It seems that Tottenham absentee list has grown again. The news that England attacking midfielder Dele Alli will be out until March will just add to Spurs recent woes. The midfielder injured himself late on in Spurs 2-1 win at London rivals Fulham at the weekend.
Pochettino running out of attacking options
With star striker Harry Kane ruled out of action until March and Heung-Min Son away on international duty with South Korea at the Asia games, Tottenham are running out of senior attacking options.
Veteran Spanish striker Fernando Llorente is now the clubs only senior striking option. The former Athletic Bilbao striker hardly covered himself in glory against Fulham, missing chances and worse of all scoring an own goal.
If Llorente is Spurs only striking option, they could well be in trouble. Alli was regarded as a player who could have played up front or as a false number nine. That option is now off the talent.
Not only are Tottenham short of strikers, Alli’s injury means they are short of actual attacking midfielders. Christian Eriksen may be pushed deeper due to injuries to midfielders Moussa Sissoko and Victor Wanyama.
Meanwhile, Brazilian attacking midfielder Lucas Moura still struggling to recover from knee injury. Argentinian international Erik Lamela has also blown hot and cold throughout his Spurs career.
Pochettino had run out of options against Fulham, so had to use forgotten winger Kevin-Georges Nkoudou from the bench. He had not featured for the club since 2017. To be fair he did create the injury-time winner for Harry Winks, but he is a player who has struggled to convince in north London.
Linked with transfer moves
Tottenham were the only Premier League club not to make any new additions to their squad last summer. Despite a complete lack of forward options, there are no signs of Tottenham making a move for any new players in the January transfer window.
Of course, the tabloids have linked the north London club with a number of players, including West Ham striker Andy Carroll, Roma’s Edin Dzeko and Barcelona’s out-of-favour Brazilian international Malcom. At this moment in time, none of the aforementioned players seem close to joining Spurs.
A tough task on Thursday
Tottenham head to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Thursday night in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg. Spurs are underdogs to record a victory, despite retaining a one-goal lead from the first leg.
Chelsea have not been that consistent or played that well of late. However, looking at Tottenham’s attacking options it is hard to see how they will pose a threat to a Blues backline that has managed to keep clean sheets in seven of their last nine competitive games on home soil.
Tottenham will not just be without some of their star attacking players for the clash with the Blues, but also a number of Premier League games. They will also miss the Champions League last-16 clash with Dortmund.
Most top clubs in Tottenham’s current position would make a move in the transfer market. However, Tottenham does things their own way and the lack of reinforcements could cost them dearly this season.
Should Tottenham sign attacking cover in the January transfer window?
