Southampton’s Austin and Carroll, who is ex West Ham United, have been suggested as options for Tottenham Hotspur.
The former Tottenham Hotspur striker, Darren Bent, thinks that Southampton’s Charlie Austin would be a more useful addition than the ex-West Ham United man Andy Carroll for Spurs.
Tottenham are expected to bolster their forward line this summer, with Fernando Llorente out of contract and looking far from certain to earn a new one.
Appearing as a guest on Talksport’s Drive show on Friday, Bent was asked which of the two, Austin or Carroll, he would rather see at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
“Yeah (you need a back-up), if Llorente doesn’t sign,” replied the 36-year-old. “You’re going to need someone to be fair, and you have to look who’s out there.”
Austin recently entered the final year of his Southampton contract, while Carroll was released by West Ham at the end of last season.
“It’s so tough (to choose between the two,” Bent added. “I’d have to probably say Charlie Austin. Just because I know, if he gets a consistent run of games then he scores goals, all the time.
“That’s the tough thing for Spurs. You can’t go and sign a top striker like (Inter Milan’s Mauro) Icardi. Because they don’t want to play second-fiddle to Harry Kane, which they’re going to.”
Llorente still made 35 appearances for Tottenham last season and started 11 of those.
Austin has scored at a rate of around a goal every three games at Premier League level, whereas Carroll’s is around one in four.
Tottenham fans, would you want the Southampton/ex-West Ham striker as back-up to Kane?
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