On the whole, this has been a very positive summer for Roberto De Zerbi and Tottenham Hotspur.
Couple the £100m arrival of Sandro Tonali with the additions of Mateus Fernandes, Marcos Senesi and Jan Paul van Hecke and things are beginning to look rather rosy.
Yet, one thing in particular has been rather apparent during pre-season. This Spurs team still lack goals.
How De Zerbi can improve Tottenham’s forward line in 2026/27
If there was one good thing about the Ange Postecoglou era it was the frequency with which they scored goals, the electric and swashbuckling nature of their football.
Under Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor, they lacked any real excitement. De Zerbi is threatening to bring back a more positive style of football for the upcoming season but he cannot do it with the players he has at his disposal.
Pre-season has shown that. They haven’t scored more than twice in any of their matches to date.
|
Spurs – 2026 pre-season results |
|
|---|---|
|
Opposition |
Score |
|
MK Dons |
1-0 win |
|
Auckland FC |
2-0 win |
|
Sydney FC |
1-1 draw |
|
Chelsea |
2-1 win |
|
Getafe |
1-1 draw |
|
Hoffenheim |
TBC |
That said, there have been some encouraging displays. Richarlison, who could still leave, has scored twice. Mathys Tel also looks like a different player under the tutelage of the Italian, scoring a wonderful free-kick against Sydney FC and supplying his Brazilian colleague with a goal against Auckland FC.
The fact the former Everton man might leave is remarkable when you look at the stats. Sure, he’s not been great in Tottenham colours, but he did still finish as their top scorer last term with 12 goals to his name.
That rather sums up Tottenham’s struggles. They need more forward players and De Zerbi could take the Spurs attacking line to the next level by completing moves for both Cody Gakpo and Savinho.
They are the leading targets right now, valued at £70m and £60m apiece. A move for the latter is moving along but the Dutchman’s future is rather more uncertain. Liverpool are not hugely keen on letting him go.
Still, with Gakpo and Savinho either side of players like James Maddison and Mohammed Kudus, the Spurs attack would begin to really motor again.
What they still require, however, is a centre-forward. Priority target Eli Junior Kroupi is off the table after he sustained a lengthy injury but there have been whispers surrounding Victor Osimhen. Wouldn’t that be quite the signing?
£51m striker could head to Spurs instead of Osimhen
The last couple of years have been particularly painful for supporters, notably when they look at their forward line.
Tottenham have a rich history for housing some of the finest strikers to grace the English game. From the likes of Jimmy Greaves to Teddy Sheringham, to Jermain Defoe, Robbie Keane and Harry Kane, Spurs have traditionally always had a prolific frontman at the top of the attack.
In the current day, they do not have that. Dominic Solanke’s injury-hit 2025/26 only saw him score six times. It explains links to Osimhen and it also explains links to a player who could well become their new Defoe; Folarin Balogun.
A product of Arsenal’s Hale End academy, Balogun left the Gunners behind back in 2023 and hasn’t looked back. In the words of Saul Isaksson-Hurst, his personal coach, the English-born USA international is “is one of the most exciting young number 9s in world football”.
He proved that during the World Cup. Excusing all of the controversy surrounding Donald Trump’s red card intervention, Balogun caught the eye for all of the right reasons on the pitch, scoring three goals in four games for the host nation.
It has attracted plenty of suitors, notably Spurs. According to reports in France, the Lilywhites have already held early discussions with Monaco over a move. Balogun favours an exit and is keen to test himself elsewhere.
The latest comes from Foot Mercato who reveal that the attacker has actually green lit a transfer to the club and is keen on making the switch.
This is significant for De Zerbi. He needs a striker and in Balogun, he could find a player capable of upgrading on the likes of Solanke and Richarlison.
While the former Arsenal man still needs to establish a bit more consistency, he has become one of the most prolific strikers in Europe’s top five leagues. He scored 19 goals in 43 outings last term and while he only bagged 12 in the two seasons prior to that, during a loan spell with Reims in 2022/23, the USA star found the net on 22 occasions.
A poacher, there are plenty of similarities between Balogun and the aforementioned Defoe. The latter was never one of the best around, in fact he was really rather underrated. Yet, they combine instinctive finishing with clever movement inside the penalty area.
Like Defoe, the former Arsenal man has the pace to get in behind and he’s a particularly progressive player. They are not a Kane-type striker, someone who will regularly drop deep and link the play. They are not Solanke-type strikers either. He is very much more of a target man.
Balogun can drop deep, certainly not as strongly as Kane, but that is not his main skill. His main attribute is to remain on shoulder of the last defender, just as Defoe did in his prime.
It feels like that for some time, Spurs have missed a striker capable of doing precisely that. As a result, this potential signing could be a game-changer for De Zerbi’s attack.
