The fact that only Richarlison reached double figures for Premier League goals last season should be enough to force Tottenham Hotspur into the market again this summer.
As things stand, with the new campaign just days away, the Lilywhites appear desperately short on attacking depth, with Mikey Moore recently shining against Hoffenheim despite looking almost certain to leave on loan before the deadline.
Be it through injury or loss of confidence, the likes of Dominic Solanke just haven’t cut it in a Tottenham shirt, sparking talk that a marquee move for certain Victor Osimhen could be on the cards.
There’s also the suggestion that Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo could be brought in to operate through the middle rather than off his favoured left flank. Would either man be the real dream target, however?
How Gakpo and Osimhen compared last season
As Football FanCast exclusively revealed, Osimhen is also believed to have been the subject of an enquiry from Manchester United, with a belated move to the Premier League seemingly on the cards for the Nigerian.
He’s had his injury woes, no question, but boy is an elite goalscorer, having been prolific wherever he’s been, be it in Belgium, France, Italy or Turkey.
His 26 Serie A goals previously fired Napoli to the Scudetto in 2022/23, while he’s maintained that form since moving to Istanbul in 2024, scoring 61 goals in his first 76 games for his current side.
Already off the mark with a brace in the first game of this season, Osimhen ended 2025/26 with 15 goals to his name from just 19 Super Lig starts, scoring at a rate of one every 115 minutes.
For comparison, in a difficult year for Gakpo at Anfield, the Dutchman scored just seven goals in 32 Premier League starts, netting at a rate of one every 393 minutes, albeit while operating off the left flank.
He did chip in with five assists, but that was as many as Osimhen managed too, although Gakpo’s tally of eight ‘big chances’ missed was well below the Galatasaray man’s record of 23.
Considering Gakpo hasn’t been seen enough of late through the middle, it does feel a bit of a risk to consider him in that role, a move that has been talked up amid the parallel pursuit of a new out-and-out winger, in the form of Savinho.
|
Gakpo Record vs ‘Big Six’ |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Games |
Goals (Assists) |
|
Arsenal |
10 |
1 (1) |
|
Spurs |
9 |
4 (3) |
|
Chelsea |
9 |
1 (0) |
|
Man Utd |
8 |
5 (0) |
|
Man City |
8 |
1 (0) |
Osimhen, clearly, is the better pick in terms of signing a pure number nine, but the tag of being Europe’s best striker lies with another.
It’s been three years since Harry Kane got his wish and left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the England skipper having been heavily linked with a move away as early as 2021, amid rampant interest from Manchester City.
Spurs’ club-record scorer has left a gaping void at N17 since ultimately heading to Bayern Munich, scoring more league goals in his final season at the club than Richarlison has in his four full campaigns in north London (30 vs 27).
That says it all, in truth, regarding the Lilywhites’ number nine woes, with there still the nagging issue of just how they can go about replacing Kane.
Well, perhaps the best solution would be to bring back the man himself, with TEAMtalk reporting that Spurs are being kept informed regarding the 33-year-old’s contract situation.
He currently has just a year left on his deal at Bayern, and has been the subject of enquiries from Barcelona, while also holding talks with Saudi side, Al Hilal.
The Bundesliga outfit appear hopeful of securing an extension, but the possibility of an exit can’t be ruled out until he signs on the dotted line. Enter, Spurs.
At the start of a potentially exciting new era under Roberto De Zerbi, bringing Kane back into the fold could mark yet another statement of intent for this new ENIC regime.
In the striker’s prior Spurs pomp, it felt like the club was being held back somewhat by Daniel Levy’s frugality or lack of on-field ambition. There are no such issues in that sense now.
De Zerbi has teased another ‘bomba’ signing, and maybe that will be Kane, a player whom Brendan Rodgers hailed as the “best striker in world football” last year.
That praise is certainly merited, with the free-scoring striker such a complete player, both a machine in terms of creating chances and finishing himself.
Indeed, the contrast between himself and Gakpo, as well as Osimhen, is night and day, with Kane netting 146 goals in just 147 games in Germany, after previously bagging 280 in 435 games for the Lilywhites.
For comparison, Gakpo has scored just 105 club career goals for Liverpool and PSV, while Osimhen has netted just 175, still well shy of Kane’s remarkable return.
As for last season, he scored 36 goals in just 25 starts in the Bundesliga, netting at a rate of one every 66 minutes. He did also register five assists, albeit while also creating 18 ‘big chances’.
In the Champions League in 2025/26, meanwhile, he netted 14 times in 13 games, more than Osimhen and Gakpo recorded combined (nine).
Kane really is the cream of the crop, levels above anyone right now, scoring more goals last term (61) than Gakpo has chalked up in his entire Liverpool career so far, for instance (50).
Spurs have had such a torrid time replacing him, why not bring their academy graduate back to chase down that Premier League record?
