After a middling season in which they ended up finishing fifth in the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur decided to splash the cash on a new centre-forward.
Daniel Levy and Co went out and spent a club-record £65m on then-Bournemouth star Dominic Solanke, who had just racked up a haul of 25 goal involvements in all competition.
Now, while the Englishman has not been poor this year, his eight goals in 25 league games is a far cry from the often inhuman exploits of Harry Kane that fans were so used to seeing in campaigns prior.
So, with that in mind, it’s not surprising that we have seen reports in the last couple of months linking the North Londoners to another striker ahead of this summer, including one who’s won comparisons to the club’s all-time top scorer.
Spurs’ striker search
Before getting to the free-scoring dynamo in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other marksmen linked with Spurs in recent weeks, like Liam Delap and Daizen Maeda.
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The former reportedly has a £30m release clause in his current deal, and considering he’s scored 12 goals and provided two assists in 34 Premier League games for a terrible Ipswich Town side, he could prove to be a very savvy signing.
Likewise, while the latter is playing north of the border, he’s been nothing short of spectacular this season, racking up a simply unreal tally of 45 goal involvements in 48 games, and once again, with a relatively modest price tag of £25m, he may be too good a deal to miss out on.
However, Daniel Levy and Co might be after more of a sure bet to lead the line next year, which would explain some of the links we have seen to Jonathan David in recent weeks.
If the North Londoners do act on this supposed interest, then the good news is that the Canadian international wouldn’t cost them a penny in transfer fees, as his contract with LOSC Lille is set to expire at the end of the season.
It could still be a complicated transfer to get done, but David is certainly someone Spurs should be doing all they can to sign, especially as he’s won comparisons to Kane.
How David compares to Kane
Before getting into some of the other reasons why David could be looked at as a young Kane, it’s worth examining where this comparison has come from.
Well, in this case, it stems from FBref, which looks at players in similar positions across Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one and, in this instance, has concluded that the Englishman is the seventh most similar forward to the Lille gem.
The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, progressive carries, goals per shot and shot on target key and live passes, carries and more, all per 90.
|
David & Kane |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Statistics per 90 |
David |
Kane |
|
Progressive Carries |
1.28 |
1.12 |
|
Goals per Shot |
0.17 |
0.15 |
|
Goals per Shot on Target |
0.37 |
0.36 |
|
Key Passes |
1.28 |
1.31 |
|
Live Passes |
22.3 |
23.5 |
|
Carries |
17.9 |
19.6 |
|
Ball Recoveries |
2.26 |
2.27 |
|
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Season |
||
Furthermore, while we wouldn’t want to suggest that the Canadian international is as good as the Lilywhites legend – very few players in world football are – he has shown a level of consistency up top that mirrors the 31-year-old’s.
For example, since the start of 21/22, the New York-born monster, whom journalist Tony Marinaro dubbed “one of the best strikers in the world,” has scored 96 goals and provided 25 assists in just 182 club appearances.
What makes that continued level of output that much more impressive is that it’s come in a traditional top-five league, whereas some of the other aforementioned strikers linked with a move to Tottenham have thrived in comparatively weaker leagues.
Finally, as the England captain did in N17, the “mind-blowing” goalscorer, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has shown a surprising level of loyalty to Les Dogues, as, thanks to his consistently brilliant numbers season on season, he probably could have left earlier than this year but did not.
Ultimately, everything from his underlying numbers and raw output to his commitment to the cause reminds us of a younger Kane, and should Spurs want to supercharge their attack next season, they’ll do what they can to sign David in the summer.
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