According to RMC Sport, Tottenham have made a move for prolific Nice striker Alassane Plea. Ultimately, much of the talk among our Tottenham supporters in the Transfer Tavern has been about that second striker position at the club, with neither Vincent Janssen nor Fernando Llorente doing an adequate enough job of providing back-up to main man Harry Kane.
The Breakdown
Unquestionably, 24-year-old Kane is one of the best strikers in world football at present having netted 140 goals in just 213 games for Mauricio Pochettino’s men, with his tally of 41 last term his best return in a single season during his professional career to date.
And with the Englishman continuing his fine form into this summer’s World Cup, having netted five times for Gareth Southgate’s side in their opening two group matches, it’s clear that Spurs have a huge asset in their squad, and one they will rely on to take them towards major honours in the years to come.
However, it’s imperative that the Pochettino has another striker in their ranks to call upon if and when Kane gets injured, suspended, or endures a testing run of form, and quite simply messrs Janssen and Llorente have been unable to do that in the last two years.
Yet £16.2 million-rated Plea (as per Transfermarkt) could finally be the man to not only be the ideal deputy to Kane, but to also give the England captain something to think in terms of the number one starting berth.
Ultimately, the 25-year-old former France youth international has enjoyed a fine few years at Ligue 1 side Nice, having netted 14 goals in the 2016/17 campaign for the French outfit, before bettering that last term with 21 goals and seven assists in all competitions.
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And while some will point to the prolific goal-scoring record of Janssen in the Netherlands prior to his arrival at Spurs, and indeed that of Llorente in the Premier League, they had both only really produced the goods for one season prior to their arrival – Plea has done so for the last couple.
And with adeptness at playing on the left wing, having scored seven goals from that position last term, Plea would also offer Pochettino more than just another centre forward option, thus raising the possibility of getting both he and indeed Kane in the starting eleven.
Significantly though, the 25-year-old appears to be exactly what Tottenham will want from a so-called second-choice striker – he has been prolific in the last few seasons, he has scored goals at European level, and has the versatility in playing down the left-hand-side to give the manager another attacking option.
In fact, while Kane is without doubt one the best strikers in world football, it remains to be seen how much the World Cup could take out of him ahead of the 2018/19 season, and were he struggle in the early phases of the campaign, Plea appears plenty good enough to deputise.
Thus, not only would the Frenchman be an ideal squad addition, but he also has the attacking ability to give Kane something to think about ahead of the new season.
Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!