Tottenham Hotspur Submit Europa League Player List

The international transfer window was closed this week so that UEFA competitors could submit their player lists and Tottenham have the team that will compete for the trophy.

With the Europa League draw complete and the transfer window closed, attention now turns to the team that will compete for European glory. Tottenham Hotspur had a busy summer bringing in six new players to the side meaning some previous holdovers would be left out of the 25-man Europa League Squad. With Danny Rose training with the U-23s, his omission was expected and given the lack of playing time for both  Paulo Gazzaniga now third string goalkeeper and Gedson Fernandes – the Benfica loanee – were really not surprises to be left off either. So, we know six are in and three are out, so what does the squad look like for Europa League?

 Tottenham Names We Expected

Much of the team list for Europa League could pick itself given the players who have been playing for Jose Mourinho to start the season. Joe Hart has been the back-up when Hugo Lloris has gotten a break, so those two were shoe-ins. Likewise most of the defense was easy enough to determine, with the likes of Aurier and Doherty holding down the right and Sergio Reguilón and Ben Davies on the left, those were no brainers. Given the team did NOT sign a new center-half during the offseason, Eric Dier, Toby Alderweireld, and Davinson Sanchez were obvious selections as well.

Moving up the pitch more names familiar to Tottenham faithful fill the team. New signings Pierre-Emile Højbjerg and Gareth Bale are part of the midfield along with holdovers like Harry Winks, Moussa Sissoko, and Lucas Moura. Of course, the more creative midfielders are there as well with Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele, and Dele Alli all included as well as pacey wingers Heung-Min Son and Steven Bergwijn.

The forward position is probably the most exciting for Spurs, as Harry Kane is not alone in the list with recent loanee Carlos Vinicius – Tottenham’s new #45 – has been included. Given the pressure and load on Kane over the last several seasons, even if Vinicius does not score a bunch of goals, having another target man who can sub-in or even replace Kane on the odd occasion is a really important get for Spurs.

So, most of the names were expected, what were the surprise inclusions?

Spurs Surprise Europa League Inclusions

Putting a team together for European competition is not quite as straight forward as doing so for the Premier League, with the different homegrown player rules, the limitations on foreign players, and the B list; the squads for Europe are just different. Ultimately, it may have been the homegrown rule that led to some of the inclusions, but those rules may be leading to some needed opportunity anyway.

Alfie Whiteman, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Jack Clarke all were included in the main player list. While only 19 Clarke could have been part of the B-list, but instead was included in the main squad along with Carter-Vickers and Whiteman. The key for all three of these players is that they are homegrown players, adding to the allotment of 8 Spurs needed to field a full squad of 25.

While the inclusion of CCV did not cost anyone a spot on the squad, it is likely that including Whiteman and Clarke did. Whiteman effectively is now the number 3 keeper in Europa with Paulo Gazzaniga having been left out. Likewise, Clarke is the fifth winger behind Bale, Son, Bergwijn, and Moura. Clarke’s inclusion, which was likely a surprise for many, came at the cost of Gedson Fernandes, who is on loan from Benfica.

Ultimately, given Gazzaniga and Fernandes are foreign born and CCV and Clarke count toward the homegrown total the decision had to be made.

Tottenham B List

One of the interesting things about European competition is the B-list of players, essentially, these are you youth players, who can help fill out the squad and technically, if an A-list player is out, these are the names that could then come in and replace them. Some of the B-list names are quite familiar and a few may get some playing time.

Japhet Tanganga for example is on the B-list and he is fourth on the center-half depth chart, so it is quite possible he plays. Some other players who impressed in preseason made the cut as well, as Jack Roles, Dennis Cirkin, Harvey White, and Dane Scarlett all made the B-list. Other players on the list include the remaining Pochettino at N17 – Maurizio – a forward like Scarlett, and Brandon Austin a regular on the England U-21 team.

If this were the Champions League these B-List players might not have much of an opportunity, however, given that Spurs are in Europa League, I could see this as an opportunity for several of the youth players to get some time or even make their first team debuts. As Tottenham continues to build for the present and the future, seeing the likes of Cirkin, White, Clarke and Carter-Vickers get some run-out in Europe, once the team has qualified for the knockout stages seems quite possible.