3 positives & negatives from Tottenham 2024 pre-season

With the game against Bayern at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the conclusion of Ange Postecoglou's second pre-season at the club has been reached - let's take a look at three positives and negatives from the past few weeks.

3 positives & negatives from Tottenham 2024 pre-season

Positives

The first positive is how well the Spurs youngsters performed and showed Ange that they weren't there to make up the numbers. Will Lankshear, Mikey Moore, Lucas Bergvall and Jamie Donley have all impressed over the course of pre-season.

Will Lankshear was rewarded for his fine form in the Premier League 2 last season, by training with the senior team all summer. He impressed in training and in games, scoring against Hearts and the K-League All-Stars. The young forward was further rewarded with a new contract until 2029 and is expected to go out on loan to further his development.

Mikey Moore also seriously impressed - scoring against Hearts and Kissel Kobe as well as providing a sublime assist for Dane Scarlett in the win over QPR. The youngster has now officially been given a professional contract on his 17th birthday. This will also help fend off the serious interest from elsewhere in Moore.

Lucas Bergvall has impressed fans with his dynamic dribbling and creativity - registering assists vs Hearts, and for compatriot Dejan Kulusevski vs Bayern. Bergvall has credited Kulusevski for helping him settle in at the club.

With the form, or lack thereof, of James Maddison - Bergvall could certainly get opportunities next season if he is not loaned out The Europa League will be a good opportunity for minutes, too - particularly in the group phase.

Jamie Donley was also impressed in the pre-season when given an opportunity, despite having to play in an unfamiliar left-back role due to the absence of Destiny Udogie. Donley provided two assists - against the K-League All-Stars and Vissel Kobe. The 19-year-old will probably go on loan this season but has given himself the best chance possible of securing a loan to a good side.

The second positive is the form of Kulusevski. The Swedish attacker has had to fill in as the number 9 this pre-season due to the absence of Richarlison through injury, the fact Ange wants Son to play as a winger this season, and because Solanke has only just been signed.

Whilst he is unlikely to play as a striker in the regular season, particularly after the signing of Solanke, with Ange even saying as much himself, the regular minutes in central positions could mean he is set to play more minutes as a number 10. He filled in there last season whilst Maddison was injured, and his impressive moments centrally in pre-season can only help his cause, even if he was playing a bit further forward.

He could be competing with the aforementioned compatriot Bergvall for a place in the number 10 role. Paul O Keefe says that Spurs are still looking to sign a winger, and mentioned that Solanke would be signed with another attacker.

This checks out with the possibility of Kulusevski potentially playing as a number ten, rather than out wide as he has played more often than not over the past year.

Wherever he plays, it is looking likely Kulusevski will play an important part at Spurs next season, which is encouraging, amid reports that linked him to Serie A earlier in the summer.

The third positive has been the emergence of Djed Spence. The full-back endured underwhelming loans last season and looked like he had no future in North London, but an impressive pre-season seems to have given his career at Spurs a lifeline. With the impending departure of Emerson Royal, there is a spot for a back-up right-back in the squad.

Spurs will have a more intense schedule and will need as many bodies, particularly homegrown ones, in the building as they can get. Spence grabbed a goal and assist in the win at Hearts and has been showing glimpses of the player Spurs thought they were getting in the summer of 2022.

It's not to say that Spence will nail down the starting right-back spot and become a Spurs regular for years - he will probably leave in the next 1-2 years, but it is not overly unlikely to suggest he could be a serviceable squad option for Spurs next season, as they compete in four competitions.

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