Carlton Cole and Adam Catterall think Tottenham just need one top-tier striker to turn their impressive summer rebuild into a genuine title challenge under Roberto De Zerbi.
Spurs have splashed close to £250 million this window, bringing in seven new faces to bolster defense and midfield, but the forward line remains the biggest question mark. The club barely avoided the drop last season, with Richarlison topping the scoring charts on just 12 goals across all competitions. He and Dominic Solanke are expected to carry the goalscoring load again, though it’s unclear if either can hit the numbers a real contender needs. Tottenham’s habit of losing their best scorers hasn’t helped either, Kane, Son, and Johnson all left in recent years before this squad overhaul.
On talkSPORT, Catterall pressed the point that despite all the spending elsewhere, Spurs still don’t have a clear source of goals. Cole backed that up, arguing the club needs someone guaranteed for 20-plus league goals a season, name-checking Ivan Toney or even a shock Kane return as options that would instantly change Tottenham’s ceiling. Catterall went further, suggesting a Kane comeback specifically could push Spurs from top-six hopefuls into legitimate top-four and title contenders.
Cole isn’t convinced Richarlison has proven he can operate at that level, but he’s holding out hope for Solanke, believing fitness rather than ability has held him back. He also pointed to James Maddison’s return from injury and a strong squad generally back from fitness issues as reasons for optimism, on top of what he called a smart transfer window overall.
On incomings, De Zerbi is said to want a left-sided attacking addition, with Man City’s Savinho long admired and seen as the more realistic target over Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo, though City would want a replacement lined up first, possibly Chelsea’s Pedro Neto, before letting Savinho leave. Meanwhile, links to Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson have surfaced but reports suggest Spurs aren’t actively pursuing that move right now.
