The summer window may be a distant memory, but the rumour mill churns on with unrelenting pace. According to GoalZaza's latest intelligence, Sevilla w...
The summer window may be a distant memory, but the rumour mill churns on with unrelenting pace. According to GoalZaza's latest intelligence, Sevilla wide man Ruben Vargas has become a name on the lips of several Premier League recruitment teams. The 27 year old Switzerland international, who has been plying his trade in La Liga, is suddenly a man in demand. And the clubs circling him Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, and West Ham United.This is not a flash in the pan. Vargas was linked with a move to Leeds United just a few months ago, a sign that his profile has been on the scouting radar for some time. But now the stakes have risen. You have to wonder: what exactly do these Premier League sides see in a player who, while technically gifted, has not exactly set the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan alight every week The answer, I suspect, lies in tactical flexibility. Vargas can operate on either flank, drift inside to shoot, or even slot in behind a striker. That kind of versatility is gold dust in a league where injuries and fixture congestion can derail a season before February.For Tottenham, the logic is fairly straightforward. Ange Postecoglou demands wingers who can carry the ball at pace, stretch the opposition low block, and deliver a final ball with consistent weight. Vargas has that. His left foot is a wand when he is in the mood, and his willingness to track back fits the high intensity requirements of a side chasing European football. However, there is a lingering doubt about his consistency. Can he produce that clinical finishing week in, week out in the Premier League That is the question that will keep Daniel Levy and his analytics team up at night.Aston Villa, under Unai Emery, present a different proposition. They are a side built on organised defensive structure and devastating transitional play. Vargas would add a directness to their attack, a player comfortable picking up the ball in tight spaces and driving at retreating defenders. Emery has a proven track record of squeezing the best out of wide attackers in the Premier League, and for a player entering his prime years at 27, the timing could be perfect. West Ham, meanwhile, would offer him the chance to be the main man, the focal point of the attack, but the step up to a club with Champions League ambitions might prove tempting.Make no mistake, this is a race that will likely intensify as the January window approaches. Vargas is not a kid anymore, but he is exactly the kind of experienced, battle hardened operator who can walk into a Premier League XI and make an immediate impact. The only question is which gaffer will trust him to do it. And if I were a betting man, I would say the next few weeks will be squeaky bum time for the recruitment departments at Tottenham and Villa.
