The New York Times

Son Heung-min’s final game for Tottenham Hotspur exposed how elite sport can be simultaneously beautiful and brutal.

There were around 60,000 fans inside the Seoul World Cup Stadium for Spurs’ friendly against Newcastle United on August 3. They cheered every time Son touched the ball and booed when a goal he ‘scored’ was disallowed for offside. The South Korea forward was given a guard of honour by both teams when he was substituted in the second half and received a standing ovation from the crowd.

A few moments later, the mood turned sombre. Shortly after coming off the bench, James Maddison went down in pain following a collision with Newcastle winger Anthony Elanga. Maddison suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in his right knee and had to be stretchered off the pitch. He was consoled in the dressing room by Rodrigo Bentancur, who suffered the same injury in February 2023.

After the game, Son cried in the tunnel as he said goodbye to Tottenham’s squad. Journalists captured his tears and the flash from their cameras illuminated a hooded figure walking behind him on crutches. It turned out to be Maddison’s last appearance until his emotional comeback in Monday’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United.

“It goes back to the Europa League semi-final when I got injured here because I did a partial ACL tear (in the same knee) against Bodo/Glimt,” Maddison, 29, told a group of reporters, including The Athletic, after his cameo against Leeds. “I was told by the (external) specialist it wouldn’t need surgery and rehab. Then obviously it wasn’t strong, it didn’t recover properly and I needed the full surgery, which is what happened in South Korea. So in my head, it’s been longer.

“But that being said, the reception I got today was an amazing moment that will live with me forever. There have been some dark days in the last year, especially since the surgery. It has been a really tough year mentally but I’m at the end of the tunnel, so I can kind of look back on that with fondness because I’m as mentally strong as I can be after going through that.”

There were 375 days between the first leg of last season’s Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt and the draw with Leeds. It has been a long road to recovery for Maddison, filled with ups and downs.

Maddison missed the Europa League final in Bilbao last May, but he was still at the centre of Spurs’ celebrations.

At full time, he ran onto the pitch in a suit and embraced Son. He sang Sweet Caroline by Neil Diamond and performed a duet with comedian Michael McIntyre at the after-party.

Maddison worked on his fitness throughout the summer and did not feature in any pre-season games until Spurs flew to Hong Kong and South Korea. He mainly focused on individual drills with strength-and-conditioning coaches, while head coach Thomas Frank, who replaced Ange Postecoglou in June, worked with the core squad.

The playmaker ran up and down the touchline with a resistance band wrapped around him during the north London derby against Arsenal in Hong Kong and then replaced Pape Matar Sarr for the final few minutes. Maddison came on midway through the second half against Newcastle but lasted 10 minutes before dropping to the floor in pain.

When he returned from tour, he visited the Fortius Clinic in central London. Andy Williams, the founder of Fortius, is a knee specialist who, according to Bupa, performs around 100 ACL reconstructions each year, and the majority of his patients are professional athletes. Williams’ office contains signed shirts from other sports stars he has operated on, including Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk, Aston Villa’s Tammy Abraham and England’s European Championship winner Lucy Bronze. Williams also helped Spurs full-back Destiny Udogie recover from a knee problem last summer.

Maddison set up a YouTube channel to document his recovery and in one of the videos, he discusses the injury with Williams.

“You did nothing wrong,” Williams said. “If I saw your scans originally, I would have treated you the same way. I have these scenarios every month or two and usually you get away with it but not always.”

Maddison underwent surgery on August 12 and went home the following day, where he watched his team-mates lose the European Super Cup against Paris Saint-Germain in a penalty shootout. He visited the training ground a couple of days later, just before Spurs’ first Premier League game of the season against Burnley, to discuss his recovery process with medical lead Nick Stubbings and doctor Tamim Khanbhai.

The expectation was that Maddison was unlikely to feature at all during the 2025-26 campaign and they did not set any firm targets for a return. Maddison’s approach was the opposite of Dejan Kulusevski after he underwent surgery on his patella (kneecap) last May. In September, Frank said Kulusevski was “hopefully not too far away,” and there was “a good chance” he could return before the end of 2025. Kulusevski has not played a single competitive minute this season and on Tuesday was left out of Sweden’s World Cup squad.

Recovery for Maddison was initially all about rest. Rebuilding strength in his leg muscles required regular gym exercises with lead rehab physio Richard Clark, including walking on an anti-gravity treadmill, deadlifts, box jumps, split squats with weights, balancing drills and running on a small trampoline.

