Who Will Be Tottenham’s ‘Special’ Striker In This Summer’s Transfers?

The return of the self-styled ‘Special One’ at Stamford Bridge raises the question of who will be Tottenham’s ‘special one’ this summer in terms of signing a new striker.

Will Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor be replaced this summer? [Photo: Jav The_DoC_66]Every Tottenham fan I know has been urging the club to sign a class striker for at least the past 18 months. They see that as the key to enabling Spurs to break into the top four and be contenders to win silverware. Strikers are expected to score goals and unfortunately in the last five months of the season Jermain Defoe and Emmanuel Adebayor  managed only 7 goals between them. Not a satisfactory return from two international strikers. As every transfer window passes fans become more frustrated at the lack of a signing for the one area of the team where they see a major deficiency.

So Who Will Be that Special Striker?

The signing of a striker can bring a sense of anticipation and excitement as happened when Jurgen Klinsmann arrived in the summer of 1994. Similarly with the arrival of Robbie Keane in 2002 and Dimitar Berbatov four years later. There was a similar sense of excitement when Sergei Rebrov joined in 2000 although unfortunately that didn’t last long.

Rumours have thrown up a number of players who are supposedly on Tottenham’s radar:

The Experienced Option:

David Villa is expected to leave Barcelona this summer creating interest from a number of clubs. The Spanish international striker is 31 years of age and has scored 53 goals in 88 games for his country making him Spain’s all-time record goalscorer. A prolific goalscorer throughout his club career in Spain he has scored 281 goals including 47 in three seasons with Barcelona. He missed most of season 2011-12 after breaking his leg but returned last season to score 15 goals in 39 appearances.

The speculation has been that Villa would be leaving Barcelona this summer but recent comments from the player have raised uncertainty – that he would make any decision on his future after the Confederations Cup and that he was content to remain in Spain. He was reported in an article in the Daily Mail,

"“We’ll need to analyse many things during the summer and then we’ll see……I have a contract with Barca and I’ve always said that I’m very happy here.”"

Villa would be a short-term signing by Daniel Levy with Spurs possibly getting a couple of years from him.

Leandro Damiao has been a target for Spurs for the past number of transfer windows but the clubs have never been able to complete negotiations to bring the transfer about. Will Internacional release him this summer or will they require Damiao to remain until the end of their season?

Christian Benteke has had an outstanding season with troubled Aston Villa. His goals did most to ease his club away from relegation in the final few matches with 19 goals from 34 Premier League appearances in his first season in English football. He signed from Genk last summer and has made 14 appearances for Belgium and scored 6 goals. The 22 year old is expected to attract much attention from Premier League clubs with Arsenal and Liverpool also interested.

Roberto Soldado has had three seasons with Valencia scoring 60 goals in 101 appearances. The 28 year old is a Spanish international but such is the competition for places in the Spanish national team he has only made 7 appearances scoring 4 goals. He started at Real Madrid and had two seasons with Getafe before joining Valencia.

Alvaro Negredo will be 28 in August and has spent four season with Sevilla scoring 70 goals in 139 games. A Spanish international with 6 goals from 14 games. Another striker at just over 6 ft, he has the experience to cope with the demands of the Premier League.

Jackson Martinez is reported in the Portuguese press to be attracting the attention of Spurs. The 26-year old Columbian striker has scored 26 goals in 30 appearances in his first season with Porto having signed last summer. A tall striker, he was described by Tim Vickery as,

"“An out-and-out goalscorer, a front-to-goal centre-forward who can finish off both feet.”"

The Younger Option

Rodrigo who was born in Brazil but has played for Spain at Under-21 and Under-23 level is a young player who is interesting Spurs. A striker, he plays for Benfica and is 22 years of age. In 2010-11, having signed for Benfica he had a season long loan with Bolton Wanderers but only scored one goal.

Ante Rebic is 19 years old and a powerful forward who is an U21 international for Croatia. He has 10 goals in 27 games for RNK Split this season.

Final Thoughts:

• Spanish strikers often prefer to remain in Spain’s La Liga rather than move into the Premier League.
• It’s always difficult to know how young players will develop and after a good first season will they be able to maintain that level or will other teams discover their weaknesses.
• Tottenham and Daniel Levy have had troubled negotiations with Internacional, Porto and Sevilla in previous transfer windows. Will that make them more difficult to negotiate with this time around?

Who Do You Want Spurs To Sign?