For 40 minutes of the Capital One Cup final, Tottenham were the best side on the pitch. They slammed into tackles, kept the ball well and carried some threat going forward. Their main problem proved to be getting the ball into Harry Kane. The English centre-forward looked somewhat isolated during the game, thanks to the excellent job done on him by Chelsea centre-backs John Terry and Gary Cahill.
Unfortunately for Spurs, things began to fall apart a few minutes before half time as Chelsea managed to find the back of the net from a set-piece. Diego Costa grabbed a second (somewhat fortuitous) goal in the second half, effectively marking the end of the tie.
Late on in the second half, as Mauricio Pochettino looked to his bench for inspiration, he was forced to call upon players like Moussa Dembele, Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado. This trio hardly strikes me as the kind of players who would strike fear into Chelsea’s defense. Roberto Soldado, in particular, has proven to be a major disappointment during his time in English football.
This brings me to The Metro‘s claim that Spurs are currently on the hunt for a fresh-faced new striker. This is fantastic news. Wouldn’t it be something if Tottenham had a decent, high-quality replacement for Harry Kane?
The source links Spurs to Islam Slimani, Sporting Lisbon’s £21.9m striker. He’s not particularly well known at this moment in time, but given his strike-rate for club and country, perhaps he should be. In 38 appearances for his Portuguese club, he’s found the back of the net 15 times. He’s also got a good record for Algeria, where he’s scored 14 goals in 32 games.
The Metro claims that Spurs enjoy ‘a good working relationship’ with Sporting and that they’ve jumped to the head of the queue in their attempts to sign Islam Slimani. If they’re willing to cough up as much as £21.9m, I wouldn’t be surprised if his current paymasters were willing to close the deal.
What’s your take? Would you like to see Islam Slimani in a Spurs shirt?
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