Spurs lining up “monster” striker to end their no.9 problem

Tottenham Hotspur, as a whole, is subscribed to Ange Postecoglou’s vision and the direction that the club appears to be headed, having improved since his arrival last summer and returned to European-qualifying contention.

Fifth in the Premier League, six points behind Aston Villa (who have played two extra fixtures), Spurs’ hopes of clinching Champions League football next season hang in the balance, though there are so many positives to take from this campaign regardless of the final position.

Some important parts are lacking, though, and chairman Daniel Levy will need to ensure that the right moves are made this summer to continue the resurgence, carry it into the 2024/25 campaign, propel the club to the next level.

Spurs eyeing new striker

According to GiveMeSport, Tottenham are preparing to launch a summer bid for Brentford striker Ivan Toney, emboldened by Arsenal’s suspected withdrawal from the race.

The Bees will likely play hardball over their talisman but Tottenham are eager to test the waters and present a £45m offer for the England international’s services.

Toney, aged 27, spent the first half of the campaign suspended following FA betting breaches but he has returned to play an important part in his side’s efforts. Tottenham would make waves with a breakthrough.

Why Spurs need a striker

Postecoglou’s project was hit with a blow in the early phase but it was, at least, an expected one, with Bayern Munich signing Harry Kane for an initial £82m, ending a career-long affinity between the Lilywhites and England Men’s all-time top scorer.

Kane, Spurs’ record scorer too, had scored 280 goals, adding 62 assists, from 435 Tottenham appearances before leaving. He is the second-highest goalscorer in the Premier League history.

Given that Toney’s playing style has led Three Lions peer Declan Rice to remark that he is “like Harry Kane”, there’s little wonder why Spurs hold an interest in bringing him to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Heung-min Son and Richarlison have done a good job holding up the frontline for Postecoglou’s side this season but neither would appear to be the long-term heir to Kane’s position at the spearhead.

Toney could allow Son to drift back into his favoured left-sided attacking role, with Richarlison providing cover as a foil up front, and while Levy and Spurs’ transfer team would be wise to seek reinforcements out wide, for £45m Toney is a must buy.

How Ivan Toney would fit in at Spurs

Last season, Toney posted 21 goals and four assists from 33 outings in the Premier League, creating 12 big chances for his teammates, as per Sofascore. His exploits led his manager, Thomas Frank, to call him a “monster” of a player.

And while he’s failed to hit his stride in recent fixtures, Toney returned from inactivity with a bang in January to plunder four goals from his first five matches back in the top flight, reannouncing himself as one of the division’s high-class marksmen.

Moreover, at Tottenham, he would embrace that Kane-esque role and produce performances that transcend the duties of goalscorer, committed to his defensive duties, ranking among the top 1% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for interceptions and the top 15% for aerial wins per 90, as per FBref.

According to Sky Sports, Brentford had slapped a £100m asking price on Toney’s signature back in January, though this was bloated due to the flat-out refusal to allow their star striker to slip away at the season’s midpoint, just returning from a lengthy suspension.

Now, £45m seems like a far more accurate and appropriate valuation of a player who has displayed moments of quality under Frank this term but certainly hasn’t been at the finest, though that is more down to injury-hit Brentford’s dissonance than anything.

And given Toney’s prowess as a team player, he would possibly even unlock the skills of peers such as James Maddison, who is struggling to reach his early-season levels after spending a wintry spell on the sidelines with an ankle injury.

The playmaker won the Premier League’s Player of the Month in August following his transfer to Tottenham and has been regarded as being “on the verge” of becoming a world-class No. 10 by pundit Jermaine Jenas, owing to his staggering start to life in London. Thus, the addition of another high-quality forward could well see him cross from ‘on the verge’ to well and truly being among the elite of the game.

Maddison ranks among the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 6% for passes attempted and the top 1% for shot-creating actions and progressive passes per 90.

He’s also tenacious and combative, with his efforts in the Premier League this term leading to an average of 5.5 successful duels per game, highlighting the robustness that could be renewed in Postecoglou’s attacking third.

Son and Richarlison are fine strikers – Son is one of the very best – but he is dynamic and versatile and of a role that stretches beyond that of a centre-forward, tasked with creating and threading and leading.

Levy and co will no doubt canvass an enticing offer for Toney to chew on, and while the dynamic forward craves Champions League football, the chance to lead the line at Spurs may be too good to turn down, cementing himself as the frontman at one of the Premier League’s most exciting projects.