Jose Mourinho insists that Tottenham Hotspur will struggle without Harry Kane up front, per The Sun.
What’s he said?
Kane suffered a hamstring problem against Southampton and was absent from the FA Cup third-round tie against Middlesbrough.
Spurs were held to a 1-1 draw at the Riverside Stadium, meaning they face a replay against the Championship club as they attempt to reach round four.
Mourinho utilised Son Heung-Min as his striker against Boro but it was Lucas Moura who scored the equaliser after Ashley Fletcher’s opener.
But Mourinho maintains that the South Korean and the Brazilian are not out-and-out forwards.
He said: “We arrived in so many scoring positions and then the last ball, the last cross, the simple one, we did it only once.
“Of course, it’s a new thing for the team to play without Harry, without a striker.
“We tried to give them the mobility of Son and Lucas, but it was not easy. We played with six attacking players without a striker.
“We have what we have and we stick with them. The boys did what they can, you cannot transform Lucas or Son into a No9 like Harry Kane.
“So we have to try other things and that is what we are going to do. Obviously, every minute Harry doesn’t play means a lot to us – it is a big loss for us.
“But we have to accept it and we have to fight with the boys that are available.”
Transfer window is open
It’s January, which means Mourinho has plenty of options.
He could well attempt to muddle through with Son and Lucas, two players who, as he says, are not really conventional forwards in the sense of being able to replicate Kane’s threat.
Or he could lean on chairman Daniel Levy and attempt to get the Spurs supremo to spend some money.
The big fat Tottenham quiz of 2019 – how much do you remember about the last year at Spurs?
As it is, only Troy Parrott is available as a traditional forward option and he’s a 17-year-old kid.
Mourinho would do well to lay the facts out to Levy and attempt to convince him to spend; strikers are out there if he is willing to pay for them.
Right now, Spurs need one.
Meanwhile, Spurs fans have laid into one man for his FA Cup performance.