Tottenham Hotspur made up for their opening weekend blunder last Monday with an incredible display of attacking football against Everton at home on Saturday afternoon.
Ange Postecoglou's side were under plenty of pressure, but they rose to the occasion and reminded the rest of the league just how good they can be when at their free-flowing best.
What made it even more impressive was that they were without their new star striker, Dominic Solanke, who could be out until after the international break with an ankle injury.
It's not an ideal situation and highlights how light the club are in certain areas, although with the transfer window still open for another few days, Daniel Levy still has time to strengthen Postecoglou's attacking options.
The club wouldn't even have to look that hard, as they were linked with an ideal signing earlier this month, although the player in question would probably be bad news for Richarlison's game time.
Why Spurs signed Solanke
Now, for as wildly entertaining as Spurs were at points last season and as many goalscoring opportunities as they created through Postecoglou's attacking brand of football, they only scored the seventh most goals in the league.
Worse yet, according to Understat, they underperformed their open-play expected goals figure by a massive 5.55, a problem that needed attention if the team were going to take another step forward this season.
So, once the window opened a few months ago, Levy and Co went to work looking for a new number nine to help them make the most of the chances they create, eventually settling on Bournemouth's Solanke.
They eventually paid the Cherries a whopping £65m for the Englishman. While that is an enormous sum of money, it's probably justified, as in 42 appearances across all competitions last season, he found the back of the net on 21 occasions and provided four assists for good measure.
This would have made him the top goalscorer and the second most productive player overall in the Lilywhites squad last season, so it's easy to see why the North Londoners opted to break the bank to secure his services.
Appearances
42
36
31
34
Goals
21
17
12
5
Assists
4
10
4
10
Goal Involvements per Match
0.59
0.75
0.51
0.44
However, his minor ankle injury now means Postecoglou has to rely on his other attacking options, and that includes Richarlison; although, based on his performances for the club following his transfer two seasons ago, it could be time to move on from him, and the perfect upgrade has already been touted for a move to N17 this summer.
How David compares to Richarlison
Yes, the striker in question is LOSC Lille ace Jonathan David, who has been heavily linked with the Lilywhites all summer and was again linked in an article from football.london's Alasdair Gold late last week.
If Spurs did act on their interest in the Canadian international, it wouldn't require a huge sum of money either, as due to his contract expiring next summer, reports have claimed he could be available for as little as £20m.
With that said, how does he stack up to Richarlison? If he were to move to North London, it would likely be to replace the Brazilian as the backup striker, at least to start with anyway.
Unfortunately for the former Everton man, there isn't much competition at all when it comes to the pair's raw output.
For example, while the Nova Venécia-born forward was reasonably impressive last season, racking up 12 goals and four assists in 31 appearances, equating to a goal involvement every 1.93 games, he was outclassed by the Lille ace.
Appearances
47
31
Goals
26
12
Assists
9
4
Goal Involvements per Match
0.74
0.51
In his 47 appearances last season, the "mind-blowing" poacher, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored 26 goals and provided nine assists, meaning that despite playing more matches, he maintained a more impressive average of goal involvement every 1.34 games.
Moreover, like the former Watford ace, the Brooklyn-born goal machine can play in several positions from centre-forward to attacking midfield and even second-striker, suggesting that Postecoglou could supercharge his frontline by playing him alongside Solanke when he's fit again.
Ultimately, Spurs undoubtedly improved their attack by signing the Bournemouth star this summer, but his recent injury has shed light on how thin the striker position is in the squad. Therefore, Levy and Co should go out and make one more signing before the window closes and bring David to North London.
Spurs could take Maddison to new heights with late move for £50m PL star
The incredible midfielder would perfectly balance Postecoglou’s team.
ByJack Salveson HolmesAug 27, 2024