While Tottenham and Jose Mourinho can likely count on the returns of Harry Kane, Steven Bergwijn, Heung-min Son, and Moussa Sissoko, Dele Alli is a certain miss for the Premier League restart (BBC).
Spurs welcome Manchester United to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on June 19, the first of their nine remaining matches this season.
Mourinho has been a fan of Dele since arriving in November 2019 and frequently used him in the number 10 role when he had a fully fit attacking line-up.
However, with Alli banned for one match, who could take his place?
Giovani Lo Celso –
Gio is without a doubt that most creative man in a Tottenham shirt at the moment, meaning that he simply has to be mentioned in this list. The Argentine has an eye for a pass and superb dribbling skills. However, I would argue that he operates best from a deep midfield role and doesn’t have the aerial presence of a Dele Alli arriving late in the box.
Tanguy Ndombele –
In my opinion, Ndombele was not going to start the first game back if Alli was fit and available. However, the Frenchman could now have a chance, especially as Mourinho has been trialling him in a more attacking role of late. If Jose wants someone to fill that number 10 slot, Ndombele certainly has the physicality, eye for a pass, end product, and more to carry it off. However, is he back in the gaffer’s good books?
Erik Lamela –
While arguably the least exciting option of the three, I would rank Lamela as the most likely. Mourinho has always rated effort over skill and Lamela has the former in abundance. I think that we may finally see the Argentine thrive under the Special One, if he can stay fit for once in his Spurs career.
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