Tottenham Hotspur‘s search for a striker emerges after turbulent start to their campaign, which began in August with a defeat to Brentford.
After splashing out in excess of £300 million on new signings over the summer, including big-money deals for midfielders Sandro Tonali (£92.5 million) and Mateus Fernandes (£85 million), winger Sávio (£75 million), and defender Jan Paul van Hecke (£52 million), Spurs found themselves struggling near the foot of the Premier League table after going winless through their opening five games up to mid-September, collecting two points from two draws and three losses while scoring two goals.
A large portion of that summer expenditure was directed toward rebuilding the defense and midfield, leaving the squad with a difficult scenario where out-of-form Solanke and Manchester City loanee Omar Marmoush were the only recognized forward options.
Compounding the selection crisis, Richarlison was left out of Tottenham’s 25-man Premier League squad at the end of the summer window after a return to Everton collapsed on deadline day. With Richarlison sidelined and awaiting a £25 million permanent deal to depart in January, Dominic Solanke and Marmoush were left as the squad’s only senior, recognized strikers.
However, Marmoush has been utilized both wide and as a No. 10, while Solanke struggled with fitness and form after scoring only once in seven starts, leaving Spurs in a desperate scenario short of attacking firepower.
The lack of a reliable goal threat through the first quarter of this season, culminating in a loss at Leeds United, have now accelerated Spurs’ January transfer plans under manager De Zerbi.
Of the 10 goals Tottenham scored in their opening 10 Premier League outings, two came from genuine strikers, Solanke and summer signing Marmoush, with center-back Jan Paul van Hecke (2 goals) standing alone as the club’s top league scorer, creating an increasingly desperate scenario where Spurs must target a proven No. 9 in the winter window, potentially needing player sales to fund the move.
The crisis reached a tipping point following a defeat to Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday, snapping their three-match winning streak just before the November international break, where a 79th-minute goal by substitute Noah Okafor condemned Tottenham to a loss after their strikers produced nothing of note.
Analyzing the situation during an interview, former Spurs goalkeeper Brad Friedel said that while De Zerbi’s side has shown signs of progress, climbing from the foot of the table to ninth place after escaping relegation on the final day of last season, they remain severely limited by a lack of clinical finishing in front of goal.
Consequently, ITK insider Paul O’Keefe confirmed on Saturday, that “the hunt for a 9 is on” with the club ready to “go big” on the right deal, while transfer reporter Ben Jacobs reported that Tottenham have put plans in place to aggressively target a difference-making forward in the January 2027 transfer window.
Who’s on the shortlist?
To solve their central attacking dilemma under manager De Zerbi ahead of the upcoming January transfer window, Tottenham’s recruitment team has compiled a detailed shortlist of domestic and European targets to bolster a frontline currently reliant on Marmoush and the injury-prone Solanke.
Spurs have already enquired about signing Freiburg’s 23-year-old Croatian target man, Igor Matanovic, who scored 15 goals last season (11 in the Bundesliga, three in the Europa League, and one in the DFB-Pokal) and six goals in seven games early in this campaign, reaching seven goals and two assists across 12 total appearances by early November.
Tottenham retain strong interest in Bournemouth’s 20-year-old sensation, Eli Junior Kroupi, who netted 13 goals in 33 Premier League outings last term and is contracted until 2030, though the Cherries value him at upwards of £80 million to £100 million and will not sanction a mid-season sale in January following his October 25 recovery from a fractured metatarsal suffered in pre-season that required surgery in July.
Nicolo Tresoldi and European alternatives
Club Brugge forward Tresoldi, valued at around €60 million after scoring five Champions League goals this season, including a memorable hat-trick in a 4-3 win over Inter Milan, alongside eight goals in 11 Belgian Pro League games, as well as Monza’s 21-year-old Gustavo Varela, available for roughly €20m/£17m in January after scoring 11 goals in 10 appearances since his July arrival, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Younes Ebnoutalib, and Benfica’s £85m-rated 27-year-old Vangelis Pavlidis, who has struck 14 goals in 13 outings while drawing competing interest from Barcelona, are also under active scouting.
Spurs are actively facilitating Richarlison’s January departure to clear squad space and wage margin for a new No. 9, with Fulham, Everton, Trabzonspor, and Galatasaray listed as potential destinations.
Looking ahead, Tottenham’s immediate future involves both squad health recovery and tactical stabilization under manager De Zerbi as the January 2027 transfer window approaches, especially with Spurs sitting 10th in the Premier League table on 12 points from 10 matches (3 wins, 3 draws, 4 losses, -1 goal difference).
