Which Young Striker Should Tottenham Sign?
Clinton N’Jie (21) – Olympique Lyon
What he’s done recently
The 21-year-old Cameroon international didn’t have a very good 2013-14 season.
He only managed 3 appearances as he was left off the squad entirely. But even after that happened, when he was given a chance to play, he preformed admirably by appearing in 33 games, scoring 8 goals and having 9 assists in all competitions. Clearly the talent is there and he showed it this past season.
For a look as to what he did with his country, N’Jie has made 8 appearances, scored 3 goals and has 1 assist with Cameroon.
Ever since Lyon started playing him, Clinton N’Jie has rewarded his manager’s faith for both club and country by scoring goals and assisting others to score instead.
How would he fit with Tottenham
Along with Saido Berahino, he would become just the second oldest (by two years compared to Martial and Werner) striker on this four man list. At the same time, he would be the same age as Harry Kane.
Because Lyon play in a 4-3-1-2 formation, Alexandre Lacazette is Lyon’s number one striker making Clinton N’Jie the secondary striker. Despite this, he looks comfortable in this position as his numbers suggest that he’s still a threat.
If applied to Mauricio Pochettino’s 4-2-3-1 formation, N’Jie could either play out wide or up top while dropping Harry Kane into the number ten role. At the same time, if he has to be a backup — while it wouldn’t be a good move for him if this were to happen — it’s the next best thing for him as he’ll be adjusting to a new league. It happened with Lyon in his first year as he was barely played. The chances of that repeating with Pochettino is unlikely in the Premier League, as Clinton N’Jie could play in cup competitions and the Europa League.
Can Tottenham afford him
A reported bid of £7 million was offered according to the Daily Star but other than that nothing else has come from this rumor. It’s still to be determined if anything formally was done between Tottenham and Lyon in the first place.
With that said, if this bid is in fact true, then £7 million it would be a steal for Tottenham to sign the Cameroon international. Although he only has one full year of experience while playing in Ligue 1, Pochettino needs reinforcements and he already fits the checklist of a young player with potential and talent.
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