This is officially a transfer saga, and for everyone’s sake – including those simply watching on – it would be of huge benefit if Harry Kane’s future was resolved as soon as possible.
That may be wishful thinking, but there is hope, with Bayern Munich entering talks with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy on Friday.
The aim for the Bundesliga champions will be to wrap up a transfer before their season starts with a German Super Cup clash against RB Leipzig on 12 August, a day before Spurs begin their Premier League campaign at Brentford.
A fortnight allows time for negotiations to progress, with Bayern reportedly willing to offer €100m (£86m) after bids of €70m (£60m) and €80m (£68m) plus add-ons left Levy unmoved.
But beyond talks between the two clubs, Spurs would also need to draw up a firm back-up plan, one that either involves trusting the in-house option or spending the Kane money on what they would hope is a viable replacement.
Either way of course, should the England captain leave, finding someone to fill those roughly 30-goal-a-season boots will not be easy.
Put faith in Richarlison
Regardless of whether Kane stays or goes, Richarlison and Spurs will be hoping a checkered debut campaign can quickly be forgotten about. The Brazilian scored just three goals in 35 games following his £60m move from Everton last year, and endured a rocky relationship with former head coach Antonio Conte.
But under new boss Ange Postecoglou, he has a new lease of life, with Richarlison’s value within the squad bound to increase should Kane move on, even if another signing does come in.
For Richarlison, it would be a case of easing the transition, and Postecoglou will hope the forward’s hat-trick in the 5-1 friendly win over Lion City Sailors in Singapore on Wednesday is a sign of things to come.
Richy seals his hat-trick in style
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) July 26, 2023
“He’s always in the right areas,” Postecoglou said. “I’ve really got a lot of time for him and he’s one of the players I’m really looking forward to working with. You try to picture your players playing the football you want to play and I certainly think he can.”
Spurs top scorers in 2022-23
- Harry Kane – 32
- Son Heung-min – 14
- Rodrigo Bentancur – 6
- Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg – 5
- Pedro Porro – 3
- Richarlison – 3
Sign Dusan Vlahovic
Among the strikers seemingly stuck in transfer limbo is Juventus’ Dusan Vlahovic, a reported back-up option for Bayern if they cannot sign Kane, but also attracting interest from Chelsea as well.
The moving parts here not only involve Kane and Vlahovic, but also Chelsea’s Romelu Lukaku, and arguably stretches to Kylian Mbappe’s own future given PSG will be searching for alternatives if the France captain leaves this summer.
So in short, Spurs would face competition for Vlahovic, the 23-year-old Serb who they had reportedly looked to sign from Fiorentina two summers ago.
In January 2022 the striker was then sold to Juventus for £66.6m, and in the 18 months since Vlahovic has scored 23 goals in 63 appearances, including 10 in 27 Serie A appearances last season.
Vlahovic is now said to be open to a move, but his wage demands have proved a stumbling block for Chelsea, according to the Daily Mail, meaning Spurs could face a similar issue.
3 alternatives to Dusan Vlahovic
The potential striker merry-go-round goes beyond even the aforementioned names, and could involve a trio that Spurs may view as strong competition to Richarlison for the starting No 9 role.
Search for Goncalo Ramos or Randal Kolo Muani, and Manchester United will autofill into Google’s search bar, with the pair reportedly options for United if (time to name another striker…) Rasmus Hojlund talks break down over Atalanta’s asking price.
Ramos, 22, is also attracting interest from PSG after scoring 27 goals across all competitions for Benfica last season. He also memorably replaced Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal’s starting line-up at the World Cup for the knockout stages last year, making an instant impact with a hat-trick in the 6-1 win over Switzerland in the last 16.
Kolo Muani, meanwhile, scored 23 goals in 46 games for Eintracht Frankfurt last season, and came up against Spurs twice in the Champions League group stages, drawing a blank on both occasions. The 24-year-old was however crucial to Frankfurt’s run to the DFB-Pokal final, scoring six times in the previous rounds before they lost the showpiece to RB Leipzig 2-0.
Finally, Evan Ferguson, the 18-year-old Brighton forward who is turning heads and has been reportedly identified as a 2024 transfer target for both Spurs and United.
Spurs could accelerate that interest if Kane leaves, but the likelihood is that Brighton will demand more for the Republic of Ireland forward than the amount Spurs are likely to get for Kane.
Ferguson has been hailed as “special” by Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi, who says the club are “lucky” to have him, while he also believes the teenager can become one of the best strikers in the Premier League.
Once more, then, Brighton face losing a player to a Big Six side, but as we have learned already, they will be no pushovers during negotiations. Levy could well meet his match.
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