Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing former Manchester United striker Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez from Bayer Leverkusen this January. Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino is keen to bolster his attacking options in the upcoming window and is looking at the 28-year old to provide goals for the Londoners.
Javier Hernandez has been a revived man after moving to the Bay Arena from Old Trafford two seasons ago. He had a stellar debut season with the German side, scoring 26 goals in 43 appearances in 2015-16 and has enjoyed a great start this term as well, having scored 7 times in 20 games.
Spurs have had troubles going forward this season and have had to heavily rely on Harry Kane for goals. The Englishman is the leading goalscorer for the Lilywhites with 7 goals this season. In the period when he was out due to injury early in the season, Spurs struggled to score goals. Son Heung-Min did chip in with crucial goals and has scored five times this season so far, but he is naturally a wide player and cannot operate as a striker in the longer run.
New signing Vincent Janssen has struggled to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League. The Dutch striker came in with a lot of hopes on him to help out Kane and share the goalscoring burden, but the former AZ Alkmaar striker has managed to score only once in 13 league appearances so far. While midfielders Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen have contributed with three strikes each.
Having already crashed out of the Champions League, the European journey will still continue for Pochettino’s side with participation in Europa League guaranteed. And the third round of FA Cup will also be soon upon us, making it much more imperative that Spurs strengthen their attack in the January window.
And signing Hernandez could go a long way to the ease the pressure on Kane and Pochettino. The Mexican forward has always shown great goalscoring instincts but could never get a continued run in the team during his time at Old Trafford. He had shown his pedigree in front of goal each time he was called upon, scoring some very crucial goals for the Red Devils. Having scored 57 goals for United in 157 appearances over 6 seasons, Chicharito has proved that he can be entrusted with goal-scoring duties in the English top-flight.
A true poacher in every sense, Hernandez has great awareness and instincts in the box that make him very dangerous. His movement off the ball is also a big strength in his game as it helps create spaces for himself and his teammates to exploit. Apart from this, the Mexican also possesses decent pace and can hit the ball with both feet. And at 28 years old, he is probably at the peak age of his career, which has been seen in his performances for Leverkusen.
There may be doubts regarding his suitability to Pochettino and Tottenham’s style of play, given his tendencies to stay in the opposition’s half and not help out defensively. But with the energy Chicharito possesses and the team man that he is, it will not be surprising to see him adapt to the way Spurs play and improve his work-rate.
According to reports, there is a release clause of £33.5 million in the Mexican’s contract and while the price may seem a little steep, Chicharito will definitely bring a lot of goals with him. With rivals Liverpool and Spanish La Liga side Valencia also expressing their interests in him, Tottenham need to act quickly if they’re to sign Hernandez. Spurs will definitely benefit from his goals while it will also offer Chicharito a chance to show the Premier League his capabilities and prove himself at the biggest of the stages once again.