When Jose Mourinho draws up his shopping list for the summer, if he hasn’t already done so, a right-back will surely be near the top. Tottenham Hotspur ’s desperate need for a new right-sided defender is obvious, with Kieran Trippier never truly replaced following his departure to Atletico Madrid last summer.
Serge Aurier has been favoured in the role by Mourinho, but the Ivorian has been extremely error-prone, with Kyle Walker-Peters, another option in the position, loaned out to Southampton in January for the second half of the season. It, therefore, seems likely Spurs will enter the market for a right-back before the start of the 2020/21 campaign.
Max Aarons has, more than once, been mentioned as a potential target, although Spurs might face competition for the Norwich City youngster with Goal reporting Arsenal are also long-term admirers. So would the 20-year-old fit the bill for Mourinho? And what did Aarons’ first game back after the coronavirus shutdown tell us about his suitability?
Aarons enjoyed a busy first half, with his first involvement within the opening minute hinting at the role he would play for the Canaries against Southampton. Sent high up the right wing, the youngster instantly controlled a Jamal Lewis cross-field pass and performed some nice trickery to link up with Emi Buendia before cutting inside. It was a statement of intent for the match.
Indeed, Aarons was involved with much of Norwich’s early play, with the Carrow Road side focusing possession down the right wing. An aerial collision with Michael Obafemi on the edge of the box, which subsequently sparked a dangerous Southampton counter-attack, saw the 20-year-old receive some treatment but was given the green light to continue.
Mourinho’s continued use of Aurier despite his frequent mistakes suggests he values the structure that an attacking right back brings. This would seemingly make Aarons a good fit for the North London club, with Daniel Farke asking the 20-year-old to push so high that he was quite frequently among the furthest players forward for Norwich against Southampton.
But this created some problems for the Canaries. More than once, the home side were left exposed at the back after conceding possession inside their own half. This wasn’t necessarily Aarons’ fault, but with the youngster so high up the pitch, it left Ben Godfrey in particular without an out ball.
Southampton seemingly recognised this and made a point of pressing Godfrey when he was charged with bringing the ball out from the back and Aarons was eventually warned not to be so adventurous. This did, however, leave Norwich’s front two of Teemu Pukki and Josip Drmic somewhat isolated without a supply line down the right.
The move that led to the opening goal originated in Aarons’ area of the pitch, although there was little he could do about the head tennis that ultimately saw Danny Ings presented with a shooting chance from inside the box. The right-back prevented Southampton from extending their lead further on the hour mark, getting back to block on the line from James Ward-Prowse with Tim Krul beaten.
There is a fine line between providing an attacking outlet and leaving your defence exposed. Aarons blurred those lines more than once against Southampton, with Godfrey not always sure of where the 20-year-old was positioned at any given time - see Nathan Redmond’s third goal where Aarons was nowhere to be seen at the back.
And yet it was still easy to see why Tottenham, among others, would be interested in a player with such potential.
