Gareth Bale and Sergio Reguilon could change Tottenham’s system | Football news

Could José Mourinho change Tottenham’s form by signing Sergio Reguilón?

The signings of Gareth Bale and Sergio Reguilon could see Tottenham’s formation change, as José Mourinho completes one of the biggest tactical changes of his long and illustrious career as a manager.

Bale’s return would be a huge blow to Spurs and rekindle the enthusiasm of the fans, but the onus would fall on Mourinho to make the best use of his undoubted ability. The acquisition of Bale’s young teammate at Real Madrid could be a key factor in achieving this.

It will surely bring a line-up change, one hinted at since Mourinho arrived.

From the beginning of his Spurs reign, Mourinho’s idea was to deploy Ben Davies as a defensive left-back to cover center-backs with Serge Aurier free to run forward and provide width to the right. Building with a three butt was his vision.

Davies’ subsequent injury, sustained in his first game in charge, became the subject of press conferences, as well as the subsequent documentary series about the Spurs season. The loss of Harry Kane cost the Spurs points, but it was Davies’ injury that jeopardized their plans.

Mourinho was so married to this asymmetrical formation that he ended up using Japhet Tanganga out of position there instead of playing England’s more experienced left-back Danny Rose. That decision even led to Rose’s departure on loan to Newcastle last season.

In conversation with Rose, Mourinho cited Tanganga’s greater physicality as a key factor in his decision. It was a clear indication that the qualities he wanted on his left back were very different from the demands of the position on the opposite flank.

Serge Aurier was encouraged to attack from the right and play a very different role. In part, this is because – openly stated by Mourinho – he doesn’t trust Aurier in defensive situations. This was him accommodating those weaknesses.

Following Davies’ return from injury, the Spurs enjoyed some success returning to the original plan and the transfer business prior to the first weekend of the season seemed to suggest that the vision for this season was to improve rather than revise this idea. .

Tottenham’s focus of attack against Everton was on the right flank

The signing of Matt Doherty was widely seen as a simple upgrade even though he had been used as a winger for the Wolves. Aurier’s role was so attacking anyway that it could be argued that a natural back on that right side made more sense.

Reguilon’s movement is different. Not a similar upgrade on Davies. Its attacking qualities mean that it is better suited to reflect Doherty’s role on the right than to perfectly fit the existing form. A line-up change would seem inevitable.

Switching to a genuine back three makes sense.

Sergio Reguilon’s heat map for Real Madrid in the 2018/19 Champions League

It was as an offensive force rather than a defensive back that Reguilón caught the attention of Real Madrid before prospering on loan at Sevilla. Mourinho has operated with offensive backs before. But this Spurs defense needs a lot of help to make it a serious option.

Reguilon is more likely to find himself in the kinds of positions Heung-Min Son is often expected to take in this lopsided Tottenham formation. With little threat of attack coming from Davies, Son has had to move closer to collect the ball.

Son could be one of the big winners if Mourinho switches to a 3-4-3 formation because the presence of an open man outside of him to the left would free him to advance into the area and find himself closer to Kane on attack. That would play to his strengths.

The benefits for Dele Alli are less obvious and perhaps that helps explain why his name has been mentioned as a possible factor in any deal with Real Madrid. The 3-4-3 formation effectively eliminates their role, one that is so central to the 4-2-3-1 formation.

While it might seem like a negative move to withdraw an offensive midfielder to incorporate a winger, the introduction of Reguilon into his natural position would not only push Son into more threatening areas, providing much-needed support for Kane, but help. others too.

Doherty would be free to play the role of a winger in which he impressed the Wolves without leaving behind the open spaces that Everton was able to exploit on the opening weekend. Toby Alderweireld playing to the right of a three-man defense would prevent that.

Eric Dier would also do well, on his return to defense, if he could play as a sweeper with defensive coverage on either side of him rather than as a marker. His years of experience in midfield might even allow him to step up and distribute from there if the game called for it.

The partnership of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Harry Winks seemed lacking in creativity against Everton, but greater open pass options could ease those concerns. The presence of a full back three behind them could even allow Giovani Lo Celso to be used in a deeper role.

Having the wingers stretching the game could make Tottenham’s lineup look more like a five-in-possession forward with Son and Bale, two powerful scorers, closing in on Kane on offense and delivering the kind of numbers needed to lead Spurs. forward.

That’s crucial to unleashing Bale’s full potential.

Get the best of Bale

The Welshman remains a physical specimen, but at the age of 31, the days of dominating his opponents at high speed are coming to an end. While he maintains the threat of going through the markers on the outside, his main weapon now is slicing through the inside of that famous left foot.

With Doherty providing the width, Bale could be used as an inside right instead of an outside, putting him more often in that zone from which he found the net no fewer than nine times from outside the penalty area in his longest season. recent as Premier. League player.

No one has come close to those numbers since. Not only does that serve as a reminder of how dangerous Bale can be, but it underscores the potential transformation into power his arrival could bring. Kane’s heavy scoring load could be shared.

Tottenham will need players other than Harry Kane to score goals

Lucas Moura scored just four goals in 35 Premier League appearances last season at a rate of one every 562 minutes on the field. It’s a negligible comeback for a player on the offensive line and a key differential between Tottenham and the teams they aspire to catch.

Liverpool have had great success passing the ball to Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane in the channels with their wings providing width. Could the Spurs expect similar returns from Bale and Son if they can configure the system to place them in those same zones?

World-class special full-backs, midfielders and center-backs are required in one-on-one situations for Liverpool to make it work in a 4-3-3 formation. For Tottenham, it would seem more achievable with that extra man back at 3-4-3.

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Eric Dier admits it’s ‘impossible’ to ignore talks about Gareth Bale’s return

It is not a formation alien to the fans of the club, of course. Mauricio Pochettino switched to three defenders during the 2016/17 season after enjoying success at 4-2-3-1.

He used it to give his team an extra man at the rear, especially using it against Watford’s two-forward system, while encouraging Kyle Walker and Danny Rose to attack as wingers.

Many members of the Spurs team remain from those days, so the formation would not be new to them, but it would be a major change for Mourinho from his tried and trusted methods.

He is a coach who has enjoyed so many successes in the last two decades that it would be understandable if he was reluctant to embrace a different formation than the one with which he has won two Champions League finals and no less than seven national leagues. .

And yet it now seems the natural step for his Tottenham team to make a similar tactical adjustment to that adopted by Arsenal, of all teams, under Mikel Arteta. “I think Mikel has found a way for them to play, stay stable and improve,” Mourinho said recently.

Tottenham are looking for that same stability and improvement. If the signings of Bale and Reguilon help them find him with their own change to 3-4-3, it would be an evolution for the team and their celebrated coach.

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