Tottenham Hotspur have made a tremendous start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign and manager Ange Postecoglou's magic has tantalised illustrious success in the future, but there is still so much work left to do.
With eight victories and two draws across the opening ten matches of the English top-flight season, Spurs are enjoying their finest-ever start and are doing so with an impressive level of cohesion and collective understanding, especially after such a drab year across 2022/23.
Indeed, last term the London club fell into the mire and finished in eighth place, missing out on European competition entirely and consequently losing club record scorer and devastating talisman Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, ending a career-long affiliation with the Lilywhites.
Despite the gravity of the departure, Postecoglou chose not to sign an established centre-forward, though 20-year-old prospect Alejo Veliz was signed from Rosario Central for around £13m, instead deploying Heung-min Son, their newly-appointed captain, as the focal frontman, where he has scored eight goals from his past seven outings.
Despite this, it's feasible that Postecoglou prioritises the acquisition of a new striker in 2024; with the continental stage on the cards once again, depth and firepower are integral to the success, and, as such, a big-money move could soon be made.
Tottenham's transfer targets
According to 90min, Dutch Eredivisie champions Feyenoord have set a staggering asking price in excess of €100m (£87m) for their star striker Santiago Gimenez, amid interest from Tottenham and Real Madrid.
It's understood that Los Blancos have been monitoring the Mexican's situation for some time but do not consider him a key target at this stage, which could pave the way for Spurs to launch a bid.
While Spurs are pursuing his signature, a transfer will not happen in January as the Dutch side have confirmed that he will remain in Rotterdam until the end of the season, at the very least.
The deterrent, of course, could come in the form of Gimenez's valuation, though Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy likely has funds to sign a starring new centre-forward and could secure a new leader from the front to bring goals in abundance and alleviate the scoring burden currently on Son's shoulders.
Feyenoord consider Gimenez, aged 22, one of the best talents that the division has seen in modern history and feel that the weight of his transfer should reflect that, surpassing the record deal paid by Manchester United to sign Antony from Ajax for £86m.
Santiago Gimenez's best qualities
Tottenham's record signing is currently the failed £63m addition of Tanguy Ndombele from French outfit Lyon in 2019, meaning that Levy would have to authorise a move that eclipses this former deal.
But Tottenham appear to be changing with the times and have spent lucratively over the summer to combat Kane's sale and provide Postecoglou with tools to craft success.
The fact that the Australian has started off so emphatically will only serve to fortify his demands to inject further first-class firepower into the fold, and despite Gimenez's exorbitant tag, he could yet wind up down the N17.
He certainly boasts the prolificness to make his mark, hailed for his “insane” shooting skills by journalist Antonio Mango and actually plundering 28 goals and three assists last term as his outfit were crowned Dutch champions.
This season, he hardly needed time to click back into gear, already boasting 15 goals and three assists across just 12 matches across all competitions.
After such incredible exploits, Gimenez left talent scout Jacek Kulig remarking at his "simply amazing" career in the Eredivisie so far, with little doubt over the player's faculty for success on the major stage, serving as the arrowhead at an outfit such as Tottenham
Outscoring Kane & Haaland
Indeed riding an 'insane' purple patch right now, Gimenez is starting to demonstrate signs of a rounded and reliable game that could set him in good stead to succeed in the Premier League.
Some may doubt his capability of carrying his current rate into the rigours of Premier League football, but Gimenez has an eye for goal that will remain no matter where he plies his trade.
As per FBref, the 5 foot 11 talisman ranks among the top 1% of forwards across divisions similar to the Eredivisie for goals and the top 1% for touches in the attacking box per 90, underscoring his prowess as a predator in the danger area.
The 22-cap Mexican currently scores at a rate of 0.94 per game, which actually surpasses the rates of two of Europe's most distinguished strikers in Kane and Manchester City's Erling Haaland (0.68 & 0.75 respectively).
Kane was indeed sold to Bayern Munich in the summer and has already set the Bundesliga alight, bagging 14 goals and seven assists from just 13 games thus far.
In comparison, Haaland has found the back of the net on 65 occasions from just 68 matches for Pep Guardiola's side since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022, instrumental in winning the treble and hailed as a "generational" talent by BBC Sport pundit Rory Smith.
With creative peers such as James Maddison behind him, Gimenez could be the perfect force to unlock a new level of Spurs' attacking ability over the coming years, quite clearly offering an innate scoring ability that could transcend the club's fortunes.
Kane
62
46
12
0
Haaland
68
65
12
4
Stats via Transfermarkt.
Both phenomenal strikers in their own right, Haaland and Kane are probably the leading centre-forwards in world football, and while Gimenez has been outscoring them over the past 12 months, it is unlikely that he would maintain such superlative numbers if and when he makes the leap to the Premier League.
That being said, his positioning is impressive and his finishing is first-rate, and deployed in a thriving Spurs team, there is absolutely no reason why he cannot establish himself as one of the division's leading forwards.
Therefore, Postecoglou must convince Levy that the lofty fee is worth parting with, securing the signature of a man who could lead the line for years to come as the renaissance in north London starts to take shape.