Why “one of the best strikers in the world” could be Spurs’ new Harry Kane

Harry Kane may now feel like yesterday’s news as far as Tottenham Hotspur are concerned, but the England skipper left behind a void that still hasn’t been filled in north London.

Following Kane’s exit to Bayern Munich in 2023, Spurs seemingly took the view that trying to replace their record scorer was an impossible task. And so they didn’t even bother to.

Unsurprisingly, despite a rampant start to that first season under Ange Postecoglou, the Lilywhites ultimately fell away, with Richarlison ending that campaign on 11 Premier League goals, well short of Kane’s tally of 30 the year prior.

Both the Brazilian and £65m man Dominic Solanke haven’t fared much better since then, while, as for Kane, well, you could say his move to Germany has been a success…

Harry Kane’s record since leaving Spurs in 2023

Across his four-season stay at N17, Richarlison has now scored just 27 league goals, following his arrival from Everton, while Solanke has netted only 12 in the top-flight since signing in 2024.

Getting anywhere without a prolific striker is a tall order, with the woes of that Spurs pairing put into even sharper focus due to Kane’s rampant form in Bavaria.

Now, the contrast in quality between the Bundesliga and Premier League can be debated, but it’s hard not to be blown away by the Englishman’s consistency.

Since the start of 2023/24, Kane has scored 98 league goals in Germany’s top flight, 36 of which came in a 2025/26 campaign in which he also created 18 ‘big chances’, despite only actually registering five assists.

For context, as a collective, Spurs only scored 48 league goals last season, amid their battle against relegation, with Richarlison the only player to score more than five.

Kane hasn’t just been a flat-track bully domestically, however, with his form in Europe also catching the eye, having registered 33 Champions League goals for Bayern to date, including 14 in 13 games last season.

The 33-year-old – who scored 280 in 436 games for Spurs – is already on 146 in just 147 games for his current side, a frankly ridiculous record for a man also on 85 goals in 121 caps for his country.

Strikers of that ilk simply just aren’t available too readily, but Roberto De Zerbi will be hoping to at least find someone who can at least try and plug this long-standing gap.

How Spurs can sign their best striker since Kane

With a deal for Eli Junior Kroupi hitting the skids due to injury, it was reported that World Cup hero Ferran Torres might be on the agenda for the Lilywhites, the Spaniard facing an uncertain future at Barcelona.

Whether that is the ‘bomba’ signing that De Zerbi hinted at remains to be seen, however, with BBC Sport’s Nizaar Kinsella naming a handful of alternatives who could potentially be on the cards.

Among those listed by Kinsella was Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen, the Nigerian sensation perhaps still waiting to seal a truly high-profile move, considering he is currently operating outside of Europe’s top five leagues.

Like Kane, the 27-year-old is undoubtedly “one of the best strikers in the world“, in the view of compatriot Peter Etebo, having certainly compared favourably to his peers in recent times.

Indeed, like Kane, this is a player who’s scored goals wherever he’s been, aside from a brief stint with Wolfsburg, proving prolific across his time in both France and Belgium, as well as more recently in Italy and Turkey.

In Serie A, for instance, Osimhen’s Napoli record stood at 65 goals in just 108 games, while in the Super Lig, he’s hit 41 in just 52 outings since initially arriving on loan in 2024.

At a time when leading number nines are a dying breed, Osimhen is in that Kane or Erling Haaland category as a truly clinical, consistent striker, as his record of 59 goals in 74 games over the last two seasons speaks to.

In 2024/25, for instance, Osimhen matched Kane’s tally of 26 league goals, with that his joint-best return in terms of league goals in a single season, alongside 2022/23, when he helped propel Napoli to win the Scudetto.

Even last term, while injury restricted him to just 19 league starts, the one-time Lille marksman still scored 15 Super Lig goals at a rate of one every 115 minutes, despite missing 23 ‘big chances’.

For comparison, Kane did actually miss 18 ‘big chances’ in the Bundesliga last season, although his scoring rate was ridiculous, netting once every 66 minutes.

Kane, alongside Haaland, is the cream of the crop right now in Europe, but Osimhen certainly isn’t far behind, boasting a career record of 173 goals in just 297 games at senior level.

Fitness has largely been the Nigerian’s issue, yet when fresh and firing, there aren’t many better, the Galatasaray talisman someone who would be truly worthy of leading the line in north London.

Spurs simply haven’t had a powerhouse, free-scoring presence in attack since Kane walked out the door three summers ago.