Tottenham needed to sign Harry Kane replacement in January, admits Les Ferdinand
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Former Tottenham star Les Ferdinand has opined that Jose Mourinho and his former side were naive not to sign a replacement for Harry Kane in the January window. The Englishman was ruled out till May in January and the North Londoners have suffered in absence of a pivotal figure to lead their attack.
It has seen young Dutch forward Steven Bergwijn fill Kane's shoes since his arrival in the winter window with Lucas Moura and Son Heung-Min also playing their own roles as center-forwards. However, Son's recent injury has caused more problems for Mourinho with the North London side now seriously lacking a genuine goal threat and more importantly, an anchor leading their line.
Reports linked Tottenham to Chelsea outcast Olivier Giroud and Spanish striker Willian Jose in January but neither move materialized with Chelsea unwilling to let Giroud leave and Spurs unwilling to pay Jose's release clause. It saw Ferdinand admit that this is a problem that Tottenham themselves have caused but the former striker did show a little sympathy for his former side. He also added that this will cause them to suffer in the coming future but the club have enough to thrive.
“I think they tried and who they tried to get they weren't able to. But people probably look at that and say ‘Why didn't you go and buy one?’. Yes, Son was on fire at the time, so perhaps they were thinking that it wasn't too much of a problem. But unfortunately, he's got injured and now it seems a little naïve," Ferdinand said in an interview with Standard Sport.
Dele Alli’s resurrection to form was much appreciated but it has always been Tottenham’s collective offensive frontline that has inflicted the damage, and individual strikers have basked in the glory of team efforts. Now they lack that protagonist to knit their attacks around however, Ferdinand added that this injury crisis will see the likes of Lucas Moura and Alli eventually find their way back to form and thrive at the club.
“But you need to believe in your own ability that you're good enough to go and play. I always think if the two strikers are good enough they're going to play anyway, you're going to find a way to get them into the team. This is how Lucas Moura climbed up the ladder at Spurs and investing in another striker with the same hope wouldn’t have done any damage anyway," he added.
