Spurs can axe Solanke by signing £25m star who’s only 4 goals behind Kane

It’s hard to pinpoint just why this season has gone as horribly as it has for Tottenham Hotspur.

Injuries have undoubtedly played a large part, but even when the team has been close to full strength, they’ve found ways to drop points.

While it feels increasingly likely that Ange Postecoglou will be replaced in the summer, it feels just as crucial that Daniel Levy and Co bring in some genuinely talented players to help whoever the next manager is to take the team back up the Premier League table.

Fortunately, the last few weeks have seen the North Londoners linked with a whole host of extraordinary goalscorers from across Europe, including one who is just four goals behind Harry Kane and could, therefore, be a significant upgrade on Dominic Solanke.

Spurs’ striker search

Before we get to the goalscorer in question, it’s worth reviewing a couple of the other strikers linked with Spurs in recent weeks, like Jonathan David and Liam Dealp.

The former has been in incredible form this season, racking up a tally of 25 goals and 12 assists in 48 games, and will be available for free thanks to his contract expiring in June.

However, since being linked to the Lilywhites, it would appear that Serie A giants Napoli have stormed ahead in their pursuit of the Canadian and are now in talks with him.

Delap, on the other hand, appears not to be in talks with any other teams at the moment, meaning the North Londoners might still be able to get him for around £30m, which could be a steal considering he’s scored 12 goals and provided two assists in just 35 league games this year.

However, perhaps the most gettable, and arguably most interesting, forward Spurs have been linked to in recent weeks is Daizen Maeda.

Reports from earlier this month claimed that the Lilywhites are interested in the Celtic star, who could be available for just £25m.

Now, he might not be the biggest name around, but the Hoops’ Japanese superstar has been in sublime form this season and could very well be an upgrade on Solanke.

Why Maeda would be an excellent signing

So, the first thing to clear up is that while Maeda does tend to play out wide more often than not, he’s no stranger to playing straight down the middle, having done so on ten occasions this season alone.

Therefore, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Spurs opt to play him there, which would, thus, put him up against Solanke for game time, but who comes out on top?

Well, when it comes down to the most important metric of all for a centre-forward, raw output, it’s the Celtic star who comes out on top, and by quite a significant margin at that.

For example, in 49 appearances, totalling 3891 minutes, the Osaka-born “machine,” as dubbed by previous coaches, has scored 33 goals – just four off Kane’s tally – and provided 12 assists.

In other words, the free-scoring dynamo is averaging a goal involvement every 1.08 games or, even more impressively, every 86.46 minutes.

In contrast, the North Londoners’ record signing has scored 15 goals and provided eight assists in 42 appearances, totalling 3221 minutes.

That comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.82 games, or every 140.04 minutes.

Now, it has to be said that the former Bournemouth star is playing in a far tougher league, but the difference is so stark that it at least suggests that the Japanese international is worth signing to see what he could do in a top-five league.

Ultimately, while Maeda isn’t the biggest name around, his output this season has been nothing short of spectacular, and for the price that was reported earlier this month, he’s certainly worth a gamble, as he could prove to be a massive upgrade on Solanke.