“It’s actually quite simple rehab, it’s just a real grind. It’s long and it’s hard,” Maddison said after Leeds. “I just had to do the work. There are no corners cut.

“There was never any doubt about getting back. Some tough days mentally to do the work when the light at the end of the tunnel is just not in sight but we are there now. I’m really grateful for the physios who worked with me.”

In October, Frank named Maddison in his leadership group because of his ability to connect with people. Maddison has strong relationships with his team-mates, including Djed Spence and Archie Gray. He bonded with Radu Dragusin, who injured an ACL in January 2025 and was further ahead in his recovery. Maddison is now providing the same support to Wilson Odobert, who ruptured an ACL in February.

He whiled away the hours by playing online football trivia game Contextinho with January signing Souza and reconditioning coach Matthew Bickley. When Maddison was allowed outside with a ball, he regularly trained with academy players, including Callum Olusesi, Luca Williams-Barnett and James Rowswell before joining the senior squad. One source close to the dressing room, who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships, described him as a “good guy who likes to have fun”.

Maddison’s ability to impact the team without playing was recognised by Frank’s successor, Roberto De Zerbi. The new head coach named him in the matchday squad on multiple occasions over the last few weeks, despite admitting he was unlikely to feature, because he “is a positive guy inside my dressing room”.

YouTube was not the only distraction from the gruelling recovery process. Maddison appeared at the Leaders Conference in October to discuss how he uses social media. At the end of the month, he welcomed newborn twins Jensen and Frankie with his partner, Kennedy. A few weeks later, he was on the touchline to support Dragusin as he made his comeback in a behind-closed-doors match at Tottenham’s training ground.

In December, Maddison appeared on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show to provide analysis of Manchester United’s 4-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers and starred in the broadcaster’s advert for the 2026 Darts World Championship. There was a family holiday to Dubai and a trip to Cheltenham Festival. In February, he invited Harley, a young fan who suffers with a rare genetic condition, to a Spurs game and presented him with a signed shirt at half-time.

He visited a biomechanics centre in Manchester where sensors were stuck all over his body to assess the strength of his knee. During the March international break, England trained at Spurs’ training ground and Maddison was briefly reunited with Jude Bellingham and Declan Rice.

There were lots of difficult moments, though. The average recovery timeline for an ACL rupture is eight and a half months, drastically reducing Maddison’s chances of playing for England at the upcoming World Cup. Maddison was in Gareth Southgate’s squad at the last tournament in Qatar but did not get on the pitch. He was overlooked for the European Championship in 2024 and has not been called up by Southgate’s successor, Thomas Tuchel. Maddison knew even if he returned before the end of the season, forcing his way into Tuchel’s plans was unlikely, given the fierce competition in attacking midfield.

Spurs started brightly under Frank but limp defeats to Chelsea, Arsenal and Fulham in November eroded his authority. They crashed out of the FA Cup and Carabao Cup in the third round and fourth round. Frank was sacked in February after a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle.

Igor Tudor replaced Frank but only lasted seven games. De Zerbi’s arrival has changed Spurs’ fortunes but they remain only two points above the relegation zone with two games remaining. Spurs have taken 13 points from 18 games in 2026, the second-worst record in the division behind Burnley (nine). Maddison registered nine goals and seven assists during the 2024-25 season and Spurs have sorely missed his creativity.

“You watch through a lens of, ‘What would I be doing? What could I do differently?,’ Maddison said this week. “It’s been a tough season for Tottenham, a season to forget. Not being able to affect it and help the club has been difficult.”

There have been a few highs. Away victories against Manchester City, Leeds, Everton and Aston Villa are proving valuable. They finished fourth in the Champions League’s league phase. Missing out on those moments and the camaraderie of being with his team-mates has not been easy. Maddison praised his family, the players and the club’s staff for helping him navigate “the dark days”.

“Sometimes you just have to deal with (it) yourself,” he said. “Some of the worst days are when we have had highs — when the team are away winning (in) the Champions League and you’re just not a part of it. That is tough as well.”

At the end of March, Tudor publicly hinted Maddison could feature before the end of the season but there was still some caution. The day before Maddison was included in the squad for April’s draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, De Zerbi insisted, “I don’t know,” when asked about the midfielder’s potential return. The head coach added, “I don’t want push too much because we lost Mohammed Kudus in this way.” Maddison did not warm up against Brighton but his presence gave his team-mates and the crowd a lift.

Ripples of cheers broke out on Monday when different sections of the crowd realised Maddison started warming up on the touchline. They turned into a roar when he replaced Mathys Tel in the 85th minute. Leeds’ head coach Daniel Farke worked with Maddison at Norwich City and shook the midfielder’s hand before he came onto the pitch.

