Spurs: Dusan Vlahovic could be their own Haaland
The Lilywhites could secure their own version of Manchester City’s relentless marksman.
Tottenham Hotspur have enjoyed a fine start to this summer’s spending, welcoming Pedro Porro and Dejan Kulusevski on permanent deals, and signing James Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario to bolster two other key areas.
Already this side is shaping up in the image of Ange Postecoglou, although he will be far from finished with truly transforming this club that has struggled so much in recent years.
They need more than just an upturn in quality, as the mentality has been just as lacklustre. Given both Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte failed at improving the north London outfit, despite having been serial winners before joining, speaks volumes,
The Australian head coach has a tough task on his hands, but it will be aided should Daniel Levy continue sanctioning big-money signings to alter this.
In an effort to truly announce that this tenure will be unlike the rest, perhaps one truly outstanding acquisition could make rivals finally start to worry about Spurs again.
Perhaps the €80m (£70m) Dusan Vlahovic could be that man, with Gazzetta dello Sport outlining their interest back in March.
How good is Dusan Vlahovic?
As a tall, aggressive, left-footed marksman, it is hard not to immediately draw comparisons with Manchester City’s Erling Haaland. After all, that is the kind of striker every team craves.
Clinical, calm under pressure and a little bit crazy, the Norwegian smashed numerous Premier League records last term, including the number of goals scored in one season.
A tally of 52 in all competitions proved instrumental in Pep Guardiola’s treble success, making it clear that a classic number nine has not been completely eradicated from the modern game.
Postecoglou could seek to mimic such success, especially if Harry Kane were to leave, by signing someone who matches that physical profile.
Whilst Haaland stands at 6 foot 4, Vlahovic is hardly dwarfed given his 6 foot 3 frame. Fortunately for him too, he is blessed with that same intelligence and blistering speed that are often unforeseen in players of their build.
This allows them to bully defenders with their back to goal, but also spin in behind and leave centre-backs in their wake. Such diversity resulted in 21 goals during his breakout term for Fiorentina before he would share his Serie A goals across two teams the year following.
Moving in January, the Serb would still maintain 24 league strikes much to the Turin club’s delight.
However, with the turmoil surrounding them now, the once devastating Serbia international has faltered. At 23 years old though, this is hardly a surprise. Writer Emmet Gates summed it up rather succinctly, noting: “Dusan Vlahovic has the ability to be a generational talent, but he’s suffering in this iteration of Juventus. To paraphrase a famous Zlatan line: He’s a Ferrari being driven like a Fiat.”
A switch to England could see him become the focal point of a club that finally seems to be moving in the right direction, expelling the dead wood and bringing in true quality.
Vlahovic could provide that added injection of firepower to finally rival the unstoppable Haaland both physically and technically.
