Ange Postecoglou has revealed that one youngster is set for a big role at Tottenham this season in the wake of their 2-1 loss to Newcastle United.
Mixed Premier League start for Tottenham
In 2023/24, Ange Postecoglou's side set Premier League records, with eight wins and two draws in their opening 10 games seeing them take home 26 points, the most of any manager in their first 10 matches in the competition's history. This time around, expectations are higher and they are yet to truly impress in the same way that they did this time 12 months ago.
Defeat at St James' Park meant that they have now won one, drawn one and lost one in their opening three games of the season, leaving them 10th in the Premier League heading into the first international break.
Just as against Leicester City in their opening game, their defeat to Newcastle was a game in which Tottenham looked on top but squandered several excellent chances to move out of sight, before being punished clinically by their opponents to leave them ruing missed opportunities and dropping points early in the season.
Speaking after the loss, Postecoglou admitted he is happy with his side's performances despite the early results, though he bemoaned the lack of clinical edge to his frontline.
"I thought we were handling the transitions. The goal we conceded in the second half was sloppy and we lost focus. The game should have been put to bed a lot longer before that.
"What I know is if we continue to play like that we will get our rewards. It's not an easy place to come. For the most part, I thought we handled that really well. The way we controlled the game was really pleasing."
And despite the result, he may have found a potential breakout star for this season.
Postecoglou reveals bigger role for young defender
That comes as Ange admitted that January addition Radu Dragusin is set for a much bigger role at the club this season. The Romanian defender arrived from Genoa in the winter window, turning down a move to Bayern Munich to move to north London in search of regular game time.
But the 22-year-old managed just 9 appearances in the second half of the campaign, starting only four Premier League games. With an injury to Micky van de Ven, he was thrust in against Newcastle United, and made an excellent last-ditch tackle to deny Alexander Isak with the score at 1-1.
He also won seven of his nine duels to go with a block and two clearances in an all-action performance which caught the eye. And Ange revealed after the game that he expects to see him much more this season.
"I thought he was good Radu. It was a great opportunity to expose him. I mean, he's only 22. He's still a young man, especially for a defender and I thought exposing him to this atmosphere and the threat, the particular threat that Newcastle posed with Isak up front, he had to be really concentrated and I thought he was. I think he's going to play a big part in our season. Him coming through that, that whole experience, will set him up well."
With Van de Ven having missed parts of last season through injury, and Romero no stranger to a red card in his career to date, having a third elite centre-back will come as a major boost to the Lilywhites as they look to push for a spot in Europe once more this season.