After battling through an intense injury crisis in the middle of the season, Ange Postecoglou now has an almost complete complement of players to choose from in his Spurs squad. With such a luxury, he could pick many different starting XIs now, and here are three that offer a range of different options.
In less than a year, Ange Postecoglou has transformed his Tottenham squad, and the Lilywhites now have an incredibly strong roster of players. By offloading fringe players and bringing in new and exciting talent, Postecoglou is literally spoilt for choice.
A few players in the squad would appear to be absolutely nailed on for a starting spot, but there is plenty of scope for rotation in the Tottenham lineup now. So, let’s take a look at some options.
The A-Team
All being well, this is the strongest starting lineup Postecoglou could go for and is likely to be the one he would use in the biggest, most difficult games.
Guglielmo Vicario: Without a doubt Tottenham’s number one keeper and nowhere near being dropped. One of the first names on the team sheet now.
Pedro Porro: Has the creativity, physicality, and attacking prowess to make himself valuable at both ends of the pitch. A key player for Postecoglou’s system.
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Cristian Romero: Tottenham’s vice-captain and the most experienced and accomplished member of the backline. Would only be dropped if he needed a rest.
Micky van de Ven: The partnership between Romero and Micky van de Ven has been one of the highlights of Tottenham’s season, and he is crucial to the high demands of the Spurs defence.
Destiny Udogie: Much like Porro on the right, Udogie offers plenty going forward and is still capable of tracking back and putting in key tackles at the back.
Rodrigo Bentancur: When he’s at his fittest and his best, Bentancur is arguably Spurs’ best and most important midfielder.
Pape Matar Sarr: He may be young, but Sarr plays with such confidence and dynamism that he has pushed himself into regular first-team territory.
James Maddison: The man who makes the Spurs midfield tick. Maddison pulls all the strings and is the main source of creativity for the team.
Dejan Kulusevski: On his day, Kulusevski offers endless running, brilliant crosses, and poses a goal threat himself, too. A workhorse with attacking output is perfect for Postecoglou’s system.
Heung-min Son: Club captain, club legend, absolute hero. There is no replacing Sonny. He’s the first name on the team sheet every time.
Richarlison: Now finally hitting his best form, Richarlison has become a goal machine for Spurs, and he works incredibly hard off the ball, too. An ideal number 9.
Plan B
We doubt Postecoglou would ever go into a game with anything less than his best starting XI, but let’s pretend for a moment that he wanted to give the majority of his key players a rest. Here’s Tottenham’s rotation lineup.
Fraser Forster: He’s under no illusions that Vicario is the number one, and Forster is more than happy to wait for his opportunities whenever Postecoglou needs him.
Emerson Royal: Has turned into one of our most versatile players this season, but Royal’s strength lies in the right-back role. A more than adequate understudy to Porro.
Radu Dragusin: The new signing has had to wait for his chance to start at Spurs so far, but it will surely come soon. As soon as one of Romero or van de Ven need a rest, Dragusin will be in.
Micky van de Ven: While Romero is arguably a better player all-round, van de Ven is the kind of player you would want alongside Dragusin, who is almost as passionate and aggressive as Romero.
Ben Davies: Equally comfortable operating at centre-back as he is in the left-back role these days. Doesn’t offer as much adventurous play as Udogie, but does offer solid defensive discipline.
Yves Bissouma: Could easily start in place of either Sarr or Bentancur, but has shown a little less consistency this season compared to his peers. Bissouma is brilliant at breaking up play and transitioning defence into attack.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: There’s a very real chance that Hojbjerg won’t be a Spurs player beyond this season, but the Dane still offers plenty of stability and calmness in the middle of the park.
Giovani Lo Celso: Has shown many times this season that he possesses the vision, creativity, and goalscoring talent to fill the number 10 role in place of Maddison.
Brennan Johnson: It seems Johnson may be better suited to being an impact sub rather than a starting winger for Spurs, at least for now. Criticised by some, but his returns this season have been adequate and important.
Timo Werner: While his end product in front of goal may be lacking, Werner is a dangerous presence down the left-hand side. Unlikely to start over Sonny, though.
Heung-min Son: It’s hard to pin down the best position for Son, but it seems he is more suited to the left wing role, with Richarlison up top. However, he’s just as useful in the number 9 role in Richarlison’s role.
Give youth a chance
Spurs may have a strong senior squad, but there are lots of exciting young players coming through the ranks right now who are ready for first-team football. Here’s an XI that would give young players the chance to shine alongside a few regular stars.
Brandon Austin: Truth be told, Austin is unlikely to ever get a chance at Spurs, but if Postecoglou was willing to rest Vicario and wanted to look further down the pecking order, Austin is the third-choice keeper.
Pedro Porro: Offers more of a steady head in defence which, if you’re playing younger players, would be the perfect foil for their inexperience.
Cristian Romero: Speaking of a steady head, Romero is usually the opposite. But, as our primary vice-captain, the Argentine would lead the team out if we are going for a younger XI.
Alfie Dorrington: When Ashley Phillips returns to the club at the end of the season, it’ll be a fight between him and Dorrington to provide backup in the centre of defence.
Destiny Udogie: It’s easy to forget just how young Udogie actually is, given the way the 20-year-old has settled in this season.
Oliver Skipp: A Spurs boy through and through, Skipp still has plenty left to give in the middle of the park even though he is probably at the bottom of the list in the first-team right now.
Pape Matar Sarr: Similar to Udogie, it’s hard to believe that Sarr is just 21 years old. He plays with such maturity, and is an asset to any XI you pick.
Jamie Donley: One of the brightest stars emerging from the Spurs academy now. Donley has been involved with the first team already this season, and should only continue to develop as time goes on.
Brennan Johnson: Another player who we forget is so young, due to the fact he had been shining with Nottingham Forest for a couple of years before joining Spurs.
Bryan Gil: It is very likely Gil will leave Spurs in the summer, and he just doesn’t quite seem suited to the Premier League, but he does put in 100% effort all the time.
Dane Scarlett: Struggled to get chances on loan at Ipswich in the first half of this season, but he’s such an exciting talent and hopefully, Postecoglou uses him more before the end of the campaign.
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