Why Spurs’ £11m target would be a better buy than Balotelli

When Loic Remy’s alleged dickey ticker showed up during his Liverpool medical earlier in the transfer window, his move from QPR fell through and forced the Merseyside club to look elsewhere for striking reinforcements.

Their search seems to have stopped at former Manchester City troublemaker Mario Balotelli with the usual formalities, along with a signed behavioural pledge, all that stands in the way of a reported £16m switch from AC Milan.

With the Anfield ship well and truly sailed, Remy remains in the QPR shop-window and it seems Tottenham are the latest to meander through the door to enquire about the Frenchman.

It’s thought an £11m bid is being readied by the White Hart Lane side, who are 4/9 to beat the Hoops on Sunday, and should they be successful can be happy in the knowledge that they’ve secured a better value-for-money striker than their top-four rivals.

For starters, Spurs will have nowhere near as many concerns over being without Remy as Liverpool will with Balotelli.

The former Newcastle loanee has only ever received one red card in his Premier League career, while the Italian youngster, as stated by Opta Joe, averages a dismissal every 18 Premier League games.

18 – Mario Balotelli averages a red card every 18 Premier League games, the third highest ratio of all players with 3+ reds. Fiery.

— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 21, 2014

During his time in England, Remy has also been more deadly in front of goal compared to the Milan striker, notching 20 league goals in 41 appearances.

Balotelli managed the same number of strikes for Man City, but did so in 54 games for the two-time Premier League champions.

So, with a cleaner disciplinary record to his name, a healthier goals-to-game ratio and a £5m lighter fee, Spurs would clearly be getting the better deal should Remy make the move to north London, heart dependant of course.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.

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