Maddison received a standing ovation and had an immediate impact. He arguably should have earned a penalty following a challenge from Lukas Nmecha in stoppage time. At the end of the game, Maddison applauded the South Stand and was embraced by his team-mates.

“Once the first minute had gone by, it was like, ‘Now I’m on the pitch we need to get a winner here’,” Maddison said. “The nice moment had gone. It was almost straight to business. I would rather (we) be safe, come on and enjoy and build up slowly, but that’s not the situation we are in. When you are on the pitch, you forget about anything else, the adrenaline kicks in. When you get your first touch, it’s just another game and I felt really good.”

Joao Palhinha described Maddison’s return as “amazing”.

“We really missed him,” Palhinha added. “Not just on the pitch but also in the dressing room. He is a top player. He also knows that he is a special player for everyone.”

It has been a miserable season for Spurs and Maddison but a crucial contribution against Chelsea or Everton to help avoid relegation would be a nice conclusion. If Spurs avoid the drop, then Maddison, who has two years left on his contract, should be key to De Zerbi’s long-term plans.

Additional reporting: Jack Pitt-Brooke, Elias Burke

“Minimum interference, maximum benefit” was the promise when VAR was first introduced. Those were the words used by David Elleray, the technical director of the International Football Association Board (IFAB), in a presentation to journalists at Wembley Stadium in March 2017 to justify the profound change the game was about to undergo.

“We do not want to destroy the essential flow and emotions of football,” Elleray argued. “We do not want to be NFL. We just want to get rid of headline mistakes and scandals.”

The logic was clear enough. Examples such as Diego Maradona’s handball against England or Thierry Henry’s against the Republic of Ireland were held up as proof. Under this new system, those headline mistakes could be surgically removed from the game, keeping everything else intact.

The laser precision of technology was all that was required.

More than nine years on, those comments sound like a cruel joke. This week alone, at the decisive moment of the season when everything is on the line, it has never been clearer that we are all watching, playing and participating in a game that belongs to VAR. “Headline mistakes and scandals” have not been removed from the game but have in fact been piling up like never before.

Mistakes and scandals that are not just one-off errors, misses, lapses of judgment, but rather an inevitable part of the VAR system.

Take the 99th-minute penalty decision on Wednesday night at Fir Park. Celtic were drawing 2-2 at Motherwell, a result that would give Hearts a rock-solid lead in the Scottish title race going into Saturday’s final fixture. Motherwell’s Sam Nicholson jumped to head the ball and it flew away out of play as can only be the case after a firm defensive header.

But VAR Andrew Dallas called referee John Beaton to the monitor to judge for a handball. Even though the trajectory of the ball pointed to a clean header, the penalty was given, Kelechi Iheanacho scored, Celtic won. The balance going into this weekend’s title decider is changed.

Hearts head coach Derek McInnes called it “disgusting” afterwards, and it is hard not to feel sympathy with his position because this was a decision that would never have been made in the pre-VAR era. Our shared understanding of the game would tell us that this was a firm, clear header, with no second thought required.

It is only under the harsh glare of slow-motion replays, exhaustively examining every frame, that it can even begin to look like an offence.

But this gets to the heart of the mistake upon which VAR is built. The theory was always that the technology would support the laws of the game, would enforce them and reveal to the world the moments where the laws had been broken. Nothing could be further from the truth. Because the laws have not been buttressed by VAR. Rather, they have been blown apart.

The laws of the game date back to December 1863. They are as old as Edvard Munch and Archduke Franz Ferdinand. And they were written to be judged by human eyes in real time.

Offside calls were never meant to be done by the millimetre, which is why the concept of ‘level’ existed for so long. Handball always rested on a shared informal understanding, one that is difficult to codify. And yet VAR has effectively dragged the handball law towards strict liability. On the matter of serious foul play, traditionally the most subjective of all the major refereeing decisions, VAR has never been able to provide clear, uncontested answers.

Every time there is an argument about VAR, people rush to tell you that the issue is not so much the technology but rather “the people using it”. And that, with root-and-branch reform of PGMOL, we might finally get to the sunlit uplands of minimum interference, maximum benefit. That has always been a laughable position, and was proven again to be so on Wednesday night.

The issue is, and has always been, the technology itself. As soon as you introduce omniscient slow-mo, you are transforming what refereeing is. And as soon as you demand that the officials judge every little collision, every little event on the pitch under slow-mo, the rules can clearly no longer cope.

