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Tottenham Hotspur attacking midfielder James Maddison is crucial to the team, as evidenced by how their best scoring day of the Premier League season came against his childhood club Coventry when he was firing on all cylinders. Maddison scored a brilliant opening goal that day, and he was on point as a creator, irresistible again with his passing and touches.

Maddison started the following week in Spurs impressive 2-0 win over rivals Chelsea, but he could only last 50 minutes. Coming into the game, he missed practice sessions with an apparent injury, and then he hurt his groin in the second half, leading to him being pulled from the game.

Not only was Madders held out of the starting lineup this past weekend in Tottenham's 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace, but he did not even get minutes off the bench. But that precisely what has made Roberto De Zerbi's approach in his first full season as Tottenham manager so refreshing.

Roberto De Zerbi isn't rushing James Maddison

Instead of doing what managers of the past would have done, De Zerbi is making sure he is taking things slowly with his players. He knows the likes of Pedro Porro and James Maddison are important to Tottenham Hotspur achieving their broader goal of returning to Champions League football, but he is also creating a more resilient team that can withstand not having them in the starting 11 against, say, Crystal Palace.

Tottenham need Maddison healthy for the long haul, and by giving him an extra week of full rest before the final game before the November international break against Leeds United this coming weekend, Roberto De Zerbi has saved Maddison a lot of trouble and potentially yet another injury aggravation.

Anyone can see that when Madders is on the pitch, Tottenham are a better team with his leadership, vision, and technical quality. He makes a difference in terms of creating clear cut chances and scoring goals, both of which are major weaknesses for Spurs.

Tottenham are going to need Maddison against tougher opponents than Crystal Palace, but as Spurs fans saw this past weekend, they did not need him to win that game. And that's great news for Spurs going forward; they can withstand not having Maddison every week, which was not the case before De Zerbi. Maddison is in play for minutes against Leeds, and he will be much fresher because De Zerbi had the wisdom to hold him out.

Tottenham Hotspur grabbed a lot of headlines and turned a lot of heads over the summer transfer window when they essentially swapped one of the biggest defensive gems in world football in Luka Vuskovic plus cash to Brighton for Jan Paul van Hecke, an older player with one year left on his contract coming off a pretty disappointing season for the Seagulls.

And since Vuskovic started the year hot for a Brighton side that looks like a sleeper Premier League title contender, Roberto De Zerbi got a lot of stick for paying any price to bring his prodigal son home with him to N17, spending money and a younger and arguably better player for someone just because he liked his system fit more.

Vuskovic has continued to play at a high level for Brighton, but by any metric, Van Hecke has been even better. And with his record display complete with a goal in another dominant 2-0 win for the Lilywhites over a local rival, this time Crystal Palace after Chelsea, nobody is laughing at Spurs or criticizing De Zerbi for the Van Hecke move now.

Tottenham and Brighton both won

The problem in the world of hot takes these days is everyone is looking for a winner and a loser, but the reality is that both Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton won the Jan Paul van Hecke for Luka Vuskovic transfer swap. And by extension, both center backs have come out winners, too.

Brighton won because they landed extra money and one of the best young players in world football - a player who is dynamic all around and helping the Seagulls play out of their skins. But Tottenham also won. Van Hecke is a uniquely gifted passer of the ball and the best progressive passer in the Premier League at any position. He is a major upgrade on Cristian Romero as a player and a leader, he is helping Spurs get even more out of new captain Micky van de Ven because of their chemistry, and he has shown real defensive quality.

Tottenham needed a more proven player who is comfortable in possession and at creating chances from deep, and there was no better player in the world for what De Zerbi wanted in his mind than Van Hecke. Yes, they lost a great player in Vuskovic, but with less pressure around him and a more counterattacking system at Brighton, the Croatian is also starting for a team where the situation fits him better. Everyone wins.

