Iago Falque – From the bench at White Hart Lane to the Champions League

Former Spurs forward, Iago Falque, just recently moved to Serie A giants, AS Roma, for a fee in the region of £11m. He has the prospect of a season playing in the Champions League to look forward to.

This follows an impressive season for Genoa – who he joined for £4m a year ago – scoring more goals (13) than any Tottenham player barring Harry Kane.

So why then did Falque not succeed at Spurs?

The former Barcelona and Juventus youngster arrived in 2011 as a raw, but technically gifted forward – quick, skilful and able to play all across the attacking midfield line. However he spent the majority of his time at Spurs out on loan and played only five minutes of Premier League football for the club.

The competition for places seemed to be the biggest stumbling block for the youngster. In 2012, Falque went on loan to Almeria, remarking “My path was blocked by (Gareth) Bale. It was tough to get any game time with such a great player standing in my way.”

At the time he would also have been competing with the likes of Aaron Lennon, Gylfi Sigurðsson, Clint Dempsey and Lewis Holtby, so it’s really no wonder Falque struggled to make an impact.

[fullquote]So would Falque have succeeded at Spurs had current coach, Mauricio Pochettino, persuaded him to stay? There’s no doubt that a player of his raw talent is the sort that usually flourishes under the Argentine.[/fullquote]

The spending spree that followed Bale’s move to Real Madrid in 2013, brought in high profile signings such as Erik Lamela, Christian Eriksen and Nacer Chadli, and after another season on loan (this time impressing out at Rayo Vallecano), Falque left the club the following summer for Serie A. On arriving in Italy he called his initial move to Tottenham, the “worst decision” of his life.

So would Falque have succeeded at Spurs had current coach, Mauricio Pochettino, persuaded him to stay? There’s no doubt that a player of his raw talent is the sort that usually flourishes under the Argentine. With so many of Spurs’ midfield options suffering with form and consistency last season, it’s highly likely Falque would have got more time on the pitch, particularly in cup competitions.

However, the competition for places was still there, and Falque would by no means be guaranteed the 31 appearances he ended up making for Genoa last season.

In addition, it is debatable whether he would have been suited to the physical, high pressing style favoured by Pochettino. Statistically, while great going forward with impressive passing and shooting stats, he falls short when judged on tackling and distance covered. Perhaps this was picked up on by the head coach in his first pre-season, and eventually factored in his decision to let Falque move on to pastures new.