No wonder, then, that referees can look so reluctant to make decisions now that they know they have an all-seeing eye behind them. They have effectively been given a tool which it is never in their interest not to use.

Take Tottenham’s game against Leeds United on Monday night. When Mathys Tel accidentally kicked Ethan Ampadu in the head, it was not given on the pitch by Jarred Gillett, but afterwards by VAR. And then, deep into added time, when James Maddison was tripped by Lukas Nmecha, that was not given on the pitch either.

Both calls were effectively left to the VAR, who advised Gillett to re-examine the first penalty but not the second. And that decision not to award Spurs a penalty has indeed become the headline of the following days, showing that even the VAR system is no guarantee of accuracy in the biggest moments.

Of course, it barely needs to be said again that “the essential flow and emotions of football”, something IFAB wanted to safeguard, have been ripped to pieces by VAR. That is proven by every major game.

Goals are not fully celebrated any more, robbing paying fans of the whole point of attending games in the first place. Even the row about West Ham’s disallowed Callum Wilson equaliser last Saturday against Arsenal was proof of this, as one of the biggest Premier League moments of the modern era ended in a lengthy VAR stoppage, with long discussion after the fact about whether laws on grappling were being applied in a uniform way or not.

A terrible week for VAR then, but perhaps no worse than any normal week. The only thing that has changed right now is the stakes. And with so much riding on every game, the inaccuracies, the inconsistencies, the joy-sapping delays are just shown up even more.

There is one clean, clear, simple solution for this, and that is full abolition without delay. Just do not expect anyone to listen.

Tottenham Hotspur’s perilous league position with just two Premier League games remaining means that minds are focused firmly on what’s happening on the pitch. Right now, the only question that matters is whether Roberto De Zerbi can maintain the improvement of the last few weeks and guide Spurs to safety.

But there is another set of questions facing the club, even ones that are not as immediate as the question of which division they will be playing in next season. And those questions concern the ownership of the club, and particularly the majority-shareholding Lewis family.

Daniel Levy’s sudden dismissal last September put the Lewis family in the spotlight like never before. Without Levy there to run the club and act as the lightning rod for criticism, more questions have been asked of the Lewis family regarding their long-term plans.

Throughout, the Lewis family have been very clear that they do not want to sell up. The last widely-reported enquiry into the acquisition of the club came from a consortium led by Brooklyn Earick last September, which led to a source close to the Lewis family dismissing it as “unsolicited and unnecessary interest”.

But whatever happens over the last two games of this season, the question of the Lewis family’s long-term intentions for Tottenham Hotspur won’t go away for long. Especially with fans aghast at the struggles of the club this season, facing the fear of their first relegation for 50 years. The Lewis family’s position, that the club is not for sale, is steadfast, regardless of which division Spurs are playing in next season.

There is another potential factor regarding the ownership of the club worth considering. And that is ENIC granting themselves ‘warrants’ to acquire extra shares, at the cost of diluting the club’s 30,000 minority shareholders.

First issued in June 2022 when ENIC injected £100million (then $124.7m) into Spurs, the warrants grant ENIC the option to buy up further shares in the club at no extra cost. The warrants previously equated to five per cent of club shares as at the June 2022 issue date, but ‘step up’ by 1.5 per cent annually between March 2025 and June 2032. At that point, assuming all of those annual step-ups take place, the warrants will comprise 15.5 per cent of Spurs’ June 2022 capital base.

So why does this matter? The accounts state that these warrants are only converted “on a change of control”. Put simply, if ENIC were to sell, these warrants would be cashed out, effectively granting them a sweetener or a bonus on top of the money they would get for their majority shareholding.

But given that these warrants have only been awarded to ENIC, they effectively come at the cost of the minority shareholders. The creation of the warrants has a dilutive effect on the entire shareholding, as it creates what is in effect a separate pot of shares. But that pot will belong — at a change of control — entirely to ENIC.

The minority shareholders — of which there are roughly 30,000 — currently own 12.38 per cent of the shareholding of Tottenham Hotspur Limited, i.e. the part that is not owned by ENIC. Many of those shareholders — some estimate as many as half — only own one share each. Their prime motivation is not financial, not expecting a return on their investment or dividends, but rather romantic: they want to own a small part of the club that they support.

Existing minority shareholders do have the option to sell their shares on Asset Match, an online trading platform. Asset Match runs auctions in Spurs shares every two months.

That minority shareholding could be very valuable.

