Spurs: Ange could sign £17m finisher who’s outperforming Maddison
Tottenham Hotspur have already enjoyed a fine start to life under Ange Postecoglou, but he will be far from one to rest on his laurels.
Back-to-back Premier League Manager of the Month awards will mean nothing to the Australian, who encouraged his fans to let their imaginations run wild following their fine start to the new campaign: "No, no, no, let them go, let them enjoy it. I've said this before, my role is not to burst peoples' bubbles. Let them get excited and ahead of themselves, that's the beauty of being a supporter."
Much of this fine form is owed to the transfers made over a revolutionary summer, with James Maddison and Micky van de Ven having combined at both ends of the pitch to help spearhead their run to the top of the league.
However, it seems that could already be set to look ahead to January, with one in-form ace already on the Australian's wish list.
Who could Spurs sign in January?
Having unloaded £40m for the former Leicester City creator, and handed Wolfsburg a further £43m to pry the Dutch defender, it is clear that this regime is set to perhaps be a more free-spending one as Daniel Levy hopes to inject enough impetus to turn them into challengers once again.
So, even if Serhou Guirassy has only moved in the last window, thus likely making his prospective price tag even more inflated, if that is what Postecoglou desires, the chances are they will acquire him.
That is at least what journalist Dean Jones expects, who told the Ranks FC Podcast earlier in the week that the Lilywhites were keeping an eye on the Stuttgart striker who will see a £17m release clause become active next summer.
Whilst that alone would mark an incredible coup, it is a move made even more likely given the £100m they acquired late on for Harry Kane's sale last summer, which actually went unspent. It will take one hell of a footballer to possibly replace the England international, but given the blistering form that the 27-year-old is enjoying in Germany, there is every chance that he could achieve such a feat should he translate his form to England.
What did Harry Kane achieve at Spurs?
Although his departure is still fresh in the memory, it is always worth outlining just how good the 30-year-old was for Lilywhites, having burst through the academy as an unknown youngster.
Few could possibly have predicted the levels that the 86-cap superstar would reach, eventually growing to become both the club and his country's all-time leading scorer, surpassing legendary figures such as Jimmy Greaves and Wayne Rooney in the process.
He departed north London having amassed a mouth-watering tally of 278 goals and 64 assists, and actually hit double figures in nine consecutive Premier League campaigns.
It therefore should come as no surprise that pundit Jamie O'Hara rushed to praise him before his exit, telling talkSPORT (23 March, 10.30 pm): I’ll put it out there; I think he is the greatest striker English football has ever produced.
"He is immortal in the game of football. You are always going to remember Harry Kane for what he achieved for Tottenham, for England and in the Premier League."
He was a creative leader and a goalscoring leader, but no longer are both of those fields required. The former has been more than filled by Maddison, but the latter could now be filled by Guirassy.
Who is Serhou Guirassy?
There is not a player within Europe's top five leagues that has scored more league goals than the France-born finisher, who is sitting on an unparalleled 13 Bundesliga goals after just seven appearances.
That is the level being upheld by the clinical forward, who has unsurprisingly been a lightning rod for praise after such a mesmeric start to the season that is perfectly mirroring Spurs'. Amiens SC coach Luke Elsner once noted: "Serhou is a young player and he also makes mistakes on the field. But he has been so valuable in many matches.
1
Serhou Guirassy
13
2
Lautaro Martinez
9
3
Erling Haaland
8
4
Jude Bellingham
8
5
Harry Kane
8
Stats via One Versus One.
"What I liked enormously is that, despite the fact that his match didn't go as he would have liked, he didn't let up. He made defensive efforts, he tried to make up for it when he lost the ball. He doesn't always score, but in terms of mentality, he is irreproachable."
That kind of attitude will go down well with Postecoglou, who would love to add such a red-hot forward to combine with Maddison.
Having also only moved in the summer, the 26-year-old magician has taken like a duck to water in north London, with his seven goal contributions in just eight games a fine return and further backed up by his 3.3 key passes and 2.4 ball recoveries per game, via Sofascore.
It therefore should come as no surprise that former Chelsea ace Joe Cole sought to laud such fine business: "The more I think about it he could be the best signing of the summer. I am so excited for him, especially the way Ange plays. Look at the players that have played that position at Spurs, [Glenn] Hoddle, [Paul] Gascoigne, [Luka] Modric. Ange giving him the VC shows how astute and clever he is. James is a leader."
He is arguably the in-form player in the Premier League, and yet Guirassy is arguably outperforming him, boasting a truly astounding goal-conversion rate of 42% alongside the 2.1 key passes he too is recording per game, as per Sofascore.
It seems that the Guinea international boasts the creativity that saw Kane lauded as well as his proficiency, and could not only help finish off the numerous chances that Maddison forges, but even give the midfielder some additional opportunities to score himself.
The Stuttgart star could provide an additional injection of firepower needed to help push them over the line, realising those lofty ambitions that Postecoglou wants his fans to retain.