Tottenham make contact with forward ‘who could become the next Jermaine Defoe’
Tottenham are always on the lookout for the next Jermaine Defoe.
Defoe is a Spurs legend, having spent most of his playing career with Tottenham across three spells before briefly returning to N17 as an ambassador and a youth coach.
The striker’s unique poaching ability saw him score 143 goals for Tottenham, putting him seventh on the Lilywhites’ list of highest-ever goalscorers, two places behind Son Heung-min.
The former England international’s impact in North London has seen Spurs search for players of a similar mould, and the club have now identified someone who could emulate Defoe.
Tottenham make contact with Mohammed Kudus
Thomas Frank has spent his early days as Tottenham manager looking to bring in an added goal threat, especially given Richarlison’s likely exit this summer.
Spurs scored 10 fewer goals in the Premier League last season than they did in the previous campaign, and were particularly blunt against lesser sides that defended deep.
As such, Tottenham are targeting Mohammed Kudus as a priority, and have made contact with the 24-year-old’s agents, as reported by Fabrizio Romano via X (30 June).
The former Ajax forward’s goal-scoring prowess and dribbling abilities would be vital to Frank’s chances of breaking down compact defences when the opposition elects to cede possession to Spurs.
The Dane often favoured playing two strikers at Brentford, which could see Kudus line up alongside Dominic Solanke and play off the more physically imposing England striker.
This could see him become the next Defoe, who was one of the last players to join Tottenham from West Ham. Defoe spent most of his career in North London feeding off bigger strikers like Peter Crouch and Dimitar Berbatov, and Kudus could be set to operate in a similar role.
The two also share a similarly tenacious approach to the game, and if the Ghanaian managed to post a similar return to Defoe’s, he would be an instant hit among the Spurs faithful.
Tottenham need more from their strikers
Last season, Tottenham’s two recognised strikers contributed to just over 20 per cent of Spurs’ Premier League goals.
While it’s a positive that other squad members are very adept at scoring and in tandem with the modern game, 13 goals is too low a return from Spurs’ centre-forwards.
Frank will look to address that issue by maximising Solanke’s output and potentially adapting the roles of players like Kudus to become consistent goal scorers.
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