A lot of Tottenham Hotspur fans were not happy with Roberto De Zerbi's decision to sell Austrian center back Kevin Danso just before the end of the summer transfer deadline, sending the defender to Sunderland, one of the Premier League's biggest underdog teams last season, to ostensibly make their defense stronger. And what made Spurs fans more upset with De Zerbi and leave a sour taste in the end of a great transfer window was the fact that the manager brought in Chelsea transfer bust Tosin Adarabioyo into the fold.

But Tosin has been great whenever he is on the pitch for Tottenham. In fact, for just a few million pounds, he has looked like a bargain at the expense of one of Spurs great rivals, whom the Lilywhites just defeated convincingly a couple of weeks ago. Chelsea's defense is no better off without Tosin, who has impressed with his quality on the ball and understanding of the system under De Zerbi.

Meanwhile, Danso has been horrible. There is a serious case to be made that he has been one of the absolute worst players in the Premier League this season, and Sunderland are having to divest from him pretty quickly.

Kevin Danso would have been a disaster for Spurs

Danso looks worse for Sunderland than he ever did for Tottenham. With Spurs, he was never a convincing player or someone who looked like he could start, but he was at least a decent backup who made for some of his clumsiness with dominance in the air and resolute defending, especially at the end of games when he would put his body on the line. Spurs fans won't forget what he did for them in winning the Europa League in 2025 either.

With Sunderland, though, Danso looks hopeless. He barely wins possesion for his team and is dribbled past as many times as he wins the ball. On the ball itself, he looked horrible, completing barely 80 percent of his passes and offering no real progression while making a lot of bad errors on the ball.

Kevin Danso looks untenable at the Premier League level right now, and whlie he is not this bad of a player and was actually a great center back at Lens before his Tottenham Hotspur move, Roberto De Zerbi has been proven right again about the player. Danso would have never fit Spurs in this iteration under De Zerbi where the goal is competing at the top of the Premier League, and this is just more evidence that Spurs fans need to trust RDZ when he makes it clear who he does - and does not - want.

Tottenham Hotspur supporters will be leery about signing any players from Eintracht Frankfurt, because, so far, they haven't had good experiences with strikers from the Eagles of Germany. Omar Marmoush is currently the de facto No. 9 at N17 after a big transfer from Manchester City, but he has not come close to making the same impact he made in the Bundesliga during his time in the Premier League. And while has been better than Dominic Solanke all around, he only has one goal to his name - and being better than Solanke says very little.

Of course, the worst example of a Frankfurt striker flopping is another player who was at Spurs last season on loan, Randal Kolo Muani. He was phenomenal in 2022/23 when he burst onto the scene in the Bundesliga but was a nearly 100 million euro transfer flop for PSG. He somewhat revived himself on loan at Juventus, enough to pique Spurs interest in him last season. But Kolo Muani was so woeful that he is perhaps the worst striker to ever don the Tottenham kit, and a subsequent loan to Juve this season has not seen the Frenchman recover his form in the slightest.

Spurs are looking for a new striker to replace Solanke and Richarlison, the latter was struck out from the squad completely by Roberto De Zerbi after their little tiff before the transfer deadline. The options are thin beyond dream target Eli Junior Kroupi, who is probably too good to be true and will have clubs as big as PSG pushing hard to sign him.

Tottenham need to go beyond the obvious

Tottenham are going to have to think of some gems beyond the obvious ,and Eintracht Frankfurt actually have a young German striker worth looking into. Younes Ebnoutalib has come out of nowhere to become the new hero to lead the line in the business capital of Europe, and he has been one of the German top flight's best forwards to start the campaign.

Ebnoutalib has 6 goals in 8 appearances for Eintracht Frankfurt and is averaging a combined 2.5 dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game. He is a good finisher who is fluid and dangerous on the ball, capable of creating shooting opportunities for himself with the ball at his feet or with his movement out of possession.

In all honesty, Tottenham Hotspur should be looking for more established options with the star quality to threaten 20 goals in a Premier League season, as that caliber of player is what Spurs truly need to push for a title. Younes Ebnoutalib, though, is a promising talent at 23 and probably better than Dominic Solanke already. He's worth watching in the coming months as a deep sleeper option if the best targets like Eli Junior Kroupi are out.

