Hotspur HQ
Fansided

What does Spurs squad look like for the 2019-20 campaign?

By Aaron Coe

MUNICH, GERMANY - JULY 30: The players of Tottenham Hotspur: Danny Rose (first row, L-R), Harry Winks, Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Tanguy Ndombele, Erik Lamela (second row, L-R), Toby Albertine Alderweireld, goalkeeper Paulo Dino Gazzaniga, Juan Foyth, Jan Vertonghen and Heung-Min Son line up prior the Audi cup 2019 semi final match between Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur at Allianz Arena on July 30, 2019 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Scheuber/Getty Images for AUDI)
MUNICH, GERMANY - JULY 30: The players of Tottenham Hotspur: Danny Rose (first row, L-R), Harry Winks, Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Tanguy Ndombele, Erik Lamela (second row, L-R), Toby Albertine Alderweireld, goalkeeper Paulo Dino Gazzaniga, Juan Foyth, Jan Vertonghen and Heung-Min Son line up prior the Audi cup 2019 semi final match between Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur at Allianz Arena on July 30, 2019 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Scheuber/Getty Images for AUDI) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
SHANGHAI, CHINA – JULY 25: Paul Pogba of Manchester United and Tanguy Ndombele of Tottenham Hotspur compete for the ball during the International Champions Cup match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the Shanghai Hongkou Stadium on July 25, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Di Yin/Getty Images)
SHANGHAI, CHINA – JULY 25: Paul Pogba of Manchester United and Tanguy Ndombele of Tottenham Hotspur compete for the ball during the International Champions Cup match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at the Shanghai Hongkou Stadium on July 25, 2019 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Di Yin/Getty Images) /

Tottenham’s Midfield

Last season injuries, illness and exists left Tottenham thin in midfield. At the time, selling Mousa Dembele seemed an okay move. Dembele lost a step and wasn’t getting the minutes he had from 2015-17. Then Eric Dier had an appendectomy and fell victim to the injury bug, making only 20 League appearances on the season.

Besides losing Dembele and Dier, Harry Winks and Dele Alli both missed significant time via injury and Victor Wanyama never really got healthy. Add in Christian Eriksen fighting an abdomen injury the entire season and you can see how dire the situation was. If not for the contributions of Moussa Sissoko, the season could have gone entirely different.

Sissoko and teenager Oliver Skipp held things down for the stretch run of the Premier League season. Not that Skippy won’t have his day – in a couple of years from now – and Sissoko won’t play a big role – as in role player- for the team this season, but with Ndombele and Lo Celso Spurs have some brilliant new reinforcements.

Ndombele is a creative box to box presence who has a keen eye for both a pass and a tackle. Pochettino once said if he had Mousa Dembele as a young player he could have transformed him into Messi. Well he might have his chance to prove that with Ndombele. While Tanguy’s handle isn’t quite at the Mousa level yet, his touch, coverage ability and eye for a pass make one dream of amazing things.

Lo Celso is more of an attacking, creative player who likes to both penetrate on the dribble and shoot on the fly. His performances last year for Real Betis and this past summer for Argentina are enough to excite any fan about what might be.

While depth appears to be there in the long-term for Spurs this season, some questions remain. Wanyama and Dier are both still returning from injuries and are unavailable. Dele is going to miss a few weeks with hamstring issue and with September 2 close of the European transfer window beckoning, who knows whether Christian Eriksen will remain.

Depending on how soon everyone gets healthy and what happens with Eriksen, this unit may still end up a bit thin. While Lo Celso is a like-for-like for Eriksen, he is not at that level yet and is unproven in the Premier League.

Alternatively, if Eriksen stays and plays like it is a contract year and Dele stays healthy, we have some formidable attacking options. If Dier and Wanyama can get healthy, we have ample coverage in the heart of midfield. Regardless, the additions of Ndombele and Lo Celso provide new breath and cover.

Home/Tottenham News