Spurs Need a Striker — Is the Answer a Familiar Face?

Will Lankshear is a poacher Oxford United asked everything of in the Championship. Troy Parrott was discarded by four different clubs before turning into one of the most productive strikers in the Eredivisie. Today, Spurs need a striker — could one of these academy strikers be the answer? In this episode, I dig into Roberto De Zerbi's striker profile and ask whether either player actually fits it. Using link-up and goalscoring data from Europe's top leagues, we look at what De Zerbi really needs from a No. 9, then track both players' seasons in detail: Lankshear's box presence and finishing at Oxford against the uncertainty created by a long-ball system, and Parrott's goal threat and link-up numbers at AZ — which sit among the best strikers in Europe. From there, we weigh up the case for each: why Lankshear might need one more loan to prove himself, and why Parrott's data already looks like a ready-made De Zerbi 9. This is Episode 4 of The Rooster Regression, my data-driven Spurs analysis series. Follow me on X for Spurs data threads: https://x.com/enyacollins For more striker targets, check out @OhSoSpurs' video on 5 strikers Spurs could go for this window. #thfc #coys #dezerbi #spurs #troyparrott #willlankshear #strikersearch