If we take Forbes’ 2024 enterprise valuation of Tottenham Hotspur of £2.6billion and deduct £793m in net debt, the club’s equity was valued at £1.8bn. A 12.38 per cent share of that — the sum proportion of today’s minority shareholdings — was deemed to be worth £225m. If the enterprise value of the club were higher at, say, £3bn, the minority shareholders’ proportion of the equity element would be worth £273m.

But the issue is that those minority shareholders are currently in a weak position. They have no protections (such as anti-dilution rights), no board rights, and no rights to dividends. Nor have they ever been offered the chance to participate in any of the capital injections through which ENIC has invested money in recent years.

In recent years, even before the warrants kicked in, the minority shareholders have seen themselves steadily diluted by ENIC.

In May 2022, at the end of the season when Antonio Conte guided Spurs into fourth, ENIC injected that £100m. By creating new shares, ENIC increased their shareholding from 85.55 per cent to 86.58 per cent. Then, in December 2024, ENIC bought another £35m of shares, increasing their stake to 86.91 per cent. In October 2025, a few weeks after Levy’s dismissal, another £100m injection came in, upping ENIC’s stake to 87.62 per cent. The 12.38 per cent currently held by minority shareholders is already down by 2.07 per cent since early 2022.

There is nothing unusual about a majority shareholder increasing their stake in this way. They are the ones who put the money in, after all. But the minorities were never given the option to participate in any of this. They have already seen their holding reduced by the three ENIC injections in the last four years. And now they face the prospect of further dilution by the warrants.

The combination of those two things means that if the warrants grow up to their cap of 15.5 per cent of the June 2022 base by 2032, the combined minority stakes will be worth less than 11 per cent by then. That sounds like a small decrease but, at the valuations bandied about for Spurs, it translates to a significant transfer in value away from minority shareholders.

Based on that earlier Forbes valuation, the minority shareholders’ interest in the club’s equity value would total an estimated £196m — £29m less than at their current ownership stake. The gap only widens as the valuation of Spurs rises: at the higher enterprise value, where equity is valued at £2.2bn, the ‘lost’ value to minority owners hits £34m. On either calculation, the warrants have the effect of transferring value year-on-year from the minority shareholders to ENIC, for which the former will never be compensated. That £34m divided by 30,000 equates to over £1,100 each: or three-quarters of the price of a Tottenham season ticket.

The picture for minority shareholders may be about to get even worse. Tottenham are currently governed by the Takeover Code, a regulation that oversees publicly-traded companies in the UK. Under Rule 9 of the code, anyone who acquires at least 30 per cent of a company must make an offer to all remaining shareholders at the highest price paid in the last 12 months. So, hypothetically, if ENIC were to sell, the minorities could sell as well. But Tottenham are viewed as a ‘Transition Company’ by the panel, and so on February 2, 2027, their protections will fall away. This means that any potential buyer would be under no obligation to offer the minority shareholders anything if they acquired ENIC’s stake. Potentially leaving the minority shareholders as an illiquid rump.

“There’s not much point from a financial perspective in owning illiquid shares in a company where one group or entity can essentially do what they like,” says one shareholder, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Your investment then is stuck.”

Daniel Levy, Tottenham Hotspur’s former executive chairman, says he did not envisage the club being in a relegation battle “in a million years”.

Levy, who was speaking on Wednesday after being awarded a CBE for services to charity and the community in Tottenham, was sacked by Spurs’ majority owners, the Lewis family, in September after nearly a quarter of a century running the club.

Spurs began the campaign with Thomas Frank as head coach and Champions League football, but they are currently on their third permanent manager of the season in Roberto De Zerbi and fighting to avoid relegation with two league games to play.

Asked by The Press Association if he saw any signs that the club, which finished 17th in the top flight last season, would end up in a relegation battle, Levy said: “Never, no, not in a million years.”

Levy added that “relegation was not something we ever considered” when he was overseeing the construction of the club’s £1.2billion stadium which opened in 2019.

In a separate interview with Sky Sports, Levy said: “All I’m focused on is making sure Tottenham stay in the Premier League.

“I could never have envisaged this at the beginning of the season.

“Obviously (I’m) incredibly disappointed but let’s look forward and very much hope that next season we’re still in the Premier League. I’m feeling the pain but optimistic that we’ll get through it.

“It’s been very, very difficult but Spurs is in my blood and I’m hopeful that we’ll be OK in the end.”

Asked for his highlights from his time at Spurs, Levy said: “Getting in the (2019) Champions League final, opening the stadium, achieving Europe a number of times, having some great players, making a contribution to the local community, impacting people’s lives. There isn’t one item, it’s lots of things.”

