I told Tottenham the perfect Harry Kane replacement – now Chelsea may sign him for £17m

Tottenham Hotspur could live to regret not taking Antonio Conte’s advice to sign Lille striker Jonathan David.

It was previously claimed that the ex-Spurs boss had earmarked the forward as a possible successor to Harry Kane. Both Conte and former sporting director Fabio Paratici were said to have held David in high regard before both men left the club in early 2023.

It is understood that Spurs are in the hunt for a striker this summer. And Ligue 1 hitman David remains among their list of targets.

The Canada international, who scored 26 goals this season, has long been touted with a Premier League move. Tottenham ultimately opted against a direct replacement when Kane left for Bayern Munich, instead signing winger Brennan Johnson.

And Chelsea could belatedly take advantage of that decision with a cut-price deal for David this summer. It has been reported that the Blues are seriously interested in the Lille striker.

German journalist Florian Plettenberg has claimed that the Blues have inquired about the 24-year-old, who is also said to be a target for West Ham and Manchester United.

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Spurs were seemingly put off by David’s reported £51million price-tag last summer, but he is expected to be available for significantly less this time around. The striker is set to enter the final year of his contract, with Lille said to be willing to accept a fee between £17 and £21million (€20-25million).

While that type of asking price will delight Chelsea as they seek to find competition for Nicolas Jackson up front, it also reminds Spurs why Conte was supposedly keen on the striker. Last season, both Richarlison and Son Heung-min attempted to fill the void left by Kane to varying degrees of success.

Richarlison significantly improved after his frustrating debut season, finishing with 11 league goals. Meanwhile, Son was prolific for Ange Postecoglou’s side, scoring 17 goals in the Premier League, and made the number nine spot his own in the latter stages of the campaign.

Despite Son’s success in a more central role – 14 goals in 23 games – it did not match up with Tottenham’s results, earning a total of 36 points. The slump that Spurs suffered at the most crucial stage of the season ended up costing the club a Champions League place.

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While Son more than held up his end of the bargain, the decision to use the Spurs captain as a striker perhaps altered the balance of Postecoglou’s side. Timo Werner was signed in the January window to fill Son’s space on the left flank, with Johnson also occasionally taking up the role.

Almost a year on from Kane leaving the club, David’s likely exit from Lille provides a clear reminder that Spurs have a key problem to fix during the summer transfer window.

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