Why Tottenham should go all out to sign Vedat Muriqi in January

According to a report from Football London, Tottenham had sent scouts to watch Fenerbahce striker Vedat Muriqi in Saturday’s Euro 2020 qualifier against the Czech Republic. He scored during Kosovo’s 2-1 win over the Czech Republic.

Tottenham weren’t alone in tracking the striker’s progress, though, as Lazio, Fiorentina and Napoli also scouted the player.

Vedat Muriqi, 25, has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence over the last 12 months. He shot to fame with 17 goals in 36 games for Caykur Rizespor in 2018/19 that earned him a big move to Fenerbahce over the summer.

The Kosovo international has settled down quickly in Istanbul, scoring twice in the opening three Super Lig games of the season. That has seen the striker attract a lot of attention from some of Europe’s big-hitters, including Tottenham.

Tottenham have been left a tad thin on the ground when it comes to strikers this season after their business in the summer transfer window.

They released Fernando Llorente in June after his contract expired, with the big Spaniard eventually joining Napoli on a free transfer. In addition, the north London side also sold Vincent Janssen, thus, leaving Harry Kane as the only recognised out-and-out striker at the club.

Kane has suffered injury problems over the last couple of seasons and it is important he needs sufficient breaks if he is to stay fit for an entire campaign. That will only happen if Mauricio Pochettino signs a new centre-forward to cover and compete with the England international.

Vedat Muriqi would definitely be one such player, who can have a real impact on the squad, both from off the bench and from the start when needed. He would certainly be a massive upgrade over the departed Llorente and his physical qualities will allow him to hit the ground running in the Premier League.

Standing at 6ft 4in tall, the Kosovo international is tall, strong, powerful and offers aerial dominance. The physical centre-forward can hold the ball up very well and bring his teammates into the game. He isn’t blessed with electric pace but makes it up with his positional awareness and anticipation in the box.

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Muriqi is a very clinical finisher and Tottenham will certainly benefit from his goals and hold-up play if Kane is ever absent. He would offer a different flavour to Tottenham’s attack, with his goal record in Turkey being impressive.

Verdict

Muriqi will be a very smart signing for Tottenham, whilst being an ideal backup to Kane. But Tottenham will have to splash big on the target-man to sign him from Fenerbahce in January.