Tottenham Hotspur are going to pay out a lot of money to Manchester City for star forward Omar Marmoush when the 2026/27 Premier League season ends, as they are on the hook for 60 million pounds to the resident villains of English football after signing the talented Egyptian international on a loan deal with an obligation to buy.

With no true No. 9 coming in to replace the banished Richarlison and the inept Dominic Solanke and with Cody Gakpo staying put in Liverpool, Marmoush was the only potential goal scorer Spurs signed this past summer transfer window. And while they are dominating the ball, playing great defense, and creating chances, they aren't scoring goals, and that all goes back to the one area they didn't really address in the summer transfer window.

Strikers are hard to find, and even signing the forwards that they did nab from Man City, Marmoush and the more traditional winger Savio, were still coups. Marmoush has not played badly this season, and he did score a nice goal in the 3-1 win over Coventry a couple of weeks ago. And even as a No. 10 behind Solanke in the 2-0 win over Crystal Palace, Marmoush was decent with three key passes and three dribbles completed.

Omar Marmoush is still a grey area for Tottenham

The thing is, words like "not bad" and "decent" are hardly ringing endorsements of a 60 million pound player whom was brought in to be a major goal scoring solution. And in truth, Omar Marmoush has not been that solution in the slightest.

Roberto De Zerbi and Tottenham Hotspur are truly still trying to figure out exactly how Marmoush fits this team and even the Premier League as a whole, which was an issue that Manchester City had from the moment he arrived after an incredible run with Eintracht Frankfurt in which he was an all action player, scoring, creating, dribbling, and doing it all to help his team win.

Tottenham are trying to figure out how to bring that guy out at N17 and get him to score goals and truly affect games. Marmoush is averaging more than two dribbles per game and is looking lively on and off the ball. But aside from that goal against Coventry, he's not scoring, not is he taking up dangerous positions. And Roberto De Zerbi still isn't clear on what his best position is: behind the striker, as THE striker, as a striker of two, or on the left wing.

Just before Tottenham Hotspur went on a group retreat to beautiful Marbella in Spain after a 1-1 draw with Manchester United, star winger Savio suffered a thigh injury just when he was bursting out as Spurs best attacking player and their only reliable, consistent threat.

Ever since the retreat, Tottenham have won three straight games behind some incredible team performances, and the attack has clicked with wingers Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus shining without Savio. Although Savio is still Spurs best statistical attacker in terms of dribbles and chances created, Kudus and Tel have been providing plenty of one on one threat, with Kudus nabbing a corner assist against Crystal Palace and Tel a highlight reel sealing goal to sink Chelsea the week prior at Stamford Bridge.

Savio has been picutred around the squad in a presumed return to training, not long after Roberto De Zerbi told reporters after Tottenham's big win over rivals Crystal Palace that the Brazilian winger would be likely to return after the November international break.

There is no need to risk Savio

Even if Savio has healed well from his latest soft tissue injury after starting the 2026/27 Premier League season with some fitness issues, the choice for Tottenham Hotspur is 100 percent clear ahead of this weekend's game against a tough defensive team in Leeds United.

Savio can't play. De Zerbi has been so good at easing players back from injuries, especially those with previous fitness issues or the sorts of soft tissue injuries that can lead to something more if not managed carefully. He, for example, just held James Maddison out entirely with zero minutes against Crystal Palace after he exited early against Chelsea with a groin issue, and Spurs did not need Madders to destroy the Eagles.

Tottenham love Savio and should still consider him their main starting right winger in that inverted left footed role, but Mohammed Kudus is not far off in terms of quality and has his own case to be starting after a couple of great games, even if his finishing is still poor.

Kudus can easily start with Tel and Omar Marmoush in a three headed attack, and Savio can get an extra two weeks of rest before returning on Nov. 21 against Ipswich Town in the Premier League after the November international break. There is literally no reason to risk Savio, even if he is healthy and training and could play in theory.

