Tottenham Hotspur have just over a week to try and get the signing of a new forward over the line.
Spurs did land Alejo Veliz earlier this summer, but he looks more like a prospect for the future.
With Tottenham selling Harry Kane, they could do with a reinforcement who’d hit the ground running.
Plenty of names have been linked with a move to Spurs, including Gift Orban and Jonathan David.
Now, Ben Jacobs has claimed that Tottenham would love to bring Lautaro Martinez to N17.
The transfer insider, speaking on CaughtOffside, says Spurs are big fans of the Inter Milan captain.
However, Jacobs believes the likelihood of Martinez’s club agree to a move is slim to none.Spurs
He goes on to play down speculation linking Tottenham and Dusan Vlahovic as well.
Nonetheless, Jacobs insists that Spurs aren’t panicking about this particular task. He feels they will bring someone in by September.
“Spurs would love Lautaro Martinez, but Inter have been telling suitors all summer he’s not for sale,” he said.
“And I don’t think Spurs will move for Dusan Vlahovic either despite some summer links.
“What is clear is Postecoglou doesn’t want to panic buy.
“And the type of profile he is looking for is different to the type of players Paratici was looking for when Antonio Conte was still at the club.
“That’s why directly replacing Kane (if that’s even possible!) may take some time.
“I can still see Spurs adding a striker in the final days of the window.
“But the question is whether they save some of that Kane fee in order to take their time for a flagship signing in the windows that follow, or spend big now.”
Our view
Tottenham certainly do have a bit of a dilemma on their hands here.
The whole footballing world knows Spurs have made a pretty penny from selling Kane.
As such, clubs that have players wanted by Tottenham could well try their luck in squeezing out a couple more million.
In addition, replacing Kane will be hard, as he’s one of the best strikers in the world.
Coincidentally, this is what has also been said about Martinez before. By former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, no less.
“Lautaro Martinez is one of the best strikers in the world,” he said, as per football.london.
“It’s not just for what he does now, but for what his potential means going forward. If you start looking at hitmen for the big clubs, clearly his name has to be in there.”
Martinez has been reportedly valued at £70million, which is a huge price tag. And that’s before considering that Inter may just declare him not for sale.
There’s a fair bit for Tottenham to think about in terms of how to go about bolstering their attacking ranks over the next week-and-a-bit.
We think Spurs will go for someone like Orban for something like £20-30million for now, then look for a big long-term target in January or summer.
