It has been reported that Tottenham are ready to bid £20 million for Atletico Madrid’s Diego Forlan to boost their attacking options as they set to battle it out with Europe’s elite in the Champions League next season, but would this be a wise investment?
I know a few Spurs fans and they argue that such a price tag is far too much for the likes of Forlan and believe that there are better players available.
The Uruguayan forward has an impressive goalscoring record for both Villarreal and Atletico in La Liga, so why wouldn’t anybody want him?
In his first season at Villarreal the 31-year-old netted 25 goals in 38 games and apart from a poor return in the very next season (just 13) he has had scored 20+ a season on five occasions, with his best season being in 2008/09 when he scored 35 for Atletico. His form in front of goal has won him the Pichichi Trophy (La Liga top scorer) on two occasions in 2005 and 2009. Also, this past season he has helped Los Rojiblancos to win the first ever Europa League at the expense of plucky Fulham and finally breaking the ‘curse’ which surrounded the club.
Forlan’s agent Daniel Bolotnicoff is not surprised that teams are being linked with the Uruguayan forward and said:
“Forlan is a player who a lot of people are interested about in the European market. Each of the seasons many clubs show interest in him
“This is not the first time that a Premier League club have wanted to try to buy him back. At the moment, though, he is concentrating on the World Cup finals.” (Daily Mail)
However, £20 million pounds for a 31-year-old former Premier League flop? Surely not.
Despite all the goals he has scored in Spain fans are not daft and won’t be so quick to forget that at Manchester United he was terrible. Many argue he wasn’t given enough of a chance at Old Trafford, but he did, he had many. In the 2002/03 season he played 45 games and scored nine, in 2003/04 he played 32 times and scored eight and during his entire time at Manchester United he only managed a paltry 17 goals in 98 appearances. His lack of goals for the Red Devils earned him the nickname of ‘Diego Birtles’ after Garry Birtles, a player who had flopped for United during his time there in the 1980s. The English press also labelled him ‘Diego Forlorn’ as the striker spent most of his time cursing his luck instead of scoring goals.
I don’t doubt that he is not a good player and his numbers during his time in Spain suggest he’s a top quality striker, but he has failed in the Premier League before and perhaps England just does not suit him at all.
On the other hand, he’s an older, wiser and better player than the one that left Old Trafford in the August of 2004. Additionally, he was unfortunate enough to be at Manchester United as Ruud van Nistelrroy, who had scored 150 in 210 games, so he was never going to compare favourably.
In the short term he could prove to be a wise purchase, but only if Spurs can lessen the £20m asking price, which is doubtful as reports suggest it was originally £30m. The White Hart Lane faithful will have differing opinions over who they should and shouldn’t sign, but if they wanted to pick up an experienced striker I think 29-year-old Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano might be a better shout than Forlan.
The Sevilla man is expected to leave his club after the World Cup and as one of the potential golden boot contenders he could be a great buy for anyone.
Do you agree that Forlan would be a waste of resource, or would you actually welcome him at WHL?
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