With the January transfer market just a matter of weeks away, the rumour mill has already swung into action, churning up the usual fiction which goes hand-hand with this time of year. However, with Spurs in need of striking reinforcements as their season picks up steam, rumours of Alexandre Pato joining Mauricio Pochettino’s men are rather worryingly beginning to pick up speed.
The Brazilian’s career took off rapidly during his time at AC Milan, while he was very much still in the infancy of his footballing career. A skilful, speedy striker with an eye for goal, he initially promised great things, with former manager Carlo Ancelotti comparing him to Brazilian legend Careca in an interview with La Gazetta dello Sport in 2008.
However, since then, the Internacional academy graduate’s career path has tailed off dramatically, largely due to injuries and has spent the last two years in his native Brazil, first with Corinthians, and now with Sao Paulo.
It must be said that, during his time in Brazil, Pato’s performances have somewhat picked up and has been able maintain a consistent run of games. Yet, his goal return has been nothing less than disappointing in a league where he should have the beating of most defenders he comes up against. It is partly for this reason that a move to Tottenham would be a bad move for all parties involved, especially the club itself.
Firstly, with complex third-party ownership complications and the necessary involvement of the infamous Kia Joorabchian, any deal would be both difficult and costly. In addition to this, the Brazilian doesn’t come with the best disciplinary record, something which would not be appreciated by Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, who places such a quality at the forefront of his philosophy.
It is for these reasons that Pato would not be a constructive signing for Tottenham’s top four aspirations and the club would instead be much more sensible in looking to the Premier League for reinforcements such as Saido Berahino or Jay Rodriguez.
