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Tottenham Manager Mauricio Pochettino during Tottenham Hotspur v Stoke City match last week – Reuters
Tottenham Hotspur are confident they will bring in another striker before the transfer window closes with West Bromwich Albino’s Saido Berahino still top of their list.
West Brom have already turned down a bid for the 22-year-old but Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino said it was important for the club to sign a forward so he can play with two up front.
He also told reporters Tottenham have more than one target as they try to reinforce a forward line consisting of England’s Harry Kane and new signing Clinton Njie from Olympique Lyonnais.
“If you have one (target) and you fail, you are dead. We have confidence we will bring in one offensive player,” he said ahead of Saturday’s Premier League game at Leicester City.
“We need one more striker for different games, sometimes to play together. This season we can play in two different systems. We worked very hard in pre-season to improve because we need to play in different (systems).
“Like we played against Stoke, with two strikers, (Nacer) Chadli and Kane,” he added, although Belgium international Chadli is more of a wide player than a striker.
Pochettino’s limited options were clearly shown against Stoke when, with Spurs leading 2-0, Kane was taken off with a slight calf problem meaning there was nobody to hold the ball up and keep possession.
Stoke struck twice in the last 12 minutes to snatch a 2-2 draw, leaving Spurs with one point from their opening two matches after a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United.
Njie trained with his new club for the first time on Thursday after returning to Paris to sort out his work permit but Pochettino is excited about the new arrival.
“He is fast and technical, and his condition is high,” said the Argentine of the Cameroon international who cost 10 million pounds.