Tottenham Hotspur veteran backup defensive midifelder Rodrigo Bentancur is actually eligible to return this weekend in Premier League action when Spurs take on plucky underdogs Leeds United, who are fresh off a 2-0 loss to AFC Bournemouth while the Lilywhites are riding high after another 2-0 victory against a local London rival, this time over struggling Crystal Palace.

While Spurs have won all three straight games since Bentancur's red card suspension for soft headbutt of Manchester United's resident troll Luke Shaw, none of that says anything about Benta, who has actually been fantastic this season when he has played.

A quiet favorite of Roberto De Zerbi's, Bentancur was crucial to Tottenham surviving the Premier League drop last season, and there's a serious case to be made that he was the best outfield player on the team during those final weeks. He was also great for Uruguay at the World Cup despite his country being the biggest flops of the tournament, and he was even better than that to start the season while new signings Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes were both getting fit and adjusted to life at N17.

Rodrigo Bentancur is important for saving Sandro Tonali

Well, Tonali and Fernandes have 100 percent adjusted now. They were two of the standout players on the pitch in both 2-0 wins against rivals Chelsea and Crystal Palace, playing lights out and showing a chemistry beyond their individual selves, with Roberto De Zerbi and Tottenham Hotspur fans now having to think that the combined 185 million pounds on the duo was an actual bargain buy.

Rodrigo Bentancur's return, though, is still a huge deal for Tottenham, because even though he isn't going to be a regular starter over either Tonali or Fernandes, in a grueling Premier League season, he's still going to get minutes. And his quality, intelligence, willingness to scrap defensively, and leadership will be key to spelling Sandro Tonali whenever the Italian international needs rest.

The way Tonali is working and the way he is playing, he is too important not to rest. Tottenham fans saw last season the consequences when a new signing who becomes crucial to the team gets run into the ground, and Spurs would ideally like to avoid the same situation that befell Mohammed Kudus with a season ending injury last season from occurring to Tonali, who is even more crucial to a much better Spurs team in 2026/27.

Bentancur's return will give De Zerbi more peace of mind, Tonali more rest, and Tottenham yet another great midfield option to bully teams into submission.

Conor Gallagher may not have a long term future at Tottenham Hotspur once the revolution is complete under Roberto De Zerbi, but after a very rough start to the season, especially when he was forced to be the main No. 10 option after James Maddison's return was stymied by a dislocated shoulder on Matchday 1, Spurs fans are beginning to see more of the reasons why De Zerbi loves Gallagher so much.

Although Gallagher joined as a Thomas Frank signing in the winter transfer window last season and was a classic case of overpay for a known English player, he ended up being key to Spur surviving Premier League relegation under De Zerbi.

Lately, the British Bulldog in Gallagher has come out, and fans are loving what Gallagher is bringing to the table in more of a rotational role. He is a modern defensive 10, making up for his lack of creativity and technical quality with sheer effort. Gallagher presses teams into mistakes and can playmake up the pitch in that way, which does fit the style of football Roberto De Zerbi wants to play that is more aggressive and suffocating to opponents.

Conor Gallagher is still beneficial to Tottenham

Maybe Conor Gallagher does not last at Tottenham Hotspur beyond the 2026/27 Premier League season, but the grit he has brought and the ability to offer something different to the likes of James Maddison (and later Xavi Simons) in the attacking midfield is worth holding onto as Spurs make a charge towards the top five of the Premier League and a return to the Champions League in 2027/28.

Spurs could get some money out of selling Gallagher this winter, but they already have enough money to sign a forward and other players they can sell or get wages off the books, such as Richarlison. It's unlikely they are going to find someone better than Gallagher, and he isn't currently taking a spot away from someone. If anything, Spurs need the depth, as the current injuries already indicate to the club.

Gallagher has gone from someone Spurs fans actively wanted out of the club and viewed as an albatross with his contract and lack of quality to someone they appreciate in the right role. Losing him in the short term would hurt the team, and while his long term prospects vary in stark contrast to the likes of Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Mateus Fernandes, and Sandro Tonali, he doesn't need to be those guys to help the team in his own way.

