Tottenham Hotspur will have to pay record fee for ideal Harry Kane replacement: report

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou arrives at the Spurs Training Ground on July 10, 2023 in London, England.
(Image credit: Mark Leech/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur will have to break the British transfer record if they want to secure their top target to replace Harry Kane.

That's according to one report, which says that one of the Lilywhites' best options to come into the void up front may well be more expensive than Kane was for Bayern Munich. The England captain left north London this summer for a fee of around €100 million.

But while Kane left at the top of his game for a nine-figure fee, Tottenham's perfect replacement may cost £120m as Premier League sides reach unprecedented levels of spending.

Harry Kane

Harry Kane cost Bayern Munich a lot – but Tottenham could have to pay more to replace him (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Express says that Spurs are keen on Evan Ferguson of Brighton & Hove Albion, who recognise the young Irishman may be next out of the Amex following the high-profile sales of Alexis Mac Allister and most recently, Moises Caicedo.

But while Caicedo left for a British record of £115m, the Seagulls want to charge even more for hitman Ferguson, with £120m the quoted fee. 

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Former Spurs striker Gary Lineker has even encouraged his former side to make the move, tweeting that Ferguson would be top of his list, were he to be in charge of recruitment at the club. 

"He’s a born goalscorer," the Match of the Day presenter surmised after Ferguson's opening day strike against newly-promoted Luton Town. "I’d take a punt on him as Kane’s replacement. Apologies to [Brighton] fans."

Evan Ferguson of Brighton celebrates after scoring the team's fourth goal during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Luton Town at American Express Community Stadium on August 12, 2023 in Brighton, England.

(Image credit: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

In the past year or so, Brighton have sold over £250m worth of players – with over £200m of that going to Chelsea. Acquiring Graham Potter and his staff last season was said to cost £20m, too.

Ferguson is valued at €30m by Transfermarkt.

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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.