Tottenham Hotspur report: Harry Kane replacement chooses Spurs over Chelsea, with move imminent

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League group F match between Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic FC at The Marshall Jozef Pilsudski's Municipal Stadium of Legia Warsaw on September 14, 2022 in Warsaw, Poland.
(Image credit: Mateusz Slodkowski/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur are firmly in the driving seat to tie up a move for a £50 million attacker also of interest to Chelsea – and an approach for the player is imminent.

The Lilywhites have begun the season strongly, holding Brentford to a 2-2 draw in Ange Postecoglou's opening fixture away from home before comfortably beating Manchester United 2-0 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

While things are looking up for Tottenham though, Postecoglou has hinted that he would still like players across his squad – and that the replacement for Harry Kane might not be of the same stylistic ilk. 

Bayern Munich's English forward #09 Harry Kane applauds the fans after the German first division Bundesliga football match between Werder Bremen and FC Bayern Munich in Bremen, northern Germany, on August 18, 2023.

Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane applauds the fans after his Bundesliga debut (Image credit: INA FASSBENDER/AFP via Getty Images)

Tottenham are set to make a move for Nottingham Forest starlet Brennan Johnson according to the Evening Standard, with the Mail claiming the Welsh international favours a move to Postecoglou's side over Chelsea.

The Blues, now coached by former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino, are still in the hunt for another striker and a right-winger, with Johnson rated at around £50m by Forest. According to The Mail though, Spurs could offer the Tricky Trees a swap deal in order to reach the valuation set by the two-time European champions.

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Postecoglou is reportedly keen to slimline his squad as much as he is to add to it, telling a press conference recently, "It's not so much one has to happen for the other but our focus at the moment is trimming the squad down and seeing where that takes us in terms of reinforcements."

With Tottenham receiving a reported €100m from Bayern Munich for the sale of their talismanic record scorer Kane, they have the financial might to bring in new faces, regardless of who leaves. 

Brennan Johnson of Nottingham Forest during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United at the City Ground, Nottingham on Friday 18th August 2023.

Brennan Johnson of Nottingham Forest is a target for Tottenham and Chelsea (Image credit: Jon Hobley/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Hugo Lloris, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Davinson Sanchez, Giovani Lo Celso, Japhet Tanganga and Tanguy Ndombele have all been linked with exits. 

Johnson is valued by Transfermarkt to be worth €38m.

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Spurs have been linked with a move for Chelsea misfit Romelu Lukaku this summer as a replacement for Harry Kane. Tottenham are also reportedly interested in 'the next Thierry Henry' to fill the gap left by their all-time record goalscorer, while Djed Spence has been linked with an exit this summer after making just four appearances since signing last summer.

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.