Tottenham’s Roberto Soldado set to leave with Clinton N'Jie due to arrive

Mauricio Pochettino is set to reshuffle his options up front, with Clinton N’jie close to joining Tottenham Hotspur in a £10m deal from Lyon and Roberto Soldado on his way out to Villarreal.

N’Jie can play as a striker or on the wing and Pochettino suggested the 21-year-old Cameroon international could inject the pace in attacking areas which his squad has lacked. Pochettino needs cover for Harry Kane who, following Soldado’s departure and Emmanuel Adebayor’s freezing out, is his only recognised, established striker but he said that he would be happy if the club made just one quality addition.

"Sometimes, you have five strikers like Liverpool last season and they were sixth in the table," Pochettino said. "We need to bring the right profile, the right striker to help the team. I know N’Jie. He is a player who can play in different positions. He is fast. He is a very good player. Do we need more pace? Maybe, yes."

Soldado flew to Spain on Thursday morning to finalise his transfer to Villarreal. The 30-year-old arrived from Valencia in August 2013 in what was a £26m deal, although Tottenham claim that they only paid about £16m, with the rest to follow in add-ons, which Soldado did not fulfil.

Soldado has endured a difficult two seasons at White Hart Lane, in which he scored only seven Premier League goals – four of them from the penalty spot. Tottenham’s outgoing sporting director, Franco Baldini, has overseen the negotiations with Villarreal and the club are happy that they will cut their losses with a substantial package for him, which could add up to around £10m.

Erik Lamela, the Tottenham winger, tweeted his best wishes to Soldado, although he subsequently deleted the message from his timeline. “I enjoyed these two years that we share,” Lamela wrote. “I wish you well in your new club. Good luck friend.”

Pochettino was more circumspect, although he did confirm that Soldado had been allowed to travel to Spain. “It is true that the club gave permission for Roberto to go to Spain,” Pochettino said. “The club will announce after that if something happens or not.”

Soldado has enjoyed tremendous support from the White Hart Lane crowd, who have always appreciated his excellent attitude. But his stint at the club has just not worked out, with his instincts in front of goal often deserting him.

"Football is not mathematics," Pochettino said. "Sometimes, there are a lot of reasons that are difficult to explain. I think it wasn’t easy for him to adapt his game in England at Tottenham."

Pochettino has said that Adebayor has no future at the club, although the striker, who has one year to run on his contract, is in no hurry to leave. His family would prefer that he remained in London and West Ham United, who tried, unsuccessfully, to take him on loan last January, have shown an interest in him again. An agreement over his wages, though, might prove difficult, particularly as Tottenham would be loth to subsidise them.

Pochettino is also interested in the West Bromwich Albion striker, Saido Berahino, who he would like in addition to N’Jie. At present, there is a big difference between the fee that West Brom might want and what Tottenham would be willing to pay.