Tottenham are reportedly still in the market for another attacking addition. Despite the arrival of Vincent Janssen, Mauricio Pochettino is thought to be keen to add to his options ahead of the new season.
Clinton N’Jie, who was a central striking option last season, is set to join Marseille on loan and that means Janssen and Harry Kane are the only natural central striking options in the squad. With Champions League now on the agenda, it is understandable that Pochettino will not want to go into the season with just two options to lead the attack.
According to the Hertfordshire Mercury Tottenham have now joined West Ham and Arsenal in the race to sign Toulouse striker Wassim Ben Yedder.
Canal+ reported on Tuesday that Ben Yedder was ‘hours away’ from signing for either Sevilla or Arsenal, but that turned out to be false, and the players future remains uncertain. What does seem clear is that he is available, and for a very cheap fee. £8million looks to be the price, and for a reliable goalscorer like Ben Yedder, that could be a bargain.
Ben Yedder turns 26 in August, so he will be moving into the prime years of his career soon. Since joining Toulouse in 2010, he has played 156 games, scoring 63 goals in the process. That’s a pretty good return, but the strength of the Premier League in comparison to Ligue 1 should be considered.
Statistics highlight similarities in styles and performance levels between Lyon’s Alexandre Lacazette and Ben Yedder. With Lacazette’s asking price reportedly at £40million, Ben Yedder appears to represent great value – he’d probably be more content with a rotation role too.
Ben Yedder is 5ft 7′ and pretty fast, he can play on both wings and could be a natural replacement for N’Jie, who looked set to join Marseille on loan, but late interest from former club Lyon has complicated things. Lyon, despite their public reluctance to sell him, may be preparing for life without Lacazette and signing N’Jie could help them soften the blow somewhat.
Although he has never been capped for France’s international side, Ben Yedder is widely considered as one of the most reliable scorers in the French division, and he would certainly help add depth to Tottenham’s attacking options.
Personally, this signing wouldn’t excite me too much, but I think he would be a good addition. Having a natural goalscorer, at that price, can only be good for the squad. If we were to have Janssen, Kane and Ben Yedder in the squad, I’m sure we would score enough goals and Kane could even afford to go through a bad patch or be rested, as there would now be alternatives.
West Ham and Arsenal remain interested though, and both clubs are more likely to offer the player first team oppurtunities than Tottenham following the arrival of Janssen earlier this summer.
I think Tottenham’s interest is probably real, but in terms of this actually happening I’d say it ranks at around 3 out of 10 – unlikely. What do you think? Comment below.
