Alderweireld Challenges Spurs to Secure Osimhen from Arsenal

Toby Alderweireld has thrown down a challenge to his former club. If Tottenham are serious about climbing back towards the top, he says, they should crash Arsenal’s pursuit of Victor Osimhen and make the Galatasaray striker their own marquee signing.

Spurs have already spent like a club desperate to avoid another brush with disaster. After scraping their way clear of a relegation fight last season, the north London side have ripped up the squad and started again, twice breaking their transfer record in one window.

Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali arrived for a combined £185 million, a statement of intent as bold as anything the club has done in the post-Harry Kane era. Jan Paul van Hecke, Marcos Senesi, Andy Robertson and Martin Dubravka have followed to stiffen the spine.

Yet for all that money, one glaring hole remains.

They still haven’t signed a proven, out-and-out centre forward.

Alderweireld believes Osimhen is exactly that missing piece.

“Spurs could use a striker like Victor Osimhen, they need his goals because it’s what they lacked last season as well,” the Belgian told Hajper, making no attempt to hide how highly he rates the 25-year-old.

Tottenham have been linked with wide forwards and versatile attackers for months. Names such as Savinho, Cody Gakpo and Pedro Neto have all been floated as potential solutions to De Zerbi’s attacking puzzle. Wide threats, creative options, runners from deep.

But not a pure No 9.

For Alderweireld, that is where the focus has to be. The Nigerian, he argues, offers the penalty-box presence and ruthless finishing Spurs have been missing since Kane’s departure, and no amount of wide talent can fully compensate for that.

There is, though, a complication that stretches beyond Tottenham. Osimhen’s profile puts him in the crosshairs of every major Premier League club.

“The only concern for clubs like Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United is maybe his age,” Alderweireld said. “He’s not the youngest player anymore and it seems like everyone wants to find a 23-year-old superstar who can bang in goals for the next seven or eight years, and I understand that, but you also need a good mix.”

That idea of balance runs through his argument. He leans on his own career to make the point.

“That’s why it can be important to sign proven players who know how things go so they can bring on the younger, potential superstars alongside them, because they can set the best example,” he explained.

Then came the reference that will resonate with anyone who watched that Ajax side grow into a European force.

“I think about my time at Ajax. The mix was on another level. We had Dusan Tadic and Daley Blind and Frenkie De Jong and Matthijs de Ligt coming through. That’s what you need.”

Experience and youth. Ready-made leaders and raw talent. In Alderweireld’s eyes, Osimhen would land firmly in the “ready-made” category for Spurs.

Prising him away, though, will be anything but simple.

The Nigeria international sits high on Arsenal’s list as they search for a long-term answer up front. Galatasaray have already tested the waters with the Gunners, sounding them out over possible deals involving Gabriel Martinelli and Ethan Nwaneri, and floating Osimhen’s name as part of the discussions.

For now, those talks have not developed into formal negotiations. The situation remains in that familiar summer limbo: interest, conversations, but nothing concrete on the table.

Osimhen, at least publicly, is keeping his head down.

“I’ll focus on my job,” he said last week when asked about the swirl of rumours. “We’ll see and think about what comes next then.”

Tottenham, meanwhile, know the clock is ticking. They have rebuilt the midfield, reinforced the back line and added experience across the pitch. The project has shape, the squad has depth.

What it doesn’t have yet is a striker who guarantees goals.

If Alderweireld gets his wish, that final piece of the puzzle will be wearing white in north London, not red.