Tottenham failed in a last-minute bid to sign Eran Zahavi on loan until the end of the season, according to The Telegraph’s Live Deadline Day Blog (22.42).
What’s the story?
Spurs had been looking for a striker on the final day of the window, with Jose Mourinho making it clear that the north Londoners would have a “problem” if they couldn’t bring one in. They were said to have earmarked a swoop for Olivier Giroud, but that deal didn’t materialise due to Chelsea’s failure to sign a centre-forward themselves.
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It was also revealed late on Friday that the north London outfit tried and failed in an attempt to take Israel international Zahavi to the Premier League from current club Guangzhou R&F. The Telegraph’s Jason Burt tweeted that Spurs had “run out of time” to complete a loan deal for the forward.
Full extent of desperation
Spurs, obviously, wanted a striker to cope with the loss of Harry Kane. The England international is one of the best strikers around and has amassed 17 goals in 25 matches this season already – since he picked up his injury, however, his team have failed to score in two out of the three league matches he has missed.
Whilst it may be hard to replace him with someone at his level, surely they can do better than Zahavi. The 32-year-old has been fantastic for his current club – he has managed 99 goals in 110 games, including 29 strikes in the whole of 2019 – but we must not forget they have come in the Chinese Super League – hardly the level of any of the major European leagues.
And whilst he also did very well for Maccabi Tel Aviv, netting 121 times in 156 matches, the Israeli top flight is similarly not the greatest barometer of quality. His only time in one of Europe’s top five leagues? Two seasons with Palermo, where he managed just two strikes in 26 matches.
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At 32, it would also be a big ask for him to hit the ground running in a new country and a far more competitive division. The attempt to sign Zahavi shows the full extent of Tottenham’s desperation and their poor planning. Kane has been unavailable for the whole of the month – more than enough time to bring in an adequate short-term replacement.
Mourinho is notoriously irritated when he does not get the transfer deals he wants – it was a problem that arose both at Chelsea and Manchester United. He may still be in the honeymoon period, but he is unlikely to be happy with Daniel Levy’s inability to give him what he desired – a frustrated Jose is the last thing anyone at the north London club wants or needs.
Meanwhile, one former Spurs star turned down a return move to the club.