God, how good is it to see Harry Kane in full cry, eh?
Following the archetypal 'Harry Kane first game back from a lengthy injury lay-off' performance against Manchester United and a few sluggish showings in the encounters which ensued, a few bright minds started to insinuate some sort of significant decline in regards to the England skipper, with underwhelming 'touches in the opposition box' statistics supposedly adding further weight to their argument.
Even Paul Merson expressed his concern for Kane in regards to playing under Jose Mourinho - much to his manager's disdain. The striker has now scored 13 times in just 18 games since the former Chelsea boss' arrival in November. Cheers, Merse.
Recent outings have seen Kane rediscover a level akin to his 2017 imperious best. His showing against Arsenal in the north London derby was selfless but superb and he was rewarded with a pair of braces against Newcastle and Leicester in his next two games.
The performance against the Foxes was vintage Kane: the capacity to drop in and create like a seasoned trequartista was laid bare for the game's opener, while his poor old ankles looked pretty stable when he surged beyond Jonny Evans like a man possessed to round off a swift Mourinho counter and give his side a 2-0 lead.
The déjà vu, meanwhile, was uncanny for Kane's second and Spurs' third before the break, as the 26-year-old cut inside Ryan Bennett with ease before firing past Kasper Schmeichel like it was 5 March 2016, where he famously beat David Ospina with a similar scorching effort against the Gunners.
But it was perhaps his ludicrous reverse pass to Son Heung-min at the start of the second period which was the highlight of Kane's display, a sequence which perfectly encapsulated the striker's underrated playmaking capacity.
As soon as he dropped between the lines, lifted his head up and noticed the South Korean darting in behind Wes Morgan, there was a sense of inevitability that Kane would execute the incredibly difficult pass with the utmost precision to set Son on his way.
However, while we can drool about Kane as much as we like, his injury record is woeful and despite the striker withstanding the heavy workload forced upon him by Mourinho since the restart (touch wood), there's simply no fitness guarantee with Kane.
The need for a legitimate back-up option in N17 is paramount.
Sure, Son proved under Mauricio Pochettino to be able to competently fill the void - and some - up top when Kane was enduring lengthy spells on the sidelines, but things are a little bit different with Mourinho at the helm.
While he was obviously key under Pochettino, Kane may well be more important for his successor's system. Mourinho's direct style means Kane's ability to serve as the focal point, win duels and allow Spurs some respite by providing an outlet against high-pressing sides is so crucial to the Lilywhites being able to maintain possession in the opposition half and construct attacks via pouncing on the second ball.
While the transitional threat won't be significantly hampered with the deployment as Son or Lucas Moura in place of Kane, the lack of a focal point has shown to be detrimental to Spurs' attacking play - just look at their form in the weeks leading up to the unprecedented suspension in March without Son and Kane.
So, how do Spurs go about finding a number two?
We've seen Vincent Janssen turn himself into a meme, Clinton N'Jie fade forgettably and Fernando Llorente impress, but could it be Callum Wilson's time to enter the cauldron?
The Sun reports that the Lilywhites are ready to pounce if the Cherries are consigned to relegation to the second-tier following the final round of Premier League fixtures on Sunday.
After scoring 14 times and adding a further ten assists in the top flight last time out, Wilson's form has taken a nosedive this term amid Bournemouth's dismal campaign. He's scored just eight times in 34 appearances, with his profile being atypical of previous Spurs targets for Kane's number two.
While Wilson's an intelligent forward who prides himself on clever movement, astute positioning and instinctive finishing, he's not the target man Mourinho seemingly desires or the type of forward who could carry out Kane's function in the Portuguese boss' system.
We saw how effective Fernando Llorente was during the back-end of the 2018/19 season. Not only did he set up Kane for Spurs' equaliser against PSV at Wembley with some superb hold-up play which set the precedent for the Lilywhites' unthinkable rise to the Champions League final, but he scored some crucial goals along the way; adding a third in the 3-0 home rout of Borussia Dortmund and bundling over an all-important away goal in Spurs' roller coaster quarter-final tie with Manchester City.
The way he altered the dynamic of the contest during 'that night in Amsterdam' has gone massively under the radar as well. He was crucial and provided Pochettino with an alternate, route one option amid Kane's absence.
So, while Fenerbahce's Vedat Muriqi and Napoli's Arkadiusz Milik represent more harmonious systematic fits compared to Wilson, the Bournemouth man has the scope to supply Mourinho with a plan B due to his contrasting style to Kane.
A mere £10m fee is reportedly all that it will take for Spurs to prize away Wilson from the south coast - providing Bournemouth are summoned to the Championship - and this, in what is currently a financially restricted world, is an opportunity Spurs simply can't pass up.
There's no hiding Wilson's underwhelming campaign - even the striker himself believes he's not worthy of a big move this summer - but he's still a proven Premier League scorer who can provide Mourinho with greater scope for tactical flexibility. For that price, what's the risk!?
The reliable number two Spurs have craved since Llorente's departure last summer may well have fallen into their laps, providing things don't go the Cherries way on the final day.
Source : 90min