handled.

With Future Udogi scoring the second objective and Pedro Polo being denied by Brian Mbeumo’s header, the previous Brentford head coach ought to look to his full-backs and demand extra defensively.

Actually, Polo is among the gamers who might be borrowed and begin beneath Coach Frank, as his protection has been questionable a number of occasions.

Why ought to Pedro Polo be dropped?

The Spanish right-back’s marking, or lack thereof, for Mbeumo’s objective was merely not adequate. He was unaware of maybe United’s largest menace within the field and allowed a free header previous Guglielmo Vicario.

However to his credit score, the previous Manchester Metropolis teenager responded to feedback from supporters after the match and admitted he wasn’t at his greatest in opposition to the Pink Devils.

This isn’t the primary time Polo’s defensive qualities have been questioned. Former Eire worldwide Keith Treacy stated final yr: “Pedro Polo is an effective footballer. He clearly performs within the Premier League and is a good footballer, however he isn’t a superb right-back and he cannot defend.”

The previous Blackburn star added: “If I used to be a coach taking part in in opposition to Spurs I’d isolate him and inform him to run at him all day.”

Again in 2023, former Spurs supervisor Tim Sherwood stated Polo could be “in every single place” as he “simply desires to run ahead” and play as a winger. The Tottenham defender later responded to those feedback by saying that he had simply joined the membership from Sporting and was not a “machine” who would match proper in.

Including to the perennial query marks over his defensive means, the 26-year-old full-back has been extremely wasteful with the ball at his ft within the final two Premier League video games.

As you’ll be able to see from the desk above, Polo have misplaced the ball 53 occasions of their final two league video games, creating no probabilities for his or her teammates and creating two probabilities for his or her opponents with errors that led to photographs.

This exhibits that the Spaniard has been dismal for the Lilywhites lately, each defensively and offensively, which is why Frank ought to be ruthless and take away him from the beginning XI after the worldwide break forward of the North London derby.

The apparent short-term answer could be for Udogi, who assisted Matthijs Inform’s objective on Saturday, to maneuver into left-back, with Jed Spence shifting to right-back.

However the long-term plan, which may finish Polo’s North London profession, might be for Archie Grey to lastly set up himself within the staff as right-back.

Why Archie Grey may finish Pedro Polo’s Spurs profession

The England Underneath-21 worldwide is at present sidelined with a calf damage suffered on the finish of final month, and is predicted to return on the finish of this month or early December.

Grey signed for the Lilywhites from Leeds United in the summertime of 2024 for a charge of £40m, whereas Joe Rodon returned in the wrong way, however has not been in a position to set up a single place since becoming a member of the membership.

England’s younger gamers have needed to play an excessive amount of within the centre-back place beneath supervisor Ange Postecoglou, as there was an damage disaster in that place final season with accidents to the likes of Radu Dragusin, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.

As you’ll be able to see from the desk above, Grey’s second most performed place at Spurs is at right-back, and regardless of rising up as a central midfielder on the West Yorkshire academy, he performed the vast majority of his first-team soccer at right-back for Leeds.

The younger defender performed 44 of Leeds’ 46 league video games within the 2023/24 Championship, primarily as a right-back, and received the Championship Younger Participant of the Yr award.

Hailed as “ridiculous” by Como scout Ben Mattinson, Grey confirmed his defensive qualities as a right-back throughout his second-division season with Los Blancos, totaling 92 tackles and successful 186 duels.

Based on FotMob, he ranks within the high 7% of fullbacks in tackles received and within the high 14% in duels received, whereas additionally rating within the high 7% in ball recoveries (196), indicating that he is among the greatest defensive fullbacks in his division on a staff that completed third within the league.

These statistics counsel he has the defensive dedication to safe the right-back place as Spurs’ dependable defender sooner or later. That is why Polo may finish his membership profession by offering Franck with a extra constant presence than the Spaniard, who struggles on and off the ball.

But it surely’s now as much as Grey to ship a top quality efficiency when he returns from damage and is requested to show he is higher than Polo defensively each week. Spence would then be free to compete with Udogie at left-back.