Spurs are struggling to capture a centre-forward to pull them into the Champions League so far this summer. Christian Benteke signed a new deal at Aston Villa, Leandro Damiao seems reluctant to leave his homeland and Queens Park Rangers forward Loic Remy is reportedly on the cusp on signing for fellow Londoners West Ham. With Jermain defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor taking it in turns to lead the clubs line in their 3-1 loss against Sunderland yesterday, it raised the question as to who Andre Villas-Boas will look to bring into the club in the coming weeks. Here are 3 candidates to AVB’s striking problems.
Roberto Soldado
It looks as though the Spain international is moving closer to north London as Director of Football Franco Baldini is set to head to sunnier shores to start discussions. The Valencia frontman was in fine form last season, scoring 24 goals in 35 La Liga games, and is exactly the type of forward that Spurs require.
The stocky striker hit the target with an impressive 57% of his 90 shots at goal, he created 32 chances (four assists) and even averaged two defensive actions per game. Incredibly, all 24 of Soldado’s league goals were scored from inside the 18-yard box.
Lisandro Lopez
Another man that the White Hart Lane outfit are said to be interested in is Lyon forward Lisandro Lopez, who struck 11 times in 31 games last term. Lopez, who can double up as a winger, is a nippy player who is able to ghost between defensive lines to open up space for himself and team-mates.
You get the feeling that the Argentine would be AVB’s second choice behind the aforementioned Soldado.
Edin Dzeko
Perhaps a long shot, but Edin Dzeko could find his time in the City attack restricted this season. New manager Manuel Pellegrini has already brought in Stefan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo to compete with Sergio Aguero up top, so Dzeko may look elsewhere for a starting slot.
The big Bosnian ran out as the club’s top scorer last season with 12 goals despite only playing nine full games, proving that he is more than able to spearhead an attack.