Tottenham Hotspur are eying an in-form striker after a poor start to their season.

Roberto De Zerbi's side took just two points from their first five Premier League games, failing to score in any of the first four.

It's a worrying start for a club that had big ambitions this season. Spurs spent over £300m in the summer, but they didn't bring in an out-and-out number nine.

Dominic Solanke is still waiting for his first Premier League goal of the campaign, while Richarlison has been frozen out following a push to leave in the summer, with moves to Vasco da Gama and Trabzonspor collapsing late in the day.

After the Villa defeat, De Zerbi was asked whether a true number nine like Nicolas Jackson might be the missing piece from their summer of spending.

"The transfer market is long to explain, because I'm happy for the squad first of all. Otherwise we create polemic," the Italian responded.

"The transfer market was long. The situation changed many times. There was also the financial fair play at the end of the transfer market. We had to respect the financial fair play. We didn't sell the players who we thought in the beginning there was the possibility and the chance to sell.

"There are a lot of reasons. I think the club and the coach, we are not sleeping. We know the characteristics of the players. We know everything. If we didn't make any different decisions, it was because we couldn't."

Tottenham eyeing Sunderland star to solve striker woes

According to Flashscore's Dean Jones, Tottenham could look to fix their striker problem with a player who Villa themselves are keeping an eye on, with both clubs believed to be monitoring Sunderland striker Brian Brobbey.

They're far from alone however, with Manchester United, Chelsea, Juventus and Atletico Madrid all tracking his progress since his impressive World Cup with the Netherlands, while Bayern Munich have even considered him as a potential successor to Harry Kane.

Brobbey's stock has only risen this season. He has started every Premier League game for Regis Le Bris, and his hat-trick against Manchester City took his total Sunderland tally to ten goals in 38 matches.

Any deal will be difficult, though. Sunderland see the 24-year-old as central to their long-term plans and would want around £50m. They're under no pressure to sell, and there's also an immediate fitness concern after Brobbey picked up an apparent muscle injury playing for the Netherlands against Germany this week.

His qualities have caught the eye of Dutch legend Ruud Gullit, who suggested last week that Spurs are the club who need him most.

Tottenham need more from Solanke

Until a new striker arrives, the pressure falls on Solanke. The England international has struggled for sharpness and confidence so far this season, and he's yet to open his Premier League account.

De Zerbi admitted after the Villa defeat that the striker needs to improve, but he stood firmly by him: "We need more from him, for sure, but he's one of my players.

"I like Domi as a player and I stay with him until the end. He needs to stay better, to feel better. His physical condition is not good enough for sure, but it's normal for him.

"Maybe he's not good enough in the confidence of himself in this moment, because he's much better than this Domi Solanke. But maybe many, many things can be better than this moment. I think we can't say everything is bad, but it's not enough."