Tottenham Hotspur are a team with imperfections. Daniel Levy knows that, as does Ange Postecoglou. Despite losing successive Premier League matches, hampering the bid to qualify for the Champions League, Levy will still be confident that his decision to appoint Postecoglou last year was the correct one.
Fifth in the standings, Tottenham have two games in hand and only trail fourth-place Aston Villa by six points, though still face Chelsea and Liverpool away from home, also welcoming Manchester City to north London.
But should the club miss out on a spot among Europe's elite next year, the progress made under new management should not be discredited, with this developing squad boasting all the signs of a promising project still in its embryonic stage.
Postecoglou's expansive, free-flowing style of football won fans over instantaneously at the start of the campaign but inconsistencies and injuries have since marred the success that saw him become the first manager to win the Manager of the Month award in each of his first three months in the Premier League.
The latest on the never-ending injury front has seen pacy winger Timo Werner pick up a hamstring injury during Sunday's loss against the Gunners, withdrawn after 31 minutes.
Joining Spurs on loan from RB Leipzig in January – with the option to make the deal permanent for £15m – Werner has scored two goals and supplied three assists from ten starting appearances in the Premier League, remarking "I love it here" during one post-match interview.
With trips to Chelsea and Liverpool looming in the English top-flight this week, Postecoglou will likely need to shuffle the pack, with Werner starting the past five games – but who could replace him?
1 The obvious choice Brennan Johnson
Most Lilywhites supporters wanted Brennan Johnson to start over Werner against Arsenal, offering a fleet-footed style but having also found greater, richer potency in front of goal this season, especially over the past few months.
Signed from Nottingham Forest for a whopping £47.5m fee last summer, the Wales international is shaping into a very useful asset, with plenty of room for improvement but plenty of ways to enflame the ire of Tottenham's opposition.
Content creator Dan Cook – known as 'HLTCO' on X (formerly Twitter) – perhaps summed up Johnson's skill set best, saying: "Brennan Johnson is such an exciting player to watch. He’s got frightening pace and directness; constantly looking to make something happen, it must be an absolute nightmare to defend against him."
While Johnson is typically found on the right flank, his two-footedness makes him a danger wherever he is deployed and he may well be the No. 1 choice to replace his German peer at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.
2 The tactical tweak Heung-min Son
Next we have Heung-min Son, whose return to the left wing wouldn't be a revelation down N17 but given that he's started out wide just twice in 2024, it would be something of a tactical tweak.
Tottenham's long-time star has been in fine fettle this season, scoring 16 goals and supplying nine assists across 30 Premier League matches and playing a pivotal part in his outfit's resurgence under new management.
Of course, with Harry Kane not directly replaced as the focal frontman at the start of Postecoglou's reign, Son is needed at centre-forward, though Richarlison is pushing for a return from the outset and his brilliant purple patch earlier in 2024 underlines his prowess as an efficient striker.
As per FBref, the Spurs skipper ranks among the top 2% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 11% for shot-creating actions, the top 7% for progressive passes, the top 3% for pass completion and the top 6% for progressive carries per 90.
1.
Mohamed Salah
Liverpool
21
2.
Bruno Fernandes
Manchester United
20
3.
Heung-min Son
Tottenham Hotspur
17
3.
Dwight McNeil
Everton
17
5.
Kevin De Bruyne
Manchester City
16
5.
Martin Odegaard
Arsenal
16
Only Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah and Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes trump the South Korea star in big-chance creation this season and it's no joke that Son is one of the most dynamic players in the business.
He might be one of the deadliest finishers in the Premier League, but Son can throw down with the best when it comes to playmaking and controlling the flow of play.
Perhaps, playing Tottenham's best forward in his natural position to combat Werner's absence is actually the way to go – who'd have thought it?
3 The academy star Mikey Moore
The wildcard. The up-and-comer. England's most prodigious talent. That last sentence is admittedly subjective but 16-year-old Mikey Moore has now been training with the Tottenham first team and will be desperate to make his professional debut before the campaign's conclusion.
This season, the dynamic forward has been in staggering form at youth level, scoring 16 goals and providing nine assists for his teammates over just 14 outings across the U18 Premier League and the FA Youth Cup.
Described as a "superstar" by Fabrizio Romano, it's a dangerous game to heap praise too lofty on a youngster before they've even dipped their toes into the senior scene but Moore's age-belying talent makes it hard not to get giddy if you're wearing lily white.
A stunning ball-carrier with a ferocious strike and balletic movements, Moore's regular inclusion in the senior training set-up speaks of the high regard he is held in and he might just find himself unleashed in the fixtures to come, should Werner fail to make a quick recovery from his hamstring issue.
Usually placed centrally for Spurs but enjoying prolific success on the left flank for England, scoring a hat-trick against Croatia U17s last time out, Moore has the built-in athleticism and natural swagger to propel him to the front of the pack and there is now every chance that Postecoglou could decide to unleash his starlet at the season's final stage.
It might just be the start of something special…
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