As things stand at the moment, Jermaine Defoe has performed better for England than he has for his club. It’s typical: Tottenham are short up front, but their main man reserves his best form for excursions abroad and trips to Wembley.
Yes, his rocket-shot was ruled out against Ukraine, but you can’t help but wish he’d show the same level of dynamism against the likes of West Brom and Norwich. As it’s pretty much just him and Emmanuel Adebayor holding down the fort upfront, it’s clear that he’s going to have to have a good season.
Of course, Clint Dempsey will slot in behind these two and fans will hope he continues his scoring form from last season. But, the truth is, Tottenham are probably going to have to dive back into the transfer market this January if they’re going to fix this problem.
And it is a problem. Tottenham have struggled thus far this season as a result of an inability to kill off games. So who can they bring in that may have the killer instinct that they need.
One option is Villarreal’s strike ace Giuseppe Rossi. The Italian is out of action through injury until early 2013. As a result, Andre Villas-Boas may view him as a good solution. Rossi’s agent, Federico Pastorello spoke to the Italian Press about his client’s future: “Roma would be an intriguing option for him, Rossi had given the all-clear to the move, but then it never quite materialised. There were several clubs who showed an interest, but at this moment we mustn’t be in a rush. The Premier League clubs? We won’t rule anything out.”
Yes, Roma is the key club mentioned there, but he doesn’t rule out a move to England, where talkSPORT are currently linking him to Spurs.
He has been out of the game for some time now (since October 2011) but there’s no doubting his talent. The former Manchester United man scored 32 goals in 56 appearances during his last full season and established himself as one of world football’s premier strikers. Given his injury difficulties, there’s a good chance that Villarreal would be willing to let him leave for less than he’s worth, given that he would still have a recovery period ahead of him.
So yes, he’d be a gamble, but it could be one that comes off for Tottenham. Most importantly, there’s no doubting his talent.
What’s your take? Should Tottenham risk signing Giuseppe Rossi?
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Hardly a gamble worth taking in January, the most optimistic date for him being ready to start playing again is February and there’s no way he’ll be able to slot right in after so long out, much less in a new team and a league he’s not played in for years
So even a most optimistic view it would be around the last games of the season before he is really going to be fit or sharp enough to be starting games.
If Togo qualify for the ACN it would mean Defoe as the only recognised striker, so far better looking elsewhere
if u can think abt rossi, then y nt llorente i mean he is free guys…… or even try rakitic instead of moutinho for modric…
Could just as easily say the biggest problem this season hasn’t been an inability to kill games off, but an inability to hold on to leads. Liverpool, United and (dare I say) Arsenal, won title after title, through winning games 1 – 0.
A lot of people are making a big issue of goalscoring in the first three games, but Spurs ‘have’ scored in each of those games. And that was Defoe as the only available first team striker, and then only match-fit first team striker. This is no longer the case. Maybe some clean sheets would help.