Spurs star was similar to Kane but now he’s more like Soldado

Over the last couple of years, Tottenham Hotspur haven’t been afraid to splash the cash in attacking areas, as seen by their deal to land Roberto Soldado back in 2013.

The Spaniard cost the hierarchy a whopping £26m from LaLiga side Valencia, a deal that was a then club record during the tenure of former chairman Daniel Levy.

However, such a move was a disaster for all parties involved with the deal, with the forward only scoring 16 times in his 76 appearances for the Lilywhites across all competitions.

As a result of his dismal stint in North London, he would depart after just two years, subsequently leaving at a loss of £16m and moving back to his homeland to join Villarreal.

Despite the failure of the deal to land Soldado, it hasn’t stopped the hierarchy from making numerous other big-money moves to help improve their Premier League standing.

The failures of Richarlison at Tottenham

Back in the summer of 2022, Spurs once again spent big on a new centre forward, with Brazilian international Richarlison joining in a deal worth £50m from Everton.

Given the amount spent on his signature, the move generates huge excitement amongst the fanbase, but it’s safe to say the transfer hasn’t lived up to expectations.

The 28-year-old has racked up 101 appearances for the Lilywhites since his move, but he’s only scored on 23 occasions – averaging a goal every five games at present.

He’s also been given the nod by new boss Thomas Frank in recent months, but has failed to repay the faith shown in him by Dane with his recent performances.

Throughout his last two outings against Bodo Glimt and Wolves, he only managed 30 combined touches, subsequently registering the fewest amount of touches of any player on the pitch in both contests.

He was strongly linked with a summer transfer to join Galatasaray during the recent window, but stayed put in North London, but such a decision could be one they regret.

However, despite his lack of impact in recent times, one other player has also struggled to live up to the huge expectations that he arrived in North London with.

The Spurs star who was compared to Kane

Harry Kane is a player who massively captured the hearts of the fanbase at Spurs, and understandably s,o given his tremendous goalscoring exploits in North London.

The Englishman netted a staggering 280 goals during his decade in the Lilywhites first-team, with such a record making him the highest goalscorer in the club’s history.

However, his goalscoring exploits were unable to catapult the club to any tangible success, with the hierarchy subsequently allowing him to depart and join Bayern Munich to further his career.

The club would recoup a fee in the region of £82m for his signature, but wouldn’t spend such funds in the same window, with Richarlison often leading the line in 2023/24.

Money would be invested in a new talisman the year after, as Dominic Solanke joined Spurs in a club-record £65m deal from fellow top-flight outfit Bournemouth in the summer of 2024.

Like Richarlison, such a move generated huge buzz around the club, especially after he netted 16 times across all competitions during his first season in North London.

Such form led to John Wenham comparing his skillset and assets to those of Kane, but it’s safe to say his career at the club has massively stagnated over the last few months.

Wenham stated during the infancy of Solanke’s Spurs career: “He was holding up the ball, pressing from the front and winning free kicks in a way we haven’t seen a Tottenham striker do since Kane.”

Solanke has been restricted to just 31 minutes of Premier League action this campaign, with injuries plaguing his progress at the club over the first few weeks of Frank’s tenure.

It’s led to him arguably suffering the same fate as previous big-money addition Soldado, with the Spaniard also scoring frequently in his first year before he struggled to replicate such form the year after.

There is still bags of time for him to get his career with the Lilywhites back on track, but it’s safe to say his time at the club is yet to live up to the expectations many had upon his arrival.

Replacing Kane in the final third was always going to be a near-impossible task, but the gap between the pair is rapidly becoming apparent given their respective spells in recent times.

He will need to rapidly get back to fitness to prove his worth; otherwise, he could certainly suffer the same fate and go down as another big-money flop in North London.