Spurs search for a striker may end in Bundesliga

The great striker search continues for Tottenham Hotspur, but they might be one step closer to finally landing the backup that Jose Mourinho has been clamoring for.

We have to go down a rabbit hole for this, but there’s a payoff. We start with the Dutch outlet Voetbal Primeur, who tweeted out that Wolfsburg striker Wout Weghorst is high on Tottenham’s wishlist.

The article suggests that Tottenham have been keen on the 6’6” striker, with Arsenal sniffing around this summer as well.

De laatste dagen ging in Engeland het gerucht rond dat Weghorst in de belangstelling staat van Tottenham. Volgens Tubantia is het geen losse flodder: Spurs heeft het oog laten vallen op de spits van Wolfsburg en het Nederlands elftal, die moet gaan concurreren met Harry Kane.

Het is geen geheim dat Weghorst ooit in de Premier League wil voetballen. Deze zomer werd hij nog in verband gebracht met Arsenal, “Zou mooi zijn, hè”, reageerde hij toen bij Bureau Sport. “Het zou wat zijn. Dat past wel in het perfecte plaatje.”

However, they’re not the original source. That comes from fellow Dutch outlet Tubantia, who had a very simple article written by one of their staff, Fardau Wagenaar, who covered Weghorst when he was playing for Heracles Almelo. Wagenaar confirms that Tottenham are interested and hints that talks have happened.

Now, normally when we’re diving through a couple of sources, it starts to enter Bat Country because the link comes from some random tabloid. The reason it’s not Bat Country is because Kristof Terreur chimed in on Twitter:

In a now-deleted tweet, Terreur stated that he expected Spurs to sign the striker. Deleting the tweet is probably covering his backside and not wanting to take away from the original reporting. But the fact that he’s retweeting the article, coupled with the sourcing being good, means this is very much a thing.

As for Weghorst, he isn’t just there to be a tree-like fixture posted up twelve yards from net. His radar from last season, where he played 3,500 minutes, suggests a pressing machine who wins balls in the air and generates good chances.

FBref.com / Statsbomb

Weghorst, 28, has been quite productive at Wolfsburg. He scored 20 goals in 43 appearances for the German side last season and has 40g/12a in 81 appearances overall since moving from AZ Alkmaar. Watching some of his film shows a player who can play with his back to net and feed other players, but also press high and force turnovers to kick start a counter attack.

Wolfsburg do have a couple of strikers on their roster behing Weghorst, including Daniel Ginczek and Admir Mehmedi, but Weghorst is the clear starter up top. Ryan Taylor of The Express seems to be the only one with a valuation in the links, stating that Wolfsburg value Weghorst at around £27m.

Express Sport understands that Wolfsburg target man Weghorst has re-emerged as a realistic target and crucially the Bundesliga club are willing to sell at the right price.

Back in January, Spurs weighed up a last-gasp swoop for the Dutchman after talks with Real Sociedad for Willian Jose stalled but there was no concrete offer and he ended up staying in Lower Saxony.

Weghorst is valued at around £27million but a source close to the player has revealed Wolfsburg have already shown a willingness to accept a payment plan and would not stand in his way of making the next step in his career.

The 28-year-old has hit 33 goals in 66 matches in the past two Bundesliga seasons and is now recognised as one of the most prolific strikers in Germany.

There’s enough smoke here that we can see the fire, and while we were told there wasn’t all that much cash for transfers this window, Spurs sure seem to be in the mood to spend some cash.