Darren Anderton has argued that Tottenham should stop chasing a like-for-like Harry Kane replacement and back Igor Thiago instead. The former Spurs midfielder said the club will probably have to take a gamble on a striker, and pointed to Thiago’s 22 goals for Brentford last season, when he finished second in the Premier League golden boot race behind only Erling Haaland.
Anderton's case for Thiago
Anderton did not dress it up as a certainty. “I don't think anyone can [replace Kane] as such,” he said to standard.co.uk. “Are we going to go out and buy the best striker in the world that's available and pay him crazy, whoever that guy is, crazy money? I don't think we are. It's going to be that one where we probably take a gamble on someone and try and do it that way.”
That is why Thiago was the name he went to. “I mean, I love the boy at Brentford, Igor Thiago. I think he's done great,” Anderton said. He also told goal.com: “I don't see why Igor Thiago wouldn't fit the system.”
Thiago’s record gives the suggestion some weight. Brentford paid £28.5million for him from Club Brugge in 2024, and he answered with 22 league goals last season. For Tottenham, that is a more convincing starting point than hunting for a perfect Kane clone.
Spurs still have a striker problem
Anderton’s wider point was that Tottenham still need a proper scorer. He said Dominic Solanke is the player he hopes can do it, but added that Richarlison is “not going to be a goalscorer” and is more likely to be a nuisance to defenders than the man finishing chances.
The backdrop is not flattering. Tottenham have suffered back-to-back 17th-placed finishes in the Premier League, and that is the sort of record that pushes a club towards a reset rather than a tweak. Solanke’s 15 league appearances last season only sharpen the sense that Spurs have not yet settled on the answer up front.
Anderton also backed Roberto De Zerbi to lift the club, saying he believes the coach can get Tottenham back into the Champions League if he gets the right players in. Thiago is one of those players in his mind, not because he solves everything, but because he fits the kind of striker profile Spurs can realistically land.
The key point is that Anderton is not selling Thiago as a Kane successor in the old sense. He is selling him as the kind of gamble Tottenham probably have to make, after two league seasons that ended with the club in 17th and a current forward line that still leaves questions unanswered.
Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →