With Tottenham’s pre-season finally drawing to a close, it’s time to take a look at some of the best and worst performers of the summer months. Here are our five biggest winners and losers of the pre-season.
Archie Gray – a grizzled Tottenham veteran at 20?
It’s hard to pin down the single performance which would land Archie on the list of the biggest winners of the preseason. Archie performed to a high level in every appearance he made. The game against Chelsea would probably be the biggest outlier. Spurs were reduced down to 10 men early on in the second half but managed to hold on long enough to grab a late winner. Archie was the only outfield player to play the full 90 without getting substituted.
But what probably made Gray stand out the most from his peers is the consistency of his performances and how unphased he seemed to be by the additional responsibility of the captain’s armband he wore during the preseason.
Whether Roberto De Zerbi looked to test Archie Gray, to reward him for his consistent performances, or to show the respect and faith he has in the young midfielder, Archie led out the team on five different occasions in the preseason and looked ready for the occasion every single time.
Archie is obviously in De Zerbi’s Tottenham plans, which hopefully sets him up for some more consistent minutes once the Premier League season arrives.
Luca Williams-Barnett understood the assignment
A player like Luca Williams-Barnett, one of the brightest and best prospects the Tottenham academy produced in recent years, was never going to let a chance to make an impression slip by.
Only 17, Williams-Barnett has been a revelation, especially to those Spurs fans who didn’t get a chance to watch him play academy football. Everyone around the academy setup knew that Luca was a special talent; youth football has obviously not been enough of a challenge for him last season. The question was, how early would he be able to make the step up to men’s football, and how comfortable would he be in making that step up.
Luca’s performances during the preseason show that he’s ready to start contributing to the first team.
His games against MK Dons and Auckland showed that he’s lost none of the swagger and skill that make him such an exciting player. His game is still far from being a complete product, especially in terms of his out-of-possession awareness, but being involved with the first team this season can only be a benefit to his development.
Antonin Kinsky’s Tottenham redemption arc continues
In the preseason Kinsky continued to write the script for his most unique redemption story.
His summer performances, especially a stellar goalkeeping job against Chelsea in Sydney, meant that the preseason gave Kinsky the chance to further cement his position as Spurs’ number one keeper.
Every time Kinsky makes his way onto the pitch, he seems to be oozing with confidence he undoubtedly gained when playing a crucial part in keeping Spurs in the Premier League last season.
Mathys Tel continues to impress at Tottenham
There is a strong argument that Mathys Tel was Tottenham’s best player of the preseason. In a desperately underpowered attacking unit, Tel consistently stood out as Spurs’ biggest and most consistent goal threat, especially on tour in Australia and New Zealand.
Tel seemed to have benefitted from his spell as Tottenham’s only fit winger last season, and in all of his pre-season games, looked like a player developing into a dangerous 1v1 specialist, crosser and ball striker.
As of now, Spurs still haven’t brought in an attacking player, meaning that it’s likely Tel will be in the starting lineup on the Premier League’s opening weekend.
Lucas Bergvall’s future may yet be in Lilywhite
Those who hoped to keep Lucas Bergvall at the club beyond this transfer window can share a moment of tacit optimism, as the young Swede’s continuous minutes and good performances in the preseason games could suggest Roberto De Zerbi has a more long-term plan for the midfielder.
There are still the concerns that Bergvall isn’t in the mould of a De Zerbi midfielder and will struggle to displace the players in front of him in the pecking order.
But from the appearances he’s made this season, his touch and awareness to play a first-time pass seem to have improved by a margin already.
Lucas Bergvall is without a doubt a fantastic player, and if Roberto De Zerbi is willing to work with him, the next season could be transformative.
And the biggest Tottenham losers?
As far as the preseason’s poorer performers go, Kevin Danso would surely want to quickly forget his performance against Chelsea which saw him sent off for a poor challenge.
It is also still unclear what exactly Conor Gallagher contributes when in possession, and he played quite poor games against Sydney FC and MK Dons. But, with so little on the line, it might be unfair to single out a player that might need the motivation of a competitive game to truly be at his best.
Instead, it’s hard not to see the season’s biggest losers as those who barely played at all.
Micky van de Ven
Micky van de Ven rejoined Spurs at the same time as new signing Jan Paul van Hecke. But despite featuring in every game the Netherlands played at the World Cup, Micky van de Ven hasn’t played a single minute of preseason for Tottenham Hotspur.
Supposedly Micky van de Ven is being managed through a minor injury, and De Zerbi was unwilling to risk the centre-back in friendly fixtures. Van de Ven remains a doubt for Spurs’ opening game of the season against Brentford, but even if passed fit, it’s unlikely he’ll feature, meaning that Spurs will be entering the new season without their highest-paid centreback.
Destiny Udogie
Destiny is another player who’s been carefully managed by the fitness team through preseason. Udogie’s Italy hasn’t qualified for the World Cup, meaning that the fullback was one of the first players to return to Hotspur. Despite that, the player played barely a minute of preseason and remains another doubt for the fixture against Brentford.
Dominic Solanke
Roberto De Zerbi clearly has high expectations from Dominic Solanke, and there was hope that his lack of involvement in England’s World Cup campaign would give the striker sufficient time to prepare for the regular season.
However, after two 45-minute cameos against MK Dons and Chelsea, Solanke failed to make an appearance amidst rumours of a reoccurrence of an ankle injury.
With a lack of minutes and uncertain fitness, Spurs are going into the season’s opening game with only one striker, Richarlison, who himself has a patchy injury record.
Mohammed Kudus
Kudus was the undeniable star of Tottenham’s attack come the start of the 25/26 season. Without his goals and top performance then, it’s entirely possible Tottenham would have wound up relegated.
But Spurs’ overreliance on Kudus led to him getting overplayed and, consequently, injured. Kudus missed more than half of the Premier League season with his initial injury and suffered a major setback shortly after De Zerbi took charge in April.
The club recently released footage of Kudus back in training, and there was hope that the winger would be able to return soon to alleviate some of Tottenham’s attacking problems. Instead, his return to fitness has been slower than expected, and Spurs will likely play their first football of the season with barely a senior attacker available.
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