Tottenham Hotspur are considering a blockbuster January move for a striker that Ange Postecoglou is said to admire, according to a new report.
Tottenham injury bug hits their forwards
Tottenham are enduring perhaps their worst season in recent memory. Currently 15th in the Premier League and just eight points clear of the drop zone, the Lilywhites are without a win in the top flight in over a month and have lost seven of their last nine.
Ange Postecoglou's side have also been ravaged with injuries for almost the entire campaign, with keys players like Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero having missed large chunks of the year, and that injury bug now spreading further forward in the team.
The latest addition to the club's seemingly ever-growing injury list is striker Dominic Solanke. The striker, who has scored 11 goals in all competitions for Spurs since his summer move from Bournemouth, missed Tottenham's 3-2 defeat to Everton at the weekend, and it was confirmed after that he had injured his knee in training and is expected to be sidelined for a number of weeks.
"It was just him trying to shoot and twisting his knee. It's just one of those things that, unfortunately, we're going through at the moment," explained Postecoglou after the defeat to the Toffees. "We'll get the full extent of it. We're hoping that it is not too serious, but it will certainly keep him out for a few weeks."
Spurs eyeing move for Delap
To fill the hole left by Solanke's absence, Tottenham are now eyeing a move for Ipswich Town star Liam Delap, who has been one of the Premier League's oustanding strikers this term. According to TeamTALK, Delap is admired by Postecoglou and Tottenham are open to making an advance for the 21-year-old this month.
The publication claims that Spurs will face significant competition for Delap's signature from London rivals Chelsea, however, and that club chairman Daniel Levy would be reluctant to pay a significant fee for the Englishman, which could be a potential road block to a potential switch to North London being completed.
Ipswich, meanwhile, aren't keen to let Delap, who has scored eight goals for the Tractor Boys this season, go in January, but TeamTALK report that the right offer may force them to re-think. Delap's rumoured price tag is set at around £42 million – which is £23 million less than Spurs paid for Solanke in the summer.
Delap has earned plenty of plaudits for his performances this season, including from Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, who used to manage him as a youngster at Manchester City.
"Liam is a fantastic player, and also for his age," said Maresca last month. "I think we spent one year together and he scored [about] 22 to 24 goals. He is a very good striker.
"England have many good players, many good strikers [but] he's working hard off the ball and on the ball, understands the game and can score goals. I think he can be an important player for England."