Tottenham Hotspur look set for a busy summer of transfer activity after a fairly up-and-down Premier League season that saw them qualify for the Europa League.
They have already been linked to a number of players over the last few weeks, and it looks like they're particularly keen on Aston Villa's Jacob Ramsey.
According to the Standard, Daniel Levy and Co are currently preparing a second bid after seeing their initial offer of £20m plus Giovani Lo Celso turned down.
However, based on recent reports, they might be set to land another player who would be a far better purchase.
Tottenham Hotspur transfer news
According to a recent report from the Times, Spurs are still keen on signing Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze this summer and are now leading the race for his signature.
The report claims that the North Londoners are not put off by his £60m release clause and are confident in their ability to get the deal done once he returns from the European Championships in Germany with England.
Signing the Palace ace would undoubtedly cost the Lilywhites a lot more money than Ramsey, but given his performances last season, it would almost certainly be worth the extra money.
How Eze compares to Ramsey
Now, last season, both Ramsey and Eze played in attacking midfield, out on the leftwing and in left midfield, and with the Palace man being 25 and the Villa ace 23, there are a fair few similarities between them.
That said, how do they compare to one another? Well, from an output perspective, it's the former Queens Park Rangers gem who emerges victorious, and by quite some margin at that.
In just 31 appearances last season, he scored 11 goals and provided four assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.82 games for the Eagles.
In contrast, his competition scored one goal and provided two assists in 21 games for the Villans, which equates to an average of one goal involvement every seven matches – a stark difference.
Unfortunately, when we compare their underlying numbers, things don't get much better for the Birmingham-born dynamo.
For example, while the "exceptional" England international, as dubbed by Statman Dave, comes out second best for progressive carries and passing accuracy, he comes out ahead in every other metric including non-penalty expected goals and assists, actual non-penalty goals and assists, progressive passes, shots and shots on target, goals per shot and shot on target, goal and shot-creating actions, ball recoveries, aerial duels and successful take-ons, all per 90.
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists
0.59
0.34
Non-Penalty Goals
0.40
0.08
Assists
0.24
0.17
Progressive Passes
4.08
3.21
Progressive Carries
2.98
3.68
Shots
3.56
1.95
Goals per Shot
0.11
0.04
Shots on Target
1.42
0.34
Goals per Shot on Target
0.28
0.25
Passing Accuracy
77.0
81.2
Shot-Creating Actions
4.82
3.02
Goal-Creating Actions
0.48
0.28
Successful Take-Ons
3.03
0.85
Ball Recoveries
5.92
4.34
Aerial Duels Won
0.53
0.47
Ultimately, while Ramsey looks to be a talented player, neither his underlying numbers nor raw output can hold a candle to Eze, and while the Palace ace is set to cost more than the Villa prospect, he will be more than worth it.
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