The £15m lethal striker who could boost Spurs’ unexpected Premier League title challenge

Another day, another transfer rumour – this time concerning table-topping Tottenham Hotspur and the possibility that they might want another striker to help fill the void left by the departed Harry Kane and to help them to sustain their challenge for the title, or at least make sure they keep setting a pace to stay in the top four.

The striker in question is VfB Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy – and it’s easy to see why the Guinea international has suddenly found his name cropping up in the gossip columns. He’s hit 13 goals in just seven games, putting him five ahead of Kane in the Bundesliga scoring charts, and his profile has skyrocketed.

Technically sound, physically impressive and with obvious predatory instincts, Guirassy has been one of the most impressive strikers in Europe over the first couple of months of the new season and as a theoretically affordable central striker – gossip columns seem to have plucked a figure of about €17m out of the aether – he’s understandably in demand.

The fact that he’s got decent link-up play in his game as well as the capacity to bag a bundle of goals also makes it clear why Spurs might be keen – Kane’s ability to quarterback their attacking play as well as score hatfuls of goals will be hard to replicate, but on current evidence Guirassy can cover at least some of the ground. But would that be what this new model Tottenham want, or would trying to shoehorn a copycat Kane into the starting eleven represent a regression to a tactical system that they have worked past already?

To start with the obvious – Spurs could do with another forward, even if it’s no more than a depth option. Son Heung-Min has deputised superbly at a central striker in the past few matches but is not a natural in the position, and Ange Postecoglou may well want to find a way to get him back to his natural home. Richarlison, who has been playing wide left of late, has been up and down in form and while he’s put in good performances against Sheffield United and Liverpool lately, he was also responsible for some unfortunate misses on Saturday against Luton Town.

And while the combination has ultimately worked well enough so far to put the team on top of the entire division, it’s fair to observe that there’s a lack of depth behind the obvious starters. The only player in the rest of the first team who is a recognised striker is Alejo Véliz, a young Argentine striker who is hugely talented but lacks experience.

So there’s a solid argument for a new centre forward, someone who can help to take the strain if either Son or Richarlison get injured or go off the boil. But should they be looking for someone with a similar profile to Kane?

A lot of Postecoglou’s success has come down to both the quick movement of the forward line, both on and off the ball, and any centre-forward they sign has to fit the bill. Guirassy, happily, is quite quick, although he isn’t among the very fastest in the game. He’s also not got a great track record when it comes to turning the ball over, meaning he’s more of a willing presser than an effective one – in other words, he looks like a decent fit for the broad strategic sweeps of Postecoglou’s set-up, but not necessarily an exceptional one.

The other reason Spurs’ attack has been performing so well can simply be summed up in two words – James Maddison. He has effectively replaced Kane as the team’s creative heartbeat, taking up the positions between attack and midfield that the now-Bayern Munich striker did and operating in the same spaces extremely effectively. Signing a striker who tries to operate in those same half-spaces could cause an awkward tactical conflict, potentially limiting Maddison’s ability to exploit those areas.

What Spurs most likely need, then, is a striker who isn’t looking to drop back to gain possession but is looking to exploit the channels between the wings and the haunts of the traditional number nine between the central defenders. Guirassy isn’t really that sort of player – he does like to come deep to pick up the ball and he tends to stay very central when in and around the area.

This doesn’t mean that Guirassy can’t adapt to a different tactical scheme, and it doesn’t mean that, at something like €17m, he wouldn’t be worth every penny. He can score goals, apparently in droves – although it’s worth noting that his current scoring rate is exceptional compared to the strikerate he’s managed across the rest of his career in France and Germany. At 27 he is either a late bloomer or simply playing at his absolute best in a team that suits him perfectly. If it’s the latter, there is no guarantee Spurs would be able to get the same performances out of him, although the financial risk is relatively low and the reward high.

So do Spurs need someone else in their front line? Yes, probably, at the very least as a depth option. Should it be Serhou Guirassy – maybe, but it’s not clear-cut, and perhaps an alternative at left-forward who fits Postecolgou’s plans like a glove would be a better option. Or maybe Guirassy would be a well-priced, efficient striker who can be made to work with Son and Maddison and Richarlison in a way that takes nothing away from the team but simply adds a ton of goals. At the sort of prices being discussed in the German press, we wouldn’t blame Spurs for giving it a go.