Pochettino’s reported fear should put Mateta back on Spurs radar

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Tottenham Hotspur may be in the market for a target man come January.

According to the Daily Mail, Mauricio Pochettino fears Tottenham Hotspur are missing a target man after letting Fernando Llorente leave the club.

Spurs chose not to activate a one-year option in Llorente’s deal, and the Spaniard is still a free agent having failed to find a new club.

Tottenham struggled to break down Newcastle United on Sunday, and Pochettino now allegedly thinks Spurs are missing a big, physical striker.

It would therefore be little surprise to see Spurs make such a player a prime target in January, and Mainz attacker Jean-Philippe Mateta should be on the radar.

The Frenchman, 22, showed his quality last season with 14 Bundesliga goals in 34 games, whilst also picking up two assists.

Mateta is big and strong at 6ft 4in tall, but also possesses a decent turn of pace, meaning that even if he is brought in as a target man, he won’t limit Tottenham’s style of play quite like Llorente did.

He’s strong in the air and his flick-ons can be ideal for the likes of Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura, whilst pinning defenders back and opening up space for Harry Kane, much like Llorente did.

He fits the mould of a Spurs signing in terms of having potential for the future, and would be a long-term target man for Pochettino, rather than needing to replace a veteran inside a couple of years, which is the exact situation they fell into with Llorente.

Spurs have even targeted Mateta in the past. Back in 2016, Mateta’s agent confirmed to Foot Mercato that Tottenham wanted to sign the striker from Lyon, but he snubbed them because he didn’t want to leave France.

After a strong loan spell with Le Havre, Mateta did leave France last summer, and having already impressed in Germany, he ticks all the boxes for Spurs – especially having been a target as a youngster.

There is one problem though, and that’s Mateta’s injury. A blow to the knee in July will keep him out until October, but when he does come back, Spurs should be looking to Mateta as a solution to their target man issues, years after first moving for him.