Tottenham are now being linked with a move for Villarreal striker Georges Mikautadze as Roberto De Zerbi turns his attention to his attacking line. Spurs have already amassed a record spend this summer, racking up a bill of more than £230million, and particular attention has been paid to the defence and midfield.
The likes of Jan Paul van Hecke, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes have been snapped up, and Spurs will now concentrate on adding competition out wide, and potentially up top. De Zerbi looks to be prioritising a winger signing, while a striker signing could depend on one of Richarlison or Dominic Solanke moving on. Mikautadze has emerged as an option, and here we get you up to speed on the LaLiga frontman.
Georges Mikautadze's career so far
Mikautadze is a Georgian international, but he was born to Georgian parents in France, and he started his career with FC Gerland, but he was quickly snatched up by Olympique Lyon. We will see Lyon again in this story, but Mikautadze actually went on to make his breakthrough to first-team football with Metz, initially graduating to Metz B and going to become a first-teamer in 2019. He scored 25 goals in 42 league games for Metz, quickly gaining a reputation as a goalscorer as a youngster, but a frustrating move to Ajax followed. Mikautadze joined for €19million and only made five league appearances, but he hadn't lost his scoring touch, scoring 13 in 20 league games during a loan spell back at Metz, and after Metz took up an option to buy, Lyon signed him almost immediately, paying around €23million plus agreeing a 15% sell-on fee.
Mikautadze had a superb Euro 2024 campaign, finishing as joint-top scorer of the tournament, and he went on to score 12 times in 36 league appearances for Lyon.
That's when Villarreal came forward, agreeing a deal worth up to €36million, and in his first season with the Yellow Submarine, he had an almost identical scoring record, netting 13 times in 32 league games.
The inside view on Mikautadze
For context, I'm a Villarreal fan, based just down the road in Valencia, and I've followed the club for over 15 years. I've been fortunate enough to have seen plenty of Mikautadze. The striker has incredible technical talent, and he is able to produce some of the most satisfying finishes you are likely to see. With both feet, too.
He loves to chip the goalkeeper whenever it's on, and he produces superbly-placed precision finishes from inside or outside of the box. Mikautadze is one of those players who just has that something special, that something unique in the way he controls and plays the ball. It makes him hard to defend and a nightmare for goalkeepers. The Georgian international has pace aplenty, and he will win most races in behind, while he also has the tricky with the ball at his feet to face up a man and beat him.
“Intelligent, mobile, instinctive and has excellent finishing with both feet.” - Former Villarreal boss Marcelino
Those are the positives. As for the drawbacks, as a smaller forward, there are times when he has gone missing in games, particularly games with a more direct style, and now former Villarreal boss Marcelino worked with him last season to make sure he can find ways to get into games. But there was progress on that front, with Marcelino saying in February: “He’s much more involved. He has better coordination with his teammates and now he’s fluid, he’s agile of mind, he’s happy."
There is more to come from Mikautadze, who is still only 25 and adjusting to LaLiga, and if he stays, it will be interesting to see how he adapts to playing under new boss Iñigo Pérez, who has a very different style of play to that of Marcelino's. Equally, if Tottenham do sign him, it will be interesting to see if Mikautadze can maintain his goalscorer reputation in the Premier League.
At this stage, it remains unclear what Mikautadze's release clause it, but you can expect Villarreal to demand around £50million or move. The Yellow Submarine have said they will sell a player this summer, as is usually the way, but they do not want to sell their star striker, especially with Ayoze Perez and Gerard Moreno not getting any younger.