The Tottenham Hotspur football team has had ups and downs during the Premier League season, but even though they were unable to secure a last Champions League spot, their future appears bright.

The team now has a renewed aggressive spirit thanks to Ange Postecoglou, and if the right players are added in the summer, they might advance even farther the next season.

Over the next several months, a number of players may be replaced. Surprisingly, Rodrigo Bentancur, the most recent player to be tipped for a move to N17, might be the Lilywhites’ next Luka Modrić.

Tottenham Hotspur Transfer News

Tottenham is among numerous clubs interested in LOSC Lille star Angel Gomes, according to respected writer Graeme Bailey’s recent article.

The journalist reported that, in addition to the Lilywhites, the player’s former club, Manchester United, West Ham United, and Aston Villa, are keeping an eye on his status ahead of the crucial summer transfer season.

No price has been credibly published, but CIES Football Observatory now values the midfield master at €30 million, which equates to £26 million.

While this is not a cheap deal, if his ultimate price is anywhere around CIES’ valuation, Spurs should be seeking to bring the Englishman to N17 as he may be the ideal Bentancur improvement and has drawn comparisons to former White Hart Lane great Modric.

How does Gomes compare to Modric and Bentancur?

Okay, so before we get into how Gomes would be an improvement over Bentancur, let’s look at the comparison to Real Madrid’s Modric.

The comparison is based on FBref’s selection of the ten most similar players for each player in its database. They determined that the Croatian great is the fourth most similar midfielder in Europe’s top five divisions to the Lille ace.

When comparing the pair’s underlying numbers from this season, some key statistics stand out as being quite similar, such as their expected goals, non-penalty expected goal and assist figure, number of shots, passing accuracy, the number of completed medium and long passes, their goal-creating actions, the number of blocks and ball recoveries they complete, and the number of aerial duels they win, all per 90.

It’s a lovely comparison to receive for the former United “wonderkid,” as defined by talent scout Jacek Kulig, but it has some merit, and with the correct guidance, he could reach similar peaks.

With that stated, how does he stack up against Bentancur, the guy he’d most likely replace in the park’s centre?

In terms of output, he fared far better. In 44 appearances this season, the 23-year-old has scored two goals and 10 assists, while the Uruguayan has one goal and one assist in 22.

When comparing the pair’s underlying numbers, the Englishman has a higher non-penalty expected goal and assist figure, more progressive passes and carries, a higher passing accuracy, more shot and goal-creating actions, and makes fewer errors per 90 minutes.

The Spurs player takes more shoots and makes more tackles, although this could be attributed to the system rather than individual talent. Furthermore, his prospective replacement has started 15 games as a defensive midfielder in his brief professional career, so there is no reason to believe he won’t be as defensively smart.

Finally, while Bentancur is a talented midfielder, he does not stack up to Gomes in a true comparison, and given the youngster’s similarities to the Ballon d’Or-winning Modric, Spurs’ decision to bring him to N17 is obvious.