Alderweireld Challenges Spurs to Sign Osimhen and Outsmart Arsenal

Toby Alderweireld has thrown down a challenge to his former club: if Tottenham are serious about climbing back to the top, they should go and steal Victor Osimhen from under Arsenal’s nose.

The ex-Spurs defender believes the Galatasaray striker is exactly what Roberto De Zerbi’s side are missing.

“Spurs could use a striker like Victor Osimhen, they need his goals because it’s what they lacked last season as well,” Alderweireld told Hajper, cutting straight to the point.

Tottenham escaped a chaotic relegation battle last season and have since spent like a club determined never to go that close to the edge again. They have smashed their transfer record twice in one window, landing Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali for a combined £185 million.

They have already rebuilt large chunks of the squad. Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Martin Dubravka have all arrived to stiffen the spine and add experience. Yet for all that outlay, the glaring hole remains the same.

They still don’t have a nailed-on No 9.

Inside the club, strengthening the forward line has become a priority before the window slams shut. Alderweireld is adamant the answer is not another wide forward or hybrid attacker. It has to be a penalty-box predator.

Tottenham have been linked with wide players such as Savinho, Cody Gakpo and Pedro Neto, names that fit the modern trend of flexible forwards drifting in from the flanks. Alderweireld isn’t convinced that’s what Spurs need most.

He wants a pure centre-forward. He wants Osimhen.

The Nigerian has already drawn serious attention from Arsenal, and that tug-of-war could define the final weeks of the window. Galatasaray recently sounded out the Gunners about possible deals for Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri, with a potential move for Osimhen floated in the talks. For now, though, there are no active negotiations on that front.

That uncertainty is exactly the kind of opening Alderweireld believes Tottenham should pounce on.

There is, however, one factor he accepts might give the Premier League’s elite pause.

“The only concern for clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United is maybe his age,” he said. “He’s not the youngest player anymore and it seems like everyone wants to find a 23-year-old superstar who can bang in goals for the next seven or eight years, and I understand that, but you also need a good mix.”

That “mix” is something Alderweireld knows first-hand. He leaned on his own career to explain why signing established stars alongside emerging talents can transform a dressing room.

“That’s why it can be important to sign proven players who know how things go so they can bring on the younger, potential superstars alongside them, because they can set the best example,” he explained.

His mind went back to Amsterdam.

“I think about my time at Ajax. The mix was on another level. We had Dusan Tadic and Daley Blind and Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs de Ligt coming through. That’s what you need.”

In his view, Osimhen would be that kind of reference point for Spurs’ younger attackers – a striker who knows the craft, carries the burden of goals, and lets the prospects grow around him rather than be crushed by expectation.

Convincing Galatasaray to sell, and beating Arsenal to his signature, is another matter entirely. The market for top-level strikers is thin, the fees are huge, and the competition is fierce. Tottenham have already shown they are willing to spend, but this would be a different kind of statement – a direct confrontation with their north London rivals over a marquee forward.

Osimhen, for his part, is keeping his head down.

Asked recently about the swirl of rumours, he refused to be drawn into the drama. “I’ll focus on my job,” he said last week. “We’ll see and think about what comes next then.”

Tottenham have rebuilt almost every line of their team. The question now is whether they dare to go all in on the one position that still defines seasons – and whether they are bold enough to fight Arsenal for the man Alderweireld believes could change everything.