It feels like everything that could have gone wrong for Tottenham Hotspur this season has gone wrong.
Granted, there have been more than a handful of games in which either Ange Postecoglou has got something terribly wrong or his players have massively underperformed, but one thing has ravaged their campaign this year: injuries.
For example, there have been plenty of occasions in which the club have had just a single centre-back fit or no striker to play up top, and it has undoubtedly wreaked havoc on a side who have it in them to beat anyone on their day.
This terrible misfortune with injuries struck again recently, as Dejan Kulusevski is now set to miss the rest of the campaign, meaning that with no James Maddison either, Posetcoglou is going to have to make a bold decision on the midfield ahead of this weekend’s game and next week’s Europa League final.
Spurs' injury crisis
While there have been points in which Spurs have had even more players out with injury, the current situation can fairly be described as a crisis due to the number of players who play in the same position who are out and the simple fact that the biggest game in the club’s recent history is right around the corner.
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The two biggest misses are undoubtedly Maddison, who injured his knee in the first-leg win over Bodo/Glimt and will be out until pre-season at the earliest, and Kulusevski, who came off against Crystal Palace on the weekend with what first looked like just a knock to his knee, but then turned out to require surgery, meaning he too will be out for a few months.
Worse still, the North Londoners will be without the incredibly impressive Lucas Bergavll, with the manager confirming yesterday afternoon that he has only just “taken his first tentative steps on the grass.”
Other than those three key players for the Lilywhites, Radu Dragusin is also out of contention due to the ACL injury he picked up in February, and now Timo Werner is confirmed to have suffered a hamstring injury in the same month, which is why he hasn’t featured since then.
In all, Spurs are not in great shape for the next two games, with their lack of natural attacking midfield options a serious concern.
However, with tonight’s game not mattering all that much in the grand scheme of things, Postecoglou has the chance to try something a little unorthodox to solve this problem ahead of the final next week.
Spurs' Kulusevski & Maddison solution
So, the truth of the matter is that Spurs do not have an ideal solution for the lack of a natural attacking midfielder at the moment, but there are at least a few unusual solutions that Postecoglou could try ahead of next week.
Perhaps the most realistic is bringing Son Heung-min back into the starting lineup and playing him in the most attacking midfield role.
Now, it is true that the South Korean international hasn’t got the speed or agility he once did, but he still has excellent technique and an evidently high football IQ.
Exp. Assisted Goal
0.36
Top 4%
GCA (Live-ball Pass)
0.57
Top 4%
SCA (Live-ball Pass)
3.80
Top 6%
Goals + Assists
0.71
Top 7%
Shot-Creating Actions
5.13
Top 7%
Assists
0.40
Top 8%
Goal-Creating Actions
0.66
Top 9%
Passes into Penalty Area
2.25
Top 12%
We can see this in some of his underlying numbers, as according to FBref, the “incredible” ace, as dubbed by Postecoglou, sits in the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers for expected assisted goals, goal-creating actions from his live passes, the top 6% for shot-creating actions from his live passes, the top 7% for goals plus assists and goal-creating actions and more, all per 90.
So, with his ability to play dangerous passes still undeniable, playing him in the middle with rapid runners on either side of him, like Mathys Tel and Brennan Johnson, could be the key to unlocking Aston Villa’s defence tonight and Manchester United’s on Wednesday.
Finally, on top of his technical brilliance, the former Bayer Leverkusen star remains the club captain, and with how important and pressurised this next week will be, his presence in the team may be needed more than ever.
Ultimately, it’s not an ideal situation that Spurs find themselves in, but with what is practically a dress rehearsal for next week tonight, Postecoglou can try and solve the team’s injury crisis by playing Son in attacking midfield.
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