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Having only just returned from an absence of more than a month due to injury, Tottenham Hotspur standout left back Destiny Udogie was ruled out of this weekend's 1-0 win over Wolves with yet another new ailment, suffering a muscular injury in the 2-2 draw with Brighton. His time table for a return is uncertain, as Djed Spence drew the start in the Premier League battle.

Udogie's latest injury is one of too many to count this season. It seems every time he is out for at least a month, he can only return for two or three games before another soft tissue, upper thigh injury bounces him out again.

There is no questionining the fact that Tottenham are a significantly better team with the Italian international on the pitch. Udogie is leaps and bounds above Spence in all phases. He is much better as a passer, technician, and progressor to support the attack, and as much as Spence loves his memes, Udogie is a more composed and consistent defender, too.

Destiny Udogie might be on the chopping block

And that's what makes this is all so difficult. Because when healthy, Udogie is honestly one of the best left backs in the Premier League. The problem is that he is almost never healthy and is now increasingly difficult for Spurs to rely on. Injuries matter and often hold Tottenham Hotspur back, and it is becoming to a point where the consequences, potential relegation, are so devastating that Spurs have to rethink the number of injury prone players they are relying on their squad.

So Destiny Udogie, through no fault of his own, is at a career cross roads, and giving up on the former Udinese man would not be a popular decision by any means. But it may a move that Spurs management have to make, especially when it comes to making tough cuts in a summer transfer window that will be a difficult one for the Lilywhites, even if they survive rivals West Ham United in this tense Premier League relegation fight.

Tottenham made one smart winter transfer move this year, bringing in highly promising prospect Souza, who has performed very well on the few occasions he has been called on. Souza could be a future star at left back, and he isn't going to be kept on a leash for very long, especially if Spurs bounce down to the Championship. And that will only make Udogie more expendable in the summer transfer market.

Immediately upon being available after returning from a torn hamstring, Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi inserted Rodrigo Bentancur back into the starting lineup, and while that unfortunately had to come at the expense of the highly talented and promising Archie Gray in that deep lying role, Bentancur has done nothing to suggest that he should be removed from this role.

Bentancur was quietly excellent in a 2-2 draw with De Zerbi's former employers Brighton, who are a quality side, and he followed that up with another good performance in Spurs 1-0 victory over Wolves this weekend.

The Uruguayan international had five combined tackles and interceptions with three clearances in a mega defensive performance while also completing nearly 89 percent of his passes as the second leading passer on the team in terms of attempts behind only big Austrian center back Kevin Danso.

Tottenham are going with a different formula

Stylistically, Rodrigo Bentancur is a lot different from the two other midfielders he is playing with. Whereas Yves Bissouma and Conor Gallagher are more box to box players who like to run around the pitch making tackles and progressing the ball with it at their feet, Bentancur is more passive, focusing more on reading the game and passing the ball, maintaining possession.

Obviously, in a Premier League relegation fight, new Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi is opting for stability, consistency in terms of his lineup selection, and more of a veteran flavor with regards to the players he is starting in the Spurs XI. Hence why Bentancur has now become such a fixture in the lineup.

But while Bentancur, Gallagher, and Bissouma are all veteran players, they are not exact replicas of each other. Tottenham have opted to go with Bentancur at the base as more of an orchestrator who still defends a lot in this deep area, but they want Bissouma and Gallagher, who are more robust players, alongside him.

Bentancur is in over Joao Palhinha to offer more of that soft, passing touch, and so far, the formula is working. Tottenham are not inserting Archie Gray back into the starting lineup despite his passing superiority and his quality over Bissouma, nor are they playing Xavi Simons as a 10, because in a relegation fight, De Zerbi wants that bit of nastiness from Yves Bissouma and Conor Gallagher as a contrast to the way Bentancur plays.

The overall result is more ball winning and defensive work rate and more of a focus on being solid and stable in midfield defensively while still having the roam for the veterans to be aggressive and snap into tackles with Bentancur covering.

Tottenham's first Premier League victory of 2026 ultimately kept their survival hopes in tact, but Saturday's slender triumph at Molineux wasn't without caveats.

