Tottenham’s Bid to Sign Leroy Sané is Rejected
![By Daniel Kraski (Schalke 04 Training 19.01.2015) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape%2Fcover%2Fsport%2F7f67733d9dab2f5e4ae09dbcdff3534a80245d421b05b3c16ee6ecf3e64201b1.jpg "By Daniel Kraski (Schalke 04 Training 19.01.2015) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons")
Tottenham recently sent a bid to Schalke and it was rejected.
According to German media outlet, Kicker, Tottenham reportedly offered €12 million (£8.5m) to sign 19-year-old Leroy Sané from Schalke.
Submitting a bid and having it be rejected isn’t surprising as clubs around the world are trying to keep a hold of their young talented players — Tottenham are no different. After quickly dismissing Spurs’ offer, Schalke would go ahead and reach a contract extension with Leroy Sané that would keep him with the German club until 2019.
Coincidentally, after losing out on signing Anthony Martial, Monaco decided to give him an extension that also will see him remain in Spain until 2019. For Timo Werner, a bid was turned down, but no contract extension was given. Clearly it shows that Tottenham’s plan is to sign young strikers, but so far, it’s been a miss this summer.
Experience seems to be something that he values at other positions: midfielders, wingers and defenders. Signing young strikers would make sense due to the Argentine coach’s ideal of starting youth players. But there’s a problem with that method.
Here is a pro and con for each situation.
Why Signing a Young Striker Makes Sense
Looking back on Tottenham’s 2014-15 season, they fielded the youngest starting eleven in the Premier League for a majority of the season based on average age. Mauricio Pochettino promoted youth players when managing Southampton. So far that’s continued with Tottenham, and will likely continue for years to come.
Because Harry Kane is only 21-years-old, signing a veteran player would help, but if he’s sitting on the bench as a backup then it’s a waste of money and squad spot, which could go to someone else. Unless that player is only worried about winning, then a veteran striker should be fine, however that isn’t the case as it stands.
Along with Kane being young, he is the undisputed future for Tottenham. Any strikers that will be signed, young or old, will automatically be the backup. Therefore young strikers make perfect sense; they wouldn’t be upset with a lack of playing time, knowing that they’ll start in cup competitions and Europa League
Why Signing a Young Striker Makes No Sense
One obvious problem with signing young strikers to partner up with a 21-year-old is having a lack of experience at the position. Harry Kane’s debut season with Tottenham was a success. but with 51 appearances in all competitions (34 league games), there’s not much for him to teach a 19-year-old after only completing one full season.
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Even as talented as Leroy Sané, Timo Werner and Anthony Martial are, they’re coming to a different league so getting some advice would help, but even Harry Kane is still learning himself.
When teams began double or triple marking him, he struggled. Experience from veteran players should help him solve that issue. If the same thing happened to Werner, what could Kane tell the German international?
When Kevin Wimmer (22) was signed and Eric Dier (21) started it was easy to make those decisions due to the amount of experience in the backline. Everyone currently on the squad who plays in the back-four are mostly between the average age of 21-28, so there’s a good blend. If Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado are sold, Harry Kane will be relied on more heavily than he should be.
What Should Tottenham Do Then
Submitting a bid to get another striker is good knowing that there is plenty of work to be done at the center-forward position. However because Tottenham’s current bid was rejected, there’s an increasing possibility that only Emmanuel Adebayor will be sold.
He currently costs too much and wasn’t an option to play following Harry Kane’s ascension to the starting eleven. Roberto Soldado on the other hand, could stay. Not only does the Spaniard cost less, but Mauricio Pochettino had no problem giving him minutes even if he wasn’t scoring goals.
Moving forward, depending on how Tottenham do with potential strikers, there’s one option to go. Pochettino could have Harry Kane (starter), Roberto Soldado (veteran backup/experience) and a youth player (third choice striker/depth) to work with.
This would be the easiest route for Tottenham if the transfer window closes.