Aberdeen will have an on-pitch leader if they land Latvian defender Kristers Tobers, says an expert on the stopper.
The Dons have submitted a bid to Swiss club Grasshoppers for the 37-times capped, 24 year-old Latvia captain, who is out of contract in the summer.
Latvian football expert Janis Vitols, of Baltic Football News, insists it is Tobers’ leadership qualities which really stand out.
Vitols said: “He’s not a typical Latvian player because we are very quiet, let’s say… reserved.
“He isn’t some kind of fancy player – he is not someone who thinks highly of himself.
“He comes from a very small town. It’s close to Liepaja where he played his youth football.
“He’s emotional, loud, he talks a lot, and he has leadership qualities. By the age of 17, he was the captain for his local team.
“In Liepaja, he was captain for a year before he moved to Poland.”
Tobers’ powers of recovery are impressive
Vitols has followed Tobers’ career, which start at Liepaja in his homeland, before three years in Poland with Lechia Gdansk and his current club Grasshoppers in Switzerland.
He insists the right-sided central defender has all the attributes needed to be a success in Scottish football.
Vitols said: “Tobers is really good in the air. He has some good defensive qualities.
“His recovery speed is impressive. I have seen when he gets beaten, he keeps up with his opponent pretty fast and he is not troubled by faster attacking players.
“If he does have one weakness, it is when he is on the ball. I have seen some mistakes where he holds on to the ball too long and he has made a crucial mistake which has led to a goal.
“There have been instances – not constantly. But he is working on improving that because the national team coach now wants to play from the back.
“But all in all, he loves the sliding tackles. He is not scared to go in the air against attackers.
“He’s pretty solid on the defensive side, he’s very promising and he’s still only 24.”
‘His dream is to reach the Premier League’
Vitols is not surprised clubs are showing an interest in Tobers, who has also played as a defensive midfielder for club and country.
The journalist believes central defence is where the Grasshoppers defender, whose dream is to play in Britain, is most effective – and his most likely route to the top.
He said: “He has said previously that his dream is to play in that part of Europe.
“His dream is to reach the Premier League and Scotland would be another step towards achieving that.
“Tobers has played as a centre-half and as a six, but it’s interesting because he played in Latvia as a centre-back before moving to Poland.
“When he joined Lechia Gdansk, he played there mostly in the first half of the season as a defensive midfielder.
“Then the coaches changed and the next season he split his time between the centre-half and number six role.
“That continued in Switzerland with Grasshoppers – he played both positions, but he now mainly plays as a centre-back ,which I think is his best position.”
Tobers has shown his versatility for his country
A change of manager of the Latvia national team has led to Tobers establishing himself as a central defender for his country.
Italian Paolo Nicolato took charge of Latvia in February this year, and is in the process of changing the system and style of play of Latvia.
Vitols says Nicolato’s arrival has seen Tobers continue his development on the international stage.
He said: “Nicolato, the Latvia coach, thinks Tobers is a centre-back.
“The previous one, Dainis Kazakevics, played him as a six as a midfielder because we don’t have depth in midfield at all.
“We have a lot of centre-backs and from those centre-backs who were available, Tobers was one of the only ones who could play the role as a six – that’s why he was used mostly as a defensive midfielder and his style and leadership led to him being named the captain.
“He has experience of playing in a back four and a three, and he can play comfortably in either.
“The previous Latvia coach Kazakevics played very direct football.
“The Latvian youth system also plays very direct football, which has been a problem for most of the fans because they want to see passes out from the back and – and it’s too direct!
“But now with Nicolato coming in, they have changed the style and they play from the back. Tobers has been working on improving that side of his game.”
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