Of course, no ground was gained on our nearest rivals after Nottingham Forest thrashed Sunderland on Friday night and Callum Wilson struck late on in east London. For a few minutes, the Lilywhites had escaped the bottom three, but João Palhinha's back-post poaching wasn't enough to see Roberto De Zerbi's side end the day in a rosier position than how they entered it.

The psychological impact of merely claiming a domestic victory can't be understated, especially after we came so close against Brighton & Hove Albion last week.

Still, there is plenty of work to do, with another uptick needed at Villa Park next Sunday. Moreover, there are fears that Spurs could be without one of their brightest sparks.

Spurs sweating over extent of Xavi's knee injury

An innocuous sequence down Wolves' left-hand side culminated in Xavi Simons writhing in pain just off the pitch. Clutching his knee, the signs were ominous from the outset. A stretcher was called, and the stricken Dutchman made use of it.

After starring against the Seagulls, Xavi was less decisive in the West Midlands and perhaps guilty of holding onto the ball too long in a first half that started promisingly but fizzled out.

He's been underused or misprofiled during his debut season, but has offered glimpses of his potential. His strike last week could've been the moment that catapulted us to safety, but Georginio Rutter's 95th-minute equaliser meant the post-match discussion centred around his vociferous celebration, rather than the quality of his goal.

His absence for the final third of Saturday's game was felt, with Spurs seemingly slogging their way to a point that would've done very little. However, we were able to coax something from a couple of set-pieces, with Palhinha's poke enough to escape with a critical victory.

Now, though, there's a nervous wait as we learn the extent of Xavi's knee injury.

“We go to see in the next days, Monday or Tuesday," De Zerbi post-match (via The Athletic). "I would like to know the situation with Xavi because the knee is always different than the muscular injury.

“He felt pain. I spoke to him two, three minutes ago. He feels better than the beginning of the injury," he added.

Assuming it's some form of ligament issue, Spurs will be pleading that he's only suffered a sprain, which likely won't end his season. Anything more significant... well, our survival hopes dwindle and Xavi's worrying about his World Cup prospects.

Tottenham Hotspur managed to finally get a win over the line on Saturday afternoon, scraping past the worst team in the Premier League, Wolves, to snap a winless streak since 2025 and give themselves a glimmer of hope in this relegation fight.

Although this 1-0 win was a positive, it is far from a guarantee of safety for Spurs, who remain in the relegation places after West Ham's crucial victory over Everton. And though Spurs did notch a clean sheet, star center back Micky van de Ven can't use this to give himself a pat on his back.

With Cristian Romero injured for the rest of the season and James Maddison still working his way back from injury, Van de Ven is now the de facto leader of this team. And it is a role he has struggled with previously every time the other key leaders in this squad have gone down.

Micky van de Ven needs to be a leader

While Rodrigo Bentancur's return does help ease some of the pressure off the Dutchman, Van de Ven isn't some young prospect anymore, and he is expected to be the main leader of the defense. He has never been that in his career, and with Tottenham Hotspur teetering on the brink of relegation, that fatal flaw has been picked apart so much more.

Even against lowly Wolves, Micky van de Ven was not one of the true standout performers of the match. He was more decent than great against the worst team in the Premier League. He can win possession and run, but he just doesn't read the game, stay proactive, or put his body on the line. Kevin Danso was a bigger standout than him, and even on the ball, Van de Ven doesn't offer that same extra bit of quality to build the play up that Cristian Romero did.

Beating Wolves is nice, but Tottenham are going to need more from Van de Ven after this one, especially since more will be asked of him by the likes of Aston Villa and a more formidable relegation foe - one that is likely now very safe - in Leeds United.

Van de Ven has been one of the flops of the season in the Premier League, and though he may be linked to Real Madrid and Barcelona, he has yet to show the big character of a player destined for Europe's elite. This is a big, big opportunity for Van de Ven to prove the narrative wrong and do just that, because failure to be that leader and elite CB will likely be one of the things that sends Spurs tumbling to their doom in the EFL Championship.

