De Zerbi might bench Kolo Muani & Solanke for “Defoe-esque” Spurs star

Roberto De Zerbi will likely be dealing with the identical problem that plagued the likes of Ange Postecoglou, Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor earlier than him at Tottenham Hotspur – how can this group be revived within the post-Harry Kane period?

For therefore lengthy, whether or not it was taken with no consideration or not, Kane was the talisman and figurehead at N17, departing in 2023 because the membership’s all-time prime scorer, after virtually a decade of prolific reliability in entrance of purpose.

It stays head-scratching to suppose that Daniel Levy and co allowed the England skipper to go away for Bayern Munich with out signing a direct alternative, with it taking a yr for Dominic Solanke to reach on a club-record deal from Bournemouth.

Solanke’s expertise is obvious, nevertheless it merely hasn’t been seen sufficient, with a brand new resolution needing to be present in that centre-forward division, be it within the coming weeks and within the long-term.

Why a brand new striker must be Spurs’ precedence

Within the case of Solanke, it has been a story of disruption throughout the final two years or so in north London, by no means really in a position to get going following his arrival from the south coast.

In 2024/25, for example, his early impression was delayed by an ankle problem, whereas a lot of the second half of the season was hampered by a knee harm, making certain he scored simply three Premier League objectives between January and Could that yr.

Whereas the 28-year-old did show key in Spurs’ knockout stage run within the Europa League, his return of 9 objectives again within the top-flight made for poor studying, having fallen behind Brennan Johnson by way of the highest scorer on the membership final time period.

As for the present marketing campaign, it has been additional harm woe for the ex-Chelsea and Liverpool man, scoring simply six instances, solely three of which have come within the league.

In his absence, on-loan Frenchman, Randal Kolo Muani, hasn’t fared significantly better, the 2022 World Cup finalist having truly been outscored by Solanke, regardless of making 34 appearances as compared with the Englishman’s 17.

The 27-year-old’s solely league purpose got here below his former Juventus boss, Tudor, within the north London derby, with there little suggestion {that a} everlasting keep will likely be on the playing cards this summer season.

New boss De Zerbi will, after all, have the polarising Richarlison to show to between now and the tip of the season, though the Italian might properly discover one other resolution to this striker saga as an alternative.

​​​​​​​De Zerbi might unleash “Defoe-esque” Spurs star

Within the case of Richarlison, it has been a good but unspectacular season in entrance of purpose, with the Brazil worldwide having scored ten instances in all competitions, 9 of which have come within the Premier League.

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A brand new centre-forward may very well be a precedence for Roberto De Zerbi at Spurs this summer season.

As he proved at Anfield, the previous Everton talisman can ship when wanted, but like the boys above, there was no sense of consistency in a Spurs shirt, scoring simply 25 league objectives in 4 seasons now within the capital.

De Zerbi does have earlier for getting the very best out of strikers, be it Evan Ferguson or Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, albeit with maybe his most fruitful relationship again at Brighton and Hove Albion having been with the extra cell, dynamic quantity 9 that was Joao Pedro.

The Brazilian’s 20 objectives in 2023/24 ensured he was truly the very best scorer throughout the 46-year-old’s time on the helm on the Amex, regardless of De Zerbi having initially taken cost a yr earlier.

Pedro’s efficient spell main the road might then give hope to younger Mathys Tel as De Zerbi’s subsequent centre-forward challenge, with the younger Frenchman nonetheless ready to actually make his mark in north London.

Certainly, a lot of his work thus far has come off the left flank, having seemed significantly spectacular within the 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid, registering the help for Kolo Muani’s first-half header.

That second of magic did truly include Tel drifting over to the correct, showcasing why he should not essentially be confined to 1 flank or the opposite, as an alternative allowed the liberty to roam, performing as a hyperlink man from a central beginning berth.

The 20-year-old has scored simply six objectives throughout the final 18 months for the Lilywhites, after beforehand scoring 16 objectives in 83 video games again at Bayern Munich, following his transfer to Germany from Stade Rennais.

In 2023/24, for example, Tel scored ten objectives in all competitions regardless of beginning simply ten video games, having largely been lowered to an impression function each for the Bavarian facet and now at Spurs.

It is solely been seen fleetingly, however there’s a potential diamond there, with presenter Ben Bowman hailing his goalscoring means as “[Jermain] Defoe-esque” within the current previous.

The likes of Kolo Muani and Solanke simply aren’t chopping it proper now, and Tel – whose current groin harm isn’t deemed to be critical – may very well be the cell, athletic resolution that De Zerbi is in search of.

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