Who is Carlos Vinicius? Strengths and weaknesses of Tottenham's backup for Kane
Arkadiusz Milik. Troy Deeney. Josh King. Ollie Watkins. Danny Ings. Bas Dost. Just a handful of the names linked with a move to Tottenham in the transfer window. It's a lengthy list as Spurs sought to rectify their striking woes. Yes, Harry Kane is a guaranteed starter when fit, yet the north London side found out the hard way how big an impact his absence has when he pulled up with a hamstring injury at the turn of the year.
As such, finding a new backup striker for Kane has been high on the club's priority list since Fernando Llorente's departure last summer. While Son Heung-Min and Lucas Moura can operate in attack where required, Tuesday's penalty shootout win over Chelsea, where Erik Lamela and Steven Bergwijn led the charge, highlighted the need for another striker before Monday's deadline.
And at long last that search is over after Spurs confirmed the loan signing of Carlos Vinicius from Benfica. The Portuguese side's failure to qualify for the Champions League saw them susceptible to big name departures and after Ruben Dias' switch to Manchester City was confirmed, Spurs have followed suit in raiding Benfica.
Hardly a household name across Europe, this suited Spurs in their pursuit of the 25-year-old. Well, that and the fact he is represented by Gestifute. It's the ideal move for both player and club. The north London side secure the services of a frontman on loan for just shy of £3m with an option to buy next year and, at long last, correct a problem position with a frontman more than capable of coming off the bench to positively impact a game, while Vinicius has the chance to ply his trade in a league that could propel him to stardom.
Indeed, 13 of Vinicius' 32 league appearances in 2019/20 came from the bench, while six of his 18 league goals were as a sub; no player scored more. Having chipped in with an additional five assists, the Brazilian had a direct hand in a goal every 77.5 mins in Liga NOS last season, a fine return for the former Monaco man.
Standing at 6'3" you'd be mistaken for assuming Vinicius is a mere target man in the same mould as Llorente, but rather he's a burly poacher who has a knack for being in the right place at the right time to tuck away chances. All 18 goals came from inside the penalty box, while four of those were in the six-yard box, that in itself the fourth best return in Liga NOS last term.
A conversion rate of 27.3%, that the fifth best of 44 players to score five or more goals in Liga NOS last season, further accentuates a statistically calculated WhoScored strength of 'Finishing' and he'll relish the opportunities that will be created for him by the Spurs offensive. On top of that, a return of a goal every 6.9 touches inside the opposition penalty area ranked highly among those to score at least five Liga NOS goals in 2019/20.
There's also a mean streak to his game that appeals to Jose Mourinho and Vinicius isn't afraid to throw his weight around to ruffle the feathers of defenders. An average of 1.3 fouls committed per 90 may not match that of his time with Monaco (2.1) and Rio Ave (2.4) in 2018/18, but it's this physical presence that suits Mourinho's 'siege mentality' mantra.
What's crucial, though, is that Vinicius has the goalscoring pedigree to alleviate the pressure on Harry Kane on the Spurs frontline and offers a different approach to his new teammate. Whereas Kane looks to drop deeper and aid in the build up for the north London side, Vinicius will seek to get on the end of chances in the opposition box, noted in that almost a quarter of his total touches in Liga NOS last season (523) were in the penalty area.
Considering Benfica largely operated in a 4-4-2 in 2019/20, an ability to play with a partner affords Mourinho another approach to attacking teams should the opportunity present itself and with the games coming thick and fast, all the while taking into account Kane's recent injury issues, there is finally depth in attack for Spurs that was found wanting during the England captain's absence.
