The closest thing we have to a striker other than Kane is Alli, I think. He makes striker’s runs, is tall and good in the air and was brilliant, at least once, playing with his back to the goal. I’d get Harrison in the squad as well, and buy Dembélé. The problem with getting a striker is that the more time goes by, the less time there would be to get him trained to replace Kane if Kane is hurt. If we get Dembélé, we’d be making a reasonable gamble that Kane will make it through the rest of the year without injury. It’s a very frightening gamble, no doubt. But if we did get a, well, who would we get?, what are the odds he would make the difference? We could have more strikers than you could shake a stick at, but would still badly miss our 20 goal a year man. As would anybody.
So, if there's a player out there who looks likely and could make the move, do we stick or twist? I say we move heaven and earth to find one. If we fail, then at least we've tried. I don't mean offering £2m for Messi with 10 minutes of the window left. A real concerted effort to get someone in. I'd take a gamble on Dembele. He is a striker. He has pace and strength. He isn't the finished article but I'd far rather see him come on to replace Kane than rely on Son playing with his back to goal. I agree with you on Alli and have said it in a previous post. He's now all but 6' 3" and has the devil in him to stand up for himself, run the channels, get his head on long balls, etc. However, are we really the only club who can't find a striker in 2 consecutive transfer windows?
Schrodinger's Attacking Midfielder, otherwise known as Musa Yahaya, has joined Portimonense on loan: http://www.portimonense.pt/pag_detalhe.php?id=7077&catg=3 A few sites are reporting that we're willing to pay the £9m buy-out clause in Sandro Ramirez's contract, which in theory invalidates Barca inserting a buy-back clause in any transfer deal. Two strikers for £15m? I'd call that a Levying.
Another Sandro and another Dembele? Sounds nice. Any chance we can find another Glenn Hoddle while we're looking?
"The "If" relates to" Relying on Kane remaining fatigue/injury free til end of season (Sparta "If" 1) . Another striker coming in, who will only be getting game time in the event of the above (Sparta "If" 2) , is happy to join on that basis, and is capable of being a like-for-like replacement for Kane (Sparta "If" 3) . Your world has far more "If"s in it than mine for my liking.
That's the whole reason in pointing out how much rests on "if" and "maybe". You're supporting an untested theory. I'm questioning the rationale and offering an alternative. An alternative that I believe (I know you don't), offers us a better likelihood of success and is based upon good reason: Because Pochettino says the squad is complete and we have players who can cover for Kane, doesn't make it so. The evidence points to the fact that we rely on Kane to lead the line. We have played him non-stop since he established himself in the side. We bid for Berahino 4 times. I believe this suggests that we know the need for another striker is there and we have no realistic, viable, tested alternative. Because we buy another striker doesn't mean they will play only if Kane becomes injured or fatigued. Pochettino has said that the signing of another forward would allow him to use Kane differently in games. The 'Sheringham' as it were to 'New Striker's 'Shearer'. We won't get a like for like replacement for Kane nor would it be the best use of our resources. However, I suggest that we would be far better off with someone who is a focal point for a team and used to playing that way. Sure there will be differences but it's got to be better to play someone who knows the role, rather than hope someone else can adjust based upon no evidence or that we can play successfully in a different way?
I have a "theory" . You have a "belief" . Both are equal. Except mine can be tested whether NEW STRIKER comes or not, Kane is injured/fatigued or not. So with the days remaining almost in single figures, what is the list of NEW STRIKER that conforms to your belief ??
"Que?" You have a list of NEW STRIKER, everyone on it you "believe" can do what you stated, and is for sale in the next 10 days. Who is on your list ??
Funny how buying Son and Clinton instead of Martial has panned out. The pick of the litter for his performance has to be Son, and Clinton looks promising. But Martial provides what neither Clinton nor Son does, which is a real replacement for Kane. And not only do we not have a real Kane replacement, we have two players who need, and will need, minutes. It’s a good problem to have, but it doesn’t solve the big problem we had.
