Jamie Carragher names Tottenham Hotspur’s best signing under Thomas Frank so far

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Jamie Carragher believes Tottenham did a very impressive piece of business in the summer transfer window.

Spurs brought seven new players through the door in the summer, and some of them hit the ground running better than others.

While Mohammed Kudus has been universally acknowledged as Tottenham’s best player this season, another experienced signing has quickly made himself an indispensable part of the club’s starting eleven.

Joao Palhinha is delivering impressive numbers out of possession, which comes as no surprise to anyone who watched him during his Fulham days.

Jamie Carragher believes Joao Palhinha is exactly what Tottenham needed

Some Spurs fans have questioned whether Palhinha offers enough on the ball, but Carragher believes that the 31-year-old is a good fit for Thomas Frank’s system.

However, the Liverpool legend also acknowledged that we have to see an evolution in Tottenham’s midfield, particularly when they play at home.

Carragher wrote in The Telegraph: “The best signing under Frank so far is Joao Palhinha, a highly effective ball-winner more so than a playmaker.

“In the early stages of his Spurs career, Palhinha is exactly what Frank and his new club need, and it could bring instant success.

“Going forward, there will have to be an evolution, as the pairing of Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur is perceived by supporters to be over-cautious in home games.”

Can Spurs overcome the Palhinha-Bentancur problem?

The numbers suggest that Palhinha and Bentancur both rarely pass the ball forward, and that is seen by many as the main source of Tottenham’s creative issues.

However, Frank has reiterated that he is happy with Tottenham’s midfield balance, and it appears unlikely that the Dane is going to change his selections.

The answer for the Lilywhites may lie in entering the market in January for a deep-lying playmaker, who is good on the ball but does not represent much of a downgrade defensively on either Bentancur or Palhinha. The issue is that those players are hard to find and will not come cheaply.