Why Spurs’ happiness to take loss on striker is a huge worry
Published:
What reflects worse on Tottenham? That they paid £26m for Roberto Soldado to score seven Premier League goals in 52 games or that they will leave themselves woefully short both financially and in squad numbers just to get rid of him?
Galatasaray are reportedly willing to offer the misfiring Spaniard a way out of his White Hart Lane hell, with the Daily Mirror suggesting the north Londoners will accept a £15m hit to flog the former Real Madrid man for just £11m to the Turkish giants.
However, that fee would not be enough to help the Lilywhites reinvest up front, something that should be a priority for Mauricio Pochettino whether Soldado goes or not.
Spurs have been linked with two youngsters over past few weeks, Monaco’s Anthony Martial and goal-shy Stuttgart striker Timo Werner, but both are thought to cost in the region of £20m.
Considering Daniel Levy will only have £11m to put towards the purchase of one of those targets, and the Mirror believes Galatasaray still want to negotiate a cheaper fee for Soldado, the presence of Emmanuel Adebayor provides a further sticking point.
The Togolese bean pole has proved equally ineffective in front of goal since the departure of Tim Sherwood, but receives a considerably fatter pay cheque compared to his Spanish teammate.
With suitors for the former Arsenal man proving few and far between, Spurs could end up losing on all fronts if they take a hit on Soldado, keep Adebayor’s hefty wages on the books and sign an untested youngster to deputise for Harry Kane.
The England star, who scored 31 times in all competitions for Spurs last season, is being run into the ground by every possible manager available to him and will need reliable backup during the coming campaign, in which Spurs look a far longer top-four chance than their 13/2 price suggests.
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