Federico Chiesa alternatives Tottenham could realistically sign
After being installed as Tottenham’s head coach last summer, Ange Postecoglou could not have entered a more challenging position.
The former Celtic manager, who guided the Bhoys to back-to-back Scottish championships, would soon lose the talismanic figure and lethal goalscorer Harry Kane to Bayern Munich.
Spurs would finish a respectable fifth place in the Premier League, although their leading marksman, Son Heung-min, posted 17 goals, the fewest returned by Tottenham’s top scorer since the 2013/14 campaign when Emmanuel Adebayor netted 14 times. The following nine seasons would be dominated by Kane, with his poorest output being 24 (2018/19 and 2019/20).
Understandably, the Lilywhites will be looking for a striker. However, this particular market can be competitive, and they’ve been linked with Juventus forward Federico Chiesa, whose agent has reportedly arrived in London for talks. Conversations aren’t a guarantee for a deal, and even if the Italian doesn’t make the switch, he’s not an out-and-out No.9, so arguably not where Spurs should be focusing their budget.
Here are five alternatives Spurs could look at.
Jonathan David
With just a year left on his contract, Jonathan David has been a top Premier League target for several transfer windows, with Spurs continually mentioned as a frontrunner. This is understandable, given his exploits in the French league over the last few seasons.
He was second only to Kylian Mbappé for combined goals and assists among strikers in Ligue 1 last season, with 19 and four, respectively. The Canada international hits over half of his shots on target in all competitions and again in Europe’s top-five leagues.
David — who boasts tremendous pace and the ability to play as a No. 9 or behind a main striker — was second only to Jean-Philippe Mateta in terms of shot accuracy, with 60.5% of his Ligue 1 shots hitting the mark. Reports say Lille wants €50m, but with only a year left on his contract, that seems optimistic.
Artem Dovbyk
Dovbyk scored a remarkable 24 goals in 36 La Liga games last season as Girona — Manchester City’s sister club — finished third, subsequently attaining Champions League football for the first time in their history.
Understandably, there’s now competition for the Ukrainian’s signature. Among those in the chase are AC Milan, who moved in his direction after Joshua Zirkzee chose Manchester United, according to Sky Italia. Meanwhile, reports in Spain have linked him with Atlético Madrid and Napoli.
It’s hard to see him playing under Pep Guardiola at City. Then again, would his bosses be keen on him playing for a Premier League rival, especially when you consider he boasted the third-highest xG (23.87) in the top five leagues behind only Erling Haaland (29.04) and Kane (23.9)?
However, it’s worth acknowledging that City haven’t stopped doing business with their fellow top-six clubs; you only have to look at the red half of North London.
Santiago Gimenez
Another forward who has been heavily tipped to make a Premier League move after successive seasons in which he scored more than 20 goals for Feyenoord under Arne Slot’s tutelage. His former boss has swapped De Kuip for Anfield, and the Mexican marksman could follow him to England.
However, Tottenham remain firmly in the running for his signature, especially after he was spotted watching them, and they’re reportedly looking for a young striker they can develop.
Despite being highly rated by scouts and sporting directors, and his relative affordability makes him a likely candidate to switch over, the record that precedes him for players jumping from the Eredivisie to the Premier League is not a great one in recent years. Spurs found that out firsthand with Vincent Janssen.
That said, Gimenez’s xG is a modest 26.39, but he’s now much more of a provider. Instead, he prefers to lead the line, play on the shoulder of the last defender, and is dangerous in the box, even with his head, which could theoretically benefit Son and those around him.
And remember, one of the reasons Jansson struggled was being stuck behind Kane and only seeing limited time on the pitch. That wouldn’t be a problem for Gimenez.
Dominic Solanke
Staying closer to home, Dominic Solanke reportedly has a release clause that can be activated only by the “big six” clubs, allegedly for a sum of £65m. Under the guidance of Andoni Iraola, the Bournemouth centre-forward enjoyed his most prolific Premier League campaign, having bagged 19 goals across 38 appearances — a record that extends to 21 goals across all competitions.
Inevitable speculation has been made linking him to Eddie Howe at Newcastle, given that they worked together at Bournemouth, but Alexander Isak is the first choice at St. James’ Park. As for Spurs, if they don’t get their number one target, perhaps Solanke enters the frame.
It never worked out at Chelsea and Liverpool, but he was much younger then and needed a sufficient amount of playing time. Solanke — unlucky not to be part of England’s squad at Euro 2024 — was only behind Haaland and Ollie Watkins for non-penalty expected goals last season.
Ivan Toney
Here is one player Spurs have been heavily linked with since Kane moved on, but to say Ivan Toney has many suitors would be an understatement. Had the England international not been serving a ban for much of last season, he would surely have already been at a club chasing Champions League football.
In January, Toney’s valuation at Brentford was £100 million, which has dropped somewhat as he enters the final year of his contract with the West London club. They’ve been preparing to lose him this summer, having acquired Igor Thiago from Club Brugge in Belgium. Toney could be available for as little as £30m, which is a massive bonus given Postecoglou’s need to strengthen other areas of his team. However, that valuation could change given Thiago is set to miss an extended period with a meniscus injury.