Dominic Solanke was the worst player on the pitch for Tottenham Hotspur in their 2-0 win over rivals Crystal Palace, and even though the entire team was amazing and going up against a Palace side that had one less player for the vast majority of the game, the starting striker could not make a dent against one of the worst teams in the Premier League coming into the weekend.

It has been the story of the last several months for Solanke, and it is not reactionary for Spurs fans to say that they want a new striker this winter. They had wanted a new striker in the summer, and that was before Roberto De Zerbi and Richarlison, Spurs leading goal scorer last season, had a bitter falling out.

Solanke has not gotten the job done since his 65 million pound arrival at N17 in 2024 from Bournemouth after a 19 goal season that is increasingly looking like a fluke. Big Dom never came close to that total before than, and he has been even further away from being a competent Premier League goal scorer since arriving at Tottenham.

Dominic Solanke is at the top of the sale list

What really drives the point home to Johan Lange, Vinai Venkatesham, De Zerbi, and all the other key decision makers at Tottenham Hotspur is the fact that Dominic Solanke could look so poor as the starting No. 9 against a bad opponent in a game where literally everyone else was eating.

Besides Solanke, there was not a single bad performer on Tottenham. Omar Marmoush was the worst of the other attackers, and he had three dribbles completed and three key passes. Mathys Tel and Mohammed Kudus were great on the wings, and the midfield pivot of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes was absolutely world class. On the flanks behind the wings, Andy Robertson and Archie Gray were both great, while center backs Micky van de Ven and Jan Paul van Hecke were so monstrous that they were even bigger threats than Solanke to score and create.

Solanke is getting bested by defenders in terms of being decisive in the final third with goals and assists. And he can no longer blame the supporting cast as he could have last season. It is Solanke who is not getting the job done in front of goal, in getting into good positions, or even in helping the 10's and wingers score goals, too. Johan Lange has to have him at the top of the list of players to sell for replacements in the winter.

Jan Paul van Hecke is having himself quite the start to the 2026/27 Premier League season under his father figure Roberto De Zerbi, and he has really emerged as a leader at the back for Tottenham Hotspur, shedding some early season criticism to produce a few monstrous displays in the last weeks. From the beginning, Van Hecke has been, as De Zerbi himself advertised, the absolute best passing center back in the Premier League, and now he has become even better in that regard while stepping up defensively, too.

Van Hecke is fresh off his best game yet, setting a club record with 143 completed passes against 10 man rivals Crystal Palace last weekend, breaking Cristian Romero's record of 141 passes before him. The Dutchman, of course, replaced Romero this past summer transfer window, with a disgruntled Cuti heading to the club he had been flirting with for years, Atletico Madrid, for a lower fee than what Spurs paid to Brighton for JPVH.

Jan Paul van Hecke suits the squad better

But far from regretting the cost differential, Tottenham Hotspur have to be beyond overjoyed with what Van Hecke has brought to the table. He makes fewer mistakes out of possession than Romero, he has much better chemistry with Micky van de Ven who looks far more motivated, he is a better leader and less mopey, and he is statistically blowing Romero out of the water as a passer.

The big claim to fame for Cristian Romero at N17 was that for as many negative plays as he could have, he would make up for them by generating far more positive displays with his quality on the ball and athleticism. Well, Van Hecke is even better, suiting the Roberto De Zerbi system better, and by far leading the league in line breaking passes. He even had three key passes and a goal against Crystal Palace in his last game.

Romero is playing well for Atletico Madrid, but in an easier league, his numbers are still behind Jan Paul van Hecke, whose 2026/27 season is easily blowing Romero's 2025/26 out of the water. And at this rate, Van Hecke will have better numbers than any of Romero's seasons at Tottenham in terms of key passes by more than double, completion percentage, and passes per game by a magnitude of 20 or 30. Romero was a great player who helped Spurs win the Europa League, but Van Hecke looks even better and can help Spurs win so much more as a better character in the squad, too.