Spurs’ January spending

Prioritising the reinforcement of Tottenham’s central defence alternatives, Postecoglou stated before the winter market opened, with the absences of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven interspersing the seasonal efforts with setbacks.

In order to replace Eric Dier, who had been lingering on the sidelines for the majority of the season and had recently completed a loan move to Bayern Munich with a £3 million buy option included, Radu Dragusin, 21, was signed in a £27 million deal from Genoa.

Although young player Ashley Phillips recently completed a loan move to Plymouth Argyle in the Championship, Tottenham hasn’t added much to their defensive ranks. However, Postecoglou is beginning to shape his players to his liking, and talent scout Jacek Kulig has praised Dragusin for his “complete & dominant” style.

Timo Werner was also brought in from RB Leipzig on a six-month loan with a £15 million buyout option while Heung-min Son was abroad representing South Korea in the Asia Cup. Although the German international hasn’t played well in his first few games, he has already contributed two assists.

While Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher was pursued throughout the month, Tottenham were seemingly told that their interest would bring no fruit and an official offer was never lodged.

The money would be better spent somewhere if the Lilywhites didn’t support one of their own.

On the day of the deadline, the window was neatly wrapped up. Spurs had already completed the month’s required tasks, but an attempt to sabotage Barcelona’s potential acquisition of teenage phenom Lucas Bergvall proved effective. The Swedish midfielder, who joined the London club from Djurgårdens IF in the summer, was signed for £8.5 million.

Though a number of names were mentioned, a center-forward was not signed. Levy and company should be disappointed that Brentford refused to entertain the idea of making a deal for their prolific talisman, Ivan Toney.

The centre-forward Spurs wanted

Last month, Toney was being targeted by Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Newcastle United, but Bees manager Thomas Frank had allegedly threatened to want £100 million in order to turn away potential buyers. It appears to have been successful. Spurs were clearly unwilling to part with the attacker for a club-high price.

After serving an eight-month suspension for breaking FA betting regulations, Toney returned to competitive play a few weeks ago. This season, he has scored in both of his Premier League games and shows no signs of ring rust.

Tottenham will be keeping a careful eye on the 27-year-old’s availability in the summer. However, Levy and company may look back on this with regret as a wasted chance, since teams will probably be better prepared for large expenditures once the season comes to an end.

Ivan Toney’s best qualities

So will Tottenham fare well having opted not to sharpen their arrowhead last month? In fairness, Heung-min Son has proved his worth as a central striking force this season and Richarlison has bagged nine goals from his past eight matches in the top-flight.

It would be an understatement to suggest that the Brazilian has been in peak form, having at last discovered his destructive side following a protracted struggle that began when he moved to the capital for £60 million from Everton back in 2022.

Even though Richarlison scores a lot of goals—20 from 33 Premier League appearances last season—he lacks the dynamism and intelligence of Toney, whose style of play even made Declan Rice say he is “like Harry Kane.” Toney also provides four assists, wins 6.7 duels per game on average, and creates a staggering 12 big chances.

To emphasise this point, Toney ranks among the top 13% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for progressive passes, the top 17% for interceptions and aerial duels won and the top 12% clearances per 90, as per FBref.

Described as a “monster” of a centre-forward by Frank, Toney really could be the final piece of the puzzle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Postecoglou must ensure that the club prioritise his acquisition if funds are put aside to sign a new striker in the summer.

And while Son and Richarlison are both excellent players, the former’s best qualities are found on the left wing and evidence suggests that Toney could match Richarlison’s striking rate while blending different facets together to increase the cohesion and fluency down N17