Why Tottenham should beat the competition to sign Josh King
According to TalkSPORT (h/t The Sun), Tottenham are interested in signing Bournemouth star Josh King in a bid to bolster their attack ahead of the new campaign.
The report suggests that the Norwegian has just one more year left on his contract and could exit the club after the Cherries got relegated to the Championship. However, the South Coast club aren’t willing to sell for less than £25m.
With King at his best, clubs like Everton, Newcastle United, Brighton and French Champions Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in securing his services, as per the report.
Profile
Born in Norway, King started his journey with Romsas and Valerenga before joining Manchester United’s youth academy. He excelled with the club’s youth side and also won the U21 Premier League title in 2012/13. But he struggled to break into the first-team after that.
He went on various loan spells before joining Blackburn Rovers permanently in January 2013. After making 72 appearances for the Rovers, he was signed on a free transfer by the Cherries in 2015. Since then, he has established himself as a key figure of the squad and has been consistent in the last five years.
In 2017, King won the Norwegian Player of the Year award. He has also represented his country 46 times, scoring 17 goals in the process.
Why Tottenham need King
For several years, Harry Kane has carried the burden of scoring goals for the Lilywhites. The English ace has established himself as one of the best forwards in Europe and led Tottenham to the Champions League final in the 2018/19 season. However, he has done it without a proper backup.
The North Londoners failed to bring in replacements after they sold Vincent Janssen and Fernando Llorente last summer, and paid the price when Kane was injured. Jose Mourinho deployed Son Heung-Min and Lucas Moura as the two strikers in Kane’s absence but that change didn’t work out well, clearly highlight the need for a natural centre-forward.
To that end, making a move for King would be a boost to the squad. The Norway international has found the back of the net regularly in the last few years and despite Bournemouth’s poor performance, he has been consistent and reliable. After scoring 12 goals in the 2018/19 campaign, he managed to score 6 goals last season despite struggling with injuries.
The 28-year-old has made over 300 career appearances with most of them coming in English football. His experience could come in handy for Tottenham. He could be a solid backup to Kane and could as well fight for the starting spot. This would keep the squad competitive.
Read more
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Verdict
At 28, King has a few more years to play at a high level. At the same time, Tottenham are in dire need of strikers to support Kane up front. And the Norwegian, who has immense experience, could be a solid addition to the attacking unit. Thus, Tottenham should manage to lure the former United man to North London at the earliest.
