A report this weekj has lifted the lid on Tottenham Hotspur’s late attempt to strike a deal for in-form striker Georges Mikautadze.
Will Spurs replace Harry Kane?
Spurs and new manager Ange Postecoglou have done well to cope without the presence of star striker Harry Kane, who sealed one of the biggest transfers of this summer window recently.
The England international completed a blockbuster move to Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich this month, which could gift Tottenham a £103 million financial windfall if certain add-ons are met.
Kane has since took to the German top flight by storm, scoring three goals and bagging an assist over his first two league matches for Bayern under Thomas Tuchel.
Postecoglou, who has watched his side remain unbeaten in the Premier League since Kane’s departure, had seen the player’s exit coming for a long time beforehand.
“I had a conversation with Harry the first day he arrived and he was up front and honest, and I was the same,” Postecoglou said ahead of their opener against Brentford.
“You get an indication there that he kind of made up his mind: that if the clubs agreed he would go, particularly if it was before the first game. That was my preference as well.
“There’s nothing along the way that’s sort of made me feel there’s anything other than this outcome.”
Late in the window, Spurs had been linked with a host of strikers to succeed Kane, including the likes of Lille star Jonathan David and Genk’s in-form rising star Gift Orban.
One of the priorities now appears to be a move for Nottingham Forest forward Brennan Johnson, who Postecoglou apparently views as the “perfect” fit to his system, even though he isn’t an out-and-out centre-forward.
A report from VI.nl, sharing news on Tottenham’s attempts to sign a striker, claim that Spurs tried to sway Georgia international striker Mikautadze into joining before he completed a move to Ajax.
Indeed, it is believed that the north Londoners “tried to convince” the 22-year-old into joining them just last week, but it was Ajax who ultimately won the race for his signature.
As well as Spurs, French top flight sides Rennes and Lyon also made an attempt to sway Mikautadze, but the forward apparently set his sights on a transfer to Amsterdam.
How good is Georges Mikautadze?
The international bagged a brilliant 23 goals and eight assists over his 37 Ligue 2 appearances for FC Metz last term, playing a heavy hand in their promotion to Ligue 1 last term (Transfermarkt).
Before sealing his move to Ajax, the in-form centre-forward picked up where he left off this season, scoring two goals and grabbing an assist in three of his final Ligue 1 appearances for Metz.
Mikautadze, who put pen to paper on a deal worth around £13.7 million from Ajax, would’ve been an affordable option from Tottenham’s perspective to Postecoglou may be disappointed to miss out on him.
Richarlison scored his first goal of the season against Fulham on Tuesday night and it appears Spurs may well be very reliant on the Brazilian if they can’t strike a late deal for an alternative.