Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho is hopeful of signing a new striker before the end of the transfer window as he aims to bolster his squad ahead of a hectic start to the season.
Spurs face having to play two midweek matches for two consecutive weeks later this month should they progress in the Europa League qualifying rounds and the League Cup.
"Yes I want, I need a striker but I want to make it clear, the club knows that I need a striker and they also want a striker," Mourinho said on Friday.
"Are we going to get one? I believe so. For the balance of the squad, the team needs it. Especially after the gift we had from the EFL (English Football League) and Uefa.
"We had an amazing gift that gives me after 20 years of football a unique experience of playing Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday for two consecutive weeks."
Mourinho has already added Joe Hart, Matt Doherty and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to his squad but does not believe the presence of Harry Kane should discourage other strikers from joining Tottenham.
"I know we have one of the best strikers in the world, I know we have the best in England but I don't like the word 'back-up'," he said.
"A striker can play with Harry Kane – a striker that comes here is not to be just feeling that he is in that back-up situation."
After hosting Everton to begin their Premier League campaign on Sunday, Spurs face the first of potentially three Europa League qualifiers with a trip to Bulgarian side Lokomotiv Plovdiv.
Should Mourinho's men progress they will play Leyton Orient or Plymouth Argyle in the third round of the League Cup on September 22 and then have another long Europa League trip to Romania or Macedonia two days later.
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Tottenham 2019/20 season ratings
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TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 2019/20 RATINGS: MANAGERS: Mauricio Pochettino - 4: Still beloved by Tottenham supporters, despite the troubled start to the campaign that cost him his job in November. And the feeling seems mutual, given he was pictured in Spurs leisurewear when his son signed a pro deal at the club late in the season. Getty -
Jose Mourinho – 6: Judged by his celebration at winning a point at Crystal Palace to secure sixth place on the final day, he regarded his start at Spurs a success. Few fans seem to fancy the football his side play, though, and they flounced out of the cups on his watch. Reuters -
GOALKEEPERS: Hugo Lloris – 6: His excellence after lockdown papered over a chequered season before it, which included some significant errors and a nasty dislocated shoulder injury. EPA -
Paulo Gazzaniga – 6: The Argentine proved himself the ideal No 2 behind Lloris as he played nearly as many games as the club captain – appearing in 25 matches compared to 27 for Lloris. Getty -
DEFENDERS: Danny Rose – 5: It has felt as though the England left-back had wanted out of Tottenham for years. He spied his chance when Mourinho arrived, and headed the Newcastle United on loan. Reuters -
Toby Alderweireld – 7: More appearances than any other Spurs player. He had to get used to a new set up at the back, as his long term partner for club and country Jan Vertonghen started to be phased out. PA -
Jan Vertonghen – 5: One of Tottenham’s most important players in the Premier League era signed off in ignominious style. His absence from the squad on the opening day foreshadowed a problematic campaign, but he will leave with the best wishes of Spurs fans. PA -
Davinson Sanchez – 6: Not exactly the reassuring presence of peak Vertonghen, but he at least earned the backing of Mourinho – who had once targeted Sanchez as a weak link in the Ajax side when he was in charge of Manchester United. PA -
Eric Dier – 6: All’s well that ends well. He has a new contract, a fixed position at centre-back, and the faith of the manager. But the season was turbulent, what with being subbed after 29 minutes of Mourinho’s first home game, as well as a four-match ban for wading into the crowd. AP -
Kyle Walker-Peters – 5: Enjoyed some fine displays after lockdown. By that point, though, Mourinho had jettisoned the young right-back out on loan to Southampton. Reuters -
Juan Foyth – 4: Once seen as potentially being the future at centre back – or even right back – for Tottenham, but he stalled this year with just four appearances, and with the departure of compatriot Pochettino as manager. AFP -
Serge Aurier – 6: Extraordinary that his best form arrived when he was grieving his brother. That show of character apart, his campaign was typified by loose defence and was riddled with mistakes. AFP -
Ben Davies – 6: Clearly well liked by Mourinho. The Welshman was installed in the line up as soon as he was fit, and Rose was summarily let go to Newcastle. Solid enough, but lacks the dynamism of Rose in his pomp. AFP -
