Rio Ferdinand names which Tottenham target he'd rather sign - Rafael Leao or Lautaro Martinez

By Shamanth Jayaram

Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with moves for both Rafael Leao and Lautaro Martinez, and Rio Ferdinand has now revealed who he would sign if he was a manager.

Spurs have Harry Kane as their undisputed first-choice striker, while Richarlison and Son Heung-min can also play there. However, that hasn’t stopped rumours from linking them with moves to sign plenty of top-quality centre-forwards – Milan rivals Leao and Martinez are two of them.

Rio Ferdinand names which Tottenham target he’d rather sign – Rafael Leao or Lautaro Martinez

Leao and Martinez were both at the World Cup.

The AC Milan man, branded as an ‘electric’ player, only played 83 minutes of football in Qatar over five games. All of his appearances were off the bench, but he still managed to have a good impact.

Leao scored twice for Portugal at the World Cup, averaging a goal every 41.5 minutes. That is an incredible return, and his stock has surely gone up following his performances.

Martinez, on the other hand, played a lot more than Leao, but he still wasn’t a regular for the World champions. He started their first two games but was only used as a substitute in the remainder of the tournament. Unfortunately, he didn’t manage to score a goal or pick up an assist in Qatar.

Ferdinand was asked to name the striker he’d rather have in his side. He immediately picked the AC Milan man.

“Leao,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.

“Both have had limited minutes in the tournament, but if I was a manager and I wanted to purchase one of those two strikers, Leao will be the first on my list out of those two.”

Tottenham have been linked with both of them

Tottenham need strengthening in multiple areas of the pitch, but new additions in attack are not necessarily a priority for Antonio Conte at this moment in time.

However, they have still been linked with top-quality strikers like Leao and Martinez.

CalcioMercato.it reported in October that Tottenham are interested in signing Leao, with the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool also said to be keen to sign him. The Portuguese forward will enter the final 18 months of his contract in January.

Inter Live, on the other hand, reported last month that Tottenham are still keen to sign Martinez. Conte knows him very well having worked with him at the San Siro, and the Spurs boss reportedly wants him in North London in 2023.

Whether Tottenham will be able to sign either striker, however, remains to be seen.