Pundit says Spurs sold player as talented as David Silva and Yaya Toure for just £1m
Nedum Onuoha says the ability that former Tottenham midfielder Adel Taarabt possessed was comparable to that of Premier League legends David Silva and Yaya Toure.
Taarabt was widely viewed as one of the most promising young talents in French football when he arrived at Spurs in the summer of 2007 from Lens.
However, despite showing his outrageous ability on the ball during several cameos off the bench for Tottenham, the midfielder never managed to become a first-team regular at Spurs under Martin Jol, Juande Ramos or Harry Redknapp. Tottenham eventually sold the tricky winger to QPR for just £1m.
That has pretty much been the story of Taarabt’s career as he has never quite managed to deliver consistent displays and live up to his potential. Now 34, he is seeing out the twilight of his career at Al-Nasr in the UAE.
Did Tottenham sell Adel Taarabt too soon?
Onuoha, who played alongside Taarabt at QPR, insisted that the former Spurs man was as talented as any player he shared a dressing room with over the course of his career.
The former Man City star said on The Ripple Effect: “With Adel interestingly, he used his full ability the most when he was at QPR.
“But I think his football intelligence was greater towards the end of his career, when he was playing defensive midfield for Benfica, because he had to understand his role. He had to understand when to go, when not to go, how to link the play. And that was him really learning about the game as such in that moment.
“I’ve barely seen Adel defend in a five-a-side, so to all of a sudden see him do it for Benfica… So yeah, his football intelligence, as wild as it may seem, would be higher in that moment.
“Adel’s talent, from people I’ve played with, and I’ve played with some really good players is comparable to Yaya Toure’s, David Silva’s, completely comparable. But their ability to impact a game is far greater because they had that link to the football intelligence as well.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Taarabt’s career is proof that technical ability alone is not enough to have a great career in the game, with one’s attitude and application arguably being just as important if one wants to continue playing at the highest level for a sustained period.
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