Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has made a clear statement of intent by setting out his desire to sign a striker before the end of the month.
The winter transfer window closes on January 31 and Spurs are in need of attacking reinforcements, with leading marksman Harry Kane sidelined for the foreseeable future following hamstring surgery.
SEE MORE: Harry Kane return date unrealistic, suggests injury specialist
Spurs having to deal with a mid-season Kane injury is nothing new. In previous campaigns, former boss Mauricio Pochettino has filled the void using players already at his disposal – namely Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Fernando Llorente.
But with Llorente having left the club last summer, Mourinho is short of options and keen to recruit.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Saturday’s Premier League clash with Watford, Mourinho said: “Do we need a striker? Yeah, if possible, yes.
“But it has to be a positive situation for us, so in this moment we have attacking players that are very good.
“Son, Lucas, Lamela, Lo Celso, Dele Alli – of course they are very good, but we miss that target man.
“So if it’s possible, we are doing everything possible and it’s not easy but we are trying to add that player to the squad.”
Cape Verde international Ze Luis has been cited – by The Telegraph – as a possible loan solution, while Spurs were named by The Guardian earlier this month as a runner in the £30m race for AC Milan frontman Krzysztof Piatek.
Should Mourinho’s mission to bolster his squad fail, we could well see much more of 17-year-old Troy Parrott in 2020.
Parrott’s first-team experience so far amounts to just five minutes in the Premier League and slightly over an hour in September’s Carabao Cup humiliation at Colchester.
But the teenage Ireland ace has netted six goals in four UEFA Youth League games this term.
There’s a very interesting article by Poch while still manager where he says he was fed up with he and his staff having to fight fires, he also says he was no longer willing to have his staff suffer emotional abuse. I have never seen anyone refer to this interview and at the time I thought it was pretty incendiary stuff. If anyone can find a link to it please post it on the blog as it would be a useful insight to what was about to happen.
If we get anyone they will not be all that and vastly overpay ,so well managed by levy. Kane also will be knackered long before he is 30 , close to abuse…
A seventeen year old in a team under severe pressure and underperforming, up against beasts of defenders, that is asking for trouble. After the needless injuries to Kane and Sissoko this would confirm for me that this is a club that doesn’t care about the welfare of its players.