Strikers To Push Soldado

Many times in football, a player with an unchallenged role in a team loses all form and their performances dive. This could be one of the reasons why Soldado is having the slow start to the season. While there is a question about the lack of service being provided to him, his strike partners certainly have not provided him with enough competition.

Jermain Defoe has firing on all cylinders in all competitions other than the Premier League, with his performance against West Ham showing how ineffective the Englishman can be. Emmanuel Adebayor has been cast out of Tottenham’s first team, and while he can be a top player on his day, his day doesn’t come frequently enough to be a good backup. Harry Kane is a good shout for the future, but he isn’t mature enough to take on such a responsibility. This is why Tottenham need to look elsewhere for someone able to provide sufficient competition for the Spaniard, but not someone who will completely usurp his role – which is why you wont find Christian Benteke or Edin Dzeko in this article. So, who is a suitable target?

Loic Remy

Currently on loan at Newcastle, Remy has been an incredibly effective goalscorer. The Frenchman has been a force since arriving at Saint James Park, however since he is on loan from Queens Park Rangers, Andre Villas-Boas will have to wait until next season to get him. However, with Harry Redknapp in charge and promise of more of our youngsters on loan, AVB will be fairly confident in snatching Newcastle’s best player before he even is an official Newcastle player, especially if QPR don’t gain promotion. Remy would prove to be a quality player at an cheap price, but the main disadvantage to this deal would be that he cannot be purchased in the January transfer window.

Demba Ba

If AVB does desperately need another striker in the January transfer window, he might opt for another player with Newcastle connections. Ba’s Chelsea career has not gone according to plan, and he is currently third choice in a team looking for world-class strikers. When Lukaku returns from Merseyside, Ba will see his first team opportunities diminish even further. Second choice at Spurs doesn’t seem so bad for the Senegalese, does it? The striker clearly has quality, and his price tag shouldn’t be too high considering he wasn’t very expensive to begin with, but with Chelsea reluctant to sell him to Arsenal earlier in the season, it would take some tough negotiation to bring the big man to White Hart Lane.

Jordan Rhodes

Tottenham may want to look in in a lower division for their new striker, and if they do, Jordan Rhodes should be top priority. Since Blackburn parted with £8 million to secure his services in August 2012, Rhodes has scored a whopping 35 goals. In his first season, he banged in 26 of those 35, becoming Blackburn’s player of the season in the process. This season has started out incredibly well, with the Scott already netting 9 goals in just 7 games. The former Huddersfield man wont be cheap, but he would certainly prove to be an outstanding buy if he is brought to White Hart Lane.

Mirko Vucinic

With the arrival of Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente in Juventus, Vucinic (who just turned 30) has seen his place in the Italian giants diminish. The Montenegrin is a great player, with a respectable goal tally of one in every three games for Juventus. Taking his age and demoted status into account, its not unlikely for a bid of about £7-8 million to make the former Roma player come to England. However, if Vucinic is intent on staying in Italy …

Fernando Llorente

… then his team mate may be up for grabs. Despite the fact that Llorente has only just moved to Italy, rumors have not stopped about his possible departure. The Spaniard has admitted to struggling, and despite Juventus coach Antonio Conte’s reluctance to sell the player, he may become available between now and the January transfer window. With Arsenal on his trail, AVB will have to be quick to secure his signature on a possible loan deal.

Alvaro Morata

Tottenham’s partnership with Real Madrid seems to be a one-way street. Since it started with the Luka Modric transfer saga, Spurs have seen a total of zero Madrid players come to White Hart Lane. Last season, it seemed AVB was going to work at least one of Angel Di Maria, Fabio Coentrao, or the Spanish striker into their Gareth Bale deal – however it didn’t happen. For Morata though, it seems if he did move to Spurs, he would swap being behind Karim Benzema for being behind Roberto Soldado, and effectively swap one bench for another. However, if Luis Suarez makes a move to the Spanish giants in the January transfer window (which still could come to fruition), Morata might find it more beneficial playing understudy to Soldado than to two world class players.