Potential bid: Spurs want “unplayable” £50m ace who’s a “monster” upgrade on Solanke – opinion

It’s been a relatively positive summer for Tottenham Hotspur so far this year, with four wins out of five in pre-season and the progressive signings of Archie Gray and South Korean youngster Yang Min-Hyeok.

However, if Ange Postecoglou is going to achieve his goals in North London and lead the club back up the Premier League table next season, he will need more firepower in his team.

The good news is that Daniel Levy and Co seem to share this opinion. Over the last week or so, the club has been linked to several exciting strikers, particularly Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke.

However, recent reports have suggested the North Londoners are just as interested in another quality number nine who may be an upgrade on the Cherries ace.

Tottenham Hotspur striker search

According to a recent report from TEAMtalk, alongside Solanke, Tottenham are currently ‘chasing’ Brentford’s Ivan Toney this summer.

The report claims that the Bees ace is available ‘at the right price’ and that the Lilywhites could lodge a bid for the striker in the coming weeks.

There is no mention of how much he could cost the North Londoners, but reports from earlier this summer revealed that, due to his contract expiring next year, he could be available for £50m or less.

It would still require a significant fee, but given Toney’s record in the Premier League, he’s worth splashing the cash on, and he’d be a better signing than Solanke.

How Toney compares to Solanke

So, if Tottenham’s choice this summer is between Toney and Solanke, who should they sign? And how do they compare?

Well, the pair’s output over the last couple of seasons is a little hard to compare given the Brentford star’s eight-month betting ban last season, but even so, when it comes down to goal involvements per appearance, he comfortably beats out the Cherries ace.

For example, when combining the last two campaigns, the “unplayable” 28-year-old, as dubbed by Alan Shearer, has scored 25 goals and provided seven assists in 52 appearances, which equates to an impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.62 games, despite coming back into last season without any real preparation.