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The Annual Tottenham Hotspur Striker Search: January 2015 Edition

Video is interesting (first time I've seen him), question for people.

Seems a poacher type (Soldado-esque?), most of his opportunities/goals in video, the defender is not close, how do people feel he could adapt to the more physical defending in the PL
 
Video is interesting (first time I've seen him), question for people.

Seems a poacher type (Soldado-esque?), most of his opportunities/goals in video, the defender is not close, how do people feel he could adapt to the more physical defending in the PL

I'm not sure that we can afford to take another expensive chance. I think our next CF either has to have already proven himself in the Premier League (i.e. a Bony or Berahinho type) or be an overseas punt on somebody from a league where prices are much lower (i.e. Belgium, France, The Netherlands or even South America) What's that Columbian forward like that we've been linked with who sounds as though he is slightly off his rocker?
 
Tottenham Hotspur’s hope of signing Napoli’s Duvan Zapata has been dashed after the striker’s agent ruled out any potential move in January.

The 23-year-old has been a transfer target for the North London club in the mid-season transfer window as Mauricio Pochettino looks to make further additions to his attacking division.

Zapata has seen his first team appearances limited and despite that, the player’s agent Zapata admitted that the striker will continue with his current employers beyond the January transfer window.

“He hasn’t found his best form because he isn’t playing very much. He wants to stay at Napoli through January, then in June we will decide his future based on our communication with the club,” Fernando Schena told Talksport.

“We have not received offers within Italy, he really trusts the manager and is certain he’ll have more playing time going forward.”

With Tottenham’s effort of bringing Zapata to White Hart Lane taking a new twist, the former Southampton manager needs to look elsewhere in strengthening his side’s strike force.

They currently have the services of Emmanuel Adebayor, Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane as the first choice players in that position. However, the Spain international has failed to hot form since he joined Tottenham last summer.

In addition to this, the former Arsenal and Emirates Marketing Project striker has been in and out of the team for a while and is struggling with form as well. It would be a priority for Tottenham to sign a striker in January, in order to keep their hope of qualifying for next season’s Champions League alive.


http://soccerlens.com/agent-rules-out-january-move-for-napoli-star-duvan-zapata/157517/
 
Manolo Gabbiadini
Andre-Pierre Gignac
Jackson Martinez
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Saido Berahino
Wilfred Bony
Jay Rodriguez
Christian Benteke
Wissam Ben Yedder
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Andrej Kramaric
Lukas Podolski
Fernando Llorente
Chuba Akpom
Mauro Icardi
Duvan Zapata

We're going to be spoilt for choice in February.
 
Manolo Gabbiadini
Andre-Pierre Gignac
Jackson Martinez
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Saido Berahino
Wilfred Bony
Jay Rodriguez
Christian Benteke
Wissam Ben Yedder
Aleksandar Mitrovic
Andrej Kramaric
Lukas Podolski
Fernando Llorente
Chuba Akpom
Mauro Icardi
Duvan Zapata

We're going to be spoilt for choice in February.

I wouldn't call that list impressive by any means. Mostly journeymen from weaker leagues.

I think we'll either get Rodriguez, or a relatively unknown 19/20 year old to come in as 3rd choice behind Kane and Soldado
 
I wouldn't call that list impressive by any means. Mostly journeymen from weaker leagues.

I think we'll either get Rodriguez, or a relatively unknown 19/20 year old to come in as 3rd choice behind Kane and Soldado

If Ade leaves and both Kane and Soldado keep performing getting in a "journeyman" to make up the numbers might not be the worst idea. If a proper top class "perfect" signing isn't available.
 
If Ade leaves and both Kane and Soldado keep performing getting in a "journeyman" to make up the numbers might not be the worst idea. If a proper top class "perfect" signing isn't available.

That just reeks of another Booth/Raziack/Saha player turning up though. Someone who will be deadwood within a few weeks.

Strikers are so expensive too. Even mediocre players like Huntelaar, Gignac or Martinez are going to cost £15m+.

I'd rather promote one of Coulthirst, Oduwa or Miller to 3rd choice than waste money on a big wage journeyman.

For me we either need to exploit Rodriguez's contract situation, or get Baldini and Mitchell to uncover an unknown gem. You don't get a perfect CF for under £30m these days, and certainly not in January.
 
That just reeks of another Booth/Raziack/Saha player turning up though. Someone who will be deadwood within a few weeks.

Strikers are so expensive too. Even mediocre players like Huntelaar, Gignac or Martinez are going to cost £15m+.

I'd rather promote one of Coulthirst, Oduwa or Miller to 3rd choice than waste money on a big wage journeyman.

