Ange Postecoglou confirms he held an interest in Ivan Toneyu during the summer but preferred Dominic Solanke as a priority.
Tottenham entered the summer window in need of a striker, as there was a feeling that the club had not replaced Harry Kane, who left a year ago for Bayern Munich. The England captain was such a goalscoring threat for Spurs, and hence, replacing his numbers was essential, which may have effectively cost them a place in the top four.
Moreover, the dwindling form of big-money signing Richarlison has not helped, as the club might have placed too much faith in the Brazilian’s ability to replace Kane. However, the idea did not materialise, as he had a better season than before, but it was still underwhelming.
Either way, they needed a striker and went out to sign Dominic Solanke in a club-record deal from Bournemouth. The striker opened his account at the weekend against Brentford and could go on to have a good season. However, he wasn’t the only striker they were looking at during the summer window.
There was interest in Ivan Toney, with Tottenham reportedly waiting for his price to drop. Brentfords demands might have made it difficult to sign the striker, as well as his wage demands. While he has since signed for Al-Ahli for £40 million, that price might have been a bit higher for domestic teams.
Ange Postecoglou has now confirmed in his comments that appear on 90 Min that Tottenham indeed looked at Toney as an option. He insisted that, eventually, they only wanted Solanke as the striker who fit their profile requirements.
“We looked at him,” the Australian said. “But the reality was that Dom was the one that I wanted.
“It took the whole summer to get him in but he was the one that fitted the profile that we wanted.“
Toney has since moved to Al-Ahli, and there are sugegstions that he might have preferred to stay in the Premier League, but not many clubs came in with concrete offers. For instance, Arsenal were keen for a while, but some stories suggested that Edu Gaspar and Mikel Arteta did not like his character and fit for the team.
Chelsea also looked at him for a brief period as they continued to search for a striker, while eventually failing to land top target Victor Osimhen after a long, drawn-out saga. As for Toney, he will be happy to join the Suadi side as the money on offer there would have been difficult to turn down, considering the levels Toney has come from in the footballing pyramid.
