Scouting Tottenham Hotspur Transfer Target Gianluca Lapadula

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Mauricio Pochettino is naturally going to be delighted if his team win the Premier League title. He may also find considerable satisfaction that his—at least public—faith in the limited forward options that help them there paid off.

Pochettino took a gamble on Harry Kane staying fit and finding form after initial scoring struggles this season. Up until now, it has worked out so well that the issues of the nominal back-ups, last summer's more versatile new signings Clinton Njie and Heung-Min Son, have not been as problematic as they might have.

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Still, whether as champions or not, Pochettino will hope the transfer market this summer is more conducive to a less risky approach in 2016-17. One player Tottenham are reportedly targeting to boost their attacking options here is Gianluca Lapadula of Serie B outfit Pescara.

The Mirror's Ed Malyon believes the north London club are vying with Barcelona, Juventus, Leicester City and Napoli for the Italian's signature. A fee of £6 million is the possible cost of his services.

"If we do not get promoted, then he is likely to leave," Pescara president Daniele Sebastiani said, according to website Itasportpress.it (h/t the London Evening Standard's Sam Long).

"Leicester and Tottenham have been following him and their observers have been to Pescara several times."

This could just be Sebastiani touting his player, looking to raise his price and profile at home via hints of interest from abroad. But you can also see how Lapadula may be intriguing Spurs too.

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Any of their representatives at Pescara's 1-0 win over Cesena last week will have witnessed a wonderful goal by the 26-year-old.

Positioned between two defenders, he adjusted his run to remain onside as Cristian Pasquato floated the ball enticingly over. With time to spare as a result of Cesena's negligence, Lapadula turned and acrobatically fired a left-footed overhead kick into the bottom corner.

To celebrate, he ran down the other end of the pitch to the Pescara fans, removing two tops and holding off several team-mates before clambering over the advertising, hoarding and flexing.

Lapadula's playing style is imbued with such passion. He is a striker who fights for every inch gained, revelling in the challenge of getting the better of his opponents.

One such example was his winner against Spezia on Tuesday. Too strong for his marker, Claudio Terzi, at the back-post, Lapadula headed in as the defender fell to the floor complaining.

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Although a welcome facet of his game, such healthy combativeness is not always required. He is often already beyond the reach of defenders.

Lapadula's good positional awareness allows him to exploit those not paying attention. Be it in a close-quarters escape like that which led to the aforementioned goal versus Cesena, or using a decent turn of pace to get behind static back lines on through balls (he would have loved playing in Tottenham's 4-0 win over Stoke City on Monday).

From there, he is an impressive marksman—an unfussy finisher more concerned with making good split-second judgement calls that use a goalkeeper's positioning against him rather than taking camera-friendly shots.

Lapadula's fine touch and nimbleness with and without the ball means he can do so from a range of angles too. He has scored 23 times in the fifth-placed Pescara's hunt for promotion, as tallied by WhoScored.com.

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A player who works hard for himself and his team, at first glance Lapadula's aggression and proficiency seem a good personality fit for Pochettino's own hungry, captivating side.

Coming somewhere in between the greater physical presence of a Laurent Depoitre and the versatility of a Saido Berahino—two other attackers Spurs have been linked with in recent months—he would also offer something a little different to Kane's more all-encompassing style. But he is still someone, first and foremost, who lives to score.

Obviously, Pochettino and his recruitment staff would have to ask themselves if they are willing to take a chance on a Serie B player. One who has taken until his mid-20s just to get to this point.

Lapadula has bounced around Italy's lower tiers, loaned out for repeated seasons by his former parent club Parma. Impressive as the Turin native is, he is undoubtedly benefiting from playing against low standard second-division defences right now (though Spurs' last opponents, Stoke, were hardly a shining example of solidity).

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Players progress at their own schedule, though—something one of Lapadula's reported suitors Leicester well know with their own late-bloomer Jamie Vardy.

You can see why the league-leading Foxes may be interested in the Italian—he bares a good resemblance to their top scorer. Bringing in a similar back-up to Vardy could be what they have in mind.

If the calibre of clubs Lapadula is being linked with is accurate, it would suggest there is some excitement around him; that his eye-catching work is not just a product of the relatively lowly level he has been plying his trade in.

Whether he stays at Pescara, joins Tottenham or someone else, Lapadula is someone whose progress will be well worth tracking.