David Hancko please join Tottenham.
Feyenoord are enjoying themselves under Arne Slot, 8 points clear at the summit of the Eredivisie and into the quarter finals of the Europa League. Life is good in Rotterdam. And one of the players who is flying is Slovakian centre back David Hancko.
Hancko switched Sparta Prague for De Kuip in summer 2022 for £5.5m a good bit of business as Feyenoord looked to build on their European run taking them to the final of the Conference League becoming the first Dutch side to reach a European final in since 2017.
No matter who the new manager at Tottenham will be, one thing is for certain a left sided centre back should be one of the most important positions to strengthen in the summer transfer window and this is a piece analysing why David Hancko could be the man for that role.
The numbers.
Hancko’s numbers this season is enough to make a numbers man cry tears of joy, so much so I don’t actually know where to start.
Feyenoord being one of the biggest teams in the Eredivisie will naturally have a lot of the ball something Slot welcomes, so it’s important that his players have quality when in possession of the ball. This can be seen in his passing numbers. Hancko is a high volume passer attempting 73 passes p90 and completing 63 of them p90.
His short to medium range passing numbers are top completing 93% of his short passes p90 alongside completing 92% of his medium range passes p90. It drops off the longer the passes but that is expected, with a completion rate of 58% p90 for long passes. Hancko is also a progressive passer averaging 7.87 progressive passes p90 which puts him in the 99th percentile compared to CBs in the top 8 leagues.
As well as being an excellent passer of the ball, he’s also comfortable progressing the ball through carries averaging 2.43 progressive carries p90 which also puts him in the 99th percentile.
This high quality on the ball is something which Spurs lack on the left hand side, this can be seen when comparing Hancko’s numbers to Lenglet’s and Davies’s.
Hancko’s numbers
Ben Davies numbers.
Clement Lenglet Numbers.
The issue with breaking down numbers for teams like Feyenoord, who are one of the big boys in the league defensive numbers can be skewed due to teams wanting them to have the ball and just all round Feyenoord being the better team with better players.
Focusing on the tackles p90 is a good place to start. Hancko attempts 2.21 tackles p90 which puts him in the 95th percentile, so we know he is actively defensively. He matches the high rate of tackles per game with how many of them he wins, winning 1.36 tackles p90 putting him in the 90th percentile.
The areas of where he wins these tackles are good as well, winning 1.32 tackles p90 in his defensive third (90th percentile) showing he’s comfortable and trust worthy defending in and around the box. Also competent battling further forward winning 0.72 tackles p90 in the midfield third (91st percentile) and 0.17 in the final third (97th percentile) not that that’s important as surprisingly CBs don’t often have many tackles needed to make in the attacking third.
Some other stats that could be of interest, Hancko commits 0.45 fouls p90 which is impressive especially when compared to Tottenham’s left sided options with Davies committing 1.30 fouls p90 and Clement Lenglet committing 1.13 p90. A massive difference which shows Hancko is a much more reliable and well composed LCB compared to Spurs’ current options.
Play style.
Hancko is your prototypical modern day wide left footed centre back, who’s blessed with superb on ball skills such as passing and dribbling which allows Feyenoord to progress play from deep with him.
Hancko’ passing is very good, with the ability to play from central and wide areas. Hancko isn’t really a line breaker when it comes to passing, more looking to hit the wide areas using curved passes with superb shape and power on them making them a dream for wingers looking to get behind in the channels.
On occasions when playing as a LB or when overlapping from LCB, Hancko has shown he can play play those what I call ‘Bastoni crosses’ where he receives in the wide area just outside of the half space and can hit a hanging curved cross for players to attack. This is something that Spurs have done a few times this season when chasing games, and I’ve said on multiple occasions i’d like to see us implement it more. Hancko can definitely bring that, I’m confident in saying so.
Hancko has also shown an ability to play more direct and route one. His long passing technique is superb, he’s got the ability to play into a striker holding up play or play a Jan Vertonghen esque switch of play to a player out wide on the right.
He doesn’t always force play and try highlight reel passes, he has the tactical understanding of when to play short and wall passes into central midfielders to help keep play ticking over and build pressure on the opposition.
His on ball qualities isn’t just limited to passing, Hancko is a strong ball carrier. With good speed and acceleration for a player that is 6ft2 he can comfortably take the ball from the half way line into the final third. He has quite an awkward up right dribbling technique, but he adjusts his feet well and can take on players with fairly basic skills.
That ball carrying also allows him to tactically be helpful as he can help overload wide areas, overlap LBs, and act as another attacking player which he can comfortably do down to his good work rate and engine which can be seen in him averaging 88 minutes in the Eredivisie showing he rarely has to be subbed off.
We by now understand Hancko has a lot of upside on the ball and help building and supporting attacks but his defensive game is also as good.
As mentioned before, he has good size, speed and acceleration which makes him a very good defender on recovery. He has the speed to catch up with most attackers, and the size to throw off most attackers especially in wide areas.
I like him when he is defending in those wide areas as he’s really good at ushering and showing players away from goal. With long legs and arms he is an overwhelming presence, able to knock players off the ball and be an all round pest making a dangerous attack go to a fairly weak attack.
At times he can over commit out wide, being a bit square and up right which stops him from being able to change direction quickly however he does have the recovery pace to make amends for that.
He has room to grow when it comes to aerial battles, winning 61.4% of his duels p90 which puts him in the mid range at 56 percentile. Showing the ability to be good aerially, just not the consistency.
My verdict.
Hancko could end his first season in Rotterdam as an Eredivisie and Europa League winner if things go well. I think he is a great option for Spurs, covering many positions from LB, LCB and CB. With a profile that Spurs need + good value on the market Hancko might be the missing piece of the puzzle when it comes to Tottenham’s defence.
