Matthew Chadder

Tue 18 July 2023 13:10, UK

Tottenham might soon need to replace Harry Kane and they must make sure they get the replacement spot on.

No words could describe just how much Kane means to Spurs fans. After coming through the academy and going on to become the club’s and England’s all-time leading goalscorer, it is almost a near-impossible act to follow.

Although fans remain unsure whether he will be gone this summer, next summer or beyond, the fact of the matter is it looks like he will be gone sooner rather than later. At some point, the club will need to move on and trust in a new number nine.

If whoever that ends up being has even the slightest chance of making supporters forget all about Kane it is going to have to be someone truly spectacular.

One player who has been linked with the club recently is Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, as per the Daily Mail (16 July).

However, the stats suggest that this is a player Daniel Levy should look to avoid splashing the cash on, especially if he is expected to be Kane’s direct replacement.

As per FBREF, despite featuring frequently across the last calendar year for his club, Vlahovic managed just 0.45 goals per 90, placing him in only the 60th percentile in comparison to forwards across European’s top five leagues. On top of this, he managed just 0.13 assists per 90, placing him in the 56th percentile.

These stats make for particularly concerning reading when considering he is playing in one of the Serie A’s better teams often against far weaker opposition.

The Serbia international is a target man with quite poor passing and possession attributes. This is quite the opposite of Kane who is almost the complete striker.

Vlahovic would complete just 12.70 passes per 90, leaving him in the bottom 20 per cent of European forwards and his pass completion rate of 71.3 per cent left him in just the 61st percentile in regard to that particular statistic.

His 28.49 touches per 90 once again left him in the bottom 20 per cent of European forwards and demonstrated what little impact he has within a game. He was also in the bottom 30 per cent for his take ons attempted (1.58 per 90) and take ons completed (0.61 per 90).

The graph above demonstrates how Kane excelled above Vlahovic in each statistic apart from assists, where the England captain was just 0.02 off of the 23-year-old.

Vlahovic is also a player who will not carry the ball forward and relies on receiving it to his feet in and around the box. This is shown through his carries (16.59 per 90), progressive carries (1.03 per 90) and carries into the penalty area (0.24 per 90) for all of which he was in the bottom 35 per cent compared to his positional peers across Europe.

While the Juventus forward might have some strengths, he is not a complete enough striker to successfully replace Kane and nothing in his stats suggests he would be able to adapt to the Premier League.

Kane is a creator as well as a goalscorer and Vlahovic is simply just a target man and is unlikely to do enough to warrant his pricetag and put Kane out of the memory of Tottenham supporters if he was to move to North London.

In other Tottenham news, this fellow European striker could be the dream replacement for Kane.