While Tottenham Hotspur have caught the eye on numerous occasions this season and have made considerable progress under Ange Postecoglou's leadership, they do sit outside the top four after the Premier League term's midway point.
Of course, Spurs are just three points behind third and fourth-placed sides Arsenal and Aston Villa, having recovered from a slump before the festive period, welcomed back injured stars and made a couple of astute January signings to strengthen the cause.
Radu Dragusin (defender) and Timo Werner (forward) have indeed both joined the ranks this month but Postecoglou is still on the prowl for a midfielder, and if Tottenham are to complete further business by next week then this will be the focussed position.
That doesn't mean that efforts haven't been taken to map out plans ahead of the summer, however, with Harry Kane still not directly replaced as the team's focal frontman.
Spurs' search for a forward
Postecoglou opted against signing a star centre-forward in the summer and while Werner was welcomed earlier in January, the former Chelsea man is more versatile than he is prolific and the goalscoring onus will not be placed on his shoulders.
One prominent name reportedly on the radar is Brentford's Ivan Toney, but with the England international attached to a price tag of £100m, securing his signature might be somewhat infeasible.
As such, it's exciting to hear that Daniel Levy could be working toward a deal for Bologna striker Joshua Zirkzee, with Tutto Mercato Web reporting that Tottenham are in the mix for the dynamic forward along with divisional rivals Arsenal and Aston Villa.
Zirkzee is understood to have a €40m (£34m) release clause in his contract and has attracted the attention of frontrunners AC Milan, with fresh reports also suggesting that Manchester United have held formal discussions for the Dutch player's possible transfer.
Why Spurs & Arsenal want Joshua Zirkzee
Zirkzee burst onto the scene as a youngster with Bayern Munich and scored four goals from just three starts during the 2019/20 German Bundesliga season, announcing himself as a prodigious talent.
However, he didn't manage to cement a starring spot in Bayern's illustrious outfit and was transferred to Bologna in 2022, completing an inauspicious season in Serie A, scoring just two goals across five starting displays, hampered by injury and ineffectual performances.
Now clicking together, he has returned with vigour this term and so far yields a healthy return of eight goals and four assists across just 19 starts in all competitions, praised for his "extraordinary qualities" by his manager Thiago Motta.
The striker has complemented his goalscoring exploits with 1.3 key passes per game in the Italian top-flight, as per Sofascore, also creating eight big chances for his teammates.
The £19k-per-week whiz excels through his elegance on the ball and in his link-up play, imposing at 6 foot 4 and intelligent in his movement and spatial awareness in the box.
As per FBref, Zirkzee ranks among the top 14% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for passes attempted, the top 15% for shot-creating actions, the top 18% for successful take-ons and the top 19% for clearances per 90.
Given his dynamism and protean threat as an offensive force, Zirkzee could be the perfect fit for Postecoglou's fluid, multi-faceted system at Tottenham.
He is also considered a similar player to Marseille striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, (as per Football Transfers' Player Comparison model) who was once an absolute menace on English shores for Spurs' rivals Arsenal.
How Joshua Zirkzee compares to Aubameyang
Once described as a “phenomenal” talisman by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta, Aubameyang might be 34 years old now but he is still scoring for fun on Europe's major stage, netting 13 goals and providing seven assists from 27 matches for Marseille this term.
Enjoying some of the best days of his career at the Emirates Stadium, the Gabonese striker was well-regarded for his pace but an underrated and equally integral aspect of his skill set lay in his off-ball movement and innate understanding of his role in attacking sequences.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp once said of his erstwhile Borussia Dortmund student: “He's one of the best players for the counter-attack that you can find on this planet because of the timing of the runs and the really outstanding finishing record in situations like that.”
21/22
21
9
2
20/21
39
15
4
19/20
44
29
3
18/19
51
31
8
17/18
14
10
4
Zirkzee is starting to showcase his skills as a high-class centre-forward and can emulate such attributes; he might not have the same kind of searing speed but he is ruthless on the break and drifts into promising openings with remarkable regularity.
He's also shown himself to be one of the more creative strikers the European game has to offer and this is something that Aubameyang has embraced in recent years after witnessing the wane of his pace.
Indeed, Aubameyang ranks among the top 1% of positional peers for assists per 90 to showcase his skill across various facets of the striking game.
Zirkzee was once praised for his "prolific" beginnings at the Allianz Arena by Kulig and is now showing signs of rekindling this cutting edge in Italy, with a complete style of play to ensure that he has a myriad of weapons to inflict damage on opposition.
And if the rangy ace can continue to build on the gains made during his time at Bologna and make the move to Tottenham, there's a good chance that he could take his game to the next level and provide Postecoglou with the kind of all-encompassing talisman to offer shades of Arsenal's former hero in Aubameyang, but actually surpass his ability with a blend of clinical shooting and creative ingenuity.