Tottenham prepare offer to beat two Serie A giants to £19m striker with move becoming ‘highly likely’

Red Bull Salzburg are expecting to receive an offer from Tottenham Hotspur for their striker Noah Okafor in the summer, a report in Austria has claimed.

Okafor has attracted plenty of attention from various Premier League clubs in recent months. Tottenham have established themselves in the race to sign the 22-year-old recently. Now, Salzburger Nachrichten is reporting that Okafor should be on the move in the summer.

According to the Austrian source, Tottenham are expected to make an offer for Okafor in the summer. His transfer value is €22million, a little over £19m.

However, Spurs will not be the only bidders for Okafor. The report claims Inter and AC Milan are also preparing moves for the Switzerland international.

Wherever he goes, Okafor is “highly likely” to leave Salzburg at the end of the season. Indeed, his contract will only have one year left to run by that point.

This season, the centre-forward has scored 10 goals from 30 appearances in all competitions. Whether Tottenham are viewing him as a potential replacement for Harry Kane or an understudy isn’t entirely clear at this moment in time.

Kane has been linked with an exit from Tottenham this summer due to his contract also expiring in 2024. A move to Man Utd has been speculated for the England captain, who also has admirers abroad.

Kane’s current deputy at Tottenham is Richarlison, though the Brazil international has failed to score in the Premier League since signing from Everton in the summer.

Whoever takes charge of Tottenham as their next head coach will want to know there are goalscorers within the squad to rely on. Ultimately, it may cause the club to explore options like Okafor in the transfer window.

Okafor might need time if Tottenham sign him

Across his whole spell with Salzburg, Okafor has scored 34 goals from 108 appearances. For the Swiss national team, he has scored twice within his first 14 caps.

If he was to join Tottenham, Okafor would need time to adapt to the Premier League. Replacing a striker of Kane’s world-class pedigree would be a tough ask to start with.

But if he can develop over time, without too much immediate pressure, the former FC Basel starlet could well be worth investing in.

The amount of interest in his services suggests he has plenty of potential. Tottenham are hoping to be the ones to benefit, but will have to beat Inter and Milan to his signature.

Inter currently have Romelu Lukaku on loan from Chelsea, but his future beyond this season is uncertain. Furthermore, Edin Dzeko will be out of contract there in the summer.

Milan, meanwhile, have been disappointed by Divock Origi since signing him from Liverpool in the summer. They might need to find someone else to take over from Olivier Giroud and Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the long run.

Okafor actually scored against the Rossoneri in this season’s Champions League group stage. Therefore, he has earned a place on their shortlist.

Tottenham will have to stay aware of any developments that might lead Okafor towards Italy in case they really are serious about bringing him to England instead.

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