Football FanCast

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly made contact over a move for a top manager target who has already embarrassed Ange Postecoglou on more than one occasion.

Tottenham manager rumours with Ange under pressure

Spurs have had a season to forget so far under Postecoglou, although it could be recovered somewhat by winning the Europa League.

The Lilywhites are set to take on Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals as they aim to make the final in Bilbao and keep up Postecoglou’s record of winning a trophy in his second year in charge.

However, with Tottenham in the bottom half of the Premier League, there have been rumours over a managerial change in north London.

A plethora of managers have been linked as replacements for Postecoglou at Tottenham, with leading candidates thought to be Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and Fulham’s Marco Silva.

Talking to Football Insider recently, ex-scout Mick Brown claimed it was Silva who is the top manager target at Tottenham.

“Tottenham, unless they put a run together from now to the end of the season, you would think that things might happen [to Postecoglou] there in terms of the sack for the manager.

“Silva would certainly be top of the pops in terms of competition for that [managerial] spot, that’s what I’m hearing from my sources there.”

Silva recently got the better of Postecoglou with Fulham defeating Spurs 2-0 prior to the international break, and a new update shows that Tottenham have made an opening move for the Cottagers’ boss.

Tottenham enquire for Fulham’s Marco Silva

According to reports in Portugal, relayed by Sport Witness, Tottenham have come forward and made an enquiry over a move for Silva.

It is claimed that Spurs, alongside Juventus, have both made contact over a move for the 47-year-old, who could be on course to leave Craven Cottage this summer after five years at the club.

Alongside the 2-0 defeat for Postecoglou at the hands of Silva, the Fulham manager also embarrassed the Australian in 2024, winning 3-0 against Spurs at Craven Cottage.

It looks as if Tottenham chiefs have liked what they’ve seen against Silva and have made an opening swoop for bring the “special” Fulham boss across London.

However, Juventus, who are on the search for a permanent manager themselves, have also acted, so it could be one to keep an eye on in north London over the coming months.

Last summer's transfer window was an odd one for Tottenham Hotspur.

On the one hand, Daniel Levy and Co spent a considerable amount of money on youngsters, with £30m going towards Archie Gray and £25m towards Wilson Odobert, and on the other, they spent a club record £65m on Dominic Solanke.

While that fee might have been an overpay, it would be fair to say the former Bournemouth man has so far made good on his price, as evidenced by his recent inclusion in the England squad.

However, everyone is upgradeable, and if recent reports are to be believed, the club are keen on bringing in another star forward from the Premier League who could take Solanke's place after just one season.

Tottenham's summer targets

Regardless of who's in the dugout at the end of the season, Tottenham have a big summer of recruitment ahead of them, with reinforcements needed in most areas of the team.

One of the names that keeps popping up is LOSC Lille star Angel Gomes, who will be available for free in the summer, would be a brilliant addition to the Lilywhites midfield and has already played with some of the club's English contingent on international duty.

Another prominent link is former academy prospect Noni Madueke, whose future seems unclear at Chelsea and could be a wise signing for the North Londoners.

Now, one of Spurs' targets whose future undoubtedly lies away from their current team is Matheus Cunha.

According to a recent report from Caught Offside, the Lilywhites are keen on signing the Brazilian star, along with Liverpool and Arsenal.

It goes a step further, revealing the North Londoners are 'planning to allocate more than £100m to bring Cunha and his teammate Joao Gomes to North London.'

Conveniently, the former Atlético Madrid ace's current contract has a release clause worth around £62.5m, so should Tottenham get ahead of their rivals and convince him of their project, it's not an unrealistic deal, although it could be bad news for Solanke.

How Cunha compares to Solanke

So, if Spurs are able to get ahead of the chasing pack and bring Cunha to N17 in the summer, what does that mean for Solanke? Who would be the club's starting striker?

Well, the first thing to compare is their raw output from this season, and in this metric, the Brazilian star comes out ahead.

For example, in 29 appearances for the Old Gold, totalling 2376 minutes, he has scored 15 goals and provided four assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.52 games, or every 125.05 minutes.

In contrast, the former Cherries ace has scored 11 goals and provided eight assists in 33 appearances, totalling 2535 minutes, which comes out to a slightly less impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.94 games, or every 149.11 minutes.

Okay, so what about their underlying numbers then? Who comes out on top when we take a look under the hood?

Unfortunately for the Lilywhites star, it is once again a one-sided comparison in favour of the Wolves ace.

For example, in practically every metric, the "sensational" attacker, as dubbed by reporter Samuel Luckhurst, comes out ahead, including but not limited to non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive passes and carries, key passes and passes into the penalty area, shot and goal-creating actions, successful take-ons, and more, all per 90.

Ultimately, Solanke is a great player and has put in some brilliant performances for Spurs this season, but Cunha appears to be an upgrade in almost every way, so Levy and Co should be doing all they can to sign him this summer.