Tottenham Hotspur’s over-reliance on Harry Kane could come back to haunt them big time this season. The Lilywhites have been so dependent on their 23-year-old star that when he was stretchered off in the game against Millwall last week, twitter was flooded with Spurs fans moaning about how their season was now over.
And manager Mauricio Pochettino’s disastrous buy of Vincent Janssen has played a big role in building that mindset. The Dutch forward, who came on the back of a £17.5m transfer fee from AZ Alkmaar eight months ago, could manage only one goal and one assist in 19 league appearances. Clearly, Plan B for Pochettino was a failure even before the second half of the season started and the boss would be desperate to make amends for it next season.
According to reports, Tottenham are eyeing a move for Real Betis forward Antonio Sanabria this summer. And although the Paraguayan international hasn’t been very impressive either, similar to Janssen, he has managed three goals in his last four games suggesting that he has found his magic touch.
Tottenham’s 19-goal striker Harry Kane has been ruled out for almost a month with an ankle injury and Pochettino can only hope that his players keep up the momentum even without their star forward up front. Kane’s absence hasn’t boded well for Spurs previously.
The last time when Kane was sidelined for such a period at the start of the season, Pochettino’s men went on a frustrating four-game winless streak, where they managed to hit the net only thrice in four games. And now with the season coming to a dramatic closure, Pochettino will have to make sure they don’t bottle it.
Pochettino had attempted to land Sanabria earlier but he chose Spain over England then. But, now with Spurs most likely in the Champions League next season, luring him could be easier. Janssen came on as a replacement for Sanabria then and it seems like he would be snubbed at the end of this season.
A La Masia product, Sanabria broke into the Barcelona B team back in 2013 but could not impress. He was then sold to Serie A side Sassuolo in 2014, where he managed only two appearances in six months. AS Roma picked him up shortly and he played for the underage side scoring five goals in 3 appearances. He was sent to Sporting Gijon on loan in 2015 where he scored 11 goals in 29 appearances and caught Real Betis’ eyes.
Only 21, Sanabria could go a long way if nurtured the right way and Pochettino looks like a proper tutor.
