Tottenham Hotspur are in a relegation battle, and Igor Tudor has wasted no time with pleasantries since taking over from Thomas Frank as he drills this brutal truth into the squad.
After being dispatched by Arsenal on his first match at the helm, the Spurs boss said that he never taken on a tougher challenge, with a collapse into the second tier sure to have catastrophic consequences for the Londoners.
16th in the Premier League and falling ever closer to the relegation zone, Tottenham need to make a change, and though he scored in the north London derby, Randal Kolo Muani likely isn’t the one to turn things around at number nine.
Why Spurs must get rid of Kolo Muani
We’re a long way away from the days of Harry Kane leading the line at Tottenham. The club record scorer has left a gaping hole at the spearhead which has not yet been filled in.
Dominic Solanke is a talented and powerful centre-forward, but fitness levels have lowered him into murky waters since leaving Bournemouth and signing for Spurs in an initial £55m deal. He’s back, but Tudor favoured Kolo Muani for his first match in charge.
Kolo Muani, 27, has ebbed and flowed in recent years but he is still a high-quality forward, fast and dynamic. On loan from Paris Saint-Germain, he bagged his first Premier League goal last weekend, making it six strikes from 12 matches under Tudor’s management, having played for the Croatian coach at Juventus last season.
There is no obligation to buy within Kolo Muani’s contract at the club, but that doesn’t mean that that door hasn’t been left ajar. Given that PSG signed the France international from Eintracht Frankfurt for around £71m, any future pursuit that the Lilywhites might chase up would come at a high financial cost.
Solanke is returning to form after injury, so perhaps that isn’t the best course to take, especially when considering that the Londoners have a host of talented academy forwards angling for a spot.
One youngster in particular has the potential to play a part in Spurs’ first team, but that won’t come until next season as he’s currently out on loan in the Championship.
Spurs’ “Harry Kane regen” could end Kolo Muani’s stay
Kolo Muani had angled for a departure from Tottenham in January; suitors in Italy were keen on landing him for the remainder of the campaign. However, injuries have seeped across every corner of N17, and letting such a player leave would have been disastrous.
That said, Kolo Muani must be allowed to leave at the end of the term, with sporting director Johan Lange not even engaging in discussions over a possible permanent transfer.
The pathway to the first team must be blocked for the talented strikers who are more than capable of serving as Solanke’s understudy, and in Will Lankshear, Spurs’ future manager might just find the perfect option.
Lankshear, 20, is currently playing out the season with Oxford United, and he has scored six goals from 35 appearances. On face value, this isn’t anything to write home about, but Lankshear’s strength and awareness and anticipation for one of the division’s lower strugglers emphasise his potential.
After all, he’s been described as a “Harry Kane regen” by one scout, having emulated the England legend by leaving Arsenal’s academy for Tottenham’s when in his youth, then going on to foster his potential across a series of loan stints.
A number nine who exists to finish build-up sequences, Lankshear is a naturally gifted finisher whose strength is suggestive of a throwback style of play. He’s not without a modern twang, though, averaging 0.7 key passes per game, effectively meaning that he links up regularly with those around him and creates for his teammates.
A key pass is a pass that directly leads to a shot at the opponent’s goal.
Oxford are not exactly the most free-flowing team in the Championship and Lankshear averages less than 20 touches per game, so this is a glowing endorsement of his potential for a team like Tottenham.
Most impressive is the prospect’s physicality. Lankshear is young but he’s powerful and strong, a stocky frame seeing him withstand the harsh conditions of the second tier.
Could Lankshear end up emulating someone like Kane? Such talk is premature, but there’s no question that he’s got the potential to play a significant role at Tottenham, and keeping Kolo Muani around next year would only hinder him.
The situation is dire, but that’s not to say that Spurs don’t have a road out of their current mess.
|
Tottenham’s All-time Record Scorers |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Apps |
Goals |
|
Harry Kane |
435 |
280 |
|
Jimmy Greaves |
376 |
266 |
|
Bobby Smith |
316 |
211 |
|
Heung-min Son |
454 |
173 |
|
Martin Chivers |
350 |
167 |
They need to end the worries around their place in the English top flight. Tottenham are one of the biggest clubs in England, and while a youngster like Lankshear would stand a stronger chance of securing a place in Tottenham’s senior squad next season if they fell into the Championship, he has something Kane-esque about him and needs to play at the highest level.
Tudor can bin Dragusin for “the closest” thing Spurs “have to Ledley King”
Tudor needs to sort Tottenham’s porous defence out quickly.