The likelihood of Spurs trio of strikers being sold this summer seems to mount every day with Manchester United/Barca after Dimitar Berbatov, Liverpool after Robbie Keane and Sunderland/Everton after Darren Bent. Whether these transfers will actually happen is debatable but if they did which of these reported potential striking targets would you like to sign to replace them?

Fred: The Brazilian Box of Tricks

Lyon’s Brazilian hitman Frederico Chaves Guedes has been linked to the club for a number of months and would be available for a fee of around £10million. The 24-year-old widely known as ‘Fred’ was heavily linked to the club in January but the deal failed to materialise.

The Brazil international hasn’t enjoyed the best of seasons having scored just 7 goals in 21 League appearances last season. Fred started just 13 of those League matches which is the same amount as the 2006/07 campaign as he has become increasingly a fringe player at Lyon behind 20 League goal striker Karim Benzema.

Since joining the French champions the 6 ft 1 forward has scored a total of 32 goals in 72 League appearances despite 26 of those matches being as a substitute. In 3 seasons in France Fred has won 3 League titles and a French Cup this includes a domestic double in this campaign. He began his career in his homeland with America Mineiro prior to joining Cruzeiro for 2 seasons where he scored an impressive 24 goals in 43 League games prompting Lyon’s interest. In this time he also scored the fastest ever goal in Brazilian football after just 3.17 seconds when playing for his first club.

Fred has scored 4 goals in just 9 internationals for Brazil including a goal in his countries 2006 World Cup win over Australia. He is known to be temperamental but also possesses decent aerial ability and numerous tricks that he is famed for using around the opposition’s penalty area.

Diego Milito: The Head Master

Diego Milito is one of the most highly-rated strikers in La Liga. The Real Zaragoza frontman would be a readymade replacement for Berbatov as he is both of a similar age (28) and physique. He has consistently scored goals throughout his career in Argentina, Italy and Spain and boasts a record of 120 goals in 304 League games. He has excelled since coming to Europe in 2005 as his record with Genoa and Zaragoza reads 86 goals in 167 League games. Last season Milito scored 15 League goals with 5 coming from the penalty spot so has hardly set the world alight.

He is a realistic target for the club as Juande Ramos would be more than aware of his skills but he ended the season with just 1 goal (a penalty) from his last 14 league appearances so his stock may have fallen somewhat. At international level his record reads 4 goals in 14 caps but he’s always struggled to cement a place in a side flooded with an abundance of attacking talent. Milito has been linked to a move to the Premier League with Liverpool and Everton but the Argentinian who is famed for his aerial ability may soon be taking Spurs to new heights next season.

Luis Fabiano: Sevilla’s Samba Star

The Brazilian striker Luis Fabiano currently plies his trade at Juande Ramos’ old club Sevilla. The 27-year-old enjoyed another prolific season with only Mallorca’s Daniel Guiza scoring more than his 24 League goals last season in La Liga. This tally is even more impressive as only 2 of those 24 goals came from the penalty spot. Fabiano has had a nomadic career after playing in his homeland Brazil, France, Portugal and now Spain.

Sevilla are the 6th club of his career after he joined them in 2005 after a disappointing season with Porto where he scored just 3 goals in 22 League appearances. However, since appearing in La Liga the Brazilian has scored 39 goals in 79 League games.

Fabiano has also played himself back into the national side where he holds a record of 9 goals in 20 caps. The question mark over his availability must be whether his club Sevilla would sell to Tottenham after the acrimonious departure of their manager to North London. If the player were made available then he could be an exciting acquisition for Spurs although he plays in a far more direct style than Berbatov and Keane as he tends to play on the shoulders of defenders rather than linking the play with his back to goal.

Roman Pavlyuchenko: The Russian Assassin

Roman Pavlyuchenko has attracted a lot of attention following his superb showing for Russia at Euro 2008 and his current club have announced that at least one Premier League side has approached them concerning the player this summer with many claiming that club to be Spurs.

The 26-year-old has scored a total of 67 goals in 135 League appearances for his club side Spartak Moscow. He’s also finished top scorer domestically for the past 2 seasons. He’s scored more goals than Man City’s new £18M signing the Brazilian Jo but would reportedly cost far less.

The Spartak forward scored against Sweden, Spain and Holland at Euro 2008 and has a record of 9 goals in 22 appearances at international level. This includes 2 goals in the European qualifying win over England which made a number of clubs sit up and take notice of the forward’s talent. He’s expected to move this summer but whether that’s to the Premier League is questionable. After all, he’s been linked to a move to Greek football too. He himself had this to say, “England and Greece? That is interesting but it is the first I have heard of it.”

Klaas Jan Huntelaar: The Dutch Master

Ajax look to be finally about to sell their prized asset Klaas Jan Huntelaar after completing the Dutch transfer record signing of one of the most exciting rising stars of European football, the 19-year-old Serbian Miralem Sulejmani. This capture seems to have signalled the end of Huntelaar’s career at the Amsterdam Arena with Tottenham about to lead the chase.

Huntelaar’s scoring record is second to none as he possesses the ability to score all types of goals ranging from towering headers to long-range free-kicks. With the likes of Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea, United, Everton etc currently scouring the planet for new strikers one of the best remains playing week in, week out in the backwater of the Dutch League.

A quick glance at his goals per game ratio surely singles out the Ajax striker as worth a gamble. After all, last season alone he scored 33 League goals in 34 matches and only one of those goals was from the penalty spot. Once again this figure topped the Dutch scoring charts, a staggering 12 goals more than his nearest rival.

