Alasdair Gold says one Spurs star has been working extremely hard on his defending

Football.London’s Alasdair Gold has revealed that Pedro Porro’s improvement is certainly no accident, with the 23-year-old working extremely hard on some aspects of his game since the start of pre-season.

There were question marks raised about Porro’s ability to adapt to the inverted full-back role, with the Spaniard having played exclusively as a wing-back at Sporting Lisbon.

Those doubts were only further solidified when Emerson Royal started Tottenham’s first game of the season away at Brentford but the former Manchester City man has not looked back since he broke into the starting eleven.

LONDON, ENGLAND – AUGUST 19: Pedro Porro of Tottenham Hotspur looks on during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on August 19, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Chloe Knott – Danehouse/Getty Images)

Pedro Porro is shining for Tottenham Hotspur

Porro produced his best performance in a Tottenham shirt against Liverpool, managing to shut out the threat provided by Luis Diaz and Andy Roberts down the away side’s left flank.

The right-back also showed his quality on the ball and played a decisive role in the Lilywhites’ match-winner, with his low cross being turned into his own net by Joel Matip.

Gold has now explained that right from the start of the summer, Porro was determined to adapt to the demands of Postecoglou’s system.

The journalist remarked that the Spain international worked extremely hard on the defensive side of his game, and his intention to do so, allied with his speed, skill and passing range, convinced the Australian that he would be his first-choice right-back.

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I was certainly part of the chorus who were sceptical about Porro’s fit for the inverted full-back role as I saw his primary skill as being able to overlap out wide and get crosses into the box.

He has pleasantly surprised me with how solid he has been defensively and his awareness of what is around him when receiving the ball in the middle of the park.