Harry Kane’s future continues to dominate conversation during Ange Postecoglou’s first pre-season as Tottenham new manager.
Bayern Munich are reportedly lining up a third offer for the England captain, while Spurs owner Joe Lewis is believed to have told chairman Daniel Levy that Kane must be sold this summer should he refuse to sign a new contract.
Mail Sport reported that Levy has stepped up routine contingency planning by pricing up alternatives should Kane leave this summer.
The Spurs hierarchy would face a major challenge in replacing the club’s record goalscorer, who has scored at least 20 Premier League goals in six of the past nine seasons.
Mail Sport takes a look at some of the names expected to feature on Tottenham’s shortlist if the North London club are forced to find a successor to Kane.
Harry Kane’s future remains uncertain with Tottenham stepping up contingency planning
Ange Postecoglou would be forced to look for a new centre forward should Kane leave Spurs
EVAN FERGUSON – BRIGHTON
Brighton’s teenage forward has been viewed by some as the heir apparent to Kane at Tottenham, following his breakout campaign last season.
The 18-year-old, who Brighton signed from Irish side Bohemians, has made a major impression during his 20 Premier League appearances to date.
Ferguson established himself as a key member of the Seagulls squad since breaking into the team last December. He ended the campaign with 10 goals in 25 appearances across the Premier League, FA Cup and Carabao Cup.
Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi claims Ferguson has the ability to be a ‘European great’, while he appears to be the man to end the Republic of Ireland’s wait for a reliable international goalscorer.
Despite Ferguson still being a fledgling Premier League striker, his price tag is already expected to have surpassed £55m.
Brighton will be able to demand a high fee after Ferguson signed a new five-year deal back in April to commit his future to the club until 2028.
Brighton’s 18-year-old forward Evan Ferguson is known to be of interest to Tottenham
GONCALO RAMOS – BENFICA
The forward, who turned 22 last month, arguably remains best known for his stunning introduction at the World Cup in Qatar last year.
Ramos had been thrust into the limelight after he replaced Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal’s starting line-up and responded by scoring a stunning hat-trick against Switzerland.
He continued to star at Benfica throughout the season with his 19 goals in the Portuguese Primeira Liga helping the Eagles to fend off the challenge of rivals Porto to be crowned champions. Only Porto’s Mehdi Taremi scored more than Ramos in the Portuguese top flight last season.
Ramos’ overall haul of 27 goals in 47 appearances during the campaign has led to interest from Europe’s elite clubs, with Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain among the clubs to have been strongly linked with a move for the striker.
Benfica were initially expected to demand more than the £85m Liverpool paid for Darwin Nunez for their academy product, but it is possible that Ramos may be available for a lower price.
Given Spurs’ potential rivals for Ramos, a question would be whether the young Portuguese forward could be convinced to make the move to North London.
Goncalo Ramos has attracted the interest of Europe’s elite but Benfica will demand a high fee
RANDAL KOLO MUANI – EINTRACHT FRANKFURT
The France international has been another player on the lips of Europe’s top clubs for several months, with Bayern Munich, Man United and PSG all on the hunt for a top class centre forward.
Kolo Muani has enjoyed a meteoric rise having played in the French third division with Boulogne as recently as the 2019/2020 season. After two successful seasons in Nantes first team, Kolo Muani moved on a free transfer to Frankfurt last summer and was a revelation during his debut campaign in the Bundesliga.
With Kane having been instrumental as both a goalscorer and creator for Spurs, Kolo Muani’s tally of 15 goals and 14 assists in the Bundesliga last season demonstrated a comparable impact to Frankfurt’s forward line.
The 24-year-old also struck twice in the Champions League group stage to help Frankfurt advance to the last-16 as runners-up to Tottenham.
Kolo Muani is expected to lead France’s attack with Kylian Mbappe over the next decade, with his ability to operate both up front and from a wide position another selling point.
Frankfurt are expected to demand as much as £80m for a player they signed on a free last summer, while the forward is expected to have options to choose from should he move on.
Randal Kolo Muani has been linked with a big move following a superb season at Frankfurt
BETO (UDINESE)
The Portuguese forward has enjoyed two successful seasons since joining Udinese, initially on a loan basis from Portimonense in 2021.
