Levy’s no.1 target: The striker Spurs wanted after Kane left is now outscoring him in 2024
With Harry Kane leaving Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, supporters would have been forgiven for a growing sense of worry that their club was about to enter the throes of negative change, slumping to an eighth-place Premier League finish last season.
This lowly final standing meant that continental football could only be watched from a distance, indeed reassuring Kane that, at thirty, winning championships must come first. Despite the scary and unanticipated prospect of a fruitless year in Germany, Kane made the decision to join Bayern Munich.
To be fair, though, the England men’s captain has been outstanding this season, recording 31 goals and eight assists in 31 games in all competitions following 30 Premier League goals for faltering Spurs in 2022–2023.
How do you replace a center-forward of his caliber? Daniel Levy, the chairman of Tottenham, apparently came to the conclusion that you couldn’t, thus he decided against recruiting a direct replacement.
Heung-min Son and Richarlison have been tasked with sharing the striking burden and the duo have done so emphatically, with Richarlison overcoming his woes to score nine goals from his past ten top-flight fixtures while Son dazzles through his dynamic blend of offensive abilities.
James Maddison arrived in the summer to spark new levels of invention while Brennan Johnson and – in January – Timo Werner have strengthened the frontline.
Still, the search for a striker goes on, with a fresh face likely to be welcomed at the end of the campaign.
Tottenham’s search for a centre-forward
Tottenham have been linked with a plethora of potential Kane replacements since Postecoglou’s anointment last June, with targets who could yet wind up down N17 consisting of Feyenoord goal machine Santiago Gimenez, Dominic Solanke of Bournemouth, and Ivan Toney, the revelation from Brentford.
Of course, that is not a complete list, and most people are unaware of another player who was highly anticipated last summer. Rasmus Hojlund of Manchester United was, in fact, on Levy’s radar, according to Charlie Eccleshare of The Athletic, but he was deemed “out of reach” before to his £72 million move to Old Trafford.
Despite being young in his career, Hojlund has begun to mature significantly over the last several months, giving him the makings of a top-tier player in the future.
Rasmus Hojlund’s season in numbers
Despite a sluggish start, the 21-year-old does seem to be moving toward consistency in his goal-scoring attempts. Man United badly needed a new center-forward last summer and decided to take a chance on Hojlund, who had scored nine goals from 20 starts in his only Serie A campaign.
Although the Denmark international scored four goals in the Red Devils’ humiliating Champions League group stage, he also scored goals in his first 14 Premier League games. However, his recent performances have erased criticism of his wastefulness.
| Rasmus Hojlund: Last Six PL Fixtures | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fixture | Date | Goals | Assists |
| Aston Villa (H) | 26/12/23 | 1 | 0 |
| Tottenham Hotspur (H) | 14/01/24 | 1 | 1 |
| Wolverhampton Wanderers (A) | 01/02/24 | 1 | 1 |
| West Ham United (H) | 04/02/24 | 1 | 0 |
| Aston Villa (A) | 11/02/24 | 1 | 0 |
| Luton Town (A) | 18/02/24 | 2 | 0 |
| Source: Transfermarkt | |||
A recent muscular injury has stifled the rising star as he clicks into destructive gear, but Hojlund has now conquered his lack of confidence and looks set for a rich career of prolificness.
His innate predatory instinct is not going to crumble away and Tottenham must watch his goalscoring feats wistfully, given that he would have been the perfect focal point to spearhead Postecoglou’s project.
Rasmus Hojlund is the perfect Harry Kane heir
Hojlund’s seven-goal haul since the turn of the calendar year marks a return that denotes his credentials as a world-class forward in the future, and given that this tally surpasses Kane’s in 2024, Spurs supporters can see the level of ability Hojlund has at his feet.
Kane, in fairness, is hardly flattering to deceive with six strikes from eight matches, but if Hojlund is now able to use his recent purple patch as the launchpad for a fruitful Red Devils career, he might just sit alongside Scandinavian counterpart Erling Haaland as the striking touchstone.
| Rasmus Hojlund vs Tottenham Stars | |
|---|---|
| Player | Market Value |
| Rasmus Hojlund | £86m |
| Dejan Kulusevski | £86m |
| Destiny Udogie | £68m |
| Cristian Romero | £51m |
| Brennan Johnson | £51m |
| Pedro Porro | £51m |
| James Maddison | £42m |
| Richarlison | £42m |
| Micky van de Ven | £42m |
| Pape Matar Sarr | £42m |
| Source: CIES Football Observatory | |
Regarding Kane, the 6 foot 3 Hojlund is certainly not cut from the same cloth but was described as a “unique rough diamond” by the MEN’s Samuel Luckhurst after making the move to Manchester, with qualities that make He is the ideal addition to any ambitious Premier League team looking to succeed up front.
Talent scout Jacek Kulig called the £80k-per-week sharpshooter a “monster in the making,” and he also flourishes because of his deft dribbling and weaving movement, which stretch backlines and almost supernaturally recognize possibilities that are invisible to most people.
Of course, he would find the consistent creative supply that he hasn’t exactly had at Old Trafford with players like Son and James Maddison behind him.
In fairness, Richarlison is proving that he can hit veins of form to match the recent success of Manchester United’s talisman, who is unproven in the Premier League for an extended length of time, but Hojlund’s incredible offensive ability cannot be denied.
The Dane would have found Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to be an exciting place to play given the team’s stability, strength, and desire for a new talisman, but it appears that he will work at the Theatre of Dreams in the upcoming years.
Although Postecoglou and Levy get along well, and there will be optimism that the correct player will be bought in the summer, Hojlund has recently begun to demonstrate his abilities, so it could be looked back on as a regrettable lost chance.
