Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou issued much change in the summer, having recognised the glaring need for refurbishment when arriving from Celtic.
Having slumped to an eighth-placed finish in the Premier League last term, Spurs were indeed in desperate need of change and the Australian manager brought newfound positivity and an arresting style of play.
But having soared into first place after ten matches, Tottenham have now fallen to three straight defeats after that detrimental evening against Chelsea, and moves must be made in January to ensure that the first-team is strong enough to achieve the lofty ambitions.
Tottenham transfer news – Morato
According to Record – via Sport Witness – Tottenham are interested in exciting Benfica defender Morato, though it's stressed that the Portuguese giants are not interested in engaging in discussions this winter.
The 22-year-old is left-footed and as such would be the perfect stand-in for influential summer signing Micky van de Ven, who signed from Wolfsburg for £43m and had been immense before injury against the Blues has ruled him out until after the new year.
The report states that Morato had attracted Premier League attention in the summer, with Benfica rejecting €30m (£26m) offers from Fulham and Nottingham Forest.
Morato's style of play
Morato, while not quite putting it all together yet, has been described as 'technically superior' to Van de Ven when the Daily Mail recently revealed the list of centre-back targets for Tottenham.
This season, the 6 foot 4 Brazilian has made 11 appearances across all competitions but has only been used from the outset on three occasions in the Portuguese top-flight, bagging an assist from left-back against Sporting Lisbon in his most recent outings.
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He has been said to have the makings of a “world-class” defender by talent scout Jacek Kulig, with his potential possibly being realised under Postecoglou's wing in north London.
That being said, he has demonstrated his credentials with a stellar showing against Inter Milan in the Champions League, taking 99 touches, completing 81% of his passes, winning 13 duels, and clinching an impressive haul of nine clearances and six tackles, as per Sofascore.
Given that Morato's modern, ball-playing roots align with Postecoglou's possession-based, swift-flowing system, he would be a massive upgrade on Eric Dier, who has been called upon amid the deluge of absences recently but is out of contract at the end of the campaign and clearly not favoured by his 58-year-old manager.
Statistic
Per 90
Percentile
Assists
0.15
99
Pass completion
87%
82
Progressive passes
4.78
88
Progressive carries
1.04
85
Successful take-ons
0.45
86
Tackles
2.69
1
*Sourced via FBref
Described as a “liability” by writer Mitch Fretton for his role in Tottenham's demise last season, Dier, aged 29, ranks among the bottom 46% of defenders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion and the bottom 9% for progressive passes per 90 – evidencing his incongruity in the system.
While Morato does not appear quite ready for a starting berth with regularity in the Premier League, it may well be high time for him to make the move and serve as Van de Ven's understudy, acting as a foil while simultaneously spelling the end of Dier's Tottenham career.
The England international has been something of a stalwart, but his time is up and the club must move on.