Tottenham Hotspur could travel north to Lincoln City’s LNER Stadium for a Championship game next season, or they could return as Premier League contenders under manager Roberto De Zerbi.
It’s been a tough year for the Lilywhites. Although they have escaped the relegation zone, they are only two points behind with two games remaining.
West Ham United have been at a stalemate of late, but one win could change everything in this gripping and frightening battle, with the sides hanging in the balance at the last minute.
Naturally, Spurs do not want to travel to Lincolnshire for second-tier games next season, but they will need to maintain a new level in the final weeks as the midfield is charged and will be key to guiding Tottenham to safety.
Why Spurs’ midfield will be recharged under De Zerbi
Tottenham still lack creativity and attacking fluency, but they have regained their grit and togetherness in the middle of the park.
Lowest xG total in Premier League (25/26) | ||
|---|---|---|
team | Number of points scored | xG |
Nottom Forest | 45 | 45.03 |
tottenham | 46 | 43.24 |
sunderland | 37 | 39.52 |
burnley | 37 | 35.46 |
wolf | twenty five | 34.10 |
Expected Goals (xG) is a metric designed to measure the probability that a shot will result in a goal.
Much of that is due to the return of Rodrigo Bentancur, who was made into a scapegoat during the first few months of Frank’s regime, as he was, and then largely forgotten after being injured in January. However, his return to fitness has opened up much-needed passing patterns in the middle of the park.
This allows Conor Gallagher to openly showcase the all-action, physical quality that was expected from the north Londoner when he joined from Atletico Madrid for £35 million in January.
Now that the engine room is in place, the likes of Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr have fallen to the fringes. The former is scheduled to retire when his contract expires this summer, but Saar’s future is uncertain.
However, the same cannot be said for Tottenham’s Declan Rice. Even if he struggled for minutes in De Zerbi’s system.
De Zerbi wins gold medal with Spurs’ ‘Young Rice’
Tottenham need to remain in the Premier League or risk losing a potential superstar like Archie Gray.
Gray, 20, has been thrust into Tottenham’s top-flight since joining from Leeds United for around £30 million as an 18-year-old, and has impressed in every position.
Primarily a center midfielder, he has bounced around the park over the past two years. This contributes to his dynamism and athleticism, as well as his wide range of technical attributes, but at the same time hinders his progress.
Archie Gray’s Tottenham career by position | ||
|---|---|---|
position | app | Goal + Assist |
center back | 20 | 0+0 |
defensive midfield | 18 | 1 + 0 |
central midfield | 14 | 0 + 1 |
right full back | 11 | 1 + 0 |
left full back | 7 | 0 + 1 |
right midfield | 3 | 0 + 1 |
De Zerbi sensed this and decided that Gray needed to establish his position. In it, he echoes Arsenal’s Rice, who was originally a centre-back during his time at West Ham United but has since developed into a world-class midfielder in a variety of roles for Mikel Arteta’s title challengers.
Gray isn’t there yet, but he is still very young and has already been described as a “young Declan Rice” by The Athletic’s Duncan Alexander, whose versatility, natural tenacity and skill set him apart from many other up-and-coming players in the Premier League.
Gray is progressive by nature and has a keen eye for passing. His cross success rate in the top league this season is 33.3%, and he is also getting caught and defending bravely. Playing consistently in midfield will further increase his confidence and consistency in De Zerbi’s system.
The fact that clubs like Liverpool are starting to sniff out a move for this young talent only emphasizes the point. In fact, Liverpool were valued at £70m when they carried out a secret search in March, and despite Spurs’ wider problems, Gray’s value had already been marked as having increased by £40m.
De Zerbi sees him as Tottenham’s future and, although he won’t be starting every week for the Italian tactician, he could develop into an elite England international who will play alongside Rice for the top spot in the Premier League while partnering him for his country.
Worse than Kolo Muani: Spurs’ failure is the biggest waste of money since Ndombele
Tottenham will need to rewrite the script in the summer transfer window.
