Two Alternatives For Thomas Lemar Who Tottenham Can Consider
Tottenham Hotspur have had a slow start to the summer. The North Londoners who had another fantastic season last time around, finishing as runners-up in the Premier League, are yet to make inroads into the transfer market.
While the likes of Manchester City, Everton, Liverpool and Manchester United have gone on to complete one transfer at least, there has been no real activity from the Lilywhites. They have been linked with plenty of players so far, but nothing has materialised so far.
One name that has been spoken of a lot in North London is Thomas Lemar. Both the North London clubs – Arsenal and Tottenham have expressed strong interest in the AS Monaco winger. And it was also reported that the Gunners were all set to complete the transfer, with the player keen on working with Arsene Wenger (Goal.com).
However, Goal.com later broke the news that Arsenal have had a €35million bid rejected for the France international. While this development did open up a window of opportunity for Tottenham to make a swoop for Lemar, there hasn’t been any concrete progress on this front. If it so happens that, Spurs miss out on signing Lemar, here are two replacements for the 21-year old that they could target insted.
Keita Balde Diao
Keita Balde finished last season with excellent returns of 16 goals and 6 assists across all competitions for the Italian side, establishing himself as one of the most promising attacking players in the Serie A. Having come through the Barcelona academy, Keita has inherited the ball playing skills and the range of passing that are imbibed in almost every La Masia graduate. And with his ability to play anywhere across the front three, he will provide great options to Pochettino if signed.
He is extremely fast, and can run at the defenders with the ball, and can cut in from the wide areas or hug the touchline and bombard crosses into the box. And to go with that, Keita is extremely clinical in front of goal, making him the ideal player to fit into Tottenham’s young and exuberant squad.
Marco Asensio
A superstar in the making, Real Madrid’s Marco Asensio has took everyone by surprise with his dazzling displays for the European champions last season.
Despite not playing a lot, the 21-year old winger ended the last term with a tally of 10 goals and 4 assists from 38 games – only half of which were from the kick-off. The Mallorca youth academy graduate has plenty of pace to burn and is also a good dribbler of the ball, which makes him a nuisance for the opposition full-backs. Despite his not so sturdy frame, Asensio possesses the strength to hold on to the ball under pressure and can pick a pass with surgical precision and is a technically gifted player.
Asensio was part of the Spain U-21 squad in the recently concluded UEFA U-21 European Championships, where his team made it to the finals, but lost to Germany U-21. The Madrid man had an impressive tournament and has all the traits and attributes to turn into a star, and Tottenham should look to tempt him away from the Santiago Bernabeu with the lure of regular playing time.