Various headlines have declared our intention to bid for Christian Benteke. Some say this has already happened, some provide for it to happen in the near future. These projected bids range from £20-30 million….who knows what may be true?
However, while I do not believe any member of the long-suffering Tottenham faithful could be forgiven for craving that striker they hope could provide 30 goals a season, is this wish blinding us to the prospects of playing a different type of football?
Barcelona play 4-3-3 and their front man is Lionel Messi. Spain played 4-3-3 in the World Cup, with some degree of success it must be said, and their front man for the majority of the tournament was Cesc Fabregas.
There is a commonality between each of the aforementioned players, and that is they began life as attacking midfielders, and to some degree remain so. Barcelona and Spain play with Pedro and David Villa as their other front men, both with an eye for goal, and both with the creatively and movement to create as well as finish.
Maybe Tottenham could learn from arguably the best club side and international team in the world. Tottenham have recently purchased Paulinho and a midfield three including him, Sandro and Dembele will be strong and powerful, but perhaps not the most creative. Gareth is also powerful, and his worth and difference comes through pace and directness, but again, he is not what could be termed a creative player.
However there is one such player available who could be: Christian Erikson.
This is a guy with huge ability to both create and score. His attacking play and vision are phenomenal and with his projected price tag at approximately £15 million, he will be a steal to whomever signs him. But if that club is Tottenham, where would the goals come from?
Well we would still have Gareth Bale, who could easily become our Messi, our Ronaldo.
Lewis Holtby is a similar player to Erikson, and with the two of them feeding Gareth Bale, supported by the physical prowess of the midfield three, Tottenham would have a team which incorporated strength, power and pace, and very possibly a few goals as well.
Terry Venables believed in the Christmas tree, and with through signing the right Christian, our starting eleven for the first game could look like this:
Lloris
Walker Kaboul Vertonghen Ekotto
Dembele Sandro Paulinho
Erikson Holtby
Bale
Now all of you fellow football enthusiasts and critics out there, tell me that wouldn’t be a side to keep a clean sheet and break through a parked bus!!!
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