Tottenham Hotspur‘s problems in the final third have been so well documented that I’m sure even Osama Bin Laden knew of them in his hideout in Pakistan; these problems have caused Spurs to be linked with every player under the sun, so much so that I wouldn’t be surprised tomorrow to be reading “’Arry plots £10 million raid for Dean Windass”.
The latest striker to be reportedly on Redknapp’s radar is £12m rated Espanyol’s Pablo Osvaldo. (Don’t worry, I thought the same thing as you, “who?”)
Osvaldo is of duel nationality, Italian and Argentinian, an incredible blend of nationalities with a sound footballing pedigree. After averaging a goal every three games for Argentinian second divison club Atletico Huracan, the forward joined Serie B side Atalanta. He earned only three appearances but still managed to bag himself a goal, yet after this relatively disappointing season Atalanta agreed a co-ownership deal with fellow Serie B side Lecce, and Osvaldo achieved a very healthy 18 goals in 31 games, catching the attention of Fiorentina, who signed the Italian Argentine for 4.5 million Euro’s.
Osvaldo repaid them instantly with a brace on his debut, however, after two seasons and only five goals later, Osvaldo was on the move again to fellow Italian side Bologna, where he failed to even beat his Fiorentina tally of five goals and was quickly loaned out to La Liga outfit Espanyol.
Finally, after years of living out of a suitcase, Osvaldo found his ‘footballing home’; seven goals in 20 games meant that Espanyol snapped up the chance of a permanent move for the striker and the former Lecce ace continued his loan form on, so far this season having scored 11 goals in 20 games. This level of quality and consistency is why the boys down White Hart Lane are said to be interested in obtaining his services.
Should media reports be true (cough cough) that Osvaldo is all set for a move to White Hart Lane, where would he fit, if at all, into Harry Redknapp’s starting eleven? Tottenham’s frontline is no doubt in need of a shake-up, and with Redknapp apparently at the end of his tether with his forwards, especially Pavlyuchenko, who may be collecting his P45 very soon, there is definitely place for Osvaldo at ‘The Lane.’ Spurs’ manager, though, isn’t looking for another ten goal-a-season striker, and, let’s be honest, the stats demonstrate that Osvaldo is merely that.
