Tottenham sent scouts to watch Fenerbahce striker Vedat Muriqi as he scored for Kosovo in their 2-1 win against the Czech Republic on Saturday, according to Turkish outlet Sabah.
The report claims the towering striker – who stands at 6ft4in – was also watched by Napoli, Fiorentina and Lazio.
It added that Fenerbahce wouldn’t sell unless it received an ‘astronomical’ offer and said that Kosovo media had compared him to Zlatan Ibrahimovic and said of the striker, “Muriqi is like a unique diamond and his contribution is increasing every day”.
TiF Tactics – Who is Muriqi?
The 25-year-old striker has been playing in Turkey since 2014 and signed for Fenerbahce from Caykr Rizespor this summer for a fee of £3.15m.
He’s already scored two goals in three games for his new club and has scored in consecutive Euro 2020 qualifiers against Bulgaria and the Czech Republic.
He’s a towering presence, like Fernando Llorente, and after Spurs reportedly failed in a bid to bring Llorente back to north London after his contract expired this summer, Muriqi could be seen as a younger replacement in the same mould.
He’s on fire this season, too, with WyScout detailing his 19/20 xG as 0.61, with Muriqi taking 3.21 shots per 90 minutes.
He’s won almost 50% of his aerial duels and boasts 4.59 touches in the box per 90 minutes.
Comparisons with Zlatan might be a bit premature but they should be enough to excite Tottenham fans who know they still need to crack the conundrum of a back-up striker for Harry Kane.
And they’ll have a chance to check him out against Premier League opposition when England play Kosovo on Tuesday night.