Tottenham backed to sign Bournemouth striker Josh King as new Harry Kane support

Former Tottenham Hotspur manager Tim Sherwood has backed the club to pursue a summer deal for Josh King, believing that the prolific Bournemouth striker is an ideal fit to provide the necessary support for Harry Kane during what is sure to be a busy 2017-18 season.

Kane defied a couple of lengthy injury absences and fired eight goals in the final three games of last term to retain the Premier League Golden Boot award, but support for the England international is currently a little thin on the ground.

While Dele Alli and Heung-min Son both found the net regularly to give Tottenham three 20+ scorers in a single campaign for the first time in club history, chief back-up Vincent Janssen netted just twice from open play during a hugely disappointing first season in north London.

The Dutchman could bid a swift farewell to English football during the forthcoming transfer window, which would only hasten Mauricio Pochettino's need to find a more suitable understudy to Kane.

The Mail reported last month that Spurs were weighing up a potential move for King, with the £15m-rated former Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers forward having scored 16 times last season to help Bournemouth achieve their maiden top-half finish under Eddie Howe. 13 of those came after mid-January, with the 25-year-old netting five goals in his final seven appearances.

Such a move, were it to come to fruition, would certainly have the support of Sherwood, who believes the multi-skilled Norwegian is the perfect choice to thrive in tandem with Kane.

"I think they [Tottenham] need a centre-forward, but it is really important they get the right one," he told Talksport. "They can't buy one who expects to be first choice because Harry will obviously be first choice. For me, it would be the one at Bournemouth. I think Josh King has got loads to offer.

"He runs in behind, he holds it up, he is strong, he is still developing and he would be a perfect player for the Tottenham squad. And he would get plenty of games - they are in the Champions League this year as well."

King "intrigued" by Spurs link

King said in May that his focus remained 100% on Bournemouth as the clock ticked down towards the end of the season, but recently admitted that he was intrigued by the interest from Tottenham.

"I was focusing on the season and finishing it strongly," he told the Bournemouth Echo. "But I would be a liar if I said I hadn't noticed it. It was in most papers in England and you have got people tagging you and sending you links here and there.

"I was intrigued even being mentioned in the same sentence as Spurs, a big team who play in the Champions League.

"It is the summer holiday now and I've learned so much from the gaffer here. You never know in football but, hopefully, I will be here next year and I'm looking forward to working with the gaffer because he's been brilliant with me since the day I set foot on the training ground."