Tottenham Hotspur have been told by one pundit that manager Ange Postecoglou has a “liability” in his ranks at Spurs.
Who are Tottenham’s star players?
The Lilywhites’ incredible start to 2023/2024, where Postecoglou has cemented himself as one of the club’s most popular managers of recent years, has been helped by a few key, key names. Summer signing James Maddison, who joined from Leicester City for around £40 million, is now a pivotal player at Tottenham and arguably their superstar man right now. His five assists and two goals over eight league games, not to mention all-round displays, played a heavy hand in Spurs’ climb to the Premier League summit.
Son Heung-min has also rediscovered his 2022 Golden Boot form with a brilliant six goals already, prompting debate over both Maddison and Son’s impact at Spurs – specifically who is more crucial.
“I find Heung-min Son to be the difference-maker for the team,” said pundit Alejandro Moreno this week.
“And while I agree James Maddison and the connection with Heung-min Son has become a really important part to what Spurs do, and Heung-min Son – in some ways – depends on James Maddison, and James Maddison has been really good for Spurs, Heung-min Son is still the difference guy.
“He’s still the guy that’s going to score the goals for you. And I go back to scoring goals because this game is about scoring goals. This is how you win matches. And if Heung-min Son is scoring goals for Spurs, they’re winning games. If he’s not scoring goals for Spurs, they’re going to have a difficult time doing so, because James Maddison is not going to score those goals.”
The likes of Dejan Kulusevski, Micky van de Ven, Yves Bissouma, Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie have also earned praise for their stellar performances this term, but there have been a few casualties of Tottenham’s excellent form.
Eric Dier update
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who is yet to start a single league game despite being crucial for Antonio Conte last season, and defender Eric Dier are now unfavoured by Postecoglou – watching on from the side as Tottenham blow away supporters. The latter man hasn’t played a minute in any competition for Spurs, and with his contract expiring in the summer of 2024, all the signs point towards an exit in the next eight months.
pundit Stuart Robson, speaking on the broadcaster’s Gab’s and Jule’s show podcast, suggests that Spurs would be making the right decision by letting him depart – as his lack of awareness and pace make him a “liability” for Postecoglou.
“What do you want? Do you want someone who is quite good on the ball and can play passes into the front players or a good defender? If you want a good defender I would say don’t get Eric Dier, he’s not quick enough, he doesn’t read danger quickly enough, he’s a liability, if you want someone who will just play out from the back, you might want him, but I would say no, I’m not an Eric Dier fan at the moment.” Robson stated.
