Tottenham-linked Mariano Diaz available for £13m, Spurs should move

Follow us on Google Discover

Tottenham Hotspur reportedly wanted Mariano Diaz over the summer.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino is offering some mixed messages about January. At this point, it’s hard to tell exactly what his transfer window plans really are.

After losing to League Two side Colchester United in the Carabao Cup, Pochettino suggested to The Mirror that he wanted to use January to fix some of the problems in his Spurs side.

Yet yesterday, Pochettino claimed too Football.London that he isn’t planning to do any business in January, which some fans are interpreting as a smokescreen.

As well as needing a right back, Spurs may be wise to bring in another striker. The Daily Mail suggested in August that Pochettino was ‘concerned’ that his side lack another centre forward having let Fernando Llorente go.

With Troy Parrott coming through, a big-money signing in attack seems unlikely, but one summer target now appears to be available for a knockdown price ahead of January.

AS claimed in July that Spurs wanted to land Real Madrid striker Mariano Diaz, and El Desmarque now claim that Real want to sell him for just €15million (£13million) in January, with Zinedine Zidane clearly not much of a fan.

Despite scoring five goals in 14 first-team games, Zidane sold Mariano to Lyon in 2017. The Dominican Republic striker hit 21 goals for Lyon, and after Zidane quit his post, Real re-signed Mariano.

Yet now Zidane is back in the job, Mariano isn’t wanted again. The 26-year-old hasn’t featured at all this season, and in what would be a bargain deal, Spurs should be looking to lure him over to North London.

You can barely buy a top Championship striker for £13million, never mind one who showed his goalscoring prowess in that superb season at Lyon, where he thrived playing ahead of now-Spurs midfielder Tanguy Ndombele.

Reuniting the pair would be a smart move, and Mariano would be able to fill that centre forward role that Pochettino is looking for, even if he’s about five inches shorter than Llorente.

Mariano is a much more mobile option than Llorente, but he’s still potent in the air thanks to his outstanding leap, whilst being able to carry the ball and score from range – something he showed during his time at Lyon.

Whether given the ball in behind or with his back to goal, Mariano can be a constant threat, and if Zidane is willing to offload him for such a low price, Tottenham should be looking to add him to their side and bring some additional firepower.