Tottenham Hotspur were held to a 0-0 draw by Monaco in the Champions League last time out, but it was the hosts who had the better chances to win the match.
The French side created five ‘big chances’ in the game, compared to Tottenham’s one, and Guglielmo Vicario prevented a whopping 2.68 xG with eight saves.
Whilst Thomas Frank will be concerned that his goalkeeper needed to make so many saves, the Spurs head coach should be concerned about the lack of potency in the final third.
Tottenham have struggled at the top end of the pitch under the former Brentford boss in the Premier League so far this season, as shown in the table below.
1
Crystal Palace – 33
Crystal Palace – 22
2
Man City – 27
Man City – 17
3
Liverpool – 24
Liverpool – 17
4
Chelsea – 23
Leeds – 14
5
Arsenal – 22
Man Utd – 14
6
Man Utd – 22
Arsenal – 13
7
Brighton – 18
Newcastle – 11
8
Leeds – 17
Nottingham Forest – 11
9
Newcastle – 15
Chelsea – 10
10
Everton – 15
Everton – 10
Spurs do not rank within the top ten Premier League sides for ‘big chances’ created or missed, as they sit 15th in the division for ‘big chances’ created with 13, per Sofascore.
On top of struggling to create chances on a consistent basis, it also remains to be seen whether or not the Lilywhites have a striker who can provide consistent quality in front of goal.
Ranking Tottenham Hotspur's striker options
Mathys Tel, Richarlison, and Dominic Solanke are the main centre-forward options at Frank’s disposal this season, although Solanke is currently making his way back from an ankle injury.
Despite scoring a goal against Leeds United last month, Tel may rank at the bottom of the manager’s options in the number nine position, because he is still a young and inexperienced player.
The France U21 international has scored four goals in 28 appearances in all competitions for the club, per Sofascore, which shows that he still has development to go through before he can offer a consistent threat.
Richarlison is currently the first-choice number nine, in Solanke’s absence, and he has scored eight goals in 37 matches since the start of last season, per Sofascore, including three goals in eight Premier League outings this term.
Appearances
27
Starts
25
xG
10.97
Goals
9
Big chances missed
12
Minutes per goal
245
xA
1.15
Assists
3
As you can see in the table above, Solanke scored more goals in the Premier League alone last season than Richarlison has managed in all competitions since the start of the 2024/25 campaign.
This suggests that the England international is the best striker in the current Spurs squad, but the club are reportedly keen on a player who is even better than him.
Spurs ready to pay up for Serie A striker
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, as relayed by TuttoJuve, Tottenham Hotspur are one of a number of clubs interested in a deal to sign Juventus centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic.
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The report claims that Fabio Paratici is eyeing up a potential swoop for the Serbia international, but will face competition from Premier League rivals Chelsea and Manchester United.
It adds that all three clubs are willing to pay the fee that Juventus are looking for, which is up to £22m, as they look to move on from Vlahovic in the upcoming January transfer window.
The experienced striker’s contract in Turin is set to expire at the end of the 2025/26 campaign, which is why the Old Lady are keen to move on from him in January to avoid losing the forward for nothing in the summer.
Why Spurs should sign Dusan Vlahovic
Paratici should push to secure a deal for Vlahovic ahead of both Chelsea and Manchester United because he could arrive in North London as an instant upgrade on Solanke.
The Serbian number nine’s form last season and throughout his career at the top level suggests that he would offer a far more clinical and lethal presence at the top end of the pitch for Spurs.
Vlahovic scored 17 goals in all competitions during the 2024/25 campaign, including the summer Club World Cup, and hit double figures for goals in the Serie A, per Sofascore.
Starts
21
25
Goals
10
9
Minutes per goal
180
245
Shots on target per game
1.0
1.0
Assists
4
3
Aerial duels won per game
1.3
1.7
Aerial duel success rate
48%
43%
As you can see in the table above, Vlahovic was far more prolific than Solanke at league level, as shown by their respective minutes per goal ratios, whilst he also won a higher percentage of his aerial duels and provided more assists.
These statistics suggest that the Juventus striker, who was described as an “absolute monster” by reporter Carlo Garganese, would provide more quality than the Englishman in the final third.
That is further backed up by their respective career finishing statistics. Per UnderStat, Solanke has scored 38 goals from 52.23 xG in his top-flight career, whilst Vlahovic has 89 goals from 90.73 xG in his time in the Serie A with Fiorentina and Juventus.
This suggests that Vlahovic would provide a level of clinical finishing and goalscoring prowess that Frank does not currently have at his disposal in North London this season.
Therefore, Paratici needs to do all he can to convince the Serbian marksman to turn down potential moves to Manchester United and Chelsea to join the Lilywhites in the upcoming January transfer window, as he would improve the current first-team squad.
