Valencia’s Roberto Soldado looks close to completing a move to Tottenham
All the talk about Gareth Bale’s future at Tottenham has masked the fact that Spurs are in need of a new striker.
The Daily Express has reported this morning that Spurs have agreed a fee of £25.8million with Valencia for star striker Roberto Soldado.
Premier League
Earlier this summer I suggested that three La Liga strikers would be big hits in the Premier League, if they joined English clubs.
Those three were Gonzalo Higuain, who recently joined Italian club Napoli, Alvaro Negredo, who joined City and Soldado, who looks set to join Spurs.
It was a shame that Arsenal took so long in their pursuit of Higuain, because I really do believe that he would have been a great signing for the Gunners and a superb addition to the Premier League in the new season.
I am convinced that Negredo will score goals at City next season. He is an old-fashioned centre-forward, who has the physical presence to lead a Premier League attack. His prolific goalscoring rate In La Liga may just translate to the Premier League.
More on Roberto Soldado later, he is definitely a player I rate highly and obviously so do Tottenham if they are willing to pay so much for the forward.
Another striker
However, it looks like Tottenham may need to bring in another striker with Emmanuel Adebayor future in doubt. According to Sky Sports, Adebayor is close to completing a move to Turkish club Besiktas, subject to the Turkish club winning their appeal against a European ban for alleged match fixing.
That means Tottenham would be left with just Jermain Defoe and Soldado, if he completes his move from Valencia, as striking options. It seems that Tottenham need to add another striker to their squad. Here are some of the names linked with Spurs:
Roberto Soldado (Valencia)
It appears that the Spanish international is close to completing a move to Spurs from Valencia. The striker is a poacher of goals and has been prolific in La Liga for much of his career. The former-Real Madrid striker will be a big hit in the Premier League, if he can recreate his La Liga form.
With the World Cup on the horizon, Soldado will be keen to impress national team boss Vicente Del Bosque and there is no better way to do it then being prolific in the Premier League with Spurs.
Leandro Damiao (Internacional)
The Brazilian has been linked with a move to Tottenham for what seems like forever. According to the Metro, among other sources, Internacional will allow the striker to leave the club for £22million. Internacional coach Dunga does not want to lose his star striker though.
The likes of Southampton and Napoli have also been linked with moves for the highly-rated 24-year-old. However, it seems neither have yet to make their interest concrete, despite Napoli being linked with a bid earlier this month.
Damiao looks like a decent striker from what I have seen from him playing for the Selecao, but I am not sure if he is really worth £22million.
Bafetimbi Gomis (Lyon)
The French international striker was expected to move to Newcastle this summer, but negotiations broke down over Lyon’s valuation of the player. Prior to Newcastle’s interest in Gomis, Tottenham were believed to see him as a useful addition to their attack.
The mooted fee of around £8million seems a lot cheaper than Damiao for a player that has scored 127 goals in 367 appearances in all competitions in French football.
He may not the high-profile signing that Tottenham fans may have wanted, but he would be a danger to Premier League defences, offering power and pace.
Darren Bent (Aston Villa)
This is probably the most ridiculous idea of them all. However, I do not know whether the unusually hot weather in England has got to me or what, but this move actually makes sense to me!
Bent is a prolific goalscorer, who has scored goals at whatever club he has been at, including Tottenham, where he was one of the league’s most expensive benchwarmers. He may not do much else apart from put the ball in the back of the net, but he does that pretty well.
In fact, the England striker is 21st on the list of all-time Premier League goalscorers, which is quite impressive considering he is 29 and most players above him on the list are no longer playing football. It may be a crazy, but at a believed fee of around £6.5million, he could be a bargain.
Challengers
If Tottenham can add some strikers and keep Gareth Bale this summer, they can beat anybody on their day. However, if they do not then Spurs could struggle to even challenge for fourth spot, never mind claim it next season.
Which striker should Tottenham sign this summer?
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