I'll preface this with the fact that I don't have access to the extensive scouting network the club has and don't spend my life watching world football. Yeah, it's a bit of a cop out but it's also true. Breel Embolo - I reckon he might well be available if we were serious about the fee. He looks a beast of a player in terms of physique and athleticism. He seems to score all sorts of goals. He's young and generally, that means that we might be able to afford him and we could move the player on if they don't work out without too much of a hit (the Soldado effect.) Young players are attractive in terms of fitting the squad and avoiding Pochettino's experience with Danny Osvaldo. Personally, he's the one I'd go for along with Dembele. Moussa Dembele - As above pretty much. Probably cheaper. Has played English football. I get the impression he's wanting to see his contract out at Fulham to maximise his wages in a new deal. Could we dissuade him? Maybe. Sandro - A smaller version of the above. Reasonably priced. The Gio Dos Santos factor? I think this guy is less playboy and more player but...If we land anyone, he's who I reckon it will be. Wissam Ben Yedder - Looks a good finisher. Maybe a wider player or second striker? Could be more the type of player we wanted when we signed Clinton whose goal threat is questionable so far? He says he's staying put until the summer. So he's out of contention. Alvaro Morata - Still young and more experienced than the above. A real talent. Not playing too regularly at the moment, so possibly available. Out of our league financially? Maybe? Could we go to our sponsors in a "partnership" to bring such a talent to the Lane? If we believe we are going to bring top 4 home then such a player makes that possible next season and for a few after that. Alvaro Negredo -Has played in the Premiership and produced. Unfortunately, back in his current club's line-up in recent weeks. Is said to fancy a return to England. Gary Neville and Pochettino are new best friends so that might help us? Unlike the above, he's towards the other end of his career. Probably a real outsider? Dominico Berardi - A little less physical than the above. A strong prospect in Italy. 'The Lamela conundrum' is do Italians and Seria A players cut it in England? Dunno. A real outsider? Islam Slimani - We could definitely afford him. He's 27 which makes him borderline. Has a history of being an impact substitute. Maybe a more short-term option with a ceiling as to where he could take us. A player we could sell on without losing millions in a couple of years? See also Shane Long. Ayoze Perez - We are known admirers. Townsend wants to go there. He likes us. Newcastle's league position means we'd have to come up with something more than interesting to get him. A real outsider for that reason? Jackson Martinez - Older. Out of his team's current plans. Being hawked around European clubs to little effect. Expensive. Could we loan him for a fee? Berahino - Hmmmm. The thing I don't get with this is potential signing is: If a striker who fits our brief is so rare and unusual that this is the only bloke in the world we have been able to find in nearly a year of searching, why did we **** around in the summer over the matter of how and when we paid the money? Surely, such a rare creature is worth more than £5m up-front and the rest of £23m (or so) due on performance and achievement. It's counter-intuitive. If I was Peace, I'd be telling Levy (and any other suitor) just that. Dwight Gayle - I've seen this guy play for Palace a few times (I live locally and have a few mates who have season tickets). He's a tremendous finisher and a hard worker. Not playing for Palace right now. Could we lift him to a higher level? I've a sneeking suspicion we could. It won't happen. There must be others I've never heard of in Russia, Germany, etc. “If we spend 20 to 30 million, we need to be sure this type of player represents a (Gareth) Bale or (Cristiano) Ronaldo for Real Madrid, or (Lionel) Messi or Neymar for Barcelona.“We need to speak about the player that is our best player, and needs to help us achieve a lot of things. - M Pochettino. This worries me when allied to our history of striker purchases (Bent, Adebayor and Soldado) which have probably made Levy very risk adverse and Pochettino's recent 'mea culpa' re Danny Osvaldo: Better than Kane, Alli, Hugo, Dembele? In the market now and the even worse one when the TV money kicks in, is this realistic? Opus Ends.
The problem we have with buying a NEW STRIKER is we're looking to buy a backup and not a starter, and that's what makes some of the options on the list nonsensical - for example Embolo - £21m quoted Martinez - £22m quoted Berahino - £22m quoted, and a guarantee of Jeremy Peace being a twat Berardi - £26m quoted Morata - £30m+ quoted Paying in excess of £20m for Kane's understudy is madness, after all that will create a similar situation to when we had to play Barren Dent because we'd paid through the nose for him even though the Keane/Berbatov pairing and Defoe on the bench meant we genuinely did not need to buy a striker, let alone a marquee signing in that position.
You forget we bid £23m for Berahino, admittedly subject to performance criteria but that was the top figure. This is because Pochettino sees Harry Kane as being used as a 'Sherringham' to another striker's 'Shearer' on occasions. He's discussed this previously. It makes sense and allows us to rotate players very effectively.
In terms of Berahino, I doubt the plan was to have him play as an out-and-out striker - the more likely scenario would be for Kane to play up front with Berahino on the wing, similar to how Southampton were set up with Lambert alone up front and Rodriguez coming in from the left (or to put it another way, Berahino would have taken Chadli's place in the team) Now that Son is fulfilling that role, and it looks like the original plan was for him to play in Lamela's role due to Lamela being loaned to OM, it looks as if the Berahino ship has sailed.
"The problem we have with buying a NEW STRIKER is we're looking to buy a backup and not a starter" Therein lies the problem : BACKUP STRIKER with less(er) game time ambition. Someone like Teddy when he had his last top-flight hurrah at the Spanners would be a dream. PS : Charlie Austin scored today to compound the Man Utd woes. Is anyone ITK as to what makes him so toxic to current day Spurs ??
The ES have reported that Dembele II is not interested in the Dele Alli treatment (immediate loan back) if Spurs sign him from Fulham. Hmm ...
Someone on here mentioned injury issues last week but no idea if that was just a guess. Hope he does well (except against us) as he comes across as a good bloke whenever I have seen him being interviewed Berahino could learn a lot from Austin imo about how to conduct yourself
Not so much of a problem. I believe there are plenty of players out there who match those criteria. The problem is choosing the right one. Long has been mentioned- I would have taken him years ago. Austin would have worked. Hooper would have worked. Naismith, etc.
