In the view of Roberto De Zerbi, Tottenham Hotspur defender Pedro Porro is the “best right-back in the world”. He certainly didn’t show it last season.
The World Cup winner was a key part of Spain’s summer triumph, yet he’d previously underwhelmed amid a wretched campaign back in north London, having scored more goals in North America (two) than he did in the entirety of last season in the Premier League (one).
With Djed Spence no longer in the building, the right-back berth still looks like Porro’s to lose regardless, although increased competition on that side might well be needed before tonight’s deadline.
Why Spurs still need to sign a right-back on deadline day
The Lilywhites look to be ending the window how they started it – with a flurry of transfer activity.
Having already snapped up Savio and Omar Marmoush from Manchester City, the north London side are continuing the Premier League theme with late moves for Mykhailo Mudryk and Tosin Adarabioyo, the pair both set to join from Chelsea.
It’s been a remarkable rebuild so far, but De Zerbi might not be done just yet by all accounts, still in search of a new number nine and another option at right-back.
Indeed, while Archie Gray has regularly slotted in at full-back in a Tottenham shirt, as he did amid his breakthrough at Leeds United, that doesn’t appear to be the best use of his talents, having endured another tough afternoon against Brentford on the opening weekend.
Previously likened to a “young Declan Rice“, Gray needs to be allowed to flourish in central midfield instead, thus heightening the need for cover and competition for Porro at right-back.
There may well be a frustration at having allowed the aforementioned Spence to leave, following a fine World Cup, yet the Englishman had had a turbulent time of things prior to that, even if he was a useful asset on either flank.
Spurs simply need someone to replace the new Inter Milan man.
How Spurs can rival Porro at right-back
Having snapped up a new left-back and three new centre-backs – including Tosin – the Lilywhites now just need a new right-back to complete the set before the deadline slams shut.
Whether any movement will be done in that department remains to be seen, with so many deals already on the go in north London, although in an ideal world, De Zerbi would still strengthen on the right flank.
In the view of football.london’s Alasdair Gold, the player that Spurs “really like” is Nottingham Forest’s Neco Williams, having been linked with the Wales star throughout the summer.
Forest are holding firm as things stands, having previously failed to reach an agreement for the signing of Lucas Bergvall, although never say never on this day of all days.
A versatile, perhaps unsung hero in the mould of Spence, Williams is such an asset due to his ability to feature in either full-back role, as well as at wing-back when needed too.
The 25-year-old was particularly impressive over the weekend against former club, Liverpool, as Oliver Glasner’s men deservedly secured a point at Anfield.
Both in and out of possession, Williams looked like a class above Liverpool’s own full-back pairing of Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, having supplied two key passes and won eight of his 12 total duels.
|
Neco Williams vs Liverpool |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Record |
|
Minutes |
90 |
|
Touches |
57 |
|
Pass accuracy |
78% |
|
Key passes |
2 |
|
Crosses |
1/3 |
|
Dribbles |
0/1 |
|
Ball lost |
10 |
|
Ground duels won |
7/20 |
|
Aerial duels won |
1/2 |
|
Tackles won |
4/6 |
He appears to be picking up where he left off last season, and while he might not have enjoyed the summer that Porro did, with Wales failing to qualify for the World Cup, the Forest man outperformed the Spaniard across 2025/26.
In all, Williams scored and assisted five goals in a chaotic campaign at the City Ground, having also created five ‘big chances’ from his full-back or wing-back berth.
In Porro’s case, meanwhile, the former Sporting CP star did create eight ‘big chances’, albeit while registering just three goal involvements, a poor return by his standards as an attack-minded defender.
Intriguingly, too, Williams also bettered the Spurs man in terms of successful dribbles completed per game (0.8 vs 0.6), while proving far less erratic in possession, boasting a superior record with regard to both pass accuracy (82% vs 75%), as well as possession lost per game (14.6 vs 19.0).
As for his record off the ball, Williams recorded an average of 3.9 tackles and interceptions per game, while making just three errors leading to a shot or goal. As for Porro, the 26-year-old made five errors leading to a shot, while averaging just 3.1 tackles and interceptions per outing.
Porro, as the World Cup showcased, might boast the higher ceiling, yet if Spurs are looking for someone with a little more consistency, then Williams might well be the man.
