Where would Yaya Touré fit in at each London club?

Footballing legend Yaya Touré appears to be on the move again.

The Ivorian left Manchester City in the summer after eight glorious years in which he won one FA Cup, two League Cups and three Premier League titles. Yaya was the primary catalyst that transformed City from an expensive collection of players into a winning team, powering them almost single-handedly to the 2011 FA Cup that kickstarted their dominant era.

Now there’s a prospect that he could try and do something similar for another club as his agent, Dimitry Seluk, has announced that Yaya passed a medical in London and is “close to signing a new contract.” This has gotten everyone talking, which London club is Yaya going to sign for?? Well, we’ve had a look at the Premier League clubs in the capital and broken down where he fits in with each of them.

Arsenal

Yaya should have been an Arsenal legend, having been on trial with them as a youngster. But a poor display in a friendly and work permit issues ended his chances. Now he could play for them again, but it wouldn’t be in midfield.

Arsenal have finally restocked their defensive midfield after years of neglect, bringing in Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi. But Yaya could definitely fill in for the Gunners if Unai Emery decides to use a back three. None of the Arsenal centre-backs excel with the ball at their feet, but Yaya does, and could easily hold his line and stride out of defence as the side’s primary playmaker.

Chelsea

Sarrismo can be a very difficult concept to understand, but Yaya’s game intelligence is exemplary. Moreover, he has played under Pep Guardiola for four years at two clubs, so he is well-versed in the notion of pass-heavy, possession-based football. So where does he fit in for the Blues? At the base of midfield, of course, backing up Jorginho. Yaya’s supreme passing skill and limited range of motion make him ideal to play here when Jorginho is being rested, especially as N’Golo Kanté would be on-hand to do much of the running.

Fulham

Fulham’s intense and dynamic style of play doesn’t really leave much room for Yaya to play in a more advanced role. Nor could he really feature in a back four at 35 years of age. He could play at the base of midfield, however. He has the defensive attributes to close out attackers and the passing skill to set Fulham’s forwards on the attack with lightning efficiency.

Spurs

For the longest time, Spurs have had an issue with Moussa Dembélé. The issue is simply that he is magnificent but incapable of playing 90 minutes. He needs to be rested, but his skill-set is so important to Spurs that they lose a huge amount of thrust when he’s absent. Enter Yaya. The Ivorian would play in Dembélé’s stead in Spurs’ midfield diamond, allowing Mauricio Pochettino’s men to retain the thrust and drive the Belgian gives them as well as adding a whole truckload of experience and a relentless winning mentality; something Spurs could sorely use.

Watford

The final London club is not really a London club but everyone includes them so we will too. Watford are a well-drilled outfit currently sitting on a perfect three wins from three games so far. But their is a clear need for more depth in their midfield; Abdoulaye Doucoure is obviously amazing, but Etienne Capoue isn’t so good that he couldn’t be replaced by Yaya.

Moreover, Yaya could also replace Will Hughes in the side – where his ability to score goals will be so useful to a Watford side that can struggle for them at times. Javi Gracia’s 4-2-2-2 system means there are four positions that Yaya could conceivably play, meaning that there will be plenty of minutes to go around as Watford pursue European football.

Bonus: Crystal Palace and West Ham

Here’s the thing: Dimitri Seluk has already ruled out Yaya moving to either of these London clubs. With regards the Hammers, Seluk tweeted that “last place is not for him,” taking a dig at the East end club who are currently bottom of the league and ruling them out, which was a surprise as Yaya’s relationship with Manuel Pellegrini made moving to The London Stadium pretty sensible.

As for Palace, Seluk again tweeted to inform that Yaya couldn’t join them, here his reasoning was that Roy Hodgson had previously said he didn’t care when his players’ birthdays were, something which obviously matters to Yaya. But where would he have played had he joined these clubs?

At West Ham he would probably take a spot up as an attacking midfielder, playing behind the striker and using his goalscoring prowess to deliver goals – something the Hammers sorely need. For Palace he would clearly slot into one of the midfield roles, probably Miliovojevic’s holding position. He could do well for them, but it will never happen.

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