Spurs could land their answer to Haaland with swoop for £30m “machine”

The January transfer window has been open for business for over two weeks and Tottenham Hotspur have been one of the busiest sides in the division.

Ange Postecoglou has not wasted much time in going about his work to bolster the playing squad after a host of injury issues during the first half of the season.

Despite losing a number of key players, including James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, to injury, Spurs remain in the hunt to secure a top four finish in the Premier League.

They are now looking to build on their strong start and have snapped up two new recruits this month; Timo Werner on loan from RB Leipzig and Radu Dragusin on a permanent deal from Serie A side Genoa.

Spurs’ search for a centre-forward

Tottenham, however, still lack an out-and-out number nine to consistently find the back of the net, since Harry Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich last summer.

Richarlison, who has also been deployed in a wide role at times, has shown promise with six goals in his last six Premier League matches – to take his tally to seven in 18 outings.

However, the Brazil international has only scored 11 goals in 55 appearances for Spurs since his move from Everton and is yet to prove himself to be a reliable centre-forward for the club.

Football Insider recently claimed that Tottenham are one of a number of clubs considering a swoop to sign Santiago Gimenez from Feyenoord in the summer transfer window.

The outlet reported that Spurs, Arsenal, and Fulham are all eyeing up a possible deal to bring the Mexico international to the Premier League.

Although, it was also stated that West Ham are stepping up their efforts to snap up the lethal marksman this month as David Moyes looks to bolster his attack.

Football Insider claimed that it would take at least £30m, and possibly up to £40m, to secure his services and that Feyenoord would prefer to cash in on him in the summer, rather than sell to the Hammers midway through their 2023/24 campaign.

This suggests that Spurs are safe to wait until the end of the season to make their move for Gimenez and they may not be forced to accelerate their plans this month.

Whether it happens in January or the summer, Postecoglou could unearth his own version of Manchester City and Premier League star Erling Haaland in a swoop for the impressive finisher.

Erling Haaland’s record-breaking brilliance

The Norway international returned to his country of birth at the start of last season when he was signed from Borussia Dortmund by Pep Guardiola.

Haaland had plundered an eye-catching 86 goals in 89 appearances for the German side in all competitions and there was no guarantee that he would be able to translate that outstanding form over to English football.

The Leeds-born superstar has done exactly that with a staggering 71 goals and 14 assists in 75 matches for the Cityzens over the past 18 months.

His debut season in England was an extraordinary one as the 23-year-old dynamo broke the record for the most goals in a single Premier League season with 36 goals in 35 matches during the 2022/23 campaign.

Haaland also became the fastest player in the history of the English top-flight to reach 50 goals this season as he did it in 48 games. The previous record-holder was former Manchester United forward Andy Cole, who made 65 appearances en route to 50 goals in the league.

The former Dortmund ace fired City to the treble – the Champions League, the Premier League, and the FA Cup – last season and has started the 2023/24 campaign with 19 goals and five assists in 22 outings in all competitions.

These statistics show that Halaand has been incredibly prolific for the Cityzens over the past 18 months and Spurs could now unearth a player with the potential to be Postecoglou’s own version of the impressive number nine.

Santiago Gimenez’s “prolific” record for Feyenoord

Scout Antonio Mango hailed Gimenez as the most “prolific” striker in Europe earlier this season and it is not hard to see why when you look at his statistics.

Talent scout Jacek Kulig, who once described the Feyenoord star as a Mexican “machine”, claimed that he is similar to Erling Haaland -with both players being lethal left-footed strikers – and his record backs that up.

Gimenez has plundered an impressive 44 goals and eight assists in 68 matches for the Dutch side to date, and been in particularly eye-catching form this season.

The Mexico international has racked up 21 goals and five assists in 23 appearances in all competitions, which includes 19 goals in 17 Eredivisie outings.

As you can see in the table above, the Feyenoord marksman has outperformed Postecoglou’s current forward options in front of goal so far this season.

He has produced 19 goals from 15.08 Expected Goals (xG) in the Eredivisie and this suggests that the Argentine-born star is a terrific finisher who does not waste many opportunities to find the back of the net.

Gimenez is an efficient finisher who scores at an exceptional rate, just like Haaland for City in the Premier League, and this is why the potential is there for him to be Postecoglou’s own version of the Norway international next term.

There is no guarantee that the 22-year-old forward will be able to translate his form over to English football but that guarantee was not there with Haaland either and Spurs should take a gamble on him for £30m, as the reward could be spectacular.

Tottenham could end up with their own prolific centre-forward who could help them on their way to competing for titles and trophies in the years to come under the Australian head coach.