Tottenham Hotspur concluded their pre-season tour in Japan with a 2-1 defeat against Bayern Munich, with 20-year-old midfielder Gabriel Vidovic opening the scoring before Ange Postecoglou’s side ran out of steam and succumbed to pressure.
The general theme emanating from the game circles around the lack of a centre-forward, with Postecoglou admitting before the contest that bolstering the striking position will be his outfit’s “focus” across the final month of the transfer window.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou
Having finished fifth in the Premier League last season, suffering a nosedive after an incredible early run of form, issues were presented down at N17, and while there’s an underlying sense that things are moving in the right direction, leaving the No. 9 spot short next season might hinder the Australian manager’s ambitious vision.
Indeed, having yet to sign a direct replacement for Harry Kane, who joined Bayern one year ago, the Lilywhites are pushing to sign Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth – with a dynamic partner already lined up.Solanke could be the perfect focal point up front to charge Postecoglou’s attack, but perhaps more excitingly, Spurs are looking to add winger Pedro Neto to the ranks.
Postecoglou is eager to sign the Wolverhampton Wanderers winger and has even sent club representatives to discuss a deal with Neto’s inner circle.
Neto is valued at about £60m despite his injury troubles, but he’s an immense talent and is also attracting interest from Arsenal, so Tottenham must move quickly to prevent their London rivals from scoring a damaging blow before the campaign has even started.Neto would be a significant addition, offering completely the kind of multi-skilled qualities to add a new dimension to the Tottenham attack, not just improving it but opening up new ways to implement Postecoglou’s attacking approach.The Portugal international’s fitness record does leave plenty to be desired but there’s no denying his high-level ability, ranking among the top 1% of attacking midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists and the top 6% for progressive carries per 90, as per FBref.
The £50k-per-week ace only completed 1,519 minutes in the English top flight last season but he certainly made good use of his time, scoring two goals and supplying nine assists.
Manchester City’s playmaking monster, Kevin De Bruyne, was the only player to record more assists per 90 (0.73) than Neto last term (0.53), pointing toward an impact that could markedly improve the glaring issue in Postecoglou’s squad.
His 1.9 key passes and dribbles per game, as per Sofascore, only expand that argument, capable of driving down the wings and supplying the centre-forward with constant support.
That centre-forward may well be Solanke, with the respective styles exactly what Tottenham need.
