The day many Tottenham fans have been dreading looks like it could be here with the club having accepted a bid from Bayern Munich for Harry Kane’s services. The striker looks set to move to Germany and bring his long connection with the North London club to an end. Below, we’ll consider who could replace Harry Kane at Tottenham.
That’s a question that was always likely to come up sooner or later with Kane’s contract winding down and Tottenham drifting further away from a position to challenge for silverware in recent years.
Kane fired in 30 goals in the 2022/23 Premier League, his joint best ever tally in the competition, but it wasn’t enough to even secure European qualification for Spurs who finished down in 8th. He’s set to depart second on the all time list of Premier League scorers, still some 47 goals behind record holder Alan Shearer.
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Who could replace Harry Kane at Tottenham?
Richarlison
Some reports suggest that Spurs are happy to place their faith in Richarlison to be their main striker after Kane’s departure. That would be a bold move given the Brazilian scored just one Premier League goal last season. His best tally across what is now six seasons in the Premier League is the 13 registered for Everton in both the 2018/19 and 2019/20 campaigns.
Clearly in terms of outright firepower and goal threat, Richarlison would be a massive downgrade on Kane. However this will be a new, attack-minded Spurs under Ange Postecoglou and the plan will not be for one player to fill the void left by Kane, but for more goal contributions from across the team.
While he was much maligned last term, Richarlison was rarely used as an outright striker by Spurs. He did play that role for Brazil at the 2022 World Cup and impressed with his ability to lead the line whilst also contributing 3 goals including a stunning strike in his team’s opening game against Serbia.
That’s very much the version of Richarlison that Spurs will want to see should they place greater faith in the Brazilian this season. The 26 year old will get an early chance to show why a new Harry Kane replacement is not needed as the Postecoglou era commences with a trip to Brentford in the Premier League this weekend.
Romelu Lukaku
One surprise contender that has emerged to replace Kane is Romelu Lukaku. It feels like a somewhat easy link to make given both Chelsea and Lukaku are eager for a solution that will see the Belgian find a new club this summer.
He’s also the most obvious option if Spurs want a proven Premier League goalscorer to replace the England captain. Lukaku is 20th on the all-time top scorer list in the Premier League and there are only three active players above him, one of whom is of course Harry Kane himself. The others are Mo Salah and Jamie Vardy, neither of whom are going to be rocking up at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium this summer.
Therefore on some levels, a switch across London may make sense for both Lukaku and Spurs and the 30 year old would be a big name, experienced addition who’d most likely handle the pressure of filling Kane’s enormous boots better than a younger player might. However Tottenham may be put off by Lukaku’s apparent decline in recent years with only 8 goals in the 2021/22 Premier League with Chelsea and just 10 last term in Serie A back on loan at Inter.
Aleksandar Mitrovic
"He is ready to play and I'm 100% sure he is committed to us" 👀
Marco Silva speaking on the situation surrounding Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrović's future at the club. pic.twitter.com/7WN5ympSDv
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) August 10, 2023
Another potential Premier League target to replace Harry Kane is Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic. The Serb was strongly linked with a move to Saudi club Al Hilal earlier in the summer but does have three years to run on his present deal at Craven Cottage.
Mitrovic would be a strong option should Spurs want a big physical presence that other players could play off. He should certainly be an attainable target once the Kane fee arrives and a move across London may appeal to the 28 year old should the Saudi move fail to materialise.
Despite injuries and a lengthy suspension, Mitrovic netted 14 goals in 24 Premier League appearances last season, having scored a staggering 43 in the 2021/22 Championship. In an attack-minded Tottenham side, he should be more than capable of surpassing 20 goals were he to go injury and trouble free and be utilised as Postecoglou’s main striker.
Gift Orban
In the event that Richarlison is seen as a suitably strong option to be the main striker, Tottenham may look to add a younger forward to provide competition. One man who may fit that bill is Gift Orban, a 21 year old forward playing in Belgium with Gent.
Orban is extremely raw having only made the move to Europe in the summer of 2022 from his native Nigeria. However he is clearly an extremely talented young player with a real eye for a goal.
Initially with Stabaek in the Norwegian top flight, he scored 16 times in 22 appearances before moving to Gent late in the January transfer window. His goalscoring touch continued with 15 goals in 16 Belgian Pro League starts last term. He has also made a flying start to the season with a hat-trick this week in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Jonathan David
Another young, although slightly more high profile striker that Spurs have been linked with is Lille’s Jonathan David. The 23 year old is under contract in France until the summer of 2025 with Lille reportedly only willing to sell him in the event they can first find a replacement.
David would most likely be the most expensive of the four reported targets Spurs are considering, at least in terms of a transfer fee which may exceed £50m. The Canadian was also at Gent as a young player but has really developed into a fine prospect in France with 52 goals scored across the last 3 seasons in Ligue 1.
Last season was his most prolific yet while Jonathan David also experienced the career highlight of playing in a World Cup with Canada exiting at the group stage despite some bright performances in Qatar.
