Reported Tottenham target Smalling has thoroughly outperformed Vertonghen

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Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with a shock move for Manchester United defender Chris Smalling.

According to Corriere dello Sport, the 30-year-old has emerged as a potential transfer target for the north Londoners following a brilliant stint with AS Roma on loan.

The central defender, who has 31 England caps, has enjoyed a tremendous turnaround at the Stadio Olimpico after a poor 2018/19 campaign at Old Trafford.

Corriere say United want £16.5 million for Smalling, who’ll have two years remaining on his contract from this summer.

Spurs’ interest is perhaps a little unsurprising given Mourinho’s association with United.

A move would make sense, especially with Jan Vertonghen seemingly on the way out this summer.

It is believed the Belgian has been in talks for a while over a new deal, but no agreement has been reached, and the player’s form may suggest a change of scenery could be on the cards for 2020/21.

TBR’s view – Smalling would be a big upgrade

Tottenham signing Smalling would see them upgrade hugely on Vertonghen based off the statistics of this season so far.

The pair have made a similar number of appearances in their respective divisions (Smalling 19, Vertonghen 17) meaning they can be compared pretty fairly.

So far, Smalling has pretty much outperformed the Belgian in every department.

According to WhoScored, the 6ft 4in ace makes 2.2 interceptions per 90 to Vertonghen‘s 1.6, makes 4.3 clearances to Vertonghen’s 3.0, wins 3.9 aerial dues to Vertonghen’s 2.8 and makes 1.1 blocks compared to Vertonghen’s 0.5.

Smalling has also been dribbled past less (just 0.1 times) than Vertonghen (0.6), and has a higher pass completion rate (91% to 83.5%). Vertonghen has averaged slightly more tackles though, at 2.1 to Smalling’s 1.1.

There was once a time where £100,000-a-week star Vertonghen (Spotrac) was a considerably better defender, but Smalling’s statistics suggest he is now a colossus reborn and Mourinho should surely consider a move at just £16.5 million to replace the former Ajax man.