Tottenham's Attack Transformation: Gakpo, Savinho, and Balogun

Tottenham’s quiet summer is about to get loud.

With the new season a week away, the club’s attack is being ripped up and redrawn, and Roberto De Zerbi has identified his men. Cody Gakpo. Savinho. And, if the hierarchy get their way, Folarin Balogun to finish the job.

This is not tinkering. It’s surgery.

De Zerbi’s wide plan: Savinho first in line

Savinho looks the closest to walking through the door. Tottenham have tracked the Manchester City winger for some time, and the 22-year-old is understood to be keen on a move to north London and a reunion with De Zerbi.

He would arrive into a winger group that has been stripped bare.

Randal Kolo Muani has gone after a miserable loan spell. Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert are both set for extended spells out, leaving De Zerbi short of natural wide options. The need is immediate, not theoretical.

In the short term, Savinho is the obvious stand-in for Mohammed Kudus on the right. Kudus has missed the entirety of pre-season, only just returning to training. The Brazilian, left-footed and direct, can step into that vacancy and give De Zerbi a different profile on the flank.

Longer term, the picture shifts. Savinho has been praised by analyst and Como scout Ben Mattinson for his Gareth Bale-style, driving finishes from the left, cutting in and hammering at goal. De Zerbi will know that weapon is there to be sharpened. Once Kudus is fully fit, Savinho could easily flip to the opposite side and attack from the left instead.

If that happens, the Gakpo question becomes unavoidable.

Gakpo’s role: touchline or between the posts?

Gakpo has lived most of his Liverpool life on the left wing. That’s his natural habitat. But De Zerbi is not walking into this with his eyes closed. He knows exactly what he is buying.

The Dutchman is not a classic touchline winger. He doesn’t burn full-backs with raw pace or dribble past three men for fun. His game is built around movement, timing and finishing. He thinks like a forward, not a chalk-on-the-boots wide man.

That is why a central role is firmly on the table.

There is a growing belief that Gakpo could be deployed as a false nine under De Zerbi, dropping into pockets, linking play and arriving in the box to finish moves. The numbers back up the idea, if not in spectacular fashion. According to Transfermarkt, he has 18 goals in 66 appearances as a striker or false nine for Liverpool. Solid. Not explosive. But enough to suggest the role suits him.

For a club still living in the long shadow of Harry Kane, that raises another point. If Gakpo is more facilitator than pure finisher, do Spurs still need a true number nine?

De Zerbi’s answer, and ENIC’s, seems clear: yes.

Richarlison and Solanke on the brink

The current centre-forward department feels temporary, not settled.

Richarlison is down to the final year of his contract. De Zerbi has already admitted the 29-year-old is weighing up his future, and there is a sense inside the club that the decision may be taken for him. Football FanCast reported earlier in the summer that he is expected to be sold, and nothing since has really shifted that trajectory.

Dominic Solanke’s position is safer, but not guaranteed. Nottingham Forest have shown interest, and while he has worked hard, 12 league goals across two seasons is hardly the return of an untouchable starter. If a serious bid lands, Spurs would at least listen.

TEAMtalk report that ENIC’s preference is clear: move on one of Richarlison or Solanke, then go hard for Balogun. Tottenham are described as “frontrunners” for the Monaco striker, with the fee expected to be around £51m.

Talks are not advanced yet. This is not a done deal. But it is live, and Balogun’s stance is crucial. The former Arsenal forward is said to be keen on a Premier League return and, as the report notes, open to joining Spurs.

That alone would give the move an edge.

Balogun: the statement Spurs really want

On pure form, Balogun may be the sharpest of the three attacking targets.

Gakpo’s time at Liverpool has been mixed. He has never hit double figures in a Premier League season since arriving from PSV Eindhoven and remains a slightly divisive figure at Anfield.

Savinho, for all his promise, finished the 2025/26 league campaign with just one goal and one assist. The talent is obvious, but the end product has not yet exploded.

Balogun, by contrast, has been busy building a body of work.

In Ligue 1 last season he scored 13 goals and supplied four assists for Monaco. Gakpo, in comparison, posted seven goals and five assists in the Premier League. Balogun also delivered on the biggest stages: three goals in four World Cup appearances, leading the line for Mauricio Pochettino’s side and looking a constant menace.

He carried that threat into Europe as well, scoring five times in ten Champions League games and echoing the ruthless form he showed on loan at Reims in 2022/23, when he hit 21 Ligue 1 goals.

Injuries have interrupted his rise, but the ceiling is clear. At £51m, he would not be a bargain. He would be a bet on a striker with momentum, confidence and unfinished business in English football.

And then there is the subtext. A Hale End graduate, sold by Arsenal, returning to north London in Lilywhite. Spurs would not just be signing a forward. They would be taking a swing at their rivals’ judgement, daring Arsenal to watch him flourish across the divide, as they once did with another homegrown striker called Harry Kane.

For a club trying to redefine its attacking identity, that kind of symbolism matters.

If Tottenham land Balogun on top of Gakpo and Savinho, Richarlison and Solanke will not just be looking over their shoulders. They may be looking for the exit.