Tottenham eye £16m Brazilian striker to pair with Adebayor
Published:Tottenham are ready to up their offer for Brazilian striker Leandro Damiao following the completion of Emmanuel Adebayor’s loan signing.
Brazilian club Internacional have already rejected a £12m offer from Spurs for Damiao, but it is believed Spurs are willing to up their offer to around £16m in order to beat off competition from Barcelona.
The 22-year-old made his debut for the Brazil national team in the friendly with Scotland in March and is expected to lead the nation in next year’s Olympics.
Having scored twice on his debut for Internacional, it was his form with his club that led to him replacing Alexandre Pato in the Brazil squad and Spurs believe the 22-year-old can become a prolific scorer in the Premier League.
Damiao has 36 goals in 62 starts for Internacional and this season he has netted eight times in 16 games.
Harry Redknapp is keen to freshen up his strike force and there is talk that both Peter Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko are on their way out of White Hart Lane.
Until Redknapp signs another striker that is unlikely to happen but with the news Spurs are ready to up their offer for Damiao, both Crouch and Pavlyuchenko will be considering their futures.
Tottenham host Manchester City on Sunday in a mouthwatering clash and Premier League history suggests Spurs can upset the odds and win.
Due to the terms of his loan, Adebayor will not make his Spurs debut on Sunday which leaves Redknapp having to choose from either Jermain Defoe, Crouch or Pavlyuchenko to play ahead of Rafael van der Vaart.
While these three are not bad players, their goalscoring records last season were very poor and while Spurs put five past Hearts in Edinburgh, they have failed to find the net in their other two fixtures this season.
Damiao is an exciting young prospect in Brazil and should he arrive, over time he and Adebayor can form a strong partnership.
