Finish 17th in the Premier League and it does not usually lead to luxury. However, for Tottenham Hotspur, things are rather different.

The Lilywhites have climbed out of the rubble and now look like a picture of full health. Sandro Tonali, Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke, Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi have all arrived as marquee signings.

Yet, despite those impressive additions, Spurs are yet to add to their attack. There is now just a week and a half left of the transfer window and time is of the essence in that regard.

A striker is required. Harry Kane and Victor Osimhen have both been linked with remarkable moves to north London but both would appear to be unlikely.

Kane, rather unsurprisingly, wants to stay at Bayern Munich.

Could Harry Kane really return to Spurs?

There was always be something nagging in the back of the head of Tottenham supporters. Will Kane return to his beloved Spurs?

There is a sense that one day, he may well do so. The sensational Englishman has now won the Bundesliga on two occasions with Bayern Munich and has cemented himself as one of the best strikers of his generation, if not the greatest.

Last term, Kane scored a ridiculous 61 goals for the German side and is firmly in the conversation to win the Ballon d'Or. As impressive as Spurs' recruitment has been this summer, they do not stand a chance of signing a player held in such high regard.

Still, reports this summer have indicated that they have held conversations with the player's camp over a move in the future. That came about as a result of Kane's contract situation in Munich.

His deal runs out in a year but according to the player himself, he wants to stay in Germany for now.

Speaking this week, Kane said: "We obviously said we wanted to talk after the World Cup and after my holiday. So I'm not sure exactly when, but they'll start this week, next week... we'll start those talks."

Kane continued: "Like I've said before, we're calm, I think they're calm with the situation. Obviously now is the time to start talking, because there's only a year left."

For now then, Roberto De Zerbi will have to wait to get his hands on the striker. He won't be returning this summer but that does not mean he won't in a couple of years.

How Spurs can finally replace Harry Kane

With 280 goals for Spurs to his name, no player in world football is capable of replacing Kane so expectations must be tempered.

That, however, has not stopped fans from jumping on the backs of players like Richarlison and Dominic Solanke. Between them, they bagged just 18 goals last season, albeit the latter was injury-stricken.

As a result, it won't take much for Spurs to sign an upgrade this summer and that is precisely what they are intent on doing.

Among the options are Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson, as well as Liverpool's Cody Gakpo. A move for the Liverpool forward, however, looks challenging. The Reds need to sign two wingers before they can allow him to leave.

As a result, De Zerbi and Co have turned their attentions to Omar Marmoush. Reports on Wednesday evening first revealed the interest with Fabrizio Romano offering this follow up: "Tottenham are working on several opportunities. Two wingers plus a striker. The wingers wanted are Savinho or Pedro Neto if Savio deal does not work."

Romano continued: "The priority is Savinho. For the other winger, Cody Gakpo from Liverpool. For central striker, Omar Marmoush is an option. There have been contacts today (Wednesday) between Tottenham and Manchester City about Savinho and also Marmoush. I now expect more conversations."

If a deal is to be done then it may well take as much as £68m to prise the Egyptian away from the Etihad. Would he be worth the cash? Well, the short answer is yes. This is player who has the potential to be their best forward player since Kane.

Of course, Marmoush is not going to be able to hit the dizzy heights that the England skipper did at N17 but he's a captivating forward, particularly when he is the centre of attention.

Now, the 27-year-old did not enjoy a great 2025/26 campaign. He played just 1,393 minutes in all competitions, scoring eight times. Yet, his minutes per goal record of one every 174 minutes betters anyone at Spurs last term.

So, even with less game time, Marmoush still delivered fine performances. One look at his record from 2024/25 also paints an extremely bright picture.

Before joining City in the winter of that term, he had scored 15 goals in 17 matches for Eintracht Frankfurt at a rate of 0.80 per 90 minutes and one every 103 minutes played.

He was one of the finest forwards in the game that season, ending the campaign with 28 goals in 51 appearances all told for Frankfurt and City. On top of that, he was also rather Kane-like in his ability to create goal-scoring opportunities for his teammates.

Come the end of the term, Marmoush had registered 17 assists. Sure, he played plenty of football from a wide role but he was also the leading striker for both teams on as many as 34 occasions. 19 of his goals and 12 of his assists came from that role.

The City outcast may not be cut from a similar cloth as Kane but there is a reason to believe that he could well be their best forward since the England hero.