Now that the dust has settled on another year of Premier League action, it would be fair to say Ange Postecoglou did an admirable job in his first campaign as manager of Tottenham Hotspur.
The Australian's side may have missed out on Champions League qualification, but they were able to clinch a spot in the Europa League, and all without arguably the club's greatest player of all time, Harry Kane.
That said, based on recent reports, it looks as if Daniel Levy and Co might finally be addressing the need for a reliable number nine this summer, although the player touted for a move to N17 might have more in common with Roberto Soldado than the Lilywhites' former captain.
Tottenham Hotspur's striker search
According to a recent report from Spain, Tottenham are interested in signing Sevilla's prolific forward Youssef En-Nesyri and have already held talks over the deal.
The report claims that while the Moroccan forward has been a reliable performer for the La Liga giants, they want to sell him before June 30th to help balance the books.
This urgency has seemingly helped the Lilywhites as the story has revealed that they could secure the 27-year-old's signature for just €25m, which is around £21m.
For the price, this deal seems almost a little too good to be true and while it would make sense for Levy and Co to get it done, the parallels to Soldado's move over a decade ago aren't ideal.
En-Nesyri could be the next Soldado
Now, before the pitchforks come out, there are two key similarities between Soldado's move in 2013 and this potential transfer for En-Nesyri.
The first is simply the fact that they're both goalscorers who would be coming from traditional La Liga powerhouses to Spurs, as the Spaniard moved from Valencia for £26m, and the Moroccan would be coming for slightly less from Sevilla.
The other similarity is that both players looked incredibly impressive the season before the move, and if anything, the former Valencia man looked borderline world-class.
Season
23/24
12/13
Appearances
41
46
Goals
20
30
Assists
3
5
Goal Involvements per Match
0.56
0.77
For example, in the 2012/13 campaign, the 12-capped Spaniard scored an outrageously impressive 30 goals in just 46 games and provided five assists to boot, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.3 games – no wonder Levy signed him up.
In comparison, Sevilla's "pure goalscorer," as talent scout Jacek Kulig has dubbed him, has scored an impressive 20 goals in 41 games while providing three assists, giving him an average of a goal involvement every 1.7 games.
The Fès-born poacher did enjoy a fruitful season in 2022/23 as well, though, in which he scored 18 goals and provided one assist in 48 games for Los Nervionenses as they went on to lift the Europa League title.
At the same time, the former Valencia ace produced 33 goals and assists in 51 games two seasons before he joined Spurs as well.
Ultimately, En-Nesyri does look like a quality player, and in the hands of someone like Postecoglou, he could well explode in the Premier League.
However, signing another supposedly prolific striker out of La Liga is always going to remind fans of Soldado's time at the club, and that's not ideal.
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