According to EuroSport, Tottenham are keen on signing Stuttgart forward Sasa Kalajdzic and he can give Spurs something they’ve not had since their Champions League final.
Indeed, the 2019 Champions League final was a landmark in Tottenham’s history, but one thing that is often forgotten about that match is that it was Fernando Llorente’s final ever game for Spurs.
Indeed, the Spaniard’s contract expired that summer and he moved to Napoli, and since then, Tottenham haven’t managed to replace the aerial threat and the brilliant plan B that he provided.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham used Llorente to great effect, he was a battering ram of a target man who provided something completely different to Harry Kane when he came off the bench.
His contributions were perhaps best highlighted during Spurs’ famous 4-3 loss to Manchester City in that season’s Champions League campaign. He came on for an injured Kane, scored the decisive goal and won four aerial duels in just 50 minutes of play.
Since Llorente left, Spurs haven’t had a player like that.
Yes, Carlos Vinicius, standing at 6 ft 3, should be able to provide that, but he’s won just 0.9 aerial duels per game in the Europa League this term.
Kalajdzic, on the other hand, is averaging 2.8 aerial duels won per game this term, and standing at 6 ft 7, it’s no surprise to hear that he’s scored seven goals with his head already this term.
The Austrian could be Spurs’ perfect Llorente replacement. He could be a handy understudy for Kane while also being a brilliant option off the bench who can provide something different than the England captain.
Tottenham haven’t had a player like this since Llorente made his final bow in Madrid in 2019, but Daniel Levy may be about to hand them another Llorente-esque forward in the shape of Kalajdzic.
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