Long Live the Prince

No matter how much I preach that a Spurs fan should only get excited about transfer activity when announcements are delivered on the official site, it would seem as though I, like everyone else, just can't help it.

All the more reliable news agencies (no tribalfootball, that does NOT include you) are convinced that Spurs have had a £5m bid for Berlin's 20 year old midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng accepted. What were you first thoughts when you heard this news (apart from wondering why he has such a silly first name)?

Mine were "Great, he must be a young talented left midfielder". I was wrong. It seems as though he is actually a "physical central midfielder", and although that has come from the recently confused Daily Mail, this time they seem to be right.

I read a few profiles which rightly pointed out that he was Germany's young player of the year last year, and is widely renowned to be one of the most creative players in the Hertha Berlin team, with a plethora of assists and 4 goals to his name in 43 appearances. In fact, Wikipedia describe him as

"a very dynamic central midfielder. His skill and pace are complemented by
advanced tactical awareness and a powerful physique. Rivaldo and Pele are his
role models and he occasionally imitates the Brazilian duo with spectacular
crowd-pleasing moments."

Sounds good doesn't he? This guy is young, talented and seems to be developing well. There's every chance that he will turn out to be a great investment and could easily be a £10-15m+ player in the next 4 or 5 years. Or better still, become a vital member of our first team.

We currently have Zokora, Jenas, Huddlestone, Malbranque, Tainio, Murphy and even Ghaly who all prefer a central midfield role. Now, whilst the last three of those are almost certainly being touted to other clubs, they haven't gone anywhere yet and some fans may be thinking that we have things covered in the middle, and that maybe this new boy will hinder Huddlestone's progress.

Looking again though, if you do cut Murphy, Tainio and Ghaly out of the equation [and let's hope so] - and you assume that Malbranque is going to be used wide on either flank, then perhaps it is looking a bit thin in the middle.

If the player formerly known as Kevin is as good as they say, if he is combative in the tackle AND a fountain of creativity, if he is reliable positionally when asked to defend as well as being capable of popping up with the occasional goal, then there could be every chance that Spurs are about to sign the Ghanaian/German Steven Gerrard.

And I think we'd all be happy with that.