Jose Mourinho hasn’t minced his words at all, the man needs a striker.
With the absence of Harry Kane and Heung Min-Son for their next match against Chelsea, a familiar problem has arisen. Last season, Tottenham went through a horrible run of form without the pair, and now could risk the same thing again. However, finding a striker to come in is going to be difficult.
A Jose Mourinho striker is physical, clinical, and able to drop deep to collect the ball if necessary.
In this case, however, they’ll need to be happy to play second fiddle to Harry Kane. The Spurs striker is, when fit, arguably the finest striker in England, so dislodging him will be virtually impossible. So, who fits the profile of a Jose Mourinho striker and be happy as a rotation option?
Danny Ings of Southampton is among those to have been linked. However, it’s hard to see him being happy with a bench spot, given his idol status on the south coast. However, one Premier League striker who could fit the bill is Burnley’s Chris Wood.
While, certainly not the fashionable choice, he could provide exactly what Mourinho is looking for.
At 6’3″, he has more than enough about him physically to be the hold-up striker that Mourinho loves so much. However, Wood is not just a battering ram, someone to whack the ball up to.
He has scored 10 goals or more in each of the previous three seasons to this one. The Kiwi has also overperformed compared to his expected goals in the last two seasons, a sign of a gifted finisher.
There are also links with the likes of Napoli’s Arkadiusz Milik, this move is also a suitable one.
Arriving at Napoli from Ajax, he has shown his ability in fits and starts, but his career has been hampered by injury. For the last three seasons, he has averaged 0.73 goals per 90 minutes. He, like Wood has also outperformed his expected goals as well, so a gifted finisher. At 25-years-old he is younger than Wood, with more scope for development.
He has also spent time as a second fiddle before, behind Dries Mertens at Napoli. That with his injury history may make him more receptive to starting his Spurs career as a rotation option.
For Tottenham to truly fulfill Jose Mourinho’s ambitions, these are the kind of players who need to be targeted. Of course, there are further challenges facing this Spurs squad, however, signing someone like Wood or Milik would make them far more prepared for them.
