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Spurs scouts were in Argentina to watch striker

Steve Flynn-USA TODAY Sports

Tottenham Hotspur appear to be looking at signing Teo Gutierrez even more intently than we thought. According to the Mirror, scouts from the club were in Argentina watching the River Plate striker in their match against Velez Sarsfield.

Spurs have been linked to Gutierrez for a couple months now. It's no secret that Tottenham need to upgrade up top, and with Emmanuel Adebayor and/or Roberto Soldado reportedly on the way out in January, the club will have to bring in another striker. Gutierrez is a supremely talented one and, in part because he is 29 years old, can be had for a relatively cheap £5 million.

Gutierrez is not a simple, straightforward signing though. His talent has never been questioned, but he can be ... an eccentric. He once left his club because he just didn't want to be there anymore, and he's also pulled an paintball gun on his teammates.

When he can keep his head straight, Gutierrez can be a terror for opposing defenses. He is a bulldog of a striker, throwing his body anywhere, and he combines that with good finishing. He is a Colombia international and just scored the winning goal for them against the United States last week. If Spurs were to sign Gutierrez, they could expect pretty decent goalscoring, as well as someone who will create goals with his running and movement.

The question for Tottenham is whether they want to deal with the potential headaches that Gutierrez can bring. That Mauricio Pochettino speaks Spanish, and could presumably bond with him, should help, but Spurs clearly believe that he can play to some degree and that his play could be worth the trouble. If they didn't, they wouldn't bother scouting him. Now we will wait to see if Spurs bid, and how serious they really are.