Jose Mourinho has only been at Tottenham for a short period of time, and yet when speaking to Sky Sports, he already knows that Harry Kane is “irreplaceable”. As the Spurs striker looks set for another spell on the sidelines, it raises a previous question: why have they not signed a suitable second-choice striker yet?
Tottenham Should Have Found a Back-Up to Harry Kane
Harry Kane is Injury-Prone
For all of his world-class abilities and goal-scoring nous, Harry Kane is injury-prone.
The 2018/19 season saw the 26-year-old miss out on the majority of the second half of the season. A torn ankle ligament in January 2019 saw him miss eight games for Tottenham, before suffering another ligament injury in April, kept him out for nine games.
However, his record with injuries does not stop there. The 2017/18 season saw him miss four games, with a hamstring and ankle injury retrospectively.
Furthermore, he missed 11 games at the beginning of the 2016/17 Premier League season with another ankle injury.
Tottenham are aware of the regular injuries that Harry Kane suffers and yet are never prepared for it. It shows their failures of recent years, and why they may never compete at the very top.
Desperate Need For a Second-Choice Striker
Manchester City have Gabriel Jesus; Liverpool; have Divock Origi; Chelsea have Olivier Giroud.
Tottenham, for so long, have been searching for a suitable back-up to Kane. Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen never quite lived up to the standard.
The England international and Tottenham captain is the undisputed first-choice striker. It would be hard to displace him and live up to his standards. However, Tottenham are crying out for a deputy that can at least deliver when the main man is unavailable. Their rivals have found suitable back-ups to their first-choice, and while they have done so, Tottenham have failed to replicate their top-six competitors.
Cope With Son Heung-Min for Now, But Not Forever
When Kane gets injured, the first port of call has been to turn to Son Heung-Min.
The South Korean has proven to be an adequate replacement up front when called upon. Son scored 20 goals last season, six of which came during the time his team-mate spent out injured.
However, he should not be called upon forever. Jose Mourinho needs to find a suitable back-up to Kane and needs to find one quickly.
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