According to reports coming from Spain over the past day, Mauricio Pochettino is set to enter into his transfer kitty and splash out on Atletico Madrid and France forward Kevin Gameiro this summer.
AS have claimed that Tottenham are lining up a £26 million bid to try and prize the 30-year-old away from the Spanish capital as Pochettino looks to add more strength in depth to challenge next season.
The North London side pushed Chelsea to the wire this season before eventually falling just short of the Premier League title, and it is believed that the Argentine is looking for strong re-enforcements.
What could the 30-year-old bring to White Hart Lane?
Although not the youngest forward that Tottenham could target during the summer window, Gameiro’s ability in front of goal has only improved with age and he’s shown that in La Liga this year.
Despite playing second-fiddle to the likes of Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres at times this season, often being used as an impact substitute, he’s proven he knows exactly where the goal is.
Twelve goals and five assists in 31 appearances is a useful tally for somebody that’s accustomed to making cameo displays, and this could be the exact sort of player that Pochettino is searching for.
To see just how devastating he can be off the bench look no further than his stunning five-minute hat-trick to win the game for Atletico against Sporting Gijon back in February, proving just how much of a clinical player he can be around the edge of the box by scoring with his only three shots on target.
Gamerio still possesses a sharp turn of pace that could hurt tiring defences, and he’s the type of finisher that only really needs a yard of space to get a shot away inside the opposition final third.
Due to his tenures spent at Sevilla and Atletico he’s also accustomed to pressing defenders high up the pitch, when not in possession of the ball, and this positivity in his play and willingness to work hard up the pitch is a manager’s dream; and with Pochettino’s guidance under his belt, he could improve further.
He’s already proven he can perform on the world’s biggest stage too, leading Sevilla to the Europa League final in 2016 and scoring a crucial second-half goal as they overcame Liverpool to win the trophy.
After the failed experiment of Vincent Janssen this season, there’s no doubt that Pochettino will be looking for a back-up striker to complement talisman Harry Kane and add crucial strength in depth.
Yet the problem for Tottenham is that a move for any striker is a risk – Janssen hit 27 goals for AZ Alkmaar before joining and still flopped – and there’s no guarantee that Gameiro will provide goals.
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