There are a lot of reasons why West Ham United, and Nuno Espirito Santo for that matter, might like Lecce’s Portugal Under-21 defender Tiago Gabriel.
Jean-Clair Todibo produced arguably his best performance in a Hammers shirt away at Bournemouth on Saturday, but the Frenchman still averages the second-worst aerial duel success rate of any Premier League centre-half.
As for Max Kilman, the former Wolves captain is 6ft 4ins when he stands and 5ft 4ins when he jumps. Jamie Carragher summed up Kilman pretty succinctly early in the Nuno Espirito Santo era. A centre-back who seems to actively avoid a physical battle is simply too ‘passive’ to lead this West Ham United backline by example.
No one could accuse Tiago Gabriel of failing to put his head where it hurts, though. He ranks in the 98th percentile across Europe’s major leagues when it comes to aerial duels.
Perhaps Tiago Gabriel will be the Craig Dawson replacement the Hammers have arguably been crying out for since losing the most aerially dominant centre-half in their recent history.
Filipe Martins, Tiago Gabriel’s former coach at Estrela de Amadora, believes the West Ham target has shades of Ricardo Carvalho too. Combining the aggression and physicality which would stand him in good stead in England with the rangy, long-legged elegance of the Chelsea icon.
Litos Boaventura is another who worked with 20-year-old Tiago Gabriel back home in Portugal.
And speaking to Bola na Rede this week, he provides a detailed explanation as to what makes the Sporting Lisbon academy graduate stand out, albeit in a Serie A season short of in-form number nines.
Boaventura also highlights another attribute which will appeal greatly to the man in the London Stadium dugout.
Tiago Gabriel would give West Ham United the versatility Nuno Espirito Santo likes
Experimentation has been at the forefront of the Nuno regime over the last two months.
A whole host of players have been tried and trialled in more unfamiliar positions, whether that be Ollie Scarles on the right, Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the left, or Tomas Soucek up top.
Nuno swapped Kilman and Todibo around, meanwhile, before the 3-2 victory over Newcastle. A left footer moved over to the right, and a right footer moving over to the left.
That West Ham have picked up seven points from nine since Nuno’s central defensive reshuffle may not be a coincidence, either. Kilman has still arguably been at fault for three goals in the last two Premier League matches, but Todibo looks far more comfortable in his new spot.
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As Boaventura explains, versatility is another of Tiago Gabriel’s strengths. A natural right-footer who, interestingly, has spent this season on the left of Lecce’s defensive duo.
“He is a centre-back who is about 1.90 meters tall [6ft 4ins]. A player who, for his height, has good agility and natural physiological capabilities that are perfectly suited to his position,” Boaventura says. “He has an interesting physical profile and is a player with a long stride, therefore relatively fast.
“I also think that one of his strongest characteristics is his aerial game, both defensively and offensively. And I think he can even reach even higher levels because, in addition to his physical attributes, he is very versatile.”
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In addition to being comfortable on both his right and his left boot, Boaventura recalls Tiago Gabriel going about his business effectively as part of a flat back four or across a three-man defence.
Nuno has switched between a four and a three since taking charge of Graham Potter at West Ham. A tactically flexible, adaptable manager, the 51-year-old took Wolves into the Europa League with a rock-solid 3-4-3 system before also bringing continental football to a deep-lying, transitional 4-2-3-1 Nottingham Forest set-up.
“If you have a line of three central defenders, he plays well both in the middle and on both sides. He plays well in a line of four, he plays well in a line of five,” Boaventura explains. “And the human side also counts for a lot.
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“He became a father very early and I think that from then on he gained a greater purpose and truly became a professional footballer. He will now fight like never before, and now he just needs someone to help him stay on the right path.
“He has all the potential to go very, very far.”
Reports in Italy claim West Ham made a £15.8 million bid for Tiago Gabriel
Nuno taught Max Kilman so much at Wolves, even if those lessons may be worth revisiting now. He also turned Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo into one of the most watertight Premier League backlines at the City Ground.
Tiago Gabriel certainly possesses the height and the head-on-a-stick penalty-box dominance of Milenkovic. If he currently lacks the suave, line-breaking qualities of Murillo, that is something Boaventura expects to see the youngster add to his skillset sooner rather than later.
“What he lacked most [in his younger days] was in build-up play,” the coach concludes. “Not that he lacked quality.
“The truth is that, besides his height, he also has above-average technical quality, especially in passing. He has an excellent inside pass and a very good long pass.”
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, West Ham made an opening bid of £15.8 million earlier this month. The Londoners appear determined to steal a march on rival suitors Juventus and Inter Milan.
And though Lecce insist that Tiago Gabriel is not for sale, the Serie A strugglers said something similar about Patrick Dorgu before accepting a £26 million offer from Manchester United in January.
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