Which Spurs Players Will Make Way for Son and Eriksen?
By Ryan Wrenn
Bentaleb and Lamela
Neither Nabil Bentaleb nor Érik Lamela should expect to feature in this Sunday’s starting XI – or any one soon thereafter for that matter. The arrival of Son and the return of Eriksen means that both likely find themselves on the bench until injury or loss of form compels Pochettino to return them to the starting lineup.
It’s perhaps unfair to punish Bentaleb too much for his epically terrible game in the opening match against Manchester United. It was just one game, after all, and the 20-year-old Algerian international had long before proven what he can do for the team on a regular basis. Still, that dip in form, however brief, has allowed for Ryan Mason and to some extent Mousa Dembélé to make their best cases yet for inclusion on Pochettino’s team.
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While neither Mason nor Dembélé have shined in more advanced roles, their value to the side has been proven in more central areas. With Eriksen – the primary source of the attack’s creativity – returning, it’s safe to assume that both players are pushed back and added to the depth chart rapidly growing alongside Eric Dier’s lock on defensive midfield. Depending on whether Spurs want a more attacking or a more controlling game, Mason or Dembélé seem better fits than Bentaleb there for the time being.
Lamela has, of course, failed to live up to even a quarter of the potential the club bought him for, over two years ago. He’s featured for 113 minutes so far this season and failed to impress in any one of them. When he played alongside Chadli and Dembélé against Leicester, he looked like he wasn’t sure what position he should be playing. Is he a winger or a striker or a playmaker? That he hasn’t found an answer to that question yet is only a small part of why he likely won’t feature for Tottenham for too much longer. He should not expect to get many more minutes, especially if Chadli is demoted to the bench.