Since joining Ajax midway through the 2005/06 season the Drempt-born hitman has scored a staggering 70 goals in 82 League games. This Roy of the Rovers style scoring shouldn’t have been unexpected given the players striking tally at Heerenveen prior to moving to Amsterdam. In just a season and a half Huntelaar scored 34 goals in just 46 League matches which prompted Ajax to quickly pounce. His career League record now reads 130 goals in 173 League appearances, now if that type of form is not worth a punt then I don’t know what is!

The young Dutch sensation has banished fears that he couldn’t perform on the international stage too after continuing his scoring form for the Oranje netting 8 goals in just 13 games despite competing with the likes of Van Nistelrooy and Robin Van Persie for a starting berth. Huntelaar is also something of a lucky charm for Holland as they’ve won all 13 matches he’s featured in.

When you’ve topped the Dutch scoring charts in 2 of the last 3 seasons, won numerous player of the year awards, finished top scorer in the world in 2005/06 as well as rewriting the record books as all-time highest U21 scorer in Dutch history, you’d expect to have the best clubs in the world to be chasing you and Spurs may be one of them.

Roque Santa Cruz: The Paraguayan Predator

Press reports suggest that Tottenham will join Arsenal and Man City in the chase for Blackburn’s Paraguayan international striker Roque Santa Cruz this summer. The 26-year-old enjoyed a superb first season in England following his bargain £3.8million move from Bayern Munich last summer. He scored a superb 19 League goals in 37 apperances and is one of the most sought after strikers in the top division with at least 3 Premier League clubs thought to be in the race for his signature.

Santa Cruz enjoyed the most prolific season of his career in the last campaign, his 19 League goal haul was the first time he’d ever scored double figures in the League in a season. In fact, his record in 8 seasons in Germany with Bayern is not that impressive at all. He scored 31 goals in a total of 155 appearances, basically a record of 1 goal in every 5 League games. However, his chances at Bayern were limited by a number of top class international strikers that the current German champions have possessed over the years though 2 goals in 26 League appearances (12 starts) in the 2006/07 season is hardly a good record. The 26-year-old’s highest League tally in Germany was 5 goals so it’s not surprising that Bayern let him leave.

Despite a poor record in Germany, Santa Cruz has a good international scoring rate of 20 goals in 61 appearances for Paraguay. He also made his debut for his nation at the tender age of just 17 in the Copa America. The tall target-man had a superb first season for Blackburn but when examining his career there surely must be doubts whether he is worth the £15million plus price tag currently being reported.

Lukas Podolski: Germany’s Goal Scoring Hero

Spurs reportedly made a move for £10M German Striker Lukas Podolski this summer to no avail. The Bayern bit-part player impressed for the German national side at Euro 2008 after scoring 3 goals in 6 games but has struggled to get a game for his club side.

The 23-year old may be viewed as surplus to requirements by the German champions though the appointment of former national boss Jurgen Klinsmann may lead to more games for the Polish-born striker. After all, he was a particular favourite for Klinsmann at the 2006 World Cup when he was voted the best young player at the tournament. However, rumours persist of his imminent departure from the Allianz Arena with Spurs apparently leading the pack. He has scored an impressive 28 goals in just 54 internationals so has a proven pedigree at the highest level but after making just 19 League starts in 2 seasons with Bayern his future may be elsewhere.

Humberto Suazo: The Chilean Scoring Sensation

Recent reports suggest Spurs have moved to sign one of the most consistent scorers in world football over the past 5 seasons…the Chilean striker Humberto Suazo.

The 27-year-old currently plies his trade for Mexican side Monterrey but looks set to leave the club this summer. He endured a torrid start to his career in Mexico after arriving for $8m from Chilean club Colo-Colo. However, 6 months and just 3 goals later the striker called a press conference where he acknowledged his poor form and attitude as well as his intention to knuckle down at the club. Suazo has since been in blistering form scoring 16 goals in his last 19 appearances. This scoring streak included a hat-trick against UAG and 4 goals against Veracruz in a 7-2 win. That 4-goal haul also equalled the club record held by Milton Carlos.

Humberto Andres Suazo Pontivo is often known as ‘Chupete’ and began to turn heads in 2003 after he scored 40 goals for Chilean third division side San Luis Quillota. His move to Colo-Colo saw him score an incredible 38 goals in 44 League games whilst winning two Apertura (opening) and 1 Clausura (closing) titles.

The striker has won his fair share of individual accolades too including being awarded the World’s Top Scorer of 2006 by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics in Salzburg, Austria. He was also awarded the Silver Football for scoring the 2nd highest amount of top division goals in world football. He came 2nd to Klaas Jan Huntelaar (35 goals) after scoring 34 League goals for Colo-Colo.

Chupete is a permanent fixture in the Chilean national side and has scored 10 goals in 26 internationals. Despite his relatively small stature (5 ft 7), Suazo is in the Wayne Rooney mould when it comes to physique as defenders seem to bounce off him whilst his sharp acceleration and shooting ability are his main strengths. Humberto Suazo is arguably one of the top strikers playing outside of Europe right now; this man from Chile is hot stuff!

The club have moved to rubbish reports of signing Espanyol’s Luis Garcia today but  which of these striking stars would you like to see replace the likes of Keane, Berbatov and Bent next season if they are allowed to leave or would your prefer other potential targets? Let’s hear your views.

 Written by Christian Goodbrand