Tottenham target free agent swoop for 250-goal striker to fix goalscoring woes – but there’s a catch

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly considering a move for a prolific free agent striker to fix their goalscoring issues, although Roberto De Zerbi would not get an immediate benefit if a deal does get signed off.

Spurs scored their sixth goal of the campaign at Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, but none of those have come in the Premier League, with Spurs drawing four blanks to date as they currently sit in that all too familiar 17th in the table.

Chances are being created but not being taken, with the pressure already cranking up over the Italian’s future after the winless start, despite sources indicating that De Zerbi is not under immediate pressure at Tottenham.

Omar Marmoush was brought in on loan from Manchester City late in the summer window to provide that extra cutting edge in attack but has so far failed to hit the ground running. Dominic Solanke, meanwhile, does still not look fully fit after his injury issues last season and Richarlison, who has been linked with an Everton return in January, is now on the Spurs scrap heap.

With the summer window now shut, it leaves Tottenham having to look at free agents as a route to find that spark in their forward line, and a fresh report states they have eyes on veteran frontman Mauro Icardi.

The Argentine has been without a club since leaving Galatasaray, and reports suggest the north London club could pursue a move to sign 33-year-old, while our sources recently revealed interest from Everton too.

Icardi, who has notched 250 goals in an impressive senior club career, enjoyed another productive campaign with the Turkish giants last season, scoring 16 times before his contract expired.

And, relaying information from another outlet, Cronache di Spogliatoio, LaLazioSiamoNoi revealed that Tottenham are keen on the former Argentina international.

LaLazioSiamoNoi wrote: “According to Cronache di Spogliatoio, Tottenham are evaluating his profile as a potential experienced option to try and solve the team’s scoring problems.

“In the background, however, there’s also interest from Lazio. Icardi, for his part, doesn’t seem inclined to accept just any offer: his goal is to end his career with an ambitious project, and for this very reason, he’s reportedly already rejected several offers.”

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Tottenham would be forced to wait for Icardi

In theory, Spurs should be able to sign Icardi as a free agent and throw him straight into the mix, but that would not be the case – as per reported Premier League rules.

Despite meeting the timeline criteria to be signed as a free agent, given that his Galatasaray contract expired in June and he was a free agent before the transfer window closed, he is blocked from immediate registration due to Premier League squad limitations.

Premier League rules prohibit clubs from removing a registered, healthy senior player from their squad list outside of a transfer window to make room for a new free agent.

So, while Tottenham can legally sign Icardi to a contract today to involve him in training straight away, he would have to wait until the January transfer window opens to be officially registered and cleared to play in competitive games for the club.

That means a deal is less likely and leaves De Zerbi hoping that his forward line can finally start to click, with the visit of Aston Villa up next on Saturday.

As to whether the north London side would still follow up a move for Icardi closer to the winter window, if he’s still available, remains to be seen, and sources are looking into the links and seeing if the alleged interest is a concrete one.

However, adding some veteran nous and a player who actually knows where the goal is could certainly do no harm.

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