DataMB reveals that one Tottenham defender has outperformed every other fullback in the Premier League in 10 areas of the game, and fans have not appreciated him enough.
Spurs started the season brightly under new manager Thomas Frank as his side sit third in the Premier League table with 17 points from nine games and are still undefeated in Europe too.
Much of the credit for the good performances so far has gone to the new signings, Mohammed Kudus and Joao Palhinha, and established players like Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence.
However, there’s barely been any mention of Pedro Porro, who quietly has a very big hand in Spurs’ strong start to the season.
Signed in the summer of 2023, it looks like Tottenham have got their hands on a fullback who’s consistently been doing well on both sides of the pitch – attacking and defending; a kind of profile that’s somewhat too expensive and rare in modern football.
The numbers that prove Pedro Porro’s importance to Tottenham
Not only does Pedro Porro already have 32 goal contributions to his name since joining Spurs, but he also boasts more assists than any other defender across the Premier League since the start of the 23-24 season, which explains how important he has been so far for the managers he’s played under.
There’s been some frustration among Spurs supporters about the quality of chances created this season, with most coming from set pieces or crosses, both usually from either Mohammed Kudus or Pedro Porro.
That says a lot about why the whole team falls flat when even one of them doesn’t start. For example, in the 1-1 draw vs Wolves last month, Spurs created only one big chance and produced just nine accurate crosses all game.
Porro also bagged an assist from a corner in Spurs’ latest 0-3 win against Everton and was the man behind one of the team’s four big chances created that game.
According to DataMB, Pedro Porro ranks first among Premier League fullbacks for:
- Defensive duels won
- Possession won
- Progressive actions
- Crosses to the box
- Forward passes
- Long passes completed
- Progressive passes completed
- Through passes completed
- Passes to the final third
- Passes to the penalty box
Two areas Pedro Porro will want to improve
While the numbers above do most of the talking for the fullback, there are still a couple of areas of concern in his game.
The first is his pass completion rate, which sits at just 70.5% and he ranks in the 16th percentile when compared to other fullbacks in this area. It probably stems from the idea that he’s constantly looking to play forward, but that also means he gives away possession too cheaply at times.
The other area is his aerial duels, as he’s won only 0.5 of them per 90. It comes down to the fact that he’s not as tall as most Premier League wingers and strikers, and it makes it difficult for him to win aerial duels without fouling someone by elbowing them while jumping.
That said, he’s very physical and dominant in ground duels, as shown by his numbers for most duels and possessions won. So as long as he keeps that part of his game strong, these weaknesses will be of lesser concern.