Tottenham Hotspur podcaster Bardi (@BardiTFC) was full of praise for Carlos Vinicius during the latest edition of The Extra Inch podcast.
Vinicius, who joined Spurs on loan from Benfica for the 2020/21 campaign in early-October, has made four appearances for the Lilywhites this season, one of which came in Tottenham’s most recent Premier League game versus West Bromwich Albion.
Tottenham won that game thanks to an 88th-minute Harry Kane goal and Jose Mourinho commended Vinicius – who played just 12 minutes versus West Brom – and the role he played in helping his side to break the deadlock late on, with the Portuguese coach explaining that Vinicius helped goalscorer Kane to find more space in the latter stages of the game.
Bardi also shared praise for the Brazilian centre-forward for the role he played versus the Baggies and indicated that the £18m-rated man has made a positive impression on him during his time at the north London club so far, saying:
“I thought he did alright, he did a lovely shot on the turn which forced a good save, he did occupy – when you’re playing up against three centre-backs – he did occupy them, he gave them something else to think about and I think his sheer presence did do something and allowed Kane to sneak in.
“I think he’s better than [Fernando] Llorente, he’s better than [Vincent] Janssen, probably better than [Roberto] Soldado and I think, maybe not as good as [Roman] Pavlyuchenko but I think he’s probably the best ‘number 9’ we’ve had for quite some time.
“I know it’s not saying much, but I think he’s an excellent squad option and for [a] £3m loan fee, it’s great. I’m not sure whether I’d want us to activate the buyout clause, but I think for this season, already, he’s starting to prove his worth.”
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TIF Thoughts on what Bardi had to say about Vinicius…
It’s still early days for Vinicius at Tottenham, as he only joined the north London club just over a month ago. With that in mind, perhaps it is too soon to compare him with Llorente, Janssen, Soldado and Pavlyuchenko, all of whom played far more games for the club than Vinicius has so far, even if the comparison is a largely positive one for the 25-year-old forward.
Sunday’s win over West Brom was only Vinicius’ first Premier League appearance and while he may have played an important role in helping the Lilywhites to win that game, perhaps he will need to have that kind of influence in more than just one top-flight game for Bardi’s comment on how the attacker compares to those ex-Spurs players to be justified.
However, he has certainly made a positive start to his Premier League career, while he has also been influential for the Lilywhites in his three UEFA Europa League appearances so far, as he is their highest assist provider (two) in that competition at present, so if he can maintain his current level of performance as the season progresses then Bardi’s positive comments may be proven right.