Tottenham Hotspur finished the 2022/23 campaign as 5-1 victors at Elland Road, with Leeds United relegated and Spurs finishing eighth in the Premier League. No European football and plenty of concerns coming right up.
It was the nadir of a series of years that have failed to deliver, the promise of Mauricio Pochettino's sculpted squad flaking away since his dismissal back in 2019, months on from an agonising Champions League final defeat.
Ange Postecoglou, fresh from impressive dominance with Celtic, was appointed in June and his first campaign in London has been filled with promise, though fifth-placed and fluctuating in form, there is much still to do.
In fairness, the Australian did have to contend with the sale of club record scorer Harry Kane, and while a direct replacement was not signed, certain players have stepped up to fill some rather large boots.
Heung-min Son & Richarlison's season in numbers
Heung-min Son has long been regarded as one of the Premier League's deadliest goalscorers but he was guilty of poor performances last season, bagging just ten league goals as his side trundled to an unsatisfying conclusion.
That's still a somewhat respectable return, however, and far better than the ignominious efforts of Richarlison, who scored one Premier League goal all season following his £60m transfer from Everton in the summer of 2022.
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Player
Stat
1.
Heung-min Son
12
2.
Richarlison
11
3.
Dejan Kulusevski
6
4.
James Maddison
3
4.
Brennan Johnson
3
4.
Pape Matar Sarr
3
4.
Cristian Romero
3
The dynamic duo – both effective on the left or up front – have succeeded in wreaking dejection through their clinical finishing, adversaries of true strength for opposing backlines.
They are doing a brilliant job and have kept Tottenham in contention for an emphatic return to the Champions League, the London club five points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa but with a game in hand.
However, neither will serve as the true centre-forward to succeed Kane in the long term, and while speculation throughout January suggested that the end of the campaign will see the signing of a first-rate striker, Postecoglou might just have the perfect heir already within his grasp.
Alejo Veliz could be Harry Kane heir
Indeed, Kane was sold to Bayern Munich in a reported £100m deal back in August, a move that came as a surprise to no one given Spurs' issues and the England captain's burning desire to end a career-long trophy drought.
Just days earlier, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy had finalised the £13m signing of teenage centre-forward Alejo Veliz from Argentinian side Rosario Central, with the talented player hailed for his "fearsome" performances in his homeland by former youth coach Adrian Dezotti.
Intelligent, energetic and clinical, the 6 foot 1 Veliz has the makings of a classic Premier League forward and could match Kane in his world-class finishing and decision-making down the line, if not so creative and effective in his playmaking.
Now 20 years old, Veliz has moved on loan to Sevilla for the latter half of the 2023/24 season, having made two substitute appearances so far.
He did actually find the back of the net for Tottenham despite playing just 42 minutes of Premier League football since his arrival last summer, finishing true with a bouncing effort off the bench in a winter cameo against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Described as a prospect with a "complete" skill set by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Veliz ranks among the top 13% of positional peers for goals scored, the top 1% for clearances and the top 10% for aerial duels won per 90, as per FBref, which certainly does speak of a burgeoning roundedness.
And it is this ability, an inclusion of many different facets, that could allow Veliz to succeed Kane not only as Tottenham's most reliable and destructive source of goals, but as a player who can transcend the role of centre-forward to enhance and polish the performance of those around him.
Kane, for example, might be one of Europe's superlative marksmen but he also ranks among the top 21% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists and the top 6% for progressive passes per 90.
Given the fluency of Postecoglou's set-up and the requirement for dynamism – Son is a good example of this in that he shines both as a focal point and through his creative support – it might be worth entrusting Veliz with increased responsibility next season, instead of initiating an expensive outlay.
In The Pipeline
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Francisco Canepa, an Argentine presenter and commentator for ESPN, has spent much time observing the rise of this exciting ace, saying: “He has that characteristic of a player that’s quite rare. There aren’t many No 9s like that now — a tall, very strong guy that knows how to play in the box. He can run and press. He’s not so good with the ball at his feet, but he’s good at taking defenders into areas they don’t want to go and attacking the empty space. He’s really smart at doing that.”
Stretching defences with his brutish presence can only further the case that he is the perfect Kane heir, consequently allowing teammates such as Son and Richarlison to weave into openings and find the back of the net themselves.
While Son and Richarlison are the tried and tested goalscorers of Postecoglou's reign, the Spurs skipper will turn 32 during the off-season and Richarlison's track record in front of goal at the club speaks of a rise and fall in form.
Football likes to live in the present but it's important not to forget that Postecoglou is striving to build a sustainable title-chasing outfit, and Veliz could rise to become the spearhead.
He's not a factory-built heir for a player of Kane's distinctive quality, but he has all the trappings of a successful Premier League striker.