Why Attack Is the Area Tottenham Need to Address in Last Week of Transfer Window

In the midst of a slow start to the new season, Tottenham Hotspur will not be alone in looking to dip into the transfer market in the window's final week. Disappointing though his team's start (a loss followed by two draws) has been for head coach Mauricio Pochettino, any impending activity will likely not be a consequence of panic-induced rash decisions.

The temptation to further rejig their leaky defence will be tempered by a hard-earned understanding new arrivals do not automatically fix lingering issues in the position (chiefly relating to concentration). Annual new additions from Jan Vertonghen to Federico Fazio, via Vlad Chiriches, have shown that. Not to mention two this summer's new recruits at the back—Kieran Trippier and Kevin Wimmer—have not even featured yet.

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A little more experience and clout in central midfield may be considered desirable. Then again, offloading four midfielders earlier this summer was done with increasing playing time for the club's numerous young players in mind. Dele Alli, Nabil Bentaleb, Tom Carroll, Eric Dier and Ryan Mason have all already featured with Josh Onomah making the bench for Saturday's 1-1 draw with Leicester City.

The area most in need of addressing was clear even before the recent underwhelming results. Yet seeing the difficulty Tottenham have had creating in the final third, the urgency for new faces to reinforce and revitalise their ranks here has become even more apparent.

The 4-2-3-1 formation Pochettino has predominantly deployed in the last year has meant numbers up front have not been a must. Although Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado struggling to the point of irrelevance by the end of last season, the prominence of attacking midfielders in the system and Kane's strong goalscoring form were ultimately enough to get by. Eventually firing the north Londoners to a fifth-place finish.

The good of Spurs' first three games have not ruled out a similar approach working again.

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Christian Eriksen almost gave them an early lead in a confident opening 20 minutes at Manchester United. A sooner realisation that going a goal down did not mean they had to stop attacking the Red Devils with the same carefully chosen assaults might have seen the eventual 1-0 loss avoided.

While deployed more loosely against Stoke City, Spurs' same front four of Eriksen, Kane, Nacer Chadli and Mousa Dembele did similarly good work establishing a two-goal lead. Struggles sustaining the effort informed the visitors' turnaround, but ultimately they were pegged back to 2-2 more because of defensive frailties than anything else.

The Leicester performance was the worst of Spurs' opening three from an attacking perspective. In his first start this season Erik Lamela failed to make an impact replacing the injured Eriksen, while those kept on from previous weeks toiled for large periods.

Yet, as Kane noted post-match (above), they stuck at it and took the lead through a terrific team move. Nacer Chadli and Dele Alli combined to win possession in the centre circle before Kane drove forward and found the Belgian again to his left. Chadli crossed to the advancing Alli at the back post and the midfield bravely converted with a diving header.

Between the initial adventurousness against Man United, the often sparkling interchanges versus Stoke and the thrust Kane and Alli particularly introduced against Leicester, there have been examples of how Spurs can still thrive in essentially the same system. With much the same personnel too.

That we are only talking about these positives in places, though, shows why the Tottenham attack could still do with some assistance to help them deliver more consistently (understandably there is frustration all round more has not been done in this department up to this point). Not an overhaul, but enhancements.

Evidently not deemed quite ready for Leicester, confirmation new signing Clinton Njie is now available to select is a start.

The former Olympique Lyonnais man will bring an element of directness that has been lacking in the meandering interludes between the aforementioned more effective periods. Besides the contributions of Kane and the promising but minimal involvement of Alli anyway (the injured Andros Townsend has been missed here).

One more additional option would give Pochettino just that right amount of extra license to vary things up. Ideally for the Argentinian, it will be in the form of a complimentary new striker who can work with and without Kane.

Kane's sometimes England Under-21 team-mate Saido Berahino seems to be the player Spurs are targeting here. The Independent's Jack Pitt-Brooke reports they are preparing a £21 million bid for the West Bromwich Albion man whose transfer request (above) appears to be with a move to north London in mind.

Berahino does not offer any guarantees he will succeed at Spurs. He is still only 22 and thus far in his Premier League career has shone intermittently rather than regularly.

Berahino undoubtedly has plenty to prove as a top-flight performer. However, his desire to test goalkeepers—and the speed and tenacity which sets him up for such attempts—would give Spurs an alternative to Kane who provides the kind of welcome fight so lacking from Adebayor and Soldado latterly.

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He will also allow Pochettino to deploy a front-two with fearsome potential (again, something he was not able to last season) or, along with Njie—who should not be discounted a more advanced option himself—add more straightforwardness to the supporting trio behind Kane in a 4-2-3-1.

The head coach will hope in the process that option will inspire more out of his current attacking midfielders. Either in conjunction with the new men or in fear they will be replaced.

If Berahino is not signed, a striker at least offering a reasonable penalty box-presence will still be needed. Though they may have to accept a different target does not provide the same versatility.

Whoever it is, Tottenham need help here. Without such fresh impetus they could feasibly get by. But for a team hoping to be challenging for a Champions League place and perhaps a trophy push, that is taking a big risk.

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