Mauricio Pochettino made six additions to his squad over the summer.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino
Stan Collymore has criticised Tottenham Hotspur for not taking some of the goalscoring burden off Harry Kane’s shoulders this summer, and suggested that they should have gone after Gonzalo Higuain or Edinson Cavani, the Mirror reports.
Much like last season, Kane has made a slow start to the new campaign, scoring just once in six games for club and country.
Tottenham’s Harry Kane
And while Spurs added Vincent Janssen to their ranks during the window – the Dutchman scored 27 times in just 34 Eredivisie games last term – Collymore thinks that Daniel Levy should have shown a lot more ambition in the summer.
“I lay the blame for Kane’s lack of freshness with Spurs, because they could – and should – have splashed the cash to sign a world-renowned centre-forward to complement him by now,” he told the Mirror.
Gonzalo Higuain joined Juventus from Napoli
“This summer, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy knew he had the added revenue from the Champions League and a third-place finish in the Premier League, so why he didn’t shell out for such as Gonzalo Higuain or Edinson Cavani is beyond me.
“I know Higuain moved from Napoli to Juventus for a king’s ransom and that it would have taken a similar sum to get Cavani out of Paris Saint-Germain. But landing a striker of their standing would have been win-win for Tottenham and for Kane.”
Paris Saint-Germain’s Edinson Cavani
As Collymore alluded to, it would have surely taken an incredible fee to bring either player to White Hart Lane – Higuain moved from Napoli to Juventus for £75.3m this summer (via Sky Sports) – and while it would undoubtedly have made their squad stronger, it is difficult to justify spending such a sum on strengthening a position that sees them already boast one of the Premier League’s best.
As Tottenham know all too well from experience, spending a considerable amount on a player does not guarantee success, especially when that player has not played in the English top flight, so may struggle to replicate their previous form.
And while there is a strong chance that adding a player of Higuain or Cavani’s calibre would have boosted their chances of building on the title challenge they made last season, there is also a very strong possibility that either could have struggled to adjust, possibly setting Spurs back several years and perhaps harming Kane’s development as his first-team opportunities are reduced.
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