Tottenham Hotspur are off to another troublesome start in the Premier League this season, but given some of their worst finishes have been after great starts, like last season under Thomas Frank, and some of their best finishes have been under bad starts, like under Mauricio Pochettino, seasoned fans are not panicking. In fact, they are very happy with the way Spurs are playing under Roberto De Zerbi compared to last year with more dominance in possession and more of an identity.
That being said, the individual quality of the players could improve. Constant rotations, fitness issues, an overall lack of consistency, and serious talent issues at striker have hurt Spurs in this regard, but there are a couple of players, namely, standing out as true Team of the Season candidates in Jan Paul van Hecke and Savio.
Van Hecke is an obvious candidate, and if he were playing for a team in the top five of the Premier League table, he would be a shoe in and probably a Player of the Season contender. He is on a record pace as a passer out of the backfield with nearly 90 completed passes per game, a completion percentage above 91, and a full key pass per game to actually beat out the likes of Dominic Solanke and Sandro Tonali in terms of chance creation.
Savio is ready to make a name for himself
And of course, the Dutchman has really stepped it up defensively since clicking next to countryman and club captain Micky van de Ven, as the former Brighton star is averaging 2.6 combined tackles and interceptions per game with 4.5 clearances per match compared to just 0.5 dribbles completed allowed per contest.
But while Jan Paul van Hecke is the clear Player of the Season for Tottenham Hotspur, that battle could become murkier with Savio once he gets back from injury. Savio has been one of the best creators out wide in Europe pound for pound with 2.8 key passes and an insane 6 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game. He is so good that he is even putting Mohammed Kudus's peak numbers from the 2025/26 season to shame.
If only Tottenham had more competent scorers, Savio's numbers would be even better, and once he starts in front of a health Pedro Porro, his own numbers could blow up. The argument could be made for Mateus Fernandes or Sandro Tonali to be Team of the Season contenders, too, but Tonali needs to be more decisive on the ball, while Fernandes hasn't had enough games in his best position. Meanwhile, Micky van de Ven is another contender, but unlike Van Hecke, he doesn't win the ball or do enough with it in order to be competitive with the other center backs in the Premier League. Yet.
Add us as a preferred source on Google