Tottenham still have everything to play for in the Europa League with the semifinals on the horizon against underdogs Bodo Glimt, as Spurs were able to dispatch tough Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday at the Deutsche Bank Park.
But the Premier League is a different story, as Tottenham aren't at any risk of relegation but are so far away from European qualification in 16th that they are playing for nothing more than pride and the future. At this point for Tottenham, the latter is more important, and fans are looking to the last games of the 2024/25 Premier League season as a key trial for up-and-coming players who want to become important to the Spurs cause.
One such player is recent center back signing Kevin Danso, who is ready to push Radu Dragusin as the top backup behind Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven - one of the best center back duos in not just England but in European football as a whole.
Kevin Danso was a great signing from Lens
Danso was a top-class central defender in Ligue 1, and he is ready to get his chance to show what he can do in North London as an excellent ball-playing center back. And it sounds like Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou is ready to oblige Danso and the fans by giving the Austrian international his chance to shine before the 2024/25 season ends.
In the build-up to the game against Nottingham Forest, Postecoglou said of Danso, via the Spurs Express, “I think it's important that we get him some game time because I think he will be important [moving forward].”
Danso joined Tottenham this past winter transfer window for an affordable 25 million euros after three-and-a-half solid seasons with RC Lens in France. Known for his reading of the game and technical ability, Danso is a good athlete with above-average technical ability in the tackle and borderline elite marking skills with how he reads strikers off the ball.
Danso is a cerebral defender
With his talent, the 26-year-old Danso could potentially push Van de Ven and Romero for starts, but he needs some momentum to get going. Danso has started just four games in the Premier League, one game in the League Cup, and one game in the Europa League for Tottenham to this point. The end of the season could be Danso's time to finally get some consistent games going, sparing the starters wear-and-tear that they don't need.
Danso consistently allowed just 0.3 dribbles per game and scarcely had to make interventions at Lens, so good he was at reading strikers and preventing passes from getting to them in the first place. He is a throwback to a more cerebral era of defending, and with how aggressive and athletic the other center backs at Tottenham like to play, Danso should be a breath of fresh air.