Udinese took up the option to sign Beto permanently for a reported £6m after he scored 11 goals in his debut season in Serie A. The 25-year-old made double figures again last season to help Udinese finish 12th for the second successive campaign.
Beto’s performances led to him being included in Portugal’s preliminary 55-man squad for the World Cup in Qatar, but did not make the final cut.
The striker has worked his way up from the third tier of Portuguese football to Italy’s top flight and has spoken of his desire to play for a club in the Champions League.
Beto admitted Everton had been in talks to sign him in January amid reports the Toffees saw a £20m offer turned down for the forward, who is contracted until 2026.
Portuguese forward Beto, left, has hit double figures in successive seasons with Udinese
SANTIAGO GIMENEZ (FEYENOORD)
Back in May, the prospect was mentioned that the Argentina-born Mexican international could move to North London when it appeared Arne Slot was poised to take over as Spurs boss.
The forward had a slow start to life in the Netherlands after scoring twice in his first 13 games with Feyenoord following a move from Cruz Azul last summer.
Gimenez ended the season with 23 goals in 44 games, as he helped Slot’s side to secure the Eredivisie title. Feyenoord chief Dennis te Kloese has expressed a determination to keep the 22-year-old, who is contracted until 2026.
‘He is very agile, he has a good physique, I have always liked forwards with a left-footed profile,’ Te Kloese said.
‘He is technically quite complete, he can still improve physically. He could take a leap in his physical maturity but he has opportunities to grow and is taking advantage of it.’
Gimenez scored an 88th minute winner for Mexico earlier this month to secure their ninth CONCACAF Gold Cup, with the forward netting the only goal of the final against Panama.
Mexico international forward Santiago Gimenez scored 23 goals in 44 games for Feyenoord
DUSAN VLAHOVIC (JUVENTUS)
It was only 18 months ago that Juventus described Vlahovic as a ‘force of nature’ after splashing out £66.6m to prize him away from Serie A rivals Fiorentina mid-season.
The Serbian international had scored 49 goals in 108 games for Fiorentina having joined from Partizan Belgrade.
His scoring rate has dropped while at Juventus but has still netted 23 goals in 63 matches for the Old Lady, including 10 in Serie A despite the club’s tumultuous campaign.
Juventus are believed to be willing to cash on the 6ft 3in forward to ease their financial difficulties, which has alerted rivals across the continent.
Chelsea and PSG have been among the clubs to have expressed an interest in Vlahovic, whose deal runs until 2026.
The Blues were reportedly reluctant to make an offer due to concerns over whether Vlahovic’s wages would fit in their structure, which may be a consideration for Spurs.
Juventus are willing to cash in on Dusan Vlahovic as the Turin club seeks to raise funds
IVAN TONEY (BRENTFORD)
The 27-year-old would represent a proven Premier League option for Spurs having scored 32 goals in 68 appearances for the Bees since their promotion to the top flight.
Toney enjoyed a prolific 2022-23 campaign where he scored 20 goals in 33 league matches, which helped him force his way into Gareth Southgate’s England squad.
The 27-year-old looks increasingly likely to switch agents to CAA Stellar, a move that will only increase speculation over his future at Brentford.
Toney is banned from playing until January 17 after being found guilty of breaking Football Association betting rules, which would rule him out of being an immediate successor to Kane should the Spurs star leave this summer.
Tottenham potentially could gamble on Richarlison or Son Heung-min leading the line until January, should they wish to follow up on interest in Toney.
Ivan Toney has proved himself in the Premier League but is banned from football until January
ARTHUR CABRAL (FIORENTINA)
The Brazilian striker was central to Fiorentina’s run to the Europa Conference League final last season, ending as the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals.
Six of Cabral’s strikes came in the knock-out stage of the competition, including an effort against his former club Basel in the semi-finals.
The Brazilian was surprisingly left out of Fiorentina’s starting line-up for the final against West Ham, as David Moyes’ side triumphed in Prague.
Cabral scored eight goals in 28 Serie A games last season, which included 15 starts and 13 substitute appearances.
The forward, who is viewed as mobile, strong in the air with two good feet, scored 65 in 106 for Basel before his move to Serie A.
Fiorentina’s Arthur Cabral finished as the top scorer in the Europa Conference League
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