Tottenham Transfer Rumors: Will Spurs Steal Josip Ilicic from Serie A?
With the transfer window closing in 15 days, Tottenham is expanding their search for the striker savior of White Hart Lane.
According to The Daily Mail, Tottenham is rumored to be searching the cupboards of Serie A and will be making a bid for Palermo attacking midfielder Josip Ilicic.
Ilicic is an interesting prospect. The Slovenian international started out in the second tier of Slovenia's domestic league with SC Bonifika. He moved up to the top of the Slovenian domestic ladder with Interblock until he was sold to NK Maribor in 2010, where he impressed in Europa League play, scoring in his first two European appearances.
He caught the eye of Palermo scouts, whose club quickly snatched him up for Serie A play weeks after arriving at NK Maribor and Ilicic has been lighting it up in southern Italy ever since.
The 24-year-old caught the eye of Chelsea in 2011, but nothing came to fruition as a deal couldn't be worked out.
It'll be interesting to see how this pans out if Ilicic is indeed coming to Tottenham. After all, Clint Dempsey, who was bought from Fulham this summer, plays Ilicic's position—and quite well, in my opinion.
Spurs' best bet would be for manager Andre Villas-Boas to try Ilicic at striker alongside Jermain Defoe. Dempsey is creative at the top of the key, but more so in assisting quicker teammates, commanding possession and being in the right place in case the opposing goalkeeper parries a shot out in front of goal for an easy rebound.
