It was a 4-1 victory and Tottenham Hotspur left Elland Road with the goods, though supporters would not be blamed for heading back to London with a sense of poignancy.
An abject end to the 2022/23 Premier League campaign had stamped an eighth-placed label on the London club, precluding the possibility of European football.
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It also convinced Harry Kane – who scored twice on that swansong showing against Leeds United – to complete a transfer to Bayern Munich, and while new manager Ange Postecoglou has succeeded in restoring Spurs’ fight and verve this term, there is still a need for a high-class striker.
Latest on Spurs’ hunt for a striker
According to a prior report from the Sun, Brighton & Hove Albion have slapped a £100m price tag on 19-year-old striker Evan Ferguson as Tottenham – among other Premier League outfits – eye his signature.
A more recent update from the Standard has revealed that Chelsea are also interested in the Republic of Ireland international, and given the Stamford Bridge side’s opulence, Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy will need to act astutely to convince the teenager to join his project.
Evan Ferguson’s style of play.
Signing a new contract at the AMEX Stadium last week, extending his deal to 2029, Brighton are in an impregnable position regarding Ferguson’s future and will only lower the drawbridge, so to speak, if they wish.
But should the young forward push for a move, teams like Tottenham would be well-placed to move in and seal a deal, with Kane’s summer sale indeed opening up space for such a player and thus facilitating a transfer.
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Ferguson left Irish shores to join the Seagulls as a 16-year-old, having already made four senior appearances for his homeland side.
And while he’s still a teenager, the eight-cap international has asserted himself as one of the most exciting young forwards in Europe, with his innate striking ability and predatory movement hinting at a future of real prosperity, and Tottenham are only too happy to provide him with the next step in his development.
Described as a “superstar” by pundit Danny Murphy, the £30k-per-week ace also ranks among the top 4% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, as per FBref, showcasing his elite technical ability and ball-playing skill that only furthers the argument that he could succeed the dynamic Kane.
And given that Ferguson has also revealed that he idolises the England and Spurs record scorer, the semblance in style is only more understandable.
Ferguson could be Robbie Keane 2.0
But given his Irish roots, Tottenham could actually land their next version of Robbie Keane, who is his nation’s record scorer with 68 goals and plundered 122 strikes from 306 matches for the Lilywhites, part of the last Spurs squad to win silverware, way back when.
Perhaps more agile and adroit in his craft than Ferguson – who admittedly is deceptively artful but is still an out-and-out centre-forward – the diminutive Keane was renowned for his versatility and effectiveness in offensive sequences, once praised as “one of the international greats” by compatriot Stephen Ward.
A stellar career and a brilliant player, one who is lionised down at N17 and rightly so; should Ferguson tread the same pathway as the Ireland legend then he too could rise to a position as one of the Premier League’s great forwards, perhaps even spearheading a return to silver-laden success.
#PL matches = 349
⚽️ = 126
🅰️ = 37
What a career Robbie Keane 🙌 pic.twitter.com/JpqInr49JC
— Premier League (@premierleague) November 28, 2018
