Tottenham committed a big blunder by not investing in a pure goalscorer in the summer.
Intense scrutiny has surrounded Tottenham Hotspur following a winless five-game opening to the Premier League campaign. With Spurs rock bottom in the table and battling for form, fitness and mental fragility, the pressure has grown on head coach Roberto De Zerbi.
With only two goals scored across five matches, and those coming in the defeat to Aston Villa last weekend, Roberto De Zerbi’s side have a genuine problem finding the back of the net. This is despite the club adding Omar Marmoush on loan from Manchester City in the summer. However, Marmoush has shown flashes of brilliance but with no real substance as yet, while Dominic Solanke continues to be a shadow of his former self.
No wonder Tottenham are toothless in the box, ranking 18th for xG and 19th for goals scored. They are suffering from a disastrous efficiency crisis in front of goal, something the N17 chiefs are planning to address by bringing in a new striker in the January transfer window.
Ben Jacobs delivers update on Tottenham’s winter transfer plans
Things were expected to get better under De Zerbi, particularly after splashing out more than £300million on ten new signings this summer. However, the new signings have not gelled so far, leading to an underwhelming start to the season.
GIVEMESPORT senior football correspondent Ben Jacobs has now given an update on the Lilywhites’ winter transfer plans. He claims Igor Matanovic and Tottenham could be one to watch, with the club chiefs admirers of the Freiburg striker.
“Tottenham are prepared to add another striker mid-season in the winter market if goals continue to dry up,” Ben Jacobs exclusively told GIVEMESPORT.
“Richarlison doesn’t appear to have a future at the football club. Roberto De Zerbi has been clear on his position there, and even though Marmoush has arrived, Igor Matanovic and Tottenham could be one to watch, and as I exclusively revealed over the summer, Spurs and Manchester United both appreciate the player.
“He scored 15 goals for Freiburg last season, and he’s got six goals in seven games already this campaign as well.
He’s big, he’s tall, he’s a target man, he’s a little bit of a different profile to the kind of striker that Tottenham have already got, and yet there’s no guarantee anything is going to be possible here mid-season.
“We’re going to have to understand whether Tottenham are going to be really aggressive for a particular target in the winter market, or if they’re going to back what they’ve got and then ultimately wait until the summer.
“My information as of now is that it’s not ruled out they could add another source of goals mid-season, but of course players are harder to get in the winter market than in the summer, due to the fact that there’s less time and generally clubs with players they want to keep are less willing to sell mid-season because it can be highly disruptive.
“But Igor Matanovic and Tottenham could potentially be one to watch, and they’re assessing the situation now; they’ve got plenty of time before the winter market opens, but don’t rule out the possibility of Tottenham adding another source of goals mid-season.”
Igor Matanovic on Tottenham’s radar
After the additions of Marmoush and Savio, De Zerbi was extremely hopeful of adding another forward to his ranks. Little did anyone know it’d be Mykhailo Mudryk on loan from Chelsea. However, it is believed that the Tottenham boss wanted to sign a pure No.9.
Igor Matanovic was linked with a move to Spurs in the final weeks of the summer transfer window. The big Croatian striker enjoyed a decent debut campaign with Freiburg, netting 15 goals in all competitions. He has started the new campaign very well, registering six goals and two assists in seven outings.
Given how crucial he is to the club, Freiburg would be reluctant to sell Matanovic mid-season. It might take a premium to convince the German club to part ways with the 6ft 5ins marksman, who has the mix of technical and physical attributes to thrive in the Premier League.
