Tottenham reportedly want £3m forward likened to Haaland and deemed one of FM24’s 20 best wonderkids
Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with Ivory Coast international forward Karim Konate in recent days.
Spurs and Arsenal sent scouts to watch the Red Bull Salzburg star play against Tirol in the Austrian Bundesliga over the weekend, according to a recent 90Min report.
The sight would have delighted Tottenham scouts. With their victory over Tirol, Salzburg went two points clear atop the table thanks to goals from Konate.
The 19-year-old is reportedly being watched by West Ham and Crystal Palace in addition to Spurs and Arsenal.
Konate has now received yet another positive review from The Athletic, who included him in their list of the top 20 wonderkids for Football Manager 2024.
‘Konate is a great signing to make,’ they wrote. ‘He’s relatively cheap and often scores a lot of goals at a high level.
‘Securing his signature should not prove too difficult as he plays for RB Salzburg. That means a lot of Premier League teams should be able to get a deal done.’
‘He’s really good’
After moving to Salzburg for £3 million in the summer of 2022 from Ivorian club ASEC Mimosas, Konate has gone a long way.
During the first half of the 2022–2023 season, the teenager went on loan to FC Liefering and performed admirably, tallying 15 goals and three assists from 18 games.
After moving back to Salzburg in January, Konate has been even more productive there, tallying 13 goals and seven assists so far. He has six assists and 10 goals this season.
Breaking the Lines, a scouting outlet, praised him as well, calling him one of the most promising Ivory Coast talents of the past few years.
As per their writing, Karim Konate is undoubtedly the most remarkable talent to have emerged from Ivory Coast in the last few years.
“Konate is the whole package, offering the physicality of Sebastian Haller, the dribbling of Jeremie Boga, and the finishing of Wilfried Zaha.”
“He’s really good, which is why he’s been compared to Erling Haaland, who also played for Salzburg.”
Although it is improbable that £3 million will be sufficient to remove Konate from Salzburg’s possession, their business strategy entails making a profit through sales.
Tottenham will undoubtedly fancy their chances of signing him at some point in light of that. There will be fierce competition, though.