Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with Salomon Rondon, but signing the West Brom striker could see them make the same mistake for a third year running.
Chelsea and West Ham United are the other sides interested in the West Bromwich Albion striker, who can leave the Hawthorns for £16m due to a relegation clause written into his contract.
Why it’s a bad idea
Presumably Spurs would view Rondon as backup for Harry Kane, as since Mauricio Pochettino took over as manager in 2013 Kane has generally played as a lone number nine – whether that be in a 3-4-3 or 4-2-3-1 formation.
The North London team have been criticised for an over reliance on the England international so it is easy to see why they would look at someone like the West Brom star.
Yet the previous two seasons have shown why signing Rondon is not what Tottenham need to do. In 2016 and 2017, Vincent Janssen and then Fernando Llorente were acquired for that same reason yet between them they managed three league goals.
The nearest Pochettino has found to a replacement for Kane when the 24-year-old is unavailable is Heung-Min Son and a versatile forward like the South Korean is what the 46-year-old should be looking for now as well.
Janssen, Llorente and Rondon operate in a similar style and none are anywhere nearer the standard of Spurs’ top scorer, so why bother trying to sign an out-and-out striker and instead focus on a pacey attacker who plays in a different way?
This is why a report from the Daily Mail that Tottenham are stepping up their attempts to sign Anthony Martial from Manchester United makes much more sense.
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