He added the club would be “forever grateful” to former head coach Ange Postecoglou for leading Spurs to last season’s Europa League title, one of two trophies they won under Levy’s chairmanship along with the 2008 League Cup.

Imagine you had access to a time machine. And that you decided that the best use of this machine was to travel back three and a half weeks to update your past self on Tottenham Hotspur’s season. And that you emerged blinking into the evening of Saturday, April 18, when Spurs had just drawn 2-2 at home with Brighton and Hove Albion, stung by a 95th-minute equaliser, and West Ham were in 17th place, one point ahead of Spurs with one game in hand.

Now imagine that you broke the news to your past self that on May 12, with two games left each, Spurs were out of the relegation zone, two points ahead of West Ham and with a much better goal difference. Your past self would surely give your future self a big, grateful hug.

Spurs are not just alive, but also have a clear, meaningful lead in the table. Their situation has drastically improved over those three and a half weeks, and they are still favourites to stay up.

And yet despite all of that, there is no avoiding the fact that this single point earned by Spurs felt more like a defeat than a win. It certainly felt like a significant missed opportunity for Tottenham. This was a clear chance to win their third straight league game and increase their margin over West Ham to four points. Do that, and West Ham would have needed to win at Newcastle just to stay alive. It would have felt as if Spurs had one solid foot in next season’s Premier League. All they would have to do was pull themselves up over the ledge.

Even more painful is the fact that with less than 20 minutes left at a tense Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday night, they were on their way. They were 1-0 up. They had created more than enough chances to kill the game. All they needed was a second goal. Three golden points were within the clutch of their fingers. But it was Leeds who scored the game’s second goal.

There are plenty of ways of analysing what happened on Monday. But, ultimately, this game told us a very clear story about why Tottenham are where they are. And why it is difficult for Spurs fans, even despite their team’s recent upturn, to feel confident about the last two games.

There have been plenty of problems at Tottenham this season. They started with the wrong manager, dallied over sacking him, only to eventually replace him in February with another bad fit. There has been a clear lack of conviction, belief and confidence in how they have played. Momentum has been nonexistent, with no league win between December 28 and April 25. For much of that time, the players looked as if they had a mental block, something that was stopping them from being themselves on the pitch.

None of this was true on Monday. Spurs have a world-class manager. The players are fully bought into his approach. They run as hard as they can to realise his ideas on the pitch. They have just won their last two away games. Confidence is higher than it has been all season.

But a top manager, commitment and confidence can only get you so far. Monday was a reminder of what the true limiting factor is for Tottenham right now, the biggest single obstacle between them and survival. And that is the quality and depth of their attacking options.

Everyone knows the back story by now. Spurs started the season with a patchy squad. Dejan Kulusevski has not played for a year. Mohammed Kudus has suffered two quad injuries. Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert are both out with ACLs. Dominic Solanke is also injured.

That leaves Spurs with just three fit forwards: Richarlison, Mathys Tel and Randal Kolo Muani. Those three had to start at Villa Park, when Spurs won 2-1, and they started again on Monday. Short of playing a midfielder out wide, De Zerbi has no other options.

Tottenham worked hard on Monday and dominated long spells. But they needed a proper lead to defend, given that they were always going to tire in the second half, with no firepower on the bench. And the players were not able to deliver it.

Early on, Pedro Porro played Richarlison through, but he took a heavy touch, allowing Joe Rodon to recover. Richarlison could not get enough on another Porro cross from the right. Joao Palhinha drove into the box and stabbed over with his left foot. Rodrigo Bentancur met one of Spurs’ many corners but missed the target and Richarlison could not reach it at the far post. Time after time, the ball pinged around the box, but without the quality or luck required to turn it in.

Spurs did take the lead of course, Mathys Tel producing a brilliant clip into the far top corner, a reminder that he is very gifted, if raw. But Tottenham needed a second goal and the closest they came was Kolo Muani bursting down the right and crossing for Richarlison. It was not an easy finish, but Richarlison ballooned it over the bar.

Sure enough, Spurs’ wastefulness was punished. And as they searched for a winner, their only attacking options were Lucas Bergvall and James Maddison, two midfielders, one of whom has been out for a year. Even before Maddison’s penalty claim, he produced a clever little backheel to set through Conor Gallagher, who was unable to sort his feet out in the box.

There is no point in blaming Tel, Kolo Muani or Richarlison. All three of them worked hard. Kolo Muani produced one of his better performances, willing to get on the ball and run at defenders. But none of them are consistent elite players. Richarlison has 10 league goals this year, Tel four and Kolo Muani just one. And right now, they are all Tottenham have.

