The bargain £21m centre-back who could finally tighten up Spurs' defence - if Man Utd don't sign him first

With just a week left before the transfer window closes, Tottenham Hotspur still have a little work to do – which, admittedly, is a pretty common situation to be in when your chairman is Daniel Levy, noted for his deadline day brinksmanship and willingness to string negotiations out in order to save a few pounds. Still, they likely need a few players to add strength or depth ahead of a potential top four challenge, and the Spanish media suspect that they’ve found a new transfer target.

According to Catalan outlet Sport, Spurs are one of two clubs (alongside Manchester United) who are “on the lookout” for Barcelona centre-back Andreas Christensen, who is one of the players who could be sacrificed in the latest round of economic lever-pulling at the Camp Nou – apparently the economically-stricken superclub would accept a bid of around €25m (£21.2m) for the former Chelsea defender. But has the 28-year-old still got what it takes to cut t in the Premier League, and does he have the skill set that Ange Postecoglou needs?

Now in his third season with Barcelona, it might be a stretch to suggest that he’s hit his best form in Spain but he’s been a solid performer and a regular inclusion in the starting eleven, making 75 appearances since arriving on a free transfer once his contract at Stamford Bridge expired – and there’s nothing to suggest that the perennially reliable Dane has lost a step.

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He remains a solid tackler who’s excellent in one-on-one situations, he still reads the game very well, is still calm and confident with the ball at his feet, good with his distribution and resistant to the high press, and still a tall and strong enough figure to be successful in the air. Christensen wasn’t necessarily a standout player during his first spell in the Premier League, but he was consistent and seldom put a foot wrong.

The table below shows how Christensen compares with Spurs’ current senior centre-backs in terms of some of the crucial raw numbers they put up last season. The implication is that he’s comfortably ahead of the young Romanian defender Radu Drăgușin in most departments (the 22-year-old’s exceptional tackling success rate is likely inflated by a very small sample size) and compares quite favourably with the impressive Micky van de Ven, even if Cristian Romero is perhaps the better all-round defender of the four.

The statistics do show us that Christensen has a relative weakness in one-on-one situations, making fewer tackles in close quarters than Romero and Van de Ven, who put up identical and very impressive records under Postecoglou last year. In a high defensive line, such situations come up quite often and that may give Spurs pause for thought – but it can also be attributed to Christensen’s playing style. He prefers to step up and cut a pass out or run back and cut off the angle rather than go in for the tackle one on one.

The first impression based on recent performances and the numbers is that Christensen is playing at a level at which he would represent a very good rotational option for Spurs who could, at his best form, displace Van de Ven for some matches, but he isn’t necessarily a player who would substantially improve the back four.

Whether or not it’s worth spending north of £20m on a solid defensive option who likely wouldn’t be a genuine difference-maker is a question only Spurs’ accountants can really answer, but there is another factor which may tilt the equation in the Dane’s favour – over the past season, he was often repurposed successfully as a central midfielder and that’s another position in which cover is required.

Christensen frequently played as a holding midfielder, usually between Frenkie de Jong and Ilkay Gündoğan. He didn’t play with the kind of aggressive pressing and dynamism that Postecoglou typically wants from his midfielders, and it’s not likely he would be used there as a first choice, but he was solid, his passing range and accuracy is excellent and he reads play very well indeed. That positional flexibility could easily be hugely important if injuries strike over the course of a long season.

Sport’s article stops short of suggesting that Spurs have made a bid, simply claiming them to be considering a move alongside Manchester United – meanwhile, for Barcelona’s part, they aren’t looking to sell him because his performances have been substandard but because they once again find themselves forced to sell players and clear the wage bill in order to be able to register flashier new summer signings. As it stands, Dani Olmo cannot play for Barcelona until they have shifted someone else. Christensen could be the sacrificial lamb.

This wouldn’t be a transfer that blows the doors off or changes the narrative, but as it stands it seems that Postecoglou doesn’t yet fully trust Drăgușin to cover for his first-choice centre-backs and the next man up is either teenager Ashley Phillips, who has acquitted himself well in the Championship but lacks experience, or Ben Davies. There is no argument that adding Christensen would help – it’s just a question of whether the cost lines up with the benefit. That’s one for Daniel Levy to decide, and knowing him, he’ll make us wait for answer.