Tottenham: Daniel Levy must fund January transfer for Ivan Toney and finally replace Harry Kane
After a torrid run of results and a miserable few weeks in North London, Tottenham Hotspur finally got back to winning ways in excellent fashion with a 4-1 win over Newcastle United.
While Ange Postecoglou’s side were defensively resolute, it was their impressive attacking display that earned most of the plaudits, with Richarlison and Son Heung-Min impressing to give Spurs their first win in five Premier League matches.
However, things are still far from perfect at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and one win won’t define Spurs’ campaign. If they want to finish in the Champions League places this season, they need to finally attempt to replace Harry Kane and bring in a new centre-forward.
Postecoglou’s side have scored fewer goals than any other team currently sitting in the top five places in the Premier League and there has been a slight reliance on Son to find the net as well.
The South Korean has scored 10 Premier League goals this season, with no other player managing to find the net on more than four occasions in the opening 14 matches. Daniel Levy has to move to sign a new centre-forward and one name stands out more than most.
The Daily Mirror (9 December) reported that Spurs remain in the running for Brentford striker Ivan Toney, alongside both Chelsea and Arsenal with Postecoglou remaining optimistic that he’ll be able to add to his forward line when the January window opens.
Toney hasn’t featured for Thomas Frank’s side since May as a result of a ban for betting on football matches, but the 27-year-old would likely solve Postecoglou and Spurs’ striker problem with ease considering his record in the top flight.
Despite only playing 33 games of the season last year, the Brentford forward found the net on 20 occasions, averaging a goal in every 148 minutes of action in a team that only scored 58 goals all season [Fotmob].
Perhaps Toney’s best performance of the season came against Arsenal where the striker gave Mikel Arteta’s backline a torrid time. Not only did he pop up with the equalising goal, but he won more duels than any player on either side during the clash, coming away with the ball on 14 occasions.
Postecoglou always wants his side to work hard with and without the ball and Toney is capable of doing exactly that. At the Emirates he entered 14 aerial duels, winning 86 per cent of them and even managed to lure Arsenal into committing four fouls.
That presence at the top end of the pitch will be a huge boost to Tottenham and Toney is more than capable of holding his own against any Premier League backline. Last season he placed in the 91st percentile of Premier League strikers for aerials won per match and the 92nd for fouls drawn [Fbref].
Spurs already have the players that are capable of creating chances and what they need now is a forward who can put them in the back of the net. Toney very rarely touches the ball in a match, last season he averaged 37.18 touches a game, less than 35 per cent of Premier League forwards.
Despite that seeming lack of involvement, he had a higher xG per game than 85 per cent of the division’s strikers and scored more goals a match than 88 per cent of his positional peers. The 27-year-old only needs one chance to hurt a team in a match and he will tend to take it.
The caveat to all this is the fact that the Brentford striker only completed an average of 59.9 per cent of his passes a game and placed in the fourth percentile for progressive carries per match. He won’t do too much outside of the penalty area, but he comes alive in the final third.
Tottenham need a number nine that will guarantee them goals and few players guarantee that more than Toney. Levy should do all he can to lure the Brentford forward to North London this January.
In other Tottenham Hotspur news, Jamie O’Hara was left fuming by Cristian Romero’s “naughty” performance against Newcastle