Tottenham haven’t bought a successful striker in ELEVEN YEARS

Tottenham Hotspur’s ascension as one of England’s top clubs can be attributed to the development of one man: Harry Kane. 

Since notching the winner against Aston Villa with a fine free-kick at Villa Park in November 2014 the England captain has been virtually undroppable, and has seen his stock rise as one of the greatest strikers in world football. 

Kane has played 261 games for Spurs across all competitions since making his debut in 2014-15, scoring 183 goals. 

But last Sunday’s defeat by Everton in Spurs’ Premier League opener raised further questions as to the north London club’s reliance on Kane as the man to lead the line, as well as wider concerns about Tottenham’s inability to recruit well in the final third. 

The acquisition of Gareth Bale might be a stunning step in the right direction but that does not solve the problem at the point of the spear. 

Harry Kane looked a striker running on empty in Spurs’ defeat by Everton on Sunday

The 27-year-old has led the line superbly for five seasons but is in need of a back up 

Make no mistake, Tottenham’s transfer woes with regards to signing strikers were present long before Kane broke through six years ago. 

That season, Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor were ahead of a young Kane in new boss Mauricio Pochettino’s pecking order, with the pair costing the club £26m and £5m respectively.  

Kane’s breakthrough in 2014 came at a time when Spurs were struggling to recruit a striker

Roberto Soldado, who cost £26m, was poor while Emmanuel Adebayor was underperforming

Vincent Janssen was brought in for £18.5m and also flopped, with Pochettino not keen

Clinton N’Jie was another front man long since forgotten having failed to make the grade

The Spaniard had already spent an unremarkable season at the club and was rapidly being viewed as a flop with every game played. Adebayor, meanwhile, after making an excellent impact while on loan from Real Madrid the season before, was now blowing hot and cold and was causing headaches around the club with his behaviour. 

And pressure was growing on the new Spurs manager to turn promising performances into results. Pochettino had endured a rocky start to life in north London, winning just three of his first nine league games with the club languishing in the bottom half of the league. 

So up stepped Kane, who grabbed at his chance to make the No 9 berth his own. His winner at Villa Park has been viewed as the goal that saved Pochettino’s Tottenham career, and more pertinently resolved a gaping problem that had blighted the club for some time.  

Kane propelled Spurs and Mauricio Pochettino (right) into members of the game’s elite 

But now he has been run into the ground and Spurs desperately need to ease the burden

Peter Crouch was the last striker signed by Spurs who made a successful impact, and his signing was in 2009. In fact, Tottenham’s ‘No 9’ has scored just four Premier League goals since 2011, and that is excluding penalties. 

The likes of Louis Saha, Roberto Soldado, Clinton N’Jie, Vincent Janssen and Fernando Llorente have all been brought in and none have managed to make the sort of impact expected when recruited by Daniel Levy. 

Kane has more than plugged a gap, with his performances over the past five years transforming the club from one on the fringes of the elite to a European contender and then part of the exclusive Big Six. 

But now he is struggling. Kane appears to have been run into the ground due to a quick turnaround between the end of the last campaign and the start of the 2020-21 season, as well as the poor recruitment strategy that is finally coming home to roost. 

Pochettino demanded an alternative to Kane during his tenure in charge, in a bid to relieve the burden on his star man, but Janssen – signed for £18.5m from AZ Alkmaar in 2016 – and Llorente – who joined from Swansea for around £15m – failed to win over the Argentine. 

And if Amazon’s fly-on-the-wall documentary of Spurs in 2019-20 is anything to go bye, Jose Mourinho has despaired over the club’s reliance on Kane to play week in, week out. 

The 27-year-old was sidelined for a long spell of the campaign with a hamstring injury, leaving viewers to watch a grumbling Mourinho trudge around the training ground, bemoaning the loss of his star man. 

Yet Spurs would have been acutely aware of the possibility of Kane picking up an injury and leaving the club in need of a stand-in. Barring his debut campaign, Kane has been sidelined in every season since he broke through, on each occasion leaving Spurs to fight on without their star man. 

They’ve been able to do that largely down to the contributions of Son Heung-min, who has filled in admirably to take on the responsibility to score goals for the north London club. 

Jose Mourinho has also suffered without Kane when he got a hamstring injury in 2019-20

The Amazon documentary showed Mourinho bemoaning the loss of his star man last season

Son Heung-min has stepped in admirably but works better in tandem with his team-mate

But Son is better deployed wide, and Mourinho knows that Spurs are a far stronger proposition with the South Korean and Kane working in tandem, while Son would most likely not take kindly to taking on the role as Kane’s understudy. 

It’s been widely reported that it is difficult for any club to recruit a player who is happy to play second fiddle to the club’s star man. And while that is a strong argument, surely it would be possible for Spurs to entice a talented striker to learn and develop alongside Kane day in, day out, in training. 

Gabriel Jesus agreed to join Manchester City as a 19-year-old, knowing full well he’d play the understudy to Sergio Aguero. More recently, Wolves have signed Fabio Silva from Porto despite the 18-year-old being unlikely to dislodge star striker Raul Jimenez.

Chairman Daniel Levy must work hard to entice a player to play second fiddle to Kane

Gabriel Jesus (right) joined Manchester City knowing Sergio Aguero (left) would start

Spurs will have an eye on a talented young striker of their own, with Troy Parrott regarded as the club’s future. The 18-year-old is already a Republic of Ireland international, and will hope to flourish at Millwall on loan this season with Mourinho unconvinced that the youngster is ready for a more regular role just yet. 

While the Portuguese might be right in that respect and Parrott is an exciting talent for the future, Spurs need a striker for the here and now. 

Kane is notoriously a slow starter to a new season, and received criticism for his performance against Manchetser United right after lockdown. But with a long Europa League run expected, a second striker is the absolute priority before the transfer window slams shut. 

Spurs have three weeks to bring in another striker and it could prove crucial to their season

Alexander Sorloth is one of the latest names linked with a move to Spurs, with Mourinho refusing to deny claims that talks have been held with Turkish side Trabzonspor for the former Crystal Palace flop. 

EIntracht Frankfurt’s hard-working target man Bas Dost is another player being lined up, but his relatively cheap signing at £5.5m is unlikely to set any Spurs fan’s pulse racing.

Whoever Levy and Mourinho manage to bring in, it is crucial that the player in question has the determination to make an impact. Soldado and Janssen prove they cannot just fold and sign anyone willing to sit on the bench.

Spurs have three weeks to turn a corner and finally get it right with recruitment for a No 9. It could prove the difference between a successful or a dreadful season for Mourinho.