Why Tottenham should make a move for Keita Balde in January

Back in December 2018, the Evening Standard had claimed that Tottenham were interested in signing AS Monaco star Keita Balde, who was then on loan at Inter Milan.

The Senegal international, 24, has returned to Ligue 1 side Monaco after his loan spell with Inter Milan last season. Inter didn’t take the option to buy the forward, who came through the famed Barcelona academy and was sold by Lazio to Monaco in the summer of 2017.

Now that Keita Balde has returned to Monaco and is set to fight for his place in the team, Tottenham should monitor his progress in the meantime and make an attempt to sign him when the transfer window reopens.

Tottenham enjoyed a fantastic summer transfer window as Mauricio Pochettino managed to recruit the likes of Tanguy Ndombele, Ryan Sessegnon, Giovani Lo Celso and Jack Clarke, who returned to Leeds United on loan for the 2019/20 campaign.

The north London also started the new campaign well, winning 3-1 at home against newly-promoted Aston Villa last weekend.

However, Pochettino failed to bring in a new striker as a backup to Harry Kane regardless of allowing Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen to leave the club. Kane has suffered few injury problems over the last couple of campaigns and it is important for Pochettino and co. to manage their talismanic striker well this time.

Spurs cannot afford to lose the England international to another injury at a key point as Pochettino aims to win silverware this campaign. Thus, it makes every sense for Tottenham to make a move for Keita Balde in January.

Capable of playing on either flank, behind a striker or even up top, Keita’s rapid pace, physicality and dribbling skills make him a nightmare for defenders. He can pull off some eye-catching moves and is known to be a hard worker off the ball as he is always willing to trackback.

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The Senegal international is an accomplished finisher in the final third plus can score goals from long-range and has the vision to open up a rigid defence with a perfectly weighted through pass.

Verdict

The 24-year-old has bags of untapped potential, which Pochettino would no doubt love to tap into. The acquisition of Keita will undoubtedly add a lot of flair and pace to Pochettino’s frontline.

The prospect of the Senegal international linking up with the likes of Kane, Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura will be a mouthwatering one for anyone associated with Tottenham.