Japhet Tanganga – 7: The local lad immediately won a place in the fans hearts when he was thrown in for his first Premier League start against a rampant Liverpool side, and did a fine job marking Sadio Mane. Reuters -
MIDFIELDERS: Harry Winks – 7: The midfielder’s progress has been stunted in the past by injuries, but he played in 41 games this time around and had established himself as a fixture in Mourinho’s first-choice starting XI by the end of the term. EPA -
Moussa Sissoko – 7: A player who has turned his reputation around entirely. Once unfancied by the majority of Spurs fans, they were counting down the days until he returned from injury this season. Getty -
Giovani Lo Celso – 8: A difficult campaign at Tottenham has had one clear and obvious silver lining: the arrival of an Argentine schemer of class and style. He could be the rock on which Spurs’ immediate future in built. AP -
Erik Lamela – 7: Not always a guaranteed starter, but Lamela might be the face of a nastier Spurs under Mourinho. No player made more fouls after the season resumed that the Argentine. EPA -
Ryan Sessegnon – 4: Big things were expected of the left-sided player after his big-money move from Fulham last summer. He failed to force his way in to the starting line up, though, and appeared a timid presence when he did play. Getty -
Dele Alli – 6: Mourinho breathed some life back into Alli after goading him by saying he thought his brother had been playing instead of him. The revival was brief, but he did at least manage nine goals across the course of the season. Reuters -
Christian Eriksen – 4: The wantaway star undermined the start of Tottenham’s campaign, and the end of the Pochettino-era. His mind was clearly elsewhere, so Pochettino could hardly pick him – but the side could not yet cope without him, either. Left for Inter Milan in January. Reuters -
Steven Bergwijn – 8: His arrival provided a rare source of optimism in what was a bleak midwinter for Tottenham. He sparkled immediately, scoring a fine goal in a man of the match display on debut against Manchester City. AP -
Lucas Moura – 7: Seven goals, and he has moved past the role of impact-sub that seemed to have been earmarked for him to become a pillar of Mourinho’s team. AP -
Tanguy Ndombele – 3: It all started so well, with a goal and a powerhouse display against Aston Villa on the opening day. What followed was a tale of woe. Too often unfit, and the subject of public criticism from a manager he didn’t sign for. AFP -
Oliver Skipp – 5: No clear progression towards a place in the side, with just three starts and eight substitute appearances. But being a squad player might be just what he and the club require for now. PA -
Gedson Fernandes – 4: His stats at Benfica did not exactly scream “potential superstar” but his arrival was welcomed at a time when morale was low. That said, he did not manage a start in the league, and missed a penalty that cost Spurs their place in the FA Cup. AFP -
ATTACKERS: Son Heung-min – 9: Swept the board in Tottenham’s various player of the season awards, having accrued 18 goals and 12 assists across all competitions. And all that despite picking up one red card, a fractured arm, and completing his military service in South Korea during lockdown. PA -
Harry Kane – 8: Takes ages to get match sharp after injuries. Can’t play in a Jose Mourinho team. And he was only ever a one-season wonder, anyway. Really? A haul of 24 goals in 34 games across all competitions suggests a slightly more nuanced take on the story. Reuters
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Win both ties and Tottenham will have to do the same again a week later.
"It's not human. It is a big risk in terms of our ambitions first of all," Mourinho said. "If we decide that one of these competitions is not important for us we go against the nature of the club, we go against our own nature, we go against our own ambitions, our rights to try and fight for the competition.
"I would like to know who makes a team play Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday-Tuesday-Thursday-Sunday. Do they want us to play with the youth team in the Carabao (League) Cup? That's my question."
First up is Sunday's opening Premier League game against an Everton side who have strengthened in the transfer market with the aim of making vast improvements on last season's 12th-place finish.
Everton have signed Napoli's Brazil international Allan, Watford's Abdoulaye Doucoure and high-profile Colombia playmaker James Rodriguez, and manager Carlo Ancelotti has set his players the minimum target of qualifying for Europe.
"I think that the goal we want to achieve is to fight for the first positions of the Premier League to be able to reach Europe next season," the Italian said.
"The goal is quite clear. We have this desire, this ambition. I think we can."
