Danny Wright

Thu 15 June 2023 17:09, UK

Away from Harry Kane, Tottenham had some issues in front of goal last season.

While Kane netted 30 times in the Premier League, the once-reliable Heung-min Son was some distance behind the England captain with 10 goals. Spurs’ next-best goalscorer Rodrigo Bentancur, with five goals, played just four times between the World Cup break and the end of the campaign.

It’s no shock that as a result of that, Ange Postecoglou may be looking at new ways to unlock defences ahead of the 2023/24 season.

Spurs kick off their next campaign away at Brentford on Sunday, 13 August and if the North Londoners want to hit the ground running, they’ll want to ensure they have more ways of scoring goals other than just Kane – and that’s if he stays at the club.

According to The Daily Mail, Tottenham have submitted a £50million bid to Leicester City to sign both James Maddison and Harvey Barnes.

The newspaper reported on Thursday (15 June) that this time last year, Leicester wanted £60million for both of the England attackers.

It is understood that the Foxes, who were relegated to the Championship last season, are set to reject Spurs’ offer.

Maddison, 26, is reportedly a “priority” target for Tottenham this summer but the Daily Mail claims Newcastle are also interested in him.

Spurs are also facing competition from Aston Villa, West Ham and Newcastle in their hunt to sign 25-year-old Barnes.

Spurs cannot be blamed for offering what is basically £25million a piece for both Maddison and Barnes.

Obviously, both players are worth a lot more money as they are at the peak of their careers right now and have done well for Leicester over the last few seasons despite their relegation.

Barnes scored 13 goals and supplied one assist in 34 Premier League appearances from the left-wing position for the Foxes last term while Maddison scored 10 goals and assisted nine in 30 league outings.

Leicester’s relegation wasn’t really down to them and there’s no doubt that most teams in the Premier League would be lucky to have the two England internationals in their squads.

Both would have something to offer at Tottenham if they were signed this summer.

Barnes has a real goal threat about him with stats by FBRef showing that over the last year, the former West Brom loan star has a non-penalty xG of 0.30 per 90 minutes, ranking him in the 82nd percentile for players of his position.

For non-penalty goals, he’s averaged 0.43 per 90 minutes over the last 12 months, putting him in the 94th percentile.

In comparison, Son has the same non-penalty xG as Barnes but has fewer goals from more shots.

Son does provide more in the way of assisting his teammates but the difference in goal threat is telling.

More stats by FBRef show that Barnes is more of a menace to deal with for defenders.

Barnes averages more progressive carries and touches in the box per 90 minutes than Son while also receiving way more progressive passes.

While this may be a result of a more direct style of play at Leicester, it could be exactly what Tottenham are looking for.

Stats by WhoScored show that last season, Spurs ranked ninth in the Premier League for average possession (49.8%). Leicester were just behind them in 12th (47.7%).

Spurs played the seventh-highest number of passes at 474.8 per Premier League game and also had the seventh-highest number of shots (13.6), sixth for shots on target (5.2).

Having Kane as your main man up front definitely skews the figures but overall, a team like Tottenham should be producing way more shots and shots on targets

Is Barnes the answer?

There’s certainly a spot for him in Postecoglou’s team but displacing a modern-day great in Son would be no easy feat for the in-demand Leicester ace.

However, Spurs’ lack of good options in the squad has been another one of their downfalls and mixing it up between Son and Barnes would unleash a devastating effect on Premier League defences.

In other Tottenham news, Conor Gallagher can also be a good fit for Spurs.