Carlos Vinicius’ former coach opens up on why he could be a hit at Tottenham

Carlos Vinicius’ former coach at Rio Ave, Jose Gomes has backed the Brazilian to be a hit at Tottenham Hotspur and insisted that he has all the attributes necessary to succeed in English football.

There was plenty of excitement among Spurs fans when Tottenham snapped up Vinicius as the club have lacked a natural back up to Harry Kane since Fernando Llorente departed last summer.

With many members of the Spurs squad currently away on international duty, the striker is being put through the paces at Hotspur Way and it remains to be seen whether he will make his debut against West Ham.

Jose Gomes got the best out of Vinicius for the six months he worked with the striker at Rio Ave and the Spanish coach is certainly no stranger to English football, having previously managed Reading.

When asked what Vinicius can provide Spurs, he told The Athletic: “He’s a powerful player, and very intelligent. He is someone who always gets himself into goalscoring positions.

“He has a great sense for where opportunities are going to appear. He shoots with enormous power with his left foot. He protects the ball really well – even when defenders are pressuring him, he is able to shield the ball and turn his man to get a shot in.

“I used him as a No.9, a penalty-box striker. But we looked to make the most of his mobility: he likes to make diagonal runs into wide areas, behind the full-backs.

“He’s someone who holds the ball up well, which allows the rest of the team to move up the pitch and start an attack, or just take a breath. He was our reference point in attacking transitions.

“English football is very intense, and very demanding for strikers. But I think he will show what he can do.

“He will help the team – by holding up the ball, by finding space to get a shot off, by giving opposition centre-backs plenty to think about when he is near the area.

“It’s a good move for Vinicius and for Tottenham. This is a win-win for both parties.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Jose Mourinho has an unbelievable variety of attacking options at his disposal to choose from now that we also have an out and out target man in the squad in Vinicius. His ability to play with his back to goal and bring others into play might prove really important when we come up against a low block that we are struggling to break down.

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