These are Tottenham's alternatives to Timo Werner after his injury
By Tom Vinall
Timo Werner has played all of his games for Spurs so far on the left wing (Transfermarkt), so Ange Postecoglu will have to reshuffle his attacking pack for the remaining five Premier League games.
Options include; playing Richarlison on the left, where he often had fruitful spells for Everton, playing captain Heung Min-Son in his most familiar position, or moving Brennan Johnson from the right to the left.
I think it's pretty clear that Richarlison is more suited to leading the line, and Son, who has played both on the left and up front this season, has been more productive when playing through the middle this season. That said, his skillset is certainly more suited to playing on the left than Richarlison's is, and it's a position he has most familiarity with throughout his career.
However, my pick would be to play Brennan Johnson on the left side and have Dejan Kulusevski playing on the right. Johnson is the most similar option to Werner, so for Spurs to have continuity this is the best choice.
Richarlison doesn't give you the outlet that the two aforementioned players do, and even Son has lost a yard of pace from his physical peak. With the way Ange uses his full-backs, Spurs must have at least one winger capable of providing width and going down the outside.
READ MORE: Tottenham faces Spanish giants for defender signing
In addition, Kulusevski deserves to keep his place in the team after his impressive display in the North London Derby. The Swedish attacker completed 5 out of 7 dribbles, made 5 tackles, drew 3 fouls, and created one big chance (SofaScore).
This makes it even more sensible to move Johnson from his more familiar right-wing position to the left. This gives the Spurs a balanced wing pairing. The guile and hold-up of Kulusevski on the right and the speed and outlet of Johnson on the left.
Son playing off the left and Richarlison has worked a couple of times, namely in the 4-1 hammering of Newcastle at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in December, and I don't think it would be the worst idea to try it again. However, it is clear to see now that Ange sees Son as a center-forward and no longer as a wide player.
After deliberating options, it became clear to me that the logical option is to play Johnson off the left and Kulusevski from the right. Only time will tell if Ange agrees.
feed