Spurs are desperate for goals and must sign a striker this month | Football

One centimetre. That was the difference between one point and three points for Tottenham at Watford on Saturday. When Ignacio Pussetto hacked Érik Lamela’s attempt off the line in the 92nd minute, José Mourinho must having been ruing yet another missed opportunity for his team. The 0-0 draw at Vicarage Road extended Tottenham’s poor run in front of goal this year. Only two of the 91 clubs in the Premier League and Football League have not scored a league goal in 2020. Bristol Rovers, whose last goal came in a 2-1 defeat to AFC Wimbledon on Boxing Day, are one of them. And – after failing to score against Southampton, Liverpool and Watford – Spurs are the other.

Tottenham have not found the net in the league since Harry Kane won and then converted a penalty against Norwich City on 28 December. The hamstring injury he suffered in their next match on New Year’s Day has clearly, and understandably, impacted the team adversely. Spurs have taken 41 shots in their three league matches in 2020, but their gameplan under Mourinho is faltering without an out-and-out striker.

The January transfer window gives the club the chance to address the problem but fans are still waiting for a new striker. The Portuguese midfielder Gedson Fernandes has joined the club on an 18-month loan from Benfica (with an option to make the deal permanent for a reported £56m). The 21-year-old will alleviate Tottenham’s problems in midfield, where Moussa Sissoko in out injured and Christian Eriksen could be on his way to Inter, but the club still needs to sign at least one striker this month. Fernandes is not a goalscorer. He made 29 appearances in the Primeira Liga for Benfica without ever scoring a goal.

Injuries to Kane, Sissoko, Tanguy Ndombele and Hugo Lloris have not helped matters, but Mourinho believes his bad luck goes all the way back to his first game in charge. Left-back Ben Davies injured his ankle in that match – a 3-2 win at West Ham in November – and Mourinho believes his absence has been key ever since.

“If you want to know what I wanted to do, look at my first game against West Ham,” said Mourinho earlier this month. “That’s the way I thought I was going to develop the team. Defend with a back four; attack with a back three. That means that my left-back defends as a left-back and then, when we attack, my left-back becomes one of the three in the back. Build with three, protect the right-back and do overloads on the other side. That was the way I wanted to develop the team. That was the first day of unlucky: goodbye Ben Davies.”

Mourinho’s plan was to use a back four when his team did not have the ball and then, as soon as they gained possession, change shape to a back three and go on the attack. Davies would tuck in as a third centre-back and give right-back Serge Aurier the freedom to break forward and join the attack. With Eric Dier working as a shield in midfield and Harry Winks setting the tempo, it was a system that worked well.

Yet, since then, Mourinho has struggled to find the right player to replace Davies at left-back. Jan Vertonghen, Danny Rose, Ryan Sessegnon and Japhet Tanganga have all been used in that role, but none of them has excelled. Mourinho has also experimented with a three-man defence and wing-backs, but this Spurs side is built for a 4-2-3-1 and, even when the manager has started with a three-man backline, he has quickly reverted to type, much to the team’s benefit.

Mourinho had a good start at the club, winning four of his first five games in charge, but things are no longer running so smoothly down the Seven Sisters Road. Tottenham have only won one of their last six matches – a 2-1 victory against Brighton on Boxing Day, when they went 1-0 down and turned to Harry Kane for an equaliser.

Spurs will be glad to welcome Norwich City to London on Wednesday night. The Canaries have conceded more goals (45) than any other side in the Premier League this season; they have the worst goal difference in the league (-22); and they are missing the suspended Ben Godfrey at the heart of their defence. Tottenham will feel confident of not only scoring, but also returning to winning ways.

Spurs’ troubles in front of goal are not necessarily Mourinho’s fault. How could he have known that Kane would sustain a serious injury at Southampton? How could he have foreseen that Giovani Lo Celso would miss from a few yards out against Liverpool? How could he have pushed the ball just a centimetre further to cross the line at Vicarage Road? Mourinho is hamstrung by Kane’s absence but the England captain has endured his fair share of injury issues and the club should have recognised the need for a backup striker long before they released Fernando Llorente last summer.

Spurs need to sign a striker who plays to Mourinho’s strengths. Using Son Heung-min or Lucas Moura in attack may have worked for Mauricio Pochettino but they have a new manager now and his style requires a natural frontman. Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is not keen on January deals or paying over the odds, but a little investment could be the difference between playing in the Champions League or Europa League next season.

The list of Spurs’ top scorers does not run very deep this season, with Kane scoring nearly a third of the team’s goals in the league. A natural No 9 would go a long way to easing the pressure on the rest of the squad. The return Tanguy Ndombele against Norwich will boost the side but a striker is required before the transfer window closes. Bringing in backup for Kane will not fix the squad’s long-term issues but, it’s a minimum requirement in the short term.

• Visit WhoScored for more statistics and ratings
• Follow WhoScored and Ben McAleer on Twitter