Tottenham won't want £21.5m striker now, after 50% decrease in goals scored

Leandro Damiao' s form for Internacional is not likely to demand much attention from big European teams.

One area which has been a problem for Tottenham Hotspur this season and last has been scoring goals, and a general lack of striking options among the team.

That has certainly not changed this term. Despite the arrival of Roberto Soldado the club no longer play Emmanuel Adebayor after a fall out with Andre Villas Boas - while Jermain Defoe remains inconsistent.

It was the same story last season, when Spurs simply didn’t have the striking options to go all the way last term - if they did, some might say they would be playing Champions League football this season.

One striker they did target was Brazilian Leandro Damiao, who was valued at £21.5 million by his Brazilian club this summer. In fact they were not alone - Southampton, Napoli and Marseille all showed an interest.

There was little wonder why.

He had been a goal-machine in Brazil up until this season, but in reality that is not entirely true.

He scores plenty of goals in the Campeanato Gaucho, but that is the state competition with a generally lower class of opposition.

It is goals in the Campeanato Brasileiro that really count. Last season he bagged only seven in 19 - with hi overall tally still impressive, but down on the year previous.

This season has not been so laden with net-busters. Damiao has just 12 goals in 42 games - a 50% decrease in the amount of goals he has scored for Internacional compared to last year.

He is obviously an exceptional talent, but things are not going well for the player at the moment.

He is out of the Brazilian national team, Internacional are languishing in mid-table and he has not scored goals at anything like the fluid rate necessary to earn a move to the continent.

His five goals in 23 appearances in his domestic league is nowhere near as imposing as his usual scoring record - and teams like Spurs will be unlikely to jump through the hoops Internacional like to put up for interested clubs to jump through for a player with mediocre goal-scoring form in an inferior league.

It seems his boat across the water might have sailed.