With rumours that Gonzalo
Higuain could be heading to
Spurs as a make-weight to bring
Gareth Bale to Real Madrid,
talkSPORT pit the two players
head to head
By talkSPORT magazine
Saturday, March 16, 2013
1
No Spurs fan would be happy to
lose Gareth Bale in the summer,
but if a player of similar quality
comes to White Hart Lane as a
result, the blow would be softened.
If recent reports are to be
believed, that could be the case,
with claims that Real Madrid
forward Gonzalo Higuain could be
used as a make-weight in a deal
that would bring Bale to the
Bernabeu, so how do the two
match up? talkSPORT pit them
head to head....
Playing style
Gareth Bale and Gonzalo Higuain
play in different positions, but
while Higuain is a true centre-
forward and Bale has more of a
free role, both are tasked primarily
with scoring goals. With Higuain in
the middle, Tottenham would be
best placed to operate with two
wide forwards to make room for
the Argentine, and Gylfi Sigurdsson
and Aaron Lennon should be able
to fill those roles comfortably. If
Andre Villas-Boas wished, he could
also play Higuain alongside Jermain
Defoe, in a manner similar to when
Raul played with the Argentine at
Real Madrid.
Goal creation
The different positions Higuain and
Bale occupy on the pitch would
suggest that the Welshman has a
greater opportunity to create goals
for others, yet in reality, there's
nothing between them. Since 2010,
across both the English and Spanish
leagues, Europa League and
Champions League, both players
have assisted 19 goals each.
Higuain may not be able to burst
down the wing or deliver crosses as
well as Bale, but he is still strong
in linking up with the players
around him, as demonstrated by
his involvement in Cristiano
Ronaldo's goal against Manchester
United at Old Trafford, as well as a
similar chance he created minutes
prior.
Variety of goals
Surprisingly, Bale is better in the
air than Higuain, scoring five
headed goals to his two, though
admittedly, neither are particularly
prolific in that area. The Madrid
forward does have a stronger
weaker foot than the Welshman,
however, scoring ten on his softer
left compared to Bale's three on
his right. On their stronger sides
there's little between them, with
Higuain scoring 34 and Bale
scoring 30. It's a similar story
when looking at the distance from
which the two players tend to
score. Higuain has scored 41 of his
goals from inside the box, better
than Bale's 30, while the Spurs
man has notched up nine from
distance, trumping five from the
Madrid man. While the
characteristics of the two players
are different, they match up fairly
evenly overall, which must be
encouraging for Tottenham.
Would a deal be worth it for
Tottenham?
The biggest question is whether a
swap deal plus cash would be
beneficial for Tottenham, and
though there is always a risk in
altering your system slightly to
accommodate a new player, there
are some clear benefits for Spurs.
Tottenham could use the significant
sum of cash they would receive to
add one or two quality players to
their squad ahead of Champions
League football, while they would
also be bringing in a proven
goalscorer who has significant
experience of playing at the top
level both domestically and on the
continent. Higuain's experience of
winning titles and going far in the
Champions League could be
invaluable for the relatively young
Spurs squad, and ultimately, if Bale
has to go, then it's unlikely Spurs
would get a better player in
exchange for him from elsewhere.
Food for thought?
Video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yu4FrzAJLrA&feature=youtube_gdata_player
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