Tottenham find Kane´s back-up – a look at Carlos Vinicius´ 2019-20 season in Opta data

Tottenham have found a back-up for Harry Kane as Carlos Vinicius gets another chance in a top-five European league.

Benfica announced on Thursday they had reached an agreement to loan the forward to Spurs until the end of the season.

Tottenham also have a purchase option of £41million (€45m), minus the loan amount of £2.7million (€3m) should they decide to use it.

Jose Mourinho has his back-up for one of the Premier League’s best forwards in Kane.

Using Opta data, we take a look at how Carlos Vinicius fared in 2019-20.

A prolific Primeira Liga campaign

Carlos Vinicius enjoyed the most prolific season of his career in 2019-20, scoring 18 Primeira Liga goals and 22 in all competitions.

The forward was the equal top-scorer in Portugal’s top flight as Benfica finished runners-up to rivals Porto.

Carlos Vinicius started in 19 of his 32 league appearances, and he scored at an impressive rate with a goal every 99 minutes. Albeit in the stronger Premier League, Kane – who also netted 18 times – struck every 143.8 minutes, although his tally included two penalties.

A strong left-footer, Carlos Vinicius scored all 18 of his league goals from inside the box and converted 44 per cent of his big chances, which ranked fifth in the Primeira Liga of those who had a minimum of 20.

 What a debut for Vinícius! #FazAPose#WeAreBenfica pic.twitter.com/KoOQgUCR4k

— SL Benfica (@slbenfica_en) August 10, 2019

In comparison, Kane scored 15 of his 18 Premier League goals last season from inside the box but converted 63.2 per cent of his 19 big chances. However, the England international was clinical. Only Southampton forward Danny Ings (63.6) went at a better rate in the Premier League of those who had at least 19 big chances.

Closer to Carlos Vinicius’ 44 per cent in the Premier League was Raheem Sterling, the Manchester City star going at 42.4 per cent from a total of 33 big chances.

After several consistent and reliable seasons, Kane was sidelined during 2019-20 due to a hamstring injury. The forward made at least 30 league appearances in four consecutive campaigns before 2018-19.

Carlos Vinicius also created eight big chances and provided five assists last Primeira Liga season, while his goals tally could have been even greater if not for hitting the woodwork three times.

He had few opportunities in the Champions League as Benfica departed in the group stage, finishing behind RB Leipzig and Lyon in Group G.

Carlos Vinicius scored once – in a 2-2 draw at Red Bull Arena – in one of his only two big chances. He started just three times in the Champions League.

His previous stints in Europe’s top five leagues – briefly with Napoli, where he did not make a competitive appearance, and Monaco – have not gone to plan.

But Mourinho has a solid back-up for Kane, and an option to make it permanent should Carlos Vinicius impress in London.