Pochettino interested in making Bony a spur

Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool are set to go head-to-head in January for the signature of Ivorian forward Wilfried Bony.

Goal.com journalist Greg Stobart believes the White Hart Lane outfit will pursue the Swansea City forward, but face a battle from the Reds.

Stobart, who has an excellent track record when it comes to Spurs transfer and who has excellent links with the club, is certain Mauricio Pochettino will target the 26-year-old next month.

New contract?

Bony only signed a new four-year contract last month, but his form has seen him linked with various Premier League clubs.

Spurs and Liverpool both approached Swansea in the summer about the powerful striker, but were put off by the £20 million asking price from the Welsh club.

Recently Swans boss Garry Monk suggested it would take a massive fee for them to sell their star man in January.

“It would take an astronomical fee for him [Bony] to go anywhere,” said Monk.

“We are not a selling club, we don’t need to sell. We are very much committed with our players and they are committed to us and that’s how we move on.”

Although the Swansea manager insists Bony will not be leaving, if Spurs were to bid for the forward he would have to consider the offer.

Lack of goals at the Lane

Tottenham have struggled for goals all term with Nacer Chadli and Christian Eriksen leading the way in the Premier League with six goals each.

Roberto Soldado and Emmanuel Adebayor haven’t enjoyed success in front of goal, with just three goals between the pair.

Therefore it would make sense for Pochettino to move for Bony and it would give the Ivorian a tough choice to make, if Spurs were to match Swansea’s asking price.

Although he has enjoyed huge success at the Welsh club, and found the net seven times in the league this campaign, could he turn down the offer of a move to a side with genuine ambitions of qualifying for Europe?

 

Hope the article is right. Would love to see Bony at the lane. We have to get a couple of top strikers in, guys that can score goals ! We lost tonight in Turkey purely because we didn't put the ball in the net, no way we should have lost to Besitas, whats the point on "controlling" the game if you cant win ? If we cant get Bony, and i can see him picking Merseyside over us, then someone else has be found. We have a big squad with some home grown coming through, so if offload some of the bigger signings to fund a new striker two then i think that makes sense. We'll get nowhere if we cant score goals. Coys.

 

To play the lone striker role that has been the idea for the formation for some time now, for me when we were running around with Bale Money there were only 2 Proven Prem Strikers and 1 unproven that was worth a punt - Lukaku, Benteke or Bony. All 3 have the Pace, Power, hold up play and more importantly Hunger and Good finishing.
Soldados only quality was being a fox in the box (for us tho Pox in the Box) Totally unsuited to the lone striker role. The slowest, smallest, weakest Lone striker in the most Quickest, Physical League in the world - I ask u WTF???
Were too late for Lukaku, but if we Dnt sign one of or preferably both of Bony & Benteke then I despair i really do. Just the site of Adeycantscore n Soldadud make me depressed what an inept and problematic pair.
Let me Allude again though, It doesnt matter what the Fans want, it doesnt matter what the team needs, It doesnt matter what the Head Coach wants all that matters is what Ming thinks the Silent Dictator!

 

There is a certain arrogance when a so-called pundit thinks that two teams who occupy lower positions in the BPL represent a step up for Bony. If he wants Champions League football he will eb looking elsewhere. Incidentally the word in Swansea is that release clause went last month, and that will have a big impact on price.

 

The last two windows could have seen players like Benteke and Bony at Spurs yet here we are watching Soldado miss sitters and Ade going missing, on and off the field. Both have to go, end of. Weve all backed Soldado to come good but the truth is we should never have bought him in the first place, he's never going to cut it in this league and we all know it. Also his use by date is fast approaching. We could have bought Benteke FFS. Id love to see us lose some deadwood and bring in both Benteke and Bony and a decent winger.

 

The problem is we don't have any creativity in the team. I think at present we could have Neymar up front and it wouldnt matter.
Yes Soldado misses too many, i think like so many have said, it just isnt working for him, but hes hardly been blessed with chances has he. I think we shouldnt go down the center forward route until we have sorted the abysmal back 4 out, and the un creative midfield. Just a personal opinion.
Poch if your reading, try playing a consistent back 4 now walkers back, try to stop conceding shitty goals and take pressure off the front line to score every half chance that comes along.
Oh and if we sign Bony i wont be complaining !!!

 

I think Poch's 1st team back four is Walker, Fazio, Vertonghen and Davies/Rose. Unlike a lot of fans, I think Fazio is an upgrade on Dawson. I can't believe how quickly people have forgotten how shockingly poor Daws was last season. I accept that Fazio has made some glaring errors this season, but if you consider that he arrived (as usual) at the last minute on transfer deadline day, into a new league which is as different in style and tempo as is possible from what he was used to, then I don't think he's done too badly. His ability to read the game and his ball control is there for all to see. He's strong in tackles and brave too. It's not his fault that he has come into a dysfunctional club with , by and large, untalented defenders. I've seen enough to give him the benefit of the doubt.
As for Soldado, I reached the end of my tether last night as he swung another air shot with an empty goal glaring at him. This marriage was simply not meant to be. To be a top striker, you need to be a strong character, full of self confidence and belief. Throw in mad amounts of hunger and leadership abilities and, hey presto, you have your man. Soldado, I'm afraid, is sadly lacking in several of these abilities, if not all of them. He simply lacks the presence that, say, Benteke or Bony would bring up front. That's the long and short of it. Sure, he works hard and has a silky touch, but those are not enough in the Premier League. His time is up as far as I'm concerned.

 

All good points Luke and your probably right re Neymar, however I think that Soldado has been given more than enough chances in the games that he has played and he is missing nailed on sitters too often for a striker especialy when you consider that in order for Soldado to be set up the ball has to be on a plate in the box in front of goal. Is it too much to ask for a striker who can smack one from more than 10 yards or even be able to make one for himself. I dont know why we bought him you cant build a team around a fox in the box type.

 

Fact is Benteke, Bony or the best striker in the world would not be the answer as we play with no width, pace is too slow and we dont create anywhere near enough for any striker.

 

Even with our slow and ponderous build up play, I would argue that Soldado has had ample opportunity to show us what he's made of. The argument in his favour is that he keeps making runs while never being put through by our clueless attacking midfielders. That may be true to an extent, but the you could also look at it the other way round. If he was scoring regularly with the chances he got, and he's had quite a few glaring ones, then he would naturally attract the ball to himself. The midfielders have to be confident that when they put the ball through to him, he has a more than even chance of scoring. I think everyone will agree that we can't be confident most times that he will convert most of the chances that come his way. Infact, I would say that we can be fairly confident that he WON'T score with the vast majority of chances created for him, given what we've seen in the last 18 months. Now given the harsh environment that is a Premier League dressing room, I suspect that there is a lack of confidence in him, even if it is subconscious. Compare him with Harry Kane, who seems to demand the ball off his midfielders and is very positive and confident whenever you see him play. Football dressing rooms are ego-fuelled places and you earn the respect and confidence of your teammates in attitude and deed. Soldado doesn't strike me as someone you would be confident of, in the trenches, so to speak. I may be way off base, but that is how he strikes me, pun intended!