For me we either need to exploit Rodriguez's contract situation, or get Baldini and Mitchell to uncover an unknown gem. You don't get a perfect CF for under £30m these days, and certainly not in January.

Doesn't have to be a deadwood signing. Of course if one of the youngsters are actually good enough, that would be fine. But We haven't seen any of them in or around the squad even with a lot of injuries and no recognized striker on the bench.

Gignac's contract is up in the summer from what I remember. I don't think Marseille can ask for £15m.

I just think the time is up for Ade. Never say never, but if he manages to turn around his Spurs career at this point I'd be very surprised. He's just not reliable as we've sen again and again. And although he might be injured at the moment even when he's fit and available I just struggle to see how he can be trusted. Some rumours are saying that Poch has had enough already, just rumours, but we'll see. What I'm saying is that if Ade leaves (or is frozen out as under AVB) we're left with two recognized first team strikers in Kane and Soldado, and arguably Kane is better as a number 10, and Poch seems to want to play the two of them at the same time at least some of the time.

That leaves us short on numbers. Soldado's scoring record isn't impressive and Kane is still young and should be expected to be inconsistent. We're one injury away from having to play a lone striker or shift someone like Chadli up front and still have no striker on the bench if Poch wants two strikers on the pitch. With EL football that's just not enough. Again, this based on the speculation that Ade isn't going to be in our squad come the end of January. But if that happens I would rather have someone than no one. Not Rasiak (lack of) quality type, but someone like Gignac could surely do a job...
 
Chadli up front is a decent shout I think. Has the technique and physique, and he certainly has a strikers instinct.

If Ade is off I do think a target man type is probably what we should aim for. I would say there is only a slim chance of us snaffling up someone worthwhile in Jan. Bony or Benteke would be brilliant but maybe someone like Llorente (ex Bielsa player) might be worth a punt. He was a beast of a player a couple of seasons back and he should be in his prime right now.

A perfect window for me would see Ade, Paulinho and Chirches moved on with Rodriguez, Bony and Moreno arriving.

(Edit Schneiderlin for Capoue too :D)
 
Chadli up front is a decent shout I think. Has the technique and physique, and he certainly has a strikers instinct.

If Ade is off I do think a target man type is probably what we should aim for. I would say there is only a slim chance of us snaffling up someone worthwhile in Jan. Bony or Benteke would be brilliant but maybe someone like Llorente (ex Bielsa player) might be worth a punt. He was a beast of a player a couple of seasons back and he should be in his prime right now.

A perfect window for me would see Ade, Paulinho and Chirches moved on with Rodriguez, Bony and Moreno arriving.

(Edit Schneiderlin for Capoue too :D)

I agree that a target man type would be very useful. Kane can play that role, but seems to thrive in a slightly deeper #10 role at the moment.

Llorente has been getting games at Juventus quite regularly and at 29 I just can't really see it happening. I still think it's a shame that Liverpool picked up Lambert this summer and have now actually started playing him, would have been a good shout if not. Pushing the boat out on Benteke could be an option, but he wouldn't be cheap that's for sure. Benteke, Kane and Soldado would be a good strike force though, good mix between youth and experience, bit of PL experience too. Just not sure Benteke is worth what we would have to pay for him...

Not target men, but two strikers with expiring contracts that haven't been mentioned much is Danny Ings and Luiz Adriano (Shaktar). Luiz Adriano might have problems with work permit though, not sure.

Really makes me thankful that Kane has broken through looking at potential striker targets, not exactly a great selection out there.
 
Doesn't have to be a deadwood signing. Of course if one of the youngsters are actually good enough, that would be fine. But We haven't seen any of them in or around the squad even with a lot of injuries and no recognized striker on the bench.

Gignac's contract is up in the summer from what I remember. I don't think Marseille can ask for £15m.

I just think the time is up for Ade. Never say never, but if he manages to turn around his Spurs career at this point I'd be very surprised. He's just not reliable as we've sen again and again. And although he might be injured at the moment even when he's fit and available I just struggle to see how he can be trusted. Some rumours are saying that Poch has had enough already, just rumours, but we'll see. What I'm saying is that if Ade leaves (or is frozen out as under AVB) we're left with two recognized first team strikers in Kane and Soldado, and arguably Kane is better as a number 10, and Poch seems to want to play the two of them at the same time at least some of the time.

That leaves us short on numbers. Soldado's scoring record isn't impressive and Kane is still young and should be expected to be inconsistent. We're one injury away from having to play a lone striker or shift someone like Chadli up front and still have no striker on the bench if Poch wants two strikers on the pitch. With EL football that's just not enough. Again, this based on the speculation that Ade isn't going to be in our squad come the end of January. But if that happens I would rather have someone than no one. Not Rasiak (lack of) quality type, but someone like Gignac could surely do a job...

