Tuesday 7 August 2012

Two Strikers needed, but who?

Only a fool would struggle to see that we are currently a bit light on strikers at this moment in time. With the release of Louis Saha and Emmanuel Adebayor returning to City after his successful loan spell, we are left with just Jermain Defoe, Harry Kane and Souleymane Coulibaly as options to lead the line.

Ultimately it is too soon for Kane and Coulibaly to be expected to step up with both still teenagers and developing their games and Defoe is not of the standard required for a first team aiming for a top four finish. But what are the realistic options available? In my opinion it must surely come down to two of the following three strikers.

Emmanuel Adebayor


Love him or loathe him, the Togolese striker was a vital component of the Spurs machine that excelled through the majority of last season. With 17 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League, Ade contribution to the cause was just short of a goal a game.

The problem with signing Adebayor is the financial aspect. A transfer fee of £6 million has been agreed, with City desperate to get him off their wage bill. Unfortunately the wage demands are proving the main stumbling block with Adebayor prepared to take a wage cut, providing Man City donate the amount he's dropping down in wages to the various charities he supports across Africa.

At 28 years of age, Adebayor should be at the peak of his career and it was certainly evident at times last season. Premier league experience makes his signing a very attractive proposition. We now have to wait to see who will back down first, City or Adebayor. This one could go right to the end of the Summer window.

Leandro Damiao


The Brazilian that we seem to have been linked with for every transfer window over the last two and a half years. Leandro has been playing in the Olympics over the last few weeks and currently lies in second place in the goal scoring charts having picked up two more goals in Brazil's 3-2 quarter final win over Honduras. The first goal of that game showed superb reactions to pounce on a loose ball and the second fantastic technique to tuck the ball away.

The problem with Damiao is that he is unproven in a major European League and it has been a 50/50 gamble for British sides purchasing South American stars previously. For every Sandro there's a Kleberson. For every Hernandez there's a Boselli. What differentiates Leandro from the Kleberson's and the Boselli's however is his confidence. Some would have struggled leading the Brazil line alongside the astronomically rated Neymar but Leandro has looked every bit as good as his Samba counterpart. At 6'2 the Brazilian has all the attributes to head the attack for Spurs.

A £20 million price tag appears to be desired for the striker and Daniel Levy is unlikely to want to pay such a large fee (Let's not forget it would break our transfer record). If we are able to get the player for an agreed fee, wages should be a lot cheaper than Adebayor and at just 23 years of age Leandro has bags of potential.

Giovanni Dos Santos


Not strictly a new signing like the above two, Dos Santos has been with the club for 4 years now having signed under Juande Ramos but has struggled to make an impact. The Mexican has famously fallen out with Juande Ramos and Harry Redknapp for an alleged lack of professionalism towards training but us Spurs fans have never really been able to see what Dos Santos can do in a Lilywhite shirt.

Performances for Mexico have shown the talent that the youngster has and he has already attained over 40 international caps, a very commendable achievement for a player just 23 years old. Appearances have been limited to the Europa League for Spurs with impressive performances in some games, but anonymous displays in others.

With just one year on his contract, it is time for the club to make a decision on the Mexican's future. Whether we keep him or not, he is definitely too good a player to let slip out of grasp without a single penny changing hands. With a new manager heralding new beginnings he could be an exciting wildcard choice for the 2012/13 season.


As Spurs fans we are all aware of the tight purse strings our chairman Mr Levy keeps so the likelihood is that two will go through, we just have to wait and see which two. If your asking me I'd have to prioritise:

1) Adebayor
2) Damiao
3) Gio

But that's just me. What do other Spurs fans think?

Follow me on Twitter: @Cjipps

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