Tottenham will be looking to add to their attack ahead of the summer transfer deadline following Harry Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich prior to the new season
Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham now have the unenviable task of trying to find a replacement for Harry Kane prior to the summer transfer deadline on September 1. Parting with the club’s all-time top goalscorer on the eve of the new Premier League campaign, the Lilywhites have so far coped well without the 30-year-old but it’s clear to see that a new attacking option needs to be brought into the club.
Going to be an incredibly hard job to try and find a player to fill Kane’s shoes and contribute with upwards of 20 league goals per season, Postecoglou recently admitted ahead of the Brentford game that they may elect against bringing in a new No.9 and instead focus their attention elsewhere.
“I’ve opened up a real Pandora’s box here [with the shopping analogies] because I’ve got no idea! You say Gucci and I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about. Again I’ll bring my wife into it. She tells me those kind of things are one-offs and usually you get a fake replica if you’re trying to get the same one,” he said on trying to replace Kane.
“With Harry nothing has changed today for us. It’s not like he’s gone and we’ve now got to go and replace Harry. We’ve known this for a while but the business we’ve done so far has been in anticipation of Harry going.
“So we’re not going to be out there tomorrow looking for a number nine to replace Harry. That’s not the strategy that’s already in place. What we’re looking to do is make sure we have a stronger team, a stronger squad to play the football we want and develop over the next period of time.
“Over the next three weeks the priority is to trim the squad down and see where we’re at and then fill the gaps where we need to fill the gaps.”
READ MORE:The £27m transfer decision that could hit Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham plans before deadline day
Already having versatility in his frontline with a handful of players able to play in a couple of different positions, Postecoglou may well look to do the same when it comes to his Kane alternative. If that is to be the case, one option who ticks a number of boxes for Tottenham would be Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson.
Earning rave reviews during his year on loan with Lincoln City in 2020/21, the Nottingham-born player forced his way into the Forest team the following season and helped the club earn promotion back to the Premier League for the first time since 1999. Hitting 19 goals that campaign all while playing in a number of different roles, Johnson made his mark in the Premier League last term with eight goals from 38 appearances.
Spending the vast majority of his time playing as either a striker or right winger, the 22-year-old also operated behind the frontman on a handful of occasions and continued to excel for Steve Cooper’s men. Blessed with blistering pace, skill and an eye for goal, it’s not hard to see why Tottenham would be interested in him.
Johnson is certainly no stranger to Tottenham as former managing director of football Fabio Paratici watched him and current Spurs player Djed Spence a number of times during Forest’s promotion-winning season. His transfer valuation has skyrocketed since then, with Forest believed to be looking for anywhere between £40million and £50million for the versatile attacker.
Subject of a £35million bid from Brentford last month, Chelsea have also been heavily linked with Johnson this summer and may well launch a bid before deadline day after missing out on Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise. football.london reported on Monday that Tottenham are expected to make a move for Johnson before the transfer window closes.
Maybe not the out-and-out striker Tottenham fans want to replace Kane, the Nottingham Forest academy graduate has all the attributes to be a huge success in Postecoglou’s system and the head coach could take him on to even greater heights. Johnson’s desire to improve his game, his commitment and his want to take risks make him the ideal Postecoglou player, with Cooper lauding those qualities after his double against Everton last March.
“I don’t mind talking about it because I see him every day and he only wants to get better, so he won’t get too high or too low,” he explained, as reported by The Independent. “His goals were great, his performance was very good.
“People are getting booked, tackling him, which means he’s taking risks. He had a really good impact on the game. There’s always another level to get to but I’m sure he’s on an upward curve.
“He took a bit of a rocky road before the (World Cup) break but that was always going to happen and the other young players in the group are going through it now. But he’s performing well and he’s getting good numbers. As always it’s about continuing to improve. But I see how committed he is and how much he wants to get better.
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