I genuinely think Gignac is a Chamakh-level player.


Chadli up front is a decent shout I think. Has the technique and physique, and he certainly has a strikers instinct.

If Ade is off I do think a target man type is probably what we should aim for. I would say there is only a slim chance of us snaffling up someone worthwhile in Jan. Bony or Benteke would be brilliant but maybe someone like Llorente (ex Bielsa player) might be worth a punt. He was a beast of a player a couple of seasons back and he should be in his prime right now.

A perfect window for me would see Ade, Paulinho and Chirches moved on with Rodriguez, Bony and Moreno arriving.

(Edit Schneiderlin for Capoue too :D)

I don't think we need a target man - that is Kane.

Ade's big issue this season was been that he's too static (like most big CFs) for a Poch system. Poch needs players who press intensely without the ball and move cleverly when we have it.

Kane is our smart but hardworking big man, Soldado is our finisher with incredible movement. What we are missing is a bit of pace and directness (but still with work ethic and intelligence). To me that is Rodriguez, or a cheaper foreign version like Andre Ayew.

I don't know why Bony is still being mentioned when he signed a big new contract a few days ago.
 
I agree that a target man type would be very useful. Kane can play that role, but seems to thrive in a slightly deeper #10 role at the moment.

Llorente has been getting games at Juventus quite regularly and at 29 I just can't really see it happening. I still think it's a shame that Liverpool picked up Lambert this summer and have now actually started playing him, would have been a good shout if not. Pushing the boat out on Benteke could be an option, but he wouldn't be cheap that's for sure. Benteke, Kane and Soldado would be a good strike force though, good mix between youth and experience, bit of PL experience too. Just not sure Benteke is worth what we would have to pay for him...

Not target men, but two strikers with expiring contracts that haven't been mentioned much is Danny Ings and Luiz Adriano (Shaktar). Luiz Adriano might have problems with work permit though, not sure.

Really makes me thankful that Kane has broken through looking at potential striker targets, not exactly a great selection out there.

Even though Kane is great in the deeper role, you couldn't have a target man playing next to him. It would be like pairing Berbatov with Sheringham (where you really need a Keane or young Shearer alongside them).

Kane in that role is actually operating in the same sort of areas Berbatov used to (though different styles of players).

We need pace from our 3rd forward, and we need a slightly more direct option.
 
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I genuinely think Gignac is a Chamakh-level player.

You could very well be right, I haven't seen Gignac in years and he's been inconsistent at best in that period based on his stats.

Right now though replacing Ade with Chamakh seems like a better option than keeping Ade. Anyone with decent ability, a half decent scoring record and a willingness to work hard would be an upgrade on Ade. I might be too harsh on Ade, but he's really getting on my tits this season. Where others have responded really well to Poch he's not responded at all. Add to that the recent speculations... Meh. I just struggle to see how keeping him around is a better option than a Chamakh.

Even though Kane is great in the deeper role, you couldn't have a target man playing next to him. It would be like pairing Berbatov with Sheringham (where you really need a Kane or young Shearer alongside them).

Kane in that role is actually operating in the same sort of areas Berbatov used to (though different styles of players).

We need pace from our 3rd forward, and we need a slightly more direct option.

I'm not sure. Remember Kane and Soldado means that Kane is our one target man option, and he's not really perfectly suited to it at this point in time. A drop in form from him, an injury (knock on wood) or just a need for a rest and we would have no one unless Ade mans up or we sign someone else. Looking at Poch at Southampton and how much he used and liked Lambert, how hard Poch tried to make it work for Ade in the first 10 or so games this season, I think he wants that stronger front man option available more often than not.

We're already piling pressure on your younger players. All of a sudden Mason, Bentaleb and Kane look like undroppable parts of the spine of our team. We need options for them, not just their positions, but their roles in the team. Making Kane our only target man option... Nothing would be better than him just going from strength to strength of course, but it's just so much to ask from a kid.

I'm also not quite convinced that you couldn't play a player like Benteke alongside Kane. I think Kane is smart enough and good enough along the ground to be the creative deeper player behind a player like that.
 
I genuinely think Gignac is a Chamakh-level player.

I don't think we need a target man - that is Kane.

Ade's big issue this season was been that he's too static (like most big CFs) for a Poch system. Poch needs players who press intensely without the ball and move cleverly when we have it.

Kane is our smart but hardworking big man, Soldado is our finisher with incredible movement. What we are missing is a bit of pace and directness (but still with work ethic and intelligence). To me that is Rodriguez, or a cheaper foreign version like Andre Ayew.

