Ange could land Son’s next Kane in Spurs swoop for prolific £30m star

Tottenham Hotspur have not wasted much time during the January transfer window so far as they have already added two new players to their squad.

Timo Werner has been brought in from RB Leipzig on loan until the end of the season, with an option to make it permanent in the summer, and centre-back Radu Dragusin has been signed from Italian side Genoa on a permanent basis.

Ange Postecoglou’s team are currently competing for a top four finish to secure Champions League football for the 2024/25 campaign – as they sit three points behind Aston Villa in fourth as it stands.

The Australian head coach was also backed in the summer transfer window when the likes of Brennan Johnson, Micky van de Ven James Maddison, and Guglielmo Vicario, among others, were all brought in.

A new centre-forward appears to be one of the next items on his agenda as they have been linked with a swoop for prolific Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez.

Tottenham’s search for a number nine

A report from Football Insider earlier this month named Tottenham as one of the clubs interested in a deal to sign the impressive young number nine.

The outlet claimed that Spurs, Arsenal, West Ham, and Fulham are all keen on the sensational marksman, although the Hammers are said to be the ones stepping up their interest in him at this time.

It was stated that Feyenoord do not want to cash in on their star player during the January transfer window, presumably due to the blow that it would inflict ahead of the second half of their season as they chase success of their own in the Netherlands.

The Dutch side would also prefer to sell him at the end of the season as they believe that they could get better value out of a deal from the likes of Spurs and Arsenal, rather than sanctioning a transfer to West Ham before the current window slams shut.

Football Insider also claimed that it would take a fee of at least £30m, and up to £40m, to sign the impressive finisher from the Eredivisie side.

Richarlison’s form has perked up with six goals in his last six Premier League appearances but the Brazil international only managed two goals in his previous 39 top-flight outings for Spurs since the start of last season prior to his current run of goals.

This means that it remains to be seen whether or not he will be a reliable source of goals moving forward or if this form is just a flash in the pan.

Heung-min Son struck up a record-breaking partnership with Harry Kane over the years as they consistently combined for goals and Postecoglou could now land the South Korean forward’s next version of the English marksman by winning the race to sign Gimenez – either this month or at the end of the season.

Son and Kane’s outstanding partnership

The former dynamic duo for Tottenham currently hold the record for the most goal contributions between two players for the same team in Premier League history.

They combined with each other for goals in the top-flight a staggering 47 times over the years in North London, with Son assisting Kane and vice versa.

The pair also hold the record for the most combinations between two players in a single Premier League season as they assisted each other on 14 occasions during the 2020/21 campaign.

These statistics and records show that the pair were incredibly prolific in the final third when combining with each other to make an impact through goals and assists. They had a perfect understanding and consistently found the other in dangerous positions to find the back of the net.

With or without Son’s assistance, Kane produced an unbelievable return of 278 goals and 64 assists in 430 first-team appearances for Tottenham, which is one goal contribution every 1.26 games on average.

Meanwhile, with or without Kane’s assistance, Son has racked up 157 goals and 85 assists in 393 outings for Spurs, which is one every 1.61 clashes on average.

The South Korean ace appears to be missing the England captain this season, though, as he has created 11 ‘big chances’ and only been rewarded with five assists in the Premier League.

The stats that show why Gimenez could be Son’s next Kane

Son does not currently have a ruthless finisher to make the most of the high-quality opportunities that he can create for his teammates from a left wing position.

Gimenez’s form for Feyenoord, however, suggests that the Mexico international has the potential to be the lethal number nine the Spurs winger has lacked since Kane’s move to Bayern Munich.

The 22-year-old machine, who analyst Ben Mattinson claimed is “mobile” and has been “on fire”, has racked up a staggering 19 goals and four assists in 17 Eredivisie appearances this season.

As you can see from the table above, Gimenez has stepped his form up from the 2022/23 campaign and found more consistency in his finishing.

He currently ranks within the top 1% of forwards in the Men’s Next 14 competitions (outside of the Men’s Big Five Leagues) for non-penalty goals (0.96) and non-penalty xG (0.79) per 90 over the last 365 days.

The Mexican dynamo has plundered 19 goals from 15.08 xG in the Eredivisie this season, which illustrates how sensationally efficient he has been in front of goal for the Dutch side.

This shows that Gimenez has the quality to make the most of Son’s creativity, as Kane did, if he can adapt to English football and replicate his efficiency in the Premier League.

The left-footed number nine has also created five ‘big chances’ and registered four assists in 17 league outings for Feyenoord this term, which shows that he is also able to turn provider for his teammates.

Therefore, the £30m-rated whiz could be Son’s next Kane due to both his ability to ruthlessly finish chances when they come to him along with his creative quality to provide the South Korean sensation with opportunities to find the back of the net for himself.