Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp believes Mauricio Pochettino could play Dele Alli as the false nine after Harry Kane’s injury.
The England captain is set to be out for a couple of months due to ankle ligament damage. Our forward options are further limited with Son Heung-min away on national duty in the Asian Cup. Redknapp claimed Kane was “irreplaceable” and being two months without the “best” Premier League striker would be a huge blow for Spurs (h/t Express).
The Englishman, however, believed Fernando Llorente was also an option but claimed Alli could do the job in the attack (h/t Express):
“Son has gone away and Llorente is the only option I suppose at the moment – unless he’s thought about pushing Dele Alli into an advanced position.
“He could play up there as almost as a free number nine and without a main striker. I don’t know, it’ll be difficult without him.”
The former Spurs manager also highlighted the problem we face with regards to signing a striker in January. Redknapp claimed it is difficult to find someone better than Llorente in the January window. The Englishman also added that the new signing would be shunted out of the team once Kane returns.
Redknapp is right in suggesting Alli as an option to play as a false-9. The former MK Dons man makes intelligent runs and is a threat in front of the goal. The way we played today, it is clear that playing Llorente cannot be the solution to this crisis.
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Lucas Moura is another option that could be tried, but the Brazilian hasn’t played for us since our 7-0 thrashing of Tranmere in the FA Cup.