With Fernando Llorente likely to depart in the summer after a pretty poor first season with us, there will no doubt be conversations in the club`s scouting department about who could provide adequate cover for Harry.
One of the names that keeps popping up is Hamburg`s Jann-Fiete Arp. The young German is said to be on our radar, along with Chelsea, Arsenal and Bayern Munich, but in recent days the 18 year old has spoken out about who he is seeking to emulate as a forward. He told UEFA.com, he wants to play like our no.10:
‘He`s pacy and very comfortable with and without the ball. It`s difficult to stop him. You need to pay attention for 90 minutes because he can score at any time… He plays the way I want to play.’
The German Under 17 international will likely leave his current club in the summer if they are relegated from the Bundesliga. Hamburg are second from bottom of the table, seven points from safety with eight games to go so the possibility of the player being sold is high.
He could have left last summer for Chelsea but he turned down a contract offer from the Blues as he didn`t feel he was ready for the Premier League. After making his senior debut earlier this season, and establishing himself in the first team, he may feel the time has come to make the next step.
Although he has yet to hit the goal trail at senior level with two goals in 15 appearances so far, his goal record at youth level is seriously impressive. He has scored 15 goals in 17 outings for Germany`s Under 17 team, with five in five games at the U17 World Cup back in October.
Combine that raw talent with being managed by Poch, and it looks like a winning combination. I do have my doubts though that he would be ready right from the off as being Harry`s direct understudy, but as we saw with Dele, age is not something our manager is concerned about if the ability is already there. What do you think? Should we look to sign a more senior backup or would he be the perfect fit?