Now Tottenham still need at least one more win to stay up. They must somehow find a way of scoring goals, even without the raw materials that make that easy. They desperately need Solanke back for Chelsea next week. It is not a lack of trying that is the problem now. It is a lack of quality instead.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison has said that he experienced “dark days” during his recovery from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Maddison suffered a serious knee injury in the first leg of Spurs’ Europa League semi-final against Bodo/Glimt on May 1 last year, that he said was a partial ACL tear. The England international missed the rest of the 2024-25 season including the Europa League final victory over Manchester United in Bilbao.

The 29-year-old attempted to come back in a pre-season friendly against Newcastle United in South Korea at the beginning of August but lasted barely minutes on the pitch before he was stretchered off. He left the stadium on crutches and it was revealed he had suffered an ACL rupture in the same knee.

“In my head it goes back to the Europa League semi-final here when I got injured here because I did a partial ACL tear against Bodo/Glimt,” Maddison told a group of reporters, including The Athletic, after Spurs’ game against Leeds United on Monday. “I was told by the (external) specialist it wouldn’t need surgery and rehab. Then obviously it wasn’t strong, it didn’t recover properly and I needed the full surgery which is what happened in South Korea. So in my head it’s not really been like that it’s been longer.”

The England international was expected to miss the entire 2025-26 campaign but returned to Tottenham’s squad for last month’s 2-2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. Head coach Roberto De Zerbi was coy about the midfielder’s fitness and insisted he was mainly included for his leadership qualities.

He made his first competitive appearance in over 12 months in Spurs’ 1-1 draw with Leeds. The entire stadium applauded Maddison when he replaced Mathys Tel in the 85th minute and Leeds head coach Daniel Farke, who worked with the midfielder at Norwich City, shook his hand and embraced him at full-time.

“(It) was an amazing moment which will live with me forever that reception I got today,” Maddison said. “There have been some dark days in the last year, especially since the surgery. It has been a really tough year for me mentally but I’m at the end of the tunnel now so I can kind of look back on that with fondness because I’m as mentally strong as I can be after going through that. Physically I feel really good so the moment personally is something that will live with me forever the reception Spurs fans gave me.

“No, there was never any doubt about getting back, it was more the sadness of what I would miss and for the longevity of it. I knew once I had the surgery, these days there is so much research and work that has gone into ACL injuries. It is the most researched injury there is. It’s actually quite simple rehab. It’s just a real grind and it’s long and it’s hard.

Spurs’ draw with Leeds leaves them two points above the relegation zone with two games remaining. 18th-placed West Ham United face Newcastle at St James Park on Sunday afternoon and Tottenham face Chelsea next Tuesday. West Ham’s final game of the season is against Leeds at the same time Spurs host Everton.

A missed opportunity for Tottenham Hotspur to take a huge step towards retaining their Premier League status or a point closer to safety?

The visit of Leeds United to north London offered Roberto De Zerbi’s side a chance to move four points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United with two games remaining. It would have left their relegation rivals with a mountain to climb.

They were on course to do just that when Mathys Tel’s fine strike put them in front early in the second half. But he was then at fault for Leeds’ equaliser, his high boot catching Ethan Ampadu, Dominic Calvert-Lewin scoring from the spot after a penalty was awarded by VAR.

Things might have got even worse for Spurs had Antonin Kinsky not produced a superb stop to deny Sean Longstaff in stoppage time.

The draw means Tottenham, who have struggled at home all season, are now two points clear of West Ham with two games remaining.

Jay Harris, Beren Cross and Elias Burke analyse the main talking points.

Did Tel just go from hero to villain?

Tel should have been Tottenham’s hero but a bizarre decision in the second half wrecked their chances of winning at home for the first time since December.

They were defending their own box when the ball looped up into the air and Tel made an unorthodox attempt to clear the danger with an overhead kick. Instead of connecting with the ball, the France Under-21 international made contact with Amapadu’s head and conceded a penalty.

Tel had started the game with a couple of erratic decisions. In the 20th minute, he was forced towards the byline by Daniel James and played a risky lofted pass across his own penalty area. Leeds wing-back James Justin was ready to direct a header past Kinsky but Kevin Danso just managed to flick the ball out of his path. When Tel received the ball in his own half a couple of minutes later and lost it carelessly, there were a few groans from the home fans.

