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Making sense of Tottenham’s striker targets

By Rucker Haringey

MARSEILLE - FEBRUARY 7: Michy Batshuayi of OM in action between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Motta of PSG during the French Ligue 1 match between Olympique de Marseille (OM) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at New Stade Velodrome on February 7, 2016 in Marseille, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images)
MARSEILLE - FEBRUARY 7: Michy Batshuayi of OM in action between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Motta of PSG during the French Ligue 1 match between Olympique de Marseille (OM) and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) at New Stade Velodrome on February 7, 2016 in Marseille, France. (Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images) /
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Tottenham are linked with quite a few striker targets at the moment. Just what are Spurs really doing?

As a Tottenham fan, it can be downright exhausting checking the press every day to see which striker Spurs are connected with on a daily basis. This summer, in particular, the club have been mentioned with a range of high-profile targets. It can be downright confusing.

Have no fear though, we are here to help you cut through the clutter of the Tottenham rumor mill. If you apply a little logic to the situation, it’s easy to see what Daniel Levy and company are really after. The whole mess is actually an example of just why we’re lucky to have Levy in charge of our affairs.

The key thing to understand when evaluating Tottenham’s moves on the transfer market is that Levy is obsessed over getting the club a great deal. He isn’t satisfied with just making a slightly above average move. He is obsessed with the idea of getting an A+ deal every time.

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The upside to that philosophy is pretty obvious. Spurs are unlikely to ever get forced into a poor financial move. Levy is always willing to walk away from the negotiating talent before he feels forced to pay even a penny over market value for a potential player.

Unfortunately, the downside is just as obvious. Levy’s maniacal obsession with making great financial deals can cause him to walk away from players who could help Spurs the most. Sometimes you get what you pay for, and cut-rate deals equal something less than world-class talent.

Once you understand those realities, it’s pretty easy to see what Daniel Levy is doing as it relates to the club’s search for a back-up for Harry Kane. He knows that he has a number of transfer targets that both he, and manager Mauricio Pochettino rate highly, and he’s using each of them against one another in the market.

Tottenham are clearly playing a number of targets against one another in the market. Every time you read an article linking Ayoze Perez with Tottenham, you can bet that the representatives for Antonio Sanabria get a little nervous. Each article that’s written about Michy Batshuayi to Spurs makes Vincent Janssen’s representatives just a little uneasy.

This strategy does make it difficult to discern who Tottenham’s true transfer target is. Still, we have some pretty significant clues that should give us solid insight.

First, you have to understand that only one of Spurs’ top targets isn’t immediately available for purchase. Michy Batshuayi is the only player that Tottenham can’t practically complete a move for at the moment. He’s still with Belgium in Euro 2016 and that means he can’t be expected to make a formal move for another few days.

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In contrast, the rest of Spurs’ targets are available to move immediately. That means that Levy can realistically sign Sanabria, Perez or Janssen immediately if he’s so inclined. The fact that no deal has been reached for one of those prospects is a pretty big clue as to the identity of the real priority target.

It’s also possible that Tottenham’s strategy either will come down to purchasing just Batshuayi, or going for two of the lesser-acclaimed prospects. It just so happens that the Belgian’s price tag will likely be double of what it might cost Levy to purchase any of the other names most commonly linked to the club.

So what does it all mean? In the end, it’s unlikely that Spurs will sign any striker before the end of Euro 2016. Levy will hope that the contingent of Belgian Spurs will influence Batshuayi to pressure Marseille into a sale to Tottenham. That’s certainly a reasonable possibility.

Once Batshuayi’s situation become clarified, Tottenham will have the ability to move swiftly on their second tier of prospects. All of Levy’s negotiations with Newcastle, AZ Alkmaar and Roma have been an effort to feel out the transfer price it will take to complete a deal quickly if necessary.

Related Story: Tottenham's top 5 transfer targets revealed

Michy Batshuayi is the key to Tottenham’s striker transfer situation. Only after he is moved to another club, will Spurs fans know what their attacking corps will look like next season.

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