Journalist Dean Jones has revealed that Tottenham’s recruitment team were impressed by the data on Antonio Nusa’s ball-carrying and his decision-making.
It has been well documented over the last few months that Tottenham have started incorporating a lot more data analysis into their recruitment decisions.
It was explained by Football.London’s Alasdair Gold earlier this month that the club’s technical director Johan Lange gets a clear understanding from Ange Postecoglou about the characteristics he is looking for so that the data crunching is focused on the right type of players.
The Dane then uses filters players based on those metrics and gives a shortlist to the Australian coach, who chooses his preferred top targets for each position.
Over the last couple of days, it has been widely reported that Tottenham are now in talks with Club Brugge over a deal for Nusa, who is thought to be valued at around £26m (The Athletic).
The 18-year-old has garnered a reputation as one of the most exciting young wingers in world football, with his balance and poise while dribbling making it quite difficult to defend against him in one-on-one situations.
Tottenham love the look of young Antonio Nusa
Jones has revealed that the teenager’s ball-carrying stays stood out to Lange and co at Hotspur Way.
The journalist said on Ranks FC Ultras Podcast about Tottenham’s pursuit of Nusa: “He’s great, he’s a really good player and I’m told that in terms of ball carrying, stats like that and his decision making really fits with the data-led scouting that is becoming more of a thing now at Tottenham than it has been in the past.
“He’s young and they’ve just signed Timo Werner. This is a deal they have in mind for the summer, so any agreement now will be an early agreement and loaning him back or just signing him for the summer.”
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While Postecoglou evidently likes his teams to dominate the ball, what is also quite clear is that the Australian does not favour attackers who tend to recycle possession in the final third. He seemingly prefers wingers who take the direct and aggressive option at each opportunity, even if they perhaps lack a bit of composure.