Tottenham Hotspur seemed to be coming into Tuesday night's Champions League tilt against underdog side Copenhagen in huge trouble, as Mohammed Kudus was, despite some optimism from manager Thomas Frank, unable to play on the right wing due to a knock he picked up in the tragically humiliating 1-0 London derby loss to Chelsea at the weekend.
Normally, Tottenham look absolutely hopeless without Kudus, who has been the lone saving grace of Frank's ailing attack this season. Kudus is the one taking guys on, making defenders miss, progressing the ball, and creating the brunt of the chances, especially out wide with no other standout options on the wings.
Well, in their own ways, Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson stepped up on the flanks in a 4-0, statement-making Champions League win over Copenhagen with Kudus out, while fellow new signing Xavi Simons finally showed his superstar quality with three big chances created.
But Tottenham's win without Kudus was a reminder that for as impressive as the Ghanaian forward has been as a new signing and for as important as he is to the team's overall attack, there is no singular more impactful player to Tottenham right now than captain Cristian Romero.
A world-class player for Tottenham
It's no surprise, honestly, that Spurs were so putrid over the last few games, as Romero was out during that timespan with an injury he suffered a couple of weeks ago during the warm ups just before the loss to Aston Villa.
Romero was back on the pitch and in fine form against Copenhagen - and not just defensively. Everyone knows Romero is a world-class center back for his crunching tackles and defenisve quality, but he's also one of the elite ball-playing defenders in world football, which ends up being so incredibly vital to Spurs as a whole.
The Argentinian World Cup winner was first on Tottenham in both pass attempts and pass completion percentage against Copenhagen, standing out above his peers as a focal point in the build up phase. Tottenham were so dominant on the ball and so much more effective in getting forward with Romero on the pitch, as he does Rodrigo Bentancur's job much better than the midfielder can.
Romero's impact on Tottenham cannot go underrated, and if it is neglected, then it is only because he is taken for granted. His absence ended up costing Spurs dearly, and the difference between Tottenham both offensively and defensively with Romero and without Romero in the lineup should seal his status as Spurs most important player.