11 DAYS for Spurs to find a new striker
HERE are a few numbers to get Jose Mourinho shuffling uncomfortably:
● THREE games without a Premier League goal in a top-flight drought that stretches to 277 minutes.
● ZERO wins in four league games, a sequence that has derailed Spurs’ challenge for a top-four place that a few weeks ago looked bang on course.
● ELEVEN days until the end of the transfer window.
That means 11 days for Tottenham to recruit a new striker, and just 11 days to satisfy their glaringly obvious need for a new centre forward following Harry Kane’s hamstring injury. Easier said than done, of course. Replacing Kane — who will miss most of the remainder of the season — isn’t an easy task. Yet this toothless display against relegation-threatened Watford illustrated starkly how painful life is for Tottenham without England’s star striker. Watford are much improved under Nigel Pearson, and this performance was another significant step in the right direction. Indeed, Watford should have won the game. Paulo Gazzaniga produced a brilliant save to keep out Troy Deeney’s second-half penalty. After Watford’s miserable start to the season — they didn’t win a league game this season until November — Pearson looks on course to keep them in the Premier League, an achievement that looked implausible when he took over in December. For Spurs, Kane’s hamstring injury has left them hamstrung. Dele Alli is adamant that his team can cope without their talisman, saying: ‘We have to take a look at ourselves. We know the quality we’ve got at the attacking end of the pitch and we always expect to score.’ When he was asked if it is inevitable Tottenham will be regarded as a one-man team, Alli said: ‘Yes. But people have short memories. Look at when he got injured last time. Look what we did without him. ‘We proved that it’s about the team, not a single player. Harry is a fantastic player and he would be a miss to anyone. Unfortunately Harry’s had a few injuries before and we’ve had to cope with it, and I think we have. It’s not an issue. We’re not worried about it in terms of players coming in and whether we’ll be able to handle it without him, because we know we can. ‘We have to step up, everyone has to step up. We know that.’ Alli has a point. In Lucas Moura, Son Heung-min and Alli himself, Spurs ought to have enough to ensure they can do without Kane in the short term. The facts, however, paint a different picture. Mourinho is blameless for the majority of the mess, the decision last summer not to replace back-up striker Fernando Llorente looking more absurd by the day. That lack of planning isn’t Mourinho’s fault. Nonetheless, he must find a solution to the lack of firepower — and swiftly. Tottenham have concrete interest in Krzysztof Piatek, the AC Milan striker, but a refusal to meet his £30million valuation has seen the deal stall. Signing players in the January window is notoriously difficult as clubs, understandably, are reluctant to sell their better players. Equally, convincing a top-level centre forward to join when they know full well they will be back on the bench once Kane is fit is a job in itself. It’s a problem Tottenham have found difficult to overcome in recent seasons. But this isn’t a time for excuses from the Tottenham board. It’s a time to be bold in the transfer market. Their season depends on it.