Tottenham Hotspur were able to defeat the worst team in the Premier League, Wolves, on Saturday to finally break up a streak of 15 winless games in a row. But it was only a 1-0 victory courtesy of a late winner from defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha, of all people, so it really doesn't undo the narrative that this Spurs attack cannot get the ball over the line.

Dominic Solanke is saved a scathing review on this day due to an injury that took him out of the game in the 39th minute, but not long after at the half, Roberto De Zerbi finally hooked off another one of his early favorites, Randal Kolo Muani.

For some reason, the PSG loanee has been afforded a lot of grace by all three of Tottenham's managers this season even though he has been objectionably awful over the past few months. Spurs were even contemplating terminating his loan, upon his own request, this winter transfer window, but they ultimately balked at the decision due to valid concerns about the team's overall depth.

Randal Kolo Muani continues to be poor

Well, Mathys Tel came into the game for his compatriot, and it is no coincidence that his effort to win a corner out of nothing led to the goal. And it was the sort of play that Kolo Muani, who has honestly been mailing in his performances for months despite whatever kind words of excuses Roberto De Zerbi wants to breathlessly waste on him, would never make for Tottenham.

Randal Kolo Muani earning starts over Tel is beyond inexplicable at this point, and Spurs supporters cannot fathom how the veteran striker continues to earn starts. But this latest 45 minute one, mercifully cut short on the road to a tense victory, could very well be his last, and De Zerbi is also a self admitted fan of Tel's.

Like many confident coaches, De Zerbi may think that he can be the one to bring the best out of Kolo Muani, who was a great player once upon a time in the Bundesliga for Tottenham's European punching bags Eintracht Frankfurt, but at some point, he has to swallow his pride and admit that this guy is nowhere near the best option for Spurs.

After another dismal display against lowly Wolves, Kolo Muani may have finally played his way out of a spot in the lineup that he quite honestly already played himself out of this winter. That hat trick against parent club PSG seems an eternity ago.

Clearly, Tottenham Hotspur are up against it in this Premier League relegation fight, and sitting in 18th placed, you honestly wouldn't back them to beat any team in the league at this point, including this weekend's opponents Wolves, who have become the first team to guarantee their demotion to the EFL Championship next season.

Spurs did, however, show signs of life against Brighton last weekend with a 2-2 draw, and while the 15 game winless streak in the Premier League means that very, very few analysts are backing Spurs to survive the drop even with Roberto De Zerbi captaining the ship, surprisingly the most pessimistic of the curmudgeon's of the punditry crew is backing the Lilywhites.

As captured by The Spurs Express, former Manchester United captain Roy Keane is fully on board and of the opinion that Tottenham Hotspur will manage to survive a tumultuous fall to the Championship. In fact, he is pretty much guaranteeing it:

Roy Keane is 100 percent certain

"Tottenham will 100% stay in the Premier League. Get all your money on it, just put all your money on Spurs staying up."

Most people, whether fans or former players, affiliated with the other Premier League Big Six clubs are almost rooting openly for Tottenham's downfall, so it is a pleasantly refreshing surprise to see one of them backing Spurs - and no less, Keane, who usually has only words of ill wishes and negativity to spread.

Not that Roy Keane predicting Spurs to survive the drop with 100 percent certainty actually means anything on the pitch, because Tottenham do have to get the job done, which, you know, they have not since late December when they barely eeked 1-0 past Crystal Palace.

But Tottenham fans have to get their hope from somewhere, and while they do have hope after Xavi Simons's big day in his first start under Roberto De Zerbi against the latter's former employers Brighton, they can't turn down even this little gem from Keane.

Even though Wolves are the worst team in the league and already going down with nothing but pride and the opportunity to play spoiler to actually compete for, Tottenham know they cannot take this or any game lightly at this point. They have not proven they are worthy of Keane's unbridled optimism, so, this weekend, they must prove that they can beat literally anyone, in the most dismal viewing of that phrase, by beating Wolves.

Tottenham Hotspur's survival hopes likely rest on whether they can claim their first Premier League win of 2026 against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon, but they could be without starting left back Destiny Udogie for the game.

