As it was last year, this season has already been something of a roller coaster for Tottenham Hotspur.
The Lilywhites looked somewhat off the pace in their opening games, but in the last month or so, Ange Postecoglou's men have looked like a seriously threatening side, even if there are still some issues to be resolved, as the loss to Brighton & Hove Albion made clear.
In fact, the North Londoners' haul of 18 league goals is currently the second-best return in the competition and only one behind Manchester City, who have the frankly inhuman Erling Haaland leading the line.
Yet, it would appear that Daniel Levy and Co are looking to strengthen their already magnificent attack in the upcoming January transfer window, as according to recent reports, the club are keen on a Premier League striker who has won comparisons to Haaland and is currently outscoring Dominic Solanke.
Spurs transfer news
According to a recent report from Caught Offside, Tottenham are leading the race for Ipswich Town striker Liam Delap ahead of the January transfer window.
The report claims that while the Lilywhites are ahead at the moment, the Englishman's fine form has seen the likes of Newcastle United, Aston Villa, Arsenal and his former club, Manchester City, all take notice ahead of what could be an intense battle for his services.
While this level of interest is far from ideal for the North Londoners, the good news is that 21-year-old shouldn't cost a fortune. The report has revealed that an offer in the region of €40m, £33m, should tempt the Tractor Boys into selling.
Now, this is still a sizeable fee, but given his fine form this season, the comparison to Haaland, and the fact that he's outscoring Solanke, it could prove to be a long-term bargain.
Delap's comparisons to Haaland and Solanke
Okay, so let's start with the comparison to Haaland, and while some may deem it ever so slightly outrageous, it was first made by AP correspondent James Robson in September 2020, who said of the then 17-year-old forward that he had "a look of Haaland about him."
Now, Robson based this opinion on the physical stature and goalscoring ability of the teenager at the time and considering he racked up an imposing tally of 46 goals and 16 assists in 55 appearances for City's various youth sides, it's not hard to see where he was coming from.
Moreover, while the Winchester-born poacher only made six first-team appearances for the club, this season has shown that he can be an effective Premier League goalscorer when given the opportunity to consistently start games.
For example, in his nine appearances so far this year, eight of which have come in the league, the England U21 star has scored four goals, which is one more than Soalnke has managed in as many games and in a far more dangerous team.
With that said, even if Levy and Co were able to get their hands on Ipswich's "exceptional" talent in January, as dubbed by former professional Glenn Murray, he would likely come in as a backup for the £65m man at least for now, and given his age, that could be the best option for all involved.
It would allow Postecoglou to keep playing the former Bournemouth star while having a young, hungry, talented and reliable striker to come off the bench when needed and start in cup games, thus keeping the spotlight off of him and improving the overall quality of the squad.
Ultimately, while fans shouldn't expect Delap to immediately come into the starting lineup and displace the talented Solanke, bringing him to N17 seems like a no-brainer if Levy and Co want to ensure Postecoglou has the best tools at his disposal - and the comparisons to Haaland are certainly a nice bonus.