5 ways for Tottenham to spend (and not spend) the Harry Kane windfall money
How Tottenham respond to the departure of Harry Kane will likely define whether or not they’re successful under new manager Ange Postecoglou.
Kane established himself as one of the greatest players in the world and became Tottenham’s all-time top goalscorer, having scored 280 goals in 435 appearances for his boyhood club.
It’s safe to say that replacing him will be easier said than done, but the £100million transfer fee received from Bayern Munich will help in their endeavour to do that.
We’ve identified five ways for Tottenham to spend (or not spend) the Kane windfall money.
Evan Ferguson
“Evan Ferguson scores in Fergie time,” tweeted Gary Lineker in response to the Irish striker’s opening weekend goal against Luton.
“He’s a born goalscorer. If I was in charge of recruitment at Spurs I’d take a punt on him as Kane’s replacement. Apologies to Brighton fans.”
That’s a bold claim for a teenager with only 15 senior starts for Brighton, yet there’s a growing chorus that Ferguson is the real deal and is destined to become one of the best goalscorers in Europe.
“Club believe they already have the next British record transfer brewing in Evan Ferguson – and for good reason,” journalist Melissa Reddy recently stated. And reports have since emerged that Brighton have slapped a whopping £120million price tag on their next star asset – meaning Spurs would actually have to spend more than the money they received for their all-time top goalscorer.
The 18-year-old would almost certainly be best advised to follow in the path of Moises Caicedo, Ben White and Alexis Mac Allister and continue his development at the Amex for now.
It would be a reckless way to spend money, yet Daniel Levy must be tempted to listen to Lineker and blow the whole lot on a player with the potential to become the next Kane.
There’ll surely come a time soon – if we’re not already there – that only the elite clubs of European football are in for the Republic of Ireland international. Here and now might represent Spurs’ only chance.
Evan scoring in Fergie time. ⏱️😏 pic.twitter.com/PsD2TaRPk0
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 13, 2023
Gift Orban
A less expensive but potentially no less exciting option would be Nigerian wonderkid Orban.
The 21-year-old forward has caught the eye by scoring 25 goals in 27 appearances for Gent. Fabrizio Romano has reported that Orban is on Tottenham’s list of potential targets, while Sport Witness claim that they’ve initiated contact with the Belgian club.
It’s believed that Gent are asking for about €30million for the youngster, which could look like a sound investment were he to fulfil his bags of raw potential in north London.
It would also leave them with plenty left over to pursue other targets.
Target wingers
The experiments of how to be a successful side while ceding possession under Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte ultimately ended in miserable failure.
Tottenham have since thought about the kind of football they want to play and brought in Ange Postecoglou, who will look to have them playing a more possession-focused and attacking style.
That’s some departure from the past three years and if they’re serious about giving Postecoglou the best chance to succeed, they need to build a squad in his image.
The clever lads at TIFO have identified that width is a key facet of the Australian coach’s attacking blueprint.
They’ve picked out Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams, Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman, Rennes’ Jeremy Doku and Brighton’s Kauro Mitoma as the kind of players that fit the profile of player that thrive in Postecoglou’s system.
Learn from Barcelona
Barcelona’s downfall can be pinpointed at the moment that Neymar left for a world-record €222million fee, back in the summer of 2017.
It was undoubtedly a big blow to lose the Brazilian superstar, but the real problem was how desperately they went into the transfer market looking to reinvest the cash. Both Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool had them over a barrel when it came to negotiating fees for Ousmane Dembele and Philippe Coutinho, neither of whom proved astute business.
Hindsight is 20-20 and all that, but the past few years have shown us that the Catalan club would have been better not spending the money at all, biding their time, and entering the market when the right options became available for a fair price.
Chairmen around Europe know that Daniel Levy has a £100million hole burning in his pocket and that does not put Spurs in an advantageous negotiating position. Better not to spend the money at all than spend it badly.
READ: Where are they now? Barcelona’s five Neymar replacements from 2017
Learn from 2013
Tottenham were never going to find a player as good as Gareth Bale when they entered the transfer market a decade ago, and they’re not going to find a player as good as Kane now.
That much is obvious, so there was sound logic in Spurs not even attempting to replace Bale by putting all their eggs in one basket – instead, they reinvested the world-record fee received for the Welshman by bolstering Andre Villas-Boas’ squad with seven new faces across a number of positions.
Christian Eriksen proved to be an inspired addition, but the less said about the rest of them the better. Garth Crooks’ infamous quip that Spurs “sold Elvis and bought The Beatles” inevitably aged like milk.
It was often said that Kane was a No.9 and a No.10 all in one. Yet the club have already replaced both those elements in Richarlison and James Maddison respectively – both of whom arguably have a more natural fit in Postecoglou’s XI now that Kane’s gone.
It would be prudent for the club to identify the gaps in Spurs’ squad and act accordingly by choosing the right targets – i.e. don’t go out and sign 2023’s equivalents of Paulinho and Roberto Soldado.
READ: Where are they now? Tottenham’s 7 Gareth Bale replacements from 2013
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