Roberto De Zerbi believes his Spurs team that has forgotten how to win, and triumph in each of their remaining fixtures to stay in the Premier League. Admittedly, there were encouraging signs last week against Brighton & Hove Albion, but we'd all be thrilled if we merely go one-for-one on Saturday.

One game at a time, eh?

Wolves have been terrible for much of 2025/26, although Rob Edwards' impact ensured they won't be remembered as the worst team in Premier League history. Still, they've lost back-to-back games heavily against West Ham United and Leeds United, with their inevitable relegation confirmed on Monday night.

This is a huge opportunity for the Lilywhites, but the injury bug has seemingly struck again at just the wrong time.

Udogie doubtful for must-win Wolves clash

Udogie is at risk of adding to the 44 games he's missed since joining the club three years ago through injury.

Rumours emerged on social media earlier in the week regarding a fresh fitness setback, and those reports were substantiated by the likes of Tom Barclay, who regards Udogie as an "injury doubt" this weekend.

The exact nature of this setback is unclear, but the left back has previously dealt with significant knee and hamstring issues.

His absence would be a big blow for De Zerbi, given the absence of suitable alternatives. The right-footed Djed Spence hinders possession dynamics when he's playing on his 'wrong' side, although he should look less awkward under De Zerbi, while João Souza is unlikely to be chucked into the deep end, having joined the club in January.

Udogie's absence was a contributing factor to Thomas Frank's demise, with his unreliability on the injury front becoming a serious issue. Is it time to consider a sale in the summer, no matter how our season ends?

The talented Italian is likely to jump ship in the event of our relegation, but would trying to cash in on Udogie be the wise move if we survive? There was once a time, at the start of Ange Postecoglou's reign, when it looked like Fabio Paratici had just signed a potential superstar. However, that powerful, marauding left-back has seldom manifested in north London over the past couple of years.

Any surges in form have proven to be fleeting. No more than false dawns. The next setback is seemingly never too far away.

Everyone around Tottenham Hotspur knows that changes are needed this summer transfer window, regardless of whether or not Spurs stay up in the Premier League or not. Because even if they are able to avoid the drop under Roberto De Zerbi, a 17th placed (or even a 16th placed one) finish for a second straight season is an outright disaster, though Spurs were so shrouded by the Europa League title win that they failed to really respond to what was already a disaster in the 2024/25 season.

Spurs do need to change their squad up, obviously enough, but there is so much rot in this club that seeps all the way to the foundations. Getting rid of ENIC and the Lewis Family entirely is impossible, but Spurs can at least change the make up of the board room.

Following Fabio Paratici's mid season departure to Fiorentina, where he is outplaying Spurs already, the Lilywhites have a vacancy for a true sporting director. Their search is leading them to one name now, and it is a name that many Spurs fans will bristle at, especially if they are familiar with other European leagues.

Sebastian Kehl is a bigger possibility

According to a report from Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sports Germany, former Borussia Dortmund sporting director and star midfielder Sebastian Kehl is now the "leading candidate" to become the next sporting director of Tottenham Hotspur. Spurs evidently want to hire Kehl not to replace Johan Lange, their current leading man, but to work alongside him to rebuild this team. However, a decision is not "imminent", and Plettenberg adds that there is a chance Kehl wants to take more time off after recently being fired by Dortmund. Plettenberg cites Kehl's status as a former players, scouting contacts, and management skills as key reasons why Spurs want him aboard.

Dortmund fans were very, very happy to see the back side of Kehl this season, as he was fired and replaced by Ole Book about a month ago. Kehl is an icon of Dortmund on the pitch, but as a sporting director, he took the club a step backwards. Despite Spurs liking his contacts, Kehl was unable to sign any of the top young players that MIchael Zorc did, and he clearly did not have the same scouting eye as his fellow former BVB legend.

Tottenham can say that Johan Lange, for all his flaws, is great at identifying prospects. Kehl is not. So Tottenham need a partner for Lange, if they insist on keeping him, who is better at negotiating and signing established players. Kehl was awful at that, and he really seems like one of the worst possible appointments to work alongside Lange when you match their weaknesses up.

