Tottenham Hotspur have had serious trouble with scoring goals this season. They have not found the back of the net in a single Premier League fixture out of four matches, and even though they scored in their last game against a Premier League team in Liverpool in the League Cup, they lost 3-1 and did not do enough to put away their opportunities.
Spurs are playing better football this season under Roberto De Zerbi with far more possession and slightly more chances created, but it's not been enough. The finishing is lacking, of course, but the overall creativity has been a problem with Xavi Simons out with a torn ACL and James Maddison still unable to start.
Maddison had a productive appearance off the bench in his latest injury return against Liverpool, but he is the only creative player Spurs have in the attacking midfield. Roberto De Zerbi has often said that Mohammed Kudus can be a No. 10, but from what Spurs fans have seen from Kudus so far, that isn't going to be a proper role for the Ghanaian international.
Luca Williams-Barnett can be a No. 10 option for Spurs
Behind Maddison, the player many Tottenham Hotspur fans are earmarking as a potential creative difference maker is Luca Williams-Barnett, who was one of the biggest stories of the preseason. LWB showed a deftness and air of confidence about him, and his quality as a young prospect was easy to see. Many Spurs fans want LWB to get more opportunities off the bench this season in an attacking midfield role, including potentially this weekend against Aston Villa.
Roberto De Zerbi finally addressed Williams-Barnett's situation, and while he admitted that it is hard to put a young player in such a tough spot with so much responsibility, he admitted that he does not want to forget about what the young players can bring and the experience they would gain from playing; he said that for both LWB and top center back prospect Malachi Hardy.
The manager told reporters before Tottenham vs. Aston Villa, via The Spurs Web, "We have to understand when there is the best situation for him and the team also. It is a different job to manage the young, young player. Especially when the young player has the top potential. You can’t put them in a bad situation but you can’t forget them, Luca and Malachi (Hardy), but you have to find the right moment."
Luca Williams-Barnett can't be worse than Conor Gallagher as a 10, and that's a sentiment echoed by more and more Tottenham fans after watching Gallagher flounder yet again in the attacking midfield on Tuesday night vs. Liverpool. De Zerbi, quietly, sounds more open to giving Williams-Barnett more minutes; he just wants to find "the right moment".
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