Tottenham Hotspur may be going through a rough patch in terms of performances and results at the moment, but there is no denying that they have exceeded expectations this season.
With Harry Kane leaving the club in the summer and the appointment of a manager whom few in England were overly familiar with, it looked like 2023/24 was set to be a particularly tough campaign ahead of the Lilywhites.
However, with 25 Premier League games played and a slew of injuries throughout the season, Spurs are in fifth, just two points off fourth and three ahead of sixth.
Position
Team
Points
1
Liverpool
57
2
Manchester City
56
3
Arsenal
55
4
Aston Villa
49
5
Tottenham Hotspur
47
6
Manchester United
44
The north Londoners have reached this position through the brilliance of Ange Postecoglou and impressive performances from their regular starters, one of whose value has now soared considerably of late.
Pedro Porro's value at Sporting
Antonio Conte's time at Tottenham Hotspur was, to put it kindly, mixed.
The Italian brought some stability to the club in the aftermath of Nuno Espirito Santo's departure and helped them qualify for the Champions League at the end of the 2021/22 season in the best way possible: beating Arsenal 3-0 and derailing their campaign.
However, the 2022/23 campaign couldn't have gone any worse, and following exits from Europe and the FA Cup, Conte left the club by 'mutual consent.' That said, he did leave Spurs with a parting gift, the £40m signing of Spanish right-back Pedro Porro.
It was an interesting first season in English football for the then-23-year-old as he played most of his games higher up the pitch, starting as a right-wingback or right-sided midfielder in 13 of his 17 games.
By the end of the campaign, he had scored three goals and provided three assists, and while he showed promise, there was a question mark whether he would make it into Postecoglou's team or not, which, upon reflection, was a silly thing to question at all.
Pedro Porro's value this season
Where the former Sporting CP star was decent last year, he has been outstanding this season.
The "special" full-back come wing-back, as described by journalist Zach Lowy, has played 25 games in all competitions this season, registered eight assists, and scored one goal.
Postecoglou has started the 5 foot 8 whiz as a right-back in every game he has played this season, but has still given him the license to get forward and influence the team's attack.
The most interesting difference in how he has been used this season, compared to last year, is how often he moves into central areas. For example, looking at his heat map from 2022/23, it's clear that almost all of his work is done out wide, whereas his heatmap from this season clearly shows him coming into the middle of the pitch far more often.
This ability to exert more influence on games has seen his value steadily rise at Tottenham, and according to the CIES Football Observatory, he is now worth around €60m, which is about £51m, or £11m more than he cost the club just a year ago.
Interestingly, this also makes him one of the most valuable players in the squad, with club captain Heung-min Son being valued at just €30m – £26m – in comparison.
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Ultimately, Porro might not be as important to the club as Son is, but considering their ages and the prospect of what they could be in five years, it does make sense to see the Spaniard valued higher than his captain.