I don't know why Bony is still being mentioned when he signed a big new contract a few days ago.
In what way do you liken Gignac to Chamakh? Have you watched Gignac? What do you see as his strengths and weaknesses?

Personally I don't think Kane is a target man at all. I think if we play him as such then our gameplan would fail. I also don't think Ade has been static this season. If anything he has done too much running out into wide areas and back towards his goal to see more of the ball. He was also one of the few players trying to press the ball earlier this season. Whether his performances were good bad or in between he wasn't showing a lack of pressing or movement.

When I look at our team currently (assuming Lennon is in and not Lamela) then I see our biggest attacking weakness as Soldado. If we had a really top class centre forward in there instead, somebody who could bully the defenders and hold the ball up but also has pace, tenacity and is also confident in front of goal then we would have a very good attacking unit. Sure Soldado's performances have improved a little recently and he has finally scored a goal, but we need a striker who will pretty much guarantee us 20 goals a season instead of the 8 or 9 that Soldado is likely to get.

I see you are wanting Rodruiguez - in which case where do you see him playing? I don't think he can play as the number 9, so that kind of leaves number 10 (dropping Kane) or coming from the left (so dropping Erickson). I think I would be completely against us signing a squad player for such a large amount unless we have already addressed our need for a proper number 9 type centre forward.

I expect Bony is mentioned because he plays for a club of a lower ranking to ours and therefore would probably be happy to sign for us. Additionally none of us have any idea of the contract he signed, it could well have a release clause in it or something like that.

When I looked at that list Jordinho posted I saw a number of exciting and potentially exciting players.... Personally I think that Martinez, Huntelaar, Berahinho, Bony, Benteke, Icardi, Llorente and perhaps Gignac would all get a starting place in our team as a number 9. With the likes of Kramaric and Mitrovic having big potential for the future. Signing any of these players would allow us to let Adebayor leave. We could then take a call on Soldado in the Summer depending on how he goes for the rest of the season and how our Adebayor replacement gets on. Gignac in and Adebayor out would make perfect sense for us considering Gignac's contract situation. It would be a small transfer fee and Gignac's wages would be significantly lower than
Adebayor's.
 
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In what way do you liken Gignac to Chamakh? Have you watched Gignac? What do you see as his strengths and weaknesses?

Personally I don't think Kane is a target man at all. I think if we play him as such then our gameplan would fail. I also don't think Ade has been static this season. If anything he has done too much running out into wide areas and back towards his goal to see more of the ball. He was also one of the few players trying to press the ball earlier this season. Whether his performances were good bad or in between he wasn't showing a lack of pressing or movement.

When I look at our team currently (assuming Lennon is in and not Lamela) then I see our biggest attacking weakness as Soldado. If we had a really top class centre forward in there instead, somebody who could bully the defenders and hold the ball up but also has pace, tenacity and is also confident in front of goal then we would have a very good attacking unit. Sure Soldado's performances have improved a little recently and he has finally scored a goal, but we need a striker who will pretty much guarantee us 20 goals a season instead of the 8 or 9 that Soldado is likely to get.

I see you are wanting Rodruiguez - in which case where do you see him playing? I don't think he can play as the number 9, so that kind of leaves number 10 (dropping Kane) or coming from the left (so dropping Erickson). I think I would be completely against us signing a squad player for such a large amount unless we have already addressed our need for a proper number 9 type centre forward.

I expect Bony is mentioned because he plays for a club of a lower ranking to ours and therefore would probably be happy to sign for us. Additionally none of us have any idea of the contract he signed, it could well have a release clause in it or something like that.

When I looked at that list Jordinho posted I saw a number of exciting and potentially exciting players.... Personally I think that Martinez, Huntelaar, Berahinho, Bony, Benteke, Icardi, Llorente and perhaps Gignac would all get a starting place in our team as a number 9. With the likes of Kramaric and Mitrovic having big potential for the future. Signing any of these players would allow us to let Adebayor leave. We could then take a call on Soldado in the Summer depending on how he goes for the rest of the season and how our Adebayor replacement gets on. Gignac in and Adebayor out would make perfect sense for us considering Gignac's contract situation. It would be a small transfer fee and Gignac's wages would be significantly lower than
Adebayor's.

If that player is available, I say snap him up. But I have no idea who that would be. Closest might be Benteke, but I know a lot of posters on here have reservations about him. Jackson Martinez might be another option, but he would probably be very expensive and at 28 years old...

Part of the attraction with Jay Rodriguez is that his contract is up in the summer so I don't think he will cost such a large amount. Would potentially give be a good option up front too.
 
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