If you had one choice, would it be Jan, Christian, Son or Dele?
By Gary Pearson
If forced to build Tottenham from scratch and you couldn’t pick Harry Kane, which other player would you choose to build the club around?
It’s one of those hypotheticals some people relish while others loath. Let’s say, for lack of a better reason, the entire Spurs squad, other than one of the following players, was infected by the Walking Dead virus, turning everyone into blood ravenous zombies.
There is, in the catastrophic situation, a glimmer of hope: you can start your club afresh, with one of the following players: Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Son Heung-Min or Jan Vertonghen.
So who would you choose?
Christian Eriksen thus far has the narrow advantage on our Facebook poll. At the moment it’s the dangerous Dane supporters believe would be the best man to build a new Tottenham around.
Some supporters understandably opted out of selecting just one of the impressive quartet, saying they are all as important as one another and choosing would tantamount to a slight on the other three.
But I agree that Eriksen is the man for the job. His creativeness matched with an uncanny ability to turn a match on its head makes him the most suitable candidate.
He is mature, calm, humble and unassuming. While the dashing Dane isn’t as boisterous as some leaders, he certainly knows how to lead through his playing ability. The adage “actions speak louder than words” comes to mind when evaluating Eriksen’s leadership qualities.
Dele Alli currently sits in second place in the poll, which is a wee bit surprising. Of course I’m not questioning the wunderkind’s talent or ability to conjure a moment of magic. However I don’t think the 21-year-old has the character – yet anyway – to build an entire club around.
If Eriksen became infected, I would resort to Jan Vertonghen as my secondary option. Vertonghen was born a leader. He offers stability, strength, backbone, and is an exemplary role model for newbies, youngsters trying to come of age.
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He’s 30 years old and should have another four or five good years left, just enough time for younger players to learn what they need to become great leaders themselves. Jan could then pass the torch on, confident he’d done enough for future generations to prosper.
Who would you choose? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below.