The strength of Ange Postecoglou‘s bench for last week’s Premier League fixture against Manchester City proved one thing: Tottenham are finally regenerating.
The Spurs boss was able to peel Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski, Djed Spence, Pape Matar Sarr and Timo Werner off the nice padded seats in the dugout during the second half and while his side ultimately lost narrowly, the replenishment of a depleted squad will have provided a source of comfort to the Australian.
Postecoglou has had to contend with a crippling injury list for the best part of four months, being without up to 11 first-team players at the peak of the crisis.
The lack of able bodies coincided with an alarming dip in form which has left Spurs marooned in the bottom half of the Premier League table and dumped out of both domestic cups.
All is not yet lost, though, with Postecoglou and his players talking up the possibility of achieving something special at the end of a challenging season.
Win the Europa League and the club’s worst season in years will become one of its best. A trophy may not solve everything, but it would certainly make a huge difference.
Spurs’ knockout journey, which they hope will take them to Bilbao at the end of May, begins in Alkmaar this Thursday. Once again, Postecoglou faces a selection headache, but this one is less severe, treatable by a pint of water rather than the drawing of curtains and a lie down.
It was only a month ago that Postecoglou’s bench for a Premier League fixture at Brentford contained six academy graduates with the average age of the outfield players just 20. From not having enough players to pick from, he may soon have an abundance of options.
Postecoglou’s first-choice central defensive pairing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are both in contention for Thursday’s first-leg tie against AZ, as is club-record signing Dominic Solanke at the top end of the pitch. Ben Davies and Richarlison are also pencilled in to return this month.
Typically of Spurs’ season, though, the previously indestructible Kulusevski has finally succumbed to a knock to his foot and is expected to miss Spurs’ next two fixtures. Nevertheless, Radu Dragusin is now the only long-term injury absentee after rupturing his ACL in January.
Postecoglou has a bigger squad since the winter transfer window closed than he did after the summer deadline, with three new players brought in and none allowed to depart.
Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky and centre-back Kevin Danso joined permanently (the latter initially on loan with an obligation to buy in the summer) from Slavia Prague and RC Lens respectively, while Mathys Tel was drafted in on loan from Bayern Munich. Dane Scarlett was also recalled from Oxford United and has been used in recent matches.
While Kinsky has made way for Guglielmo Vicario in recent games, Danso has started five games in a row and will keep Romero and Van de Ven honest when they come back. The Austrian has acquitted himself well so far.
Tel has also featured in Spurs’ last five matches and, although he has only scored once despite leading the attack, will challenge Solanke for his place. The teenage Frenchman can play out wide too.
The new recruits have created fresh competition for places, but Spurs’ squad has also benefited from growth within. Archie Gray, 18, and Lucas Bergvall, 19, were bought predominantly for the future, but have been heavily involved in their debut campaigns, making 35 and 34 appearances respectively in all competitions.
Both have performed admirably after making the gigantic jump from playing in the Championship and Swedish top-flight last season to the Premier League this season. Gray has particularly impressed out of position at centre-back and would be unfortunate to lose his place in the team.
Djed Spence is another squad player whose stock has soared in recent weeks. The full-back only made his first Spurs start in December, two-and-a-half years after signing from Middlesbrough, but has been superb on both flanks and may have even played himself into Thomas Tuchel’s plans for England’s fixtures this month.
Before Spurs were decimated by injury, the bulk of Postecoglou’s starting line-up picked itself. The back five was virtually set in stone: Vicario, Pedro Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Destiny Udogie.
Kulusevski, Son and Solanke were equally nailed in the forward positions, with one of James Maddison or Brennan Johnson supplementing them. Two from Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma and Sarr were selected in midfield.
Now, things are less clear-cut. Spence has arguably ascended from backup full-back to first-choice on both sides. Gray and Bergvall have shown they can shake up the midfield, a perennial problem position for Postecoglou. Wilson Odobert and Tel offer viable alternatives to Son, a club legend but perhaps no longer an automatic starter.
This is good news for Postecoglou – any manager would rather have a surplus of talent to work with than not enough of it – but only if he can effectively find the right combinations to turn Spurs’ form and season around.
There is no doubt that Spurs possess the individual quality to climb the Premier League table and make a charge for a European trophy.
Despite losing 14 of 27 league fixtures, they are the bookies’ favourites to win the Europa League; that status reflects a wider view that they can be a force to be reckoned with when reinforced.
It has been difficult to analyse Spurs’ strengths and weaknesses in recent months given the team has been in a continual state of flux.
Now, with the situation beginning to settle and a drip-feed of international talent returning to the training pitch from the treatment room, it will be easier to get a handle on how good this team can be. If he can get them firing, Postecoglou may not just salvage this campaign but also this entire project.