A Look At The Defender Who Reportedly Turned Down Tottenham This Summer – The Statistics

For me, being a fan of the lower leagues, I find it refreshing when a player refuses to rise to the temptations of the millions of pounds that a Premier League club is willing to throw at them, especially if it means them sitting on the bench. And although this is a completely different case, my respect for Nicolas Spolli has certainly risen – mainly because I had never heard of him beforehand. The Catania defender has apparently told the press, as reported by talkSPORT, that he snubbed interest from Tottenham this summer to continue his time in Serie A.

Bravo.

I hold nothing against Spurs, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nice to see the Argentine choosing football over finance. I also don’t begrudge players who are lured by the wealth of bigger clubs, it’s a short career and so on, but that’s another debate.

So, who is Spolli and how good of a player is he? Here’s what you could have had, Spurs fans.

The 30-year-old has been plying his trade with the Italian side since 2009 and has become an important figure at the club. Last season he made 29 appearances, scoring twice. He completed 61% of his duels, according to Squawka, which included an 83% tackles success and 63% of his 94 headers being won.

He also finished with an 87% pass success, which has risen to 94% this season after his first two games. So far he has made an average of five defensive actions and won 100% of his tackles, as well as 10/12 headers.

What do you reckon Tottenham fans, would he have been a decent investment, or are you happy with your options at current?