New Tottenham Hotspur manager Roberto De Zerbi is doing his darndest to make sure this isn't their destiny, but Spurs are in the bottom three of the Premier League right now and in serious danger of going down to the EFL Championship.

So as fans think about the future, what has to be in the back of their minds is the number of quality footballers who could leave this summer. Spurs may not be too burned up about underperformers like Micky van de Ven cashing in their chips to bigger clubs, and there are a few players Spurs have been looking to offload for a year now, such as forward Richarlison and center midfielder Yves Bissouma.

But the players Tottenham really, really don't want to lose this summer are the young stars of the future like center midfielders Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, who are earning major interest from elite clubs abroad like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, as well as top clubs in England like London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal.

Lucas Bergvall is showing his flaws

There is this idea that these players are too good to go down to the Championship, and people may invoke that claim about Bergvall. But the young Swedish international cannot buy into his own hype or fall victi to the transfer rumblings that will surely try to inflate his value both to excite interested fan bases and potentially drive up the price for Tottenham (and Bergvall's reps).

But as we have seen this season and since his return from his latest injury - and injury proneness is an issue in and of itself, too - Lucas Bergvall is far from the finished product. He was so, so good for Tottenham Hotspur in the 2024/25 season when they won the Europa League title, but, well, they also won the title without him actually on the pitch due to injury.

And recently, Bergvall's performances have been lackluster. Roberto De Zerbi actually benched him against Brighton last weekend, and surprisingly Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, and even Conor Gallagher were all better than the Swedish sensation.

Now, that doesn't mean Bergvall is flopping by any means, but it is a reminder that he still has work to do before he can be a top Premier League midfielder. This idea that Bergvall is already too good for the Championship is a myth. One, the Championship isn't THAT bad, and, two, the reps against weaker sides could help Bergvall get more confidence and play within himself to translate that to the bigger teams in the Premier League in 2027/28.

Crystal Palace didn't do many favors for London rivals Tottenham Hotspur by drawing a rivalry matchup against West Ham United, the main team Spurs are hoping to upend in a Premier League relegation fight that increasingly disfavors the Lilywhites, who are stuck in the bottom three.

But Palace's defense did more than enough to try and give the Eagles the full three points, shutting down a West Ham attack that had run roughshod over now confirmed EFL Championship goers Wolves in the previous weekend.

The center back pairing of Chris Richards and Maxence Lacroix has been impeccable in that Oliver Glasner back three, stepping up plenty after the massive loss of one of England's best players, Marc Guehi, to sudden title favorites Manchester City.

Crystal Palace have outplayed Tottenham defensively

Richards and Lacroix have been no nonsense all season long, making tackles and rarely getting beat one on one while cleaning up danger and covering so much ground at the back of this Crystal Palace defense.

On Monday night against the Hammers, the duo combined for a whopping 16 clearances and did not even have to make a tackle between them, such was the dominance of their marking. They completely shut West Ham out of the game.

Watching how Crystal Palace blanketed West Ham defensively really drives home just how inadequate the Tottenham Hotspur center backs have been lately in this Premier League relegation battle.

Instead of stepping it up with discipline and great marking, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven have been all over the place with horrible fouls, no discipline, and a desire to win tackles instead of actually defend. They play like two guys with big heads who want headlines and big transfers rather than helping Tottenham win, and that's going to back fire for them in the long run.

Now, Romero is down for the count with an injury, but Van de Ven still has a chance to step up in this relegation fight before the season closes. And when you watch him this season and compare that to Lacroix and Richards, it is wild to think that he is the one being linked to Real Madrid and Barcelona when his defensive numbers and overall quality of play have been nowhere near.

Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero came into th 2025/26 Premier League season with a lot of hype from Tottenham fans, and they were great in the Europa League last season. But in the Premier League, Romero was not as elite as Spurs fans wanted to portray him as, while Van de Ven was legitimately below average. The real mid table sides this year like Palace are showing Spurs levels all of a sudden, and it's because of differences like this in consistency and in actually knowing how to play the game that exposes the Spurs players.