Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that he wants to bring a new striker to the club this summer amid links with Bournemouth talisman Dominic Solanke.
The Lilywhites did not sign a big-money replacement for Bayern Munich-bound Harry Kane last year, although they did bolster their attacking ranks with the signing of young Argentine Alejo Veliz.
However, the South American was not deemed ready for Premier League action by Postecoglou, who preferred Son Heung-min and Richarlison in the central positions as Veliz spent the second half of the season on loan at Sevilla.
Richarlison found his goalscoring boots for a brief period over the winter months, but the Brazilian's form then took a nosedive amid injury concerns, and he has not played a single minute for Spurs in pre-season so far.
Meanwhile, Son - who would alternate between left-wing and centre-forward duties - came up with an eye-catching 17 goals and 10 assists in 35 Premier League matches, but he turned 32 in July and is now in the last 12 months of his contract.
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Postecoglou: 'Signing a striker is obviously a focus for Tottenham'
Son was particularly effective on the left in Wednesday's 4-3 victory over Team K-League as well, and Tottenham have long been tipped to bring in a new number nine to allow the South Korean to continue on the flank.
In recent hours, it has been claimed that Bournemouth's Solanke is among Spurs' principle targets, although the former Chelsea and Liverpool man possesses a release clause of a reported £65m in his Cherries contract.
Spurs' North London rivals Arsenal have also been linked with a move for Solanke, but Postecoglou has given the powers-that-be the go-ahead to make a move, telling football.london that he is determined to add to his attacking ranks this summer.
"It's still the area of the park we're really probably the thinnest when I talk about squad-wise at the moment, so obviously that's a focus for us," the Tottenham manager said.
"At Celtic, I had Kyogo [Furuhashi], who was a sort of out and out number nine and in Japan, I've always had a striker. It just depends, like last year we had to be a bit creative, it's fair to say. You know but if Harry would have stayed I definitely would have used him.
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"So I think for us what's more important is the type of striker we get. You know we play a certain way. We demand certain things from a physical perspective from the technical aspects of it that it's going be a striker that fits that mould."
Postecoglou breaks silence on Son contract situation
Postecoglou subsequently held a press conference ahead of Saturday's heavyweight clash with Bayern Munich in South Korea, where he was asked about Son's uncertain contract situation and delivered a measured response, insisting that all negotiations will be taken care of at the "appropriate" time.
"Yeah, look, that's not really my area, what I always do and what I've always done is irrespective of the contract situation of players is to you know, treat them all the same," Postecoglou added.
"In terms of contracts I think that all gets sorted out at the appropriate time. But from my perspective, and I think the players' perspectives themselves, we're just focused on preparing for a big year."
Son will be expected to wear the captain's armband for Saturday's friendly with Bayern, but he will not be reuniting with former deadly double act partner Kane, who is still on holiday after helping England reach the Euro 2024 final.
Ben Knapton
![Ange Postecoglou coach of Tottenham during the Pre Season Friendly match at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, London, July 20th, 2024 [on July 26, 2024]](https://sm.imgix.net/11/29/1x1.gif?w=1&h=1 "Ange Postecoglou coach of Tottenham during the Pre Season Friendly match at the Kiyan Prince Foundation Stadium, London, July 20th, 2024 [on July 26, 2024]")
