With much speculation surrounding the future of Spurs wing-back Kyle Walker, it appears the senior management at Tottenham Hotspur already have a successor lined up.
26 year old Bournemouth full-back Adam Smith has attracted interest from Spurs following an impressive campaign for the Cherries. He currently tops the charts for Premier League assists from defenders, tied on 5 with none other than Kyle Walker himself, but how do the two compare?
Defensively, Smith has the edge, blocking 8 shots and making 49 interceptions, which is more than Walker on 5 and 37, respectively. Smith has also attempted more tackles (80) than Walker (70), though the two both boast a 70% tackle success rate. In attack, though they both lead the charts in defenders’ assists, Smith’s greater crossing accuracy (23%) compared to Walker (14%) has played a large part in creating more chances (8) than Walker (4). Smith also has managed a goal this season, whereas Walker is yet to get his name on a 2016/17 Premier League score-sheet.
It also worthy of note that Adam Smith is a product of the Tottenham Hotspur youth academy, but failed to impose himself on the squad. After making just 1 appearance for the first team in 6 years amidst 7 different loan spells, Smith was eventually moved on to Bournemouth in 2014. Reports from HITC Sport imply that Smith could be purchased at a price as cheap as £4 million.
Almost a year younger than Walker, Adam Smith appears to be a more than efficient replacement should the England right back depart the club. But what do you think? Would you rather Smith than Walker? Or is there another right-back we should be looking into?
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