Who is Ismaila Soro? The 22-year-old prodigy linked with summer move to Tottenham
A busy summer is ahead at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
After sacking head coach Jose Mourinho last week, days before the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur’s biggest challenge this summer is finding a suitable replacement.
Although RB Leipzig boss Julian Nagelsmann was immediately installed as a favorite to replace Mourinho, Spurs’ aspirations to lure him to north London this summer have already come to an end as Bayern Munich have struck a deal with Leipzig to poach him at the end. of the season and name him as Hansi Flick’s replacement.
This means Spurs’ search for a long-term replacement for Mourinho will have to go elsewhere, with for now anyone guessing who might succeed the Portuguese boss.
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Whoever it is, they will face a tall order in their attempts to turn Spurs’ fortunes for the better.
However, it looks like Spurs are continuing to put plans in place for next season, even though they are currently without a manager. Indeed, according to a report by Daily mail, they are watching Celtic midfielder Ismaila Solo.
The 22-year-old joined the Scottish club in January 2020 and started to show his qualities, so much so that Spurs were altered in his development.
But why would Spurs want to add a 22-year-old midfielder, who initially struggled to be part of the Celtic squad, when they have other areas within the squad that need more to be improved?
Here, football.london took a close look at everything you need to know about Solo and why Tottenham would be monitoring his progress closely.
Who is Ismaila Soro?
Soro is a 22-year-old defensive midfielder who is currently on the Scottish giants Celtic’s books.
What has he done so far?
Born in Ivory Coast, Soro started his youth career with Ivorian club Moossou in 2015 before sealing a transfer to FC Saxan, which currently applies his profession at the third level of the Moldovan football pyramid.
Soro racked up 22 appearances for the Moldovan side in the 2016/17 season before sealing a move to Belarusian club FC Gomel in the summer of 2017.
Soro only spent a few months in Belarus before moving Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv in 2017. It was an Israel where Soro started to make a real name for himself, racking up 64 appearances, before Celtic took wind of his potential in January 2020.
Upon arriving in Scotland, Soro only played 15 minutes of first-team football between signing for the club on January 31 and the end of the campaign with a knee injury hampering his chances of progress.
This season Soro has found opportunities much easier to find, racking up 21 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish club, who have been blitzed by rival Rangers Glasgow in their hopes of retaining the Scottish Premiership title.
Until mid-December Soro had only played 16 minutes in the Scottish Premier League but was then quickly thrown into the squad and made continuous starts until the end of January. At the moment, however, he seems to be being used as a small player, getting opportunities to impress here and there.
Since joining the club, he has accumulated a total of 22 appearances, scoring a goal and registering an assist.
Why would Spurs want it?
Although Soro has struggled to hit the high notes since joining Celtic, there is a lot of potential attached to his name, proven with Spurs’ interest.
At just 22 years old, there’s almost a guarantee that he will only get better over time and take his game to the next level as it develops.
On top of that, it is often said that clubs can be caught turning back if they pass on opportunities to attract young players who have potentially higher resale value if they impress.
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To conclude, it should also be noted that Tottenham have a series of exciting and highly rated young midfielders, including Oliver Skipp and Harvey White, who could help Soro develop his own game if he were to work with them.
What has been said about him in the past?
In January of this year, former Celtic boss Neil Lennon spoke lyrically about Soro’s performance in a 2-0 victory over Hamilton Academical, highlighting his understanding of the game and passing attributes as key qualities.
Lennon said: “He was very, very good. The real drive and the reading of the game and his passing was very crisp.
“He got a little tired towards the end, but it was a great overall performance in midfield on his part.
“The midfielder lined up well, both forwards scored the goals and kept a clean sheet, so it’s been a good night’s work.”