What Tottenham Hotspur could look like with a back three
By Aaron Coe
Tottenham in the 3-4-3 formation
The 3-4-3 was the most common formation Nuno used as Wolves and everything evolved from that starting point. What was particularly effective about Nuno’s 3-4-3 was the use of the striker really pushing high up the pitch on the last man defensively.
When Raul Jiminez was really far up the pitch the team morphed into more of a 3-4-2-1, which could work for Tottenham with Kane or even Dane Scarlett in Europe as that target man at the top. This kind of formation would suit Lucas Moura better than it would Steven Bergwijn as Moura is better at dropping deep and then running with the ball.
More likely, however, if the Spurs were to use a 3-4-3, it would be more of a 3-4-1-2 with Harry Kane dropping deep into a number 10 role the way Joao Moutinho often did for Santo at Wolves. Much like Moutinho or Neves targeting Traore or Neto a few years back, Bergwijn and of course Heung-Min Son – who would work in either set-up with Kane – would have a chance to excel running off Kane.
Defensively, it is not great to have DIer in space on the right and Sanchez in space on the right but both Sergio Reguilon and Emerson Royal (or Matt Doherty) have the ability to recover more often than not. Plus with three in the back, getting support from the midfield does not leave the middle of the park as exposed as it did last season.
With room for only two true midfielders, the creativity seems to dip a bit in this formation although it could work really well when Tottenham is in a position to simply dominate other teams.