When Pedro Porro signed for Tottenham in January 2023, on loan from Sporting Lisbon, he was considered an archetypal Antonio Conte player.
A flying wing-back, whose biggest attributes were pace and tenacity, he appeared to be a neat fit for Conte’s rigid set-up that demanded ambition down the flanks from his full-backs in lieu of wingers.
Subsequently, he slotted in right from the off, replacing Emerson Royal who was viewed as inconsistent and untrustworthy.
That is not to say that it was all plain sailing for the Spaniard, a nightmare debut away at Leicester leaving Spurs fans scratching their heads as to why the club had pursued him so aggressively, agreeing to a £34.5m obligation to buy as part of the loan deal.
To Porro’s credit however, he grew into his role, quickly acclimatising to English fare and putting in some decent performances, if in patches.
On the final day of the season he both scored and assisted as a broken Leeds side had their fate sealed.
The player capped twice by Spain warrants even greater acclaim when it’s acknowledged how precarious Tottenham’s situation was last term.
Just two months after his arrival, Conte left in typically acrimonious fashion and though this wasn’t a club in outright crisis, mentioned in the Premier League relegation odds, their top four aspirations always looked tenuous at best.
In the event, Spurs came eighth, their lowest finish since 2009.
Finding his feet within such a maelstrom of discord and poor results, Porro soon enough gained the respect of the Tottenham faithful and he was duly signed permanently in the summer. Only now came another potential hurdle to overcome. Another thing to prove.
Because given his specialist skill-set, qualifications that label him too attack-minded to be a reliable full-back, and not quite impactful enough to solely inhabit the final third, would he serve any purpose under the incoming gaffer, whoever that may be?
What were the chances of the new boss deploying three at the back like his predecessor?
The appointment of Ange Postecoglou therefore didn’t bode well for the 24-year-old. The Aussie coach loves attacking players as much as the next man – more, in truth – but likes his wingers to be wingers, and crucially expects his full-backs to invert.
Necessitating attributes no-one had yet seen from Porro, that latter detail cast doubts over his future in North London, with his signature on his new contract still to dry.
Six months into 2023/24, however, it is fair to say those doubts have been eradicated.
Like Destiny Udogie on the other side, Porro has taken to his new role like a duck to water, putting in a string of exceptional displays that have gone a long way to improving Tottenham’s Premier League odds, even seeing them tipped in some quarters as title contenders.
No other defender has been involved in more open-play sequences ending in a shot while defensively he has been sound, nullifying the great and the good who dare to beat him for pace, or attempt to lure him into rash challenges.
Illustrating his importance to a vastly improved Spurs, no team-mate boasts a higher pass average per 90 and how he uses such possession has impressed. Seven assists from a player in his position speaks for itself.
Moreover, the versatility he has shown – and the intelligence behind it – has been pivotal in allowing Postecoglou’s mandate to flourish.
There are screenshots aplenty of Porro being the furthest player forward while critically, as previously stated, he has rarely been caught out at the back.
Every manager needs an everyman, and to the surprise of many, Porro has been that to Big Ange.
Indeed, James Maddison may get the headlines, and Son Heung-min the plaudits, but a player who so recently divided option has become the key element to Tottenham’s burgeoning revolution.
*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to Alamy*
