Since joining Tottenham from Barcelona in 2008, Giovani dos Santos has never really had a fair run in the team. He has talent, he has the ability, but he doesn’t get the game time at White Hart Lane, and with Tottenham’s recent surge to success in the Champions League as wel as at home inthe Premier League, it seems as if a first team place will start to become even more unlikely for the tricky Mexican.
The 21-year-old had a good World Cup, playing his part, alongside Manchester United’s Javier Hernandez, in helping Mexico through their group stage; beating France in the process. He was even nominated for the FIFA young player of the tournament award, which eventually went to German striker Thomas Muller. But on his return to Tottenham, he found that Rafael van der Vaart had been bought, and his place in the team was all but gone.
The Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp pointed out the former Barcelona man’s main weakness:
“If he could pass a nightclub as well as he can pass a ball, he would be all right.”
And although admitting that dos Santos has “bags of ability and fantastic skill”, his dedication to the Tottenham cause was questionable.
Dos Santos is now being linked to a number of clubs in terms of destinations for a possible transfer, with Liverpool being among the names. He would provide good width to the Liverpool side, as well as his trickery and creativity – things that Liverpool need a big injection of if they are to climb back up to their perch with Roy Hodgson. At his young age of 21, dos Santos has plenty of time to improve his game, or his dedication to football, as Redknapp pointed out, and the fee shouldn’t be too high since he hasn’t exactly had a chance to showcase his talents at Tottenham.
The youngster has been labelled as a “flop” by some, but with only 10 League appearances under his belt, it really can’t be judged whether the signing was a failure. He hasn’t had a chance to show what he can really do at Tottenham, but with Liverpool, and their depleted squad, a little bit of Mexican skill and passion would be welcomed with relief to the injury ridden squad.
