According to various reports, Tottenham Hotspur are again plotting a move for Juventus striker Mario Mandžukić in January after a deal failed in the summer. The 30-year-old Croat has been a regular transfer candidate from the past few years and a lot of clubs are after him at the moment.
Apart from Spurs, PSG have let Mandžukić know of their interest and West Ham are considering a move after being largely toothless in front of the goal. Reports are also there that Shanghai’s two teams, Shenhua and SIPG, are interested.
The towering forward has been a regular mover between some of Europe’s biggest clubs in the last few years, switching from Bayern Munich to Atletico Madrid and then to Juventus in the last four seasons. He has largely been a bench player in Juventus with the likes of Paulo Dybala and summer mega-signing Gonzalo Higuaín getting the nod ahead of him.
With Dybala injured at the moment, Mandžukić is a regular now but is expected to drop down the order with the return of the Argentine. Calciomercato has reported that lack of playing time might force Mandžukić to look for options outside. And what better options could there be than Tottenham and West Ham.
Pochettino’s men have struggled after a bright start to the season. Their main weakness lies in their striking options that lack edge. Especially with Vincent Janssen failing to hit the heights he did with AZ Alkmaar in Holland. He disappointed when he filled in for Harry Kane and Spurs are desperately looking to bring in a striker for a better second half of the season.
Mandžukić seems to be the perfect pair for Harry Kane, who has returned from injury. The Croat has always been a 15-18 goal a season striker, who necessarily keeps the scoring ticking in difficult situations. Spurs need the exact thing now.
At 190cm, he could easily be a target man up front heading in from long balls from the back and from set pieces. He has scored 2 goals for Juventus this season from 8 appearances out which 3 times he came off the bench. Tottenham are currently in the fifth position in the Premier League table with 21 points from 11 games. They have been winless in their last 4 matches. With a number of players injured in various positions, a striker is not the only area they are looking for. Under Pochettino, Mandžukić could be a real threat to opposition defences.
