Tottenham have made a major statement in the transfer market this summer, spending more than £200million as Roberto De Zerbi looks to overhaul his squad ahead of the new campaign.
Spurs have already completed expensive deals for Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes and Jan Paul van Hecke, while Marcos Senesi, Andrew Robertson and experienced goalkeeper Martin Dubravka have arrived as free agents.
However, despite their impressive recruitment, there is still plenty of uncertainty surrounding several players. Lucas Bergvall has attracted interest from elsewhere, while captain Cristian Romero remains heavily linked with moves to Inter Milan and Atletico Madrid.
Tottenham are also continuing to look for attacking additions. Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo is reportedly among their targets, with Benfica winger Andreas Schjelderup also attracting attention. Savinho of Manchester City and Chelsea’s Pedro Neto have been considered as well, although Savinho is believed to be De Zerbi’s preferred option.
Former Chelsea and West Ham striker Carlton Cole, however, believes Spurs should focus on signing a proven goalscorer rather than adding another wide attacker.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Thursday, Cole insisted Tottenham need a striker capable of consistently delivering around 20 Premier League goals per season. He suggested Al Ahli forward Ivan Toney could be an ideal solution.
Cole told presenter Adam Catterall that genuine 20-goal strikers are difficult to find, but believes Spurs could explore a move for Toney or even consider bringing former striker Harry Kane back to North London.
He also questioned whether Tottenham’s current attacking options are reliable enough, highlighting Dominic Solanke’s fitness problems and raising concerns over Richarlison’s consistency in front of goal.
Toney has enjoyed an impressive spell in Saudi Arabia since leaving Brentford for Al Ahli in 2024. The England striker has scored 72 goals in 93 appearances, including 32 goals last season, finishing second behind Julian Quinones in the Saudi Pro League scoring charts.
The striker remains under contract with Al Ahli until 2028 and reportedly earns around £400,000 per week, meaning Tottenham would likely have to make a huge financial commitment to bring him back to England.
Toney also has some history with Arsenal that has made him a popular figure among sections of the Spurs fanbase. Following Brentford’s 2-0 victory over Arsenal in 2021, the striker posted a cheeky message on social media that quickly became well known.
Mikel Arteta later used the incident as motivation before the return fixture, which Arsenal won 3-0. Gabriel Magalhães then appeared to return the favour by repeating Toney’s famous line, following a similar gesture from Alexandre Lacazette after an earlier meeting.
Toney later reflected on the incident in September 2022, admitting that while the joke was amusing initially, it eventually became embarrassing. He revealed that he considered responding but decided against it, accepting that Arsenal had been the better team when they won.
Despite describing the episode as somewhat “cringey,” Toney has previously admitted that he has always admired Arsenal’s style of football. Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast in 2023, he revealed that although he has supported Liverpool since childhood, he has also enjoyed watching Arsenal because of their football and passionate supporters.
For Toney, though, Liverpool remains his number one club.
