Tottenham Must Consider Recalling Souza After 'High Level' Debut

· GiveMeSport

It may have been a painful for watch for Spurs as one defensive star turned in an impressive debut out on loan in Portugal.

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Tottenham Hotspur will be hoping that the international break provides Roberto De Zerbi and his men the chance to press the reset button after a dismal start to the season.

The North London outfit sit rock bottom of the Premier League after five outings, despite investing heavily in the summer window following last year's disappointment.

As well as incomings, there were some big decisions to be made on departures, including allowing January signing Souza to leave on loan. The full-back made his debut for Porto last week, in what may have been a painful watch for his parent club.

Souza inspired Porto to a 3-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Friday night, grabbing an assist for his side's second goal. The 20-year-old teed up Andre Silva with a fine cross into the penalty area.

The defender offered much more than just the assist in a very impressive debut. A Bola hailed a 'high level debut' from the Spurs loanee, receiving praise for his tenacity and attacking intent, as well as his defensive work.

Speaking after the match, Souza said: "I felt great. Very happy to debut in this beautiful, wonderful jersey, which I've always dreamed of playing in. I also want to congratulate the group who put in the effort in this friendly match to prepare for the upcoming games.

"It's been wonderful, better than I expected. Everyone welcomed me very well, the coaching staff welcomed me very well, and they are helping me in this adaptation process. I'm trying to adapt as quickly as possible to help them too."

Tottenham paid £13 million to sign Souza from Santos in January and the defender made four appearances last season. Clearly, De Zerbi did not see an immediate path into the starting XI for the Brazilian this season, and sanctioned a loan to Porto.

It appears that, for the player's development, that was the right move. Souza looks confident and, still just 20 years old, is making progress in a country where he speaks the language.

Brazilian football legend Roberto Carlos admitted that his head had been turned by the player at the Portugal Football Summit earlier this week. He said: "I don't like to make comparisons. He came to Porto because he has quality.

"He's a player who played extremely well at Santos. It was a great signing. I'm absolutely certain that he will deliver what is expected of him on the field; he's a top-level player."

It's all good news for the player's long term potential at Tottenham, but doesn't help the fact that De Zerbi is managing a crisis right now. Spurs brought in Liverpool hero Andy Robertson as a free agent this summer and the Scotsman has been first choice in the left back role, while Destiny Udogie works his way back to fitness.

The 32-year-old can't be held responsible for his team's poor form - although a high profile error when keeping the ball in play against Aston Villa has not helped his transition - but it's fair to say that the veteran does not have the dynamism he used to.

Spurs are in desperate need of a player to grab a game by the scruff of its neck, and turn in a performance with enough personality to uplift the whole side... just as Souza did for Porto.

It's early days, but Tottenham must not be too proud to admit errors and consider a recall for the full-back, should his stock at Porto continue to rise.

> And it's not returning Spurs star Dejan Kulusevski

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