Those groans turned into huge cheers at the beginning of the second half. The ball dropped to Tel on the edge of the box and he curled a right-footed shot into the top corner past Karl Darlow. It was similar to Xavi Simons’ stunning effort in last month’s 2-2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion.

Unfortunately, as happened that time, the goal was cancelled out here, too. It was a damaging blow for Spurs, who failed to capitalise on West Ham’s dramatic defeat by Arsenal.

Tel’s progress has not been linear since he joined Spurs, initially on loan, from Bayern Munich in February 2025 and there are times when he looks capable of being the long-term successor to former captain Son Heung-min on the left wing. He is still a young player, though, and will hopefully learn a painful lesson from his costly error against Leeds.

Jay Harris

Will Spurs’ inability to win at home prove costly?

One of Tottenham’s biggest problems over the past two seasons has been their inability to win games at home. They have the joint-worst record in the Premier League, along with Burnley (12 points), and have conceded the most goals. There are lots of different reasons for their dismal home form, including the expectation from the fans and an inability to break teams down. The last time they won a game at home, Thomas Frank was still in charge and Brennan Johnson was an unused substitute in a 2-0 victory over Brentford on December 6.

They have come close on a few occasions, including last month’s agonising draw with Brighton & Hove Albion. Leeds deserved a point here but the frustrating thing for Spurs is that they allowed the game to drift away from them after a brief period of control following Tel’s goal.

Spurs seemed to run out of energy and their passing became sloppy. Leeds head coach Daniel Farke changed his formation and Spurs’ defence struggled to cope with Lukas Nmecha supporting Calvert-Lewin up front.

Spurs’ injury crisis is a significant factor because De Zerbi had limited options to change the game. Wilson Odobert, Dominic Solanke, Simons and Mohammed Kudus are all on the treatment table, so De Zerbi could not change his forward line.

The game became stretched after Calvert-Lewin’s equaliser and Spurs failed to generate any quality chances even after the long-awaited return of James Maddison.

Jay Harris

Were Leeds affected by already being safe?

Farke will have known exactly what to expect from the first question in his post-match press conference: did Leeds play like a team already safe from relegation?

They did virtually nothing to trouble Kinsky until Calvert-Lewin buried his 74th-minute penalty. Tottenham were much the better team, but had not really tested Darlow beyond Tel’s second-half strike.

Once the hosts were in front, a home win looked a formality unless Farke opted to roll the dice and change a setup which had clearly not been working. The substitutions came, but the system was not radically different.

Tottenham began to tire and Tel was ultimately punished for his reckless boot in his own box. It feels too simplistic to say Leeds had lost their edge because their Premier League status was secured.

Perhaps it is fairer to recognise, on paper, a Tottenham squad, at home, should always be the favourites against Leeds. United were always likely to be left hanging in there at points.

James did not work as an experiment at wing-back in the absence of Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson. Brenden Aaronson was anonymous. Calvert-Lewin was isolated. Pascal Struijk could not get a handle on Randal Kolo Muani.

And yet, they soaked up the pressure before putting their superior fitness to work in the latter stages. A point, at any period of this season, is a good outcome for Leeds at the home of the Europa League champions.

Beren Cross

How significant might Maddison’s return prove?

De Zerbi has kept his cards close to his chest when he has been asked about Maddison’s fitness. The England international has been named in the matchday squad for their past four games but the Italian head coach kept insisting he was only included for his leadership qualities.

Maddison suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in August on the final game of Tottenham’s pre-season tour to Hong Kong and South Korea and the assumption was he would be ruled out for the entire season. He deserves immense credit for returning sooner than expected.

Spurs fans cheered when Maddison started warming up in the first half but it was nothing compared to the response he received when they realised he was going to come on. The entire stadium stood up and applauded as he replaced Tel.

When Maddison tumbled under a challenge late in stoppage time, it seemed he might have been involved in a game-changing moment, but a VAR review decided not to award a penalty.

Ultimately, Maddison was unable to inspire a victory but he could have an important role to play in their final two games of the campaign.

Jay Harris

Did Kinsky just prove he is Tottenham’s No 1?

Antonin Kinsky has been one of the most impressive performers of the new De Zerbi era and he pulled off a brilliant reaction save eight minutes into added time to stop Leeds from going 2-1 up.

With Sean Longstaff racing through on goal from an angle, Kinsky reacted fast to get a strong hand onto the ball and divert it up onto the bar and away. It was pure instinct, a split-second moment of genius, but it saved that crucial point for Spurs.

It was not even Kinsky’s only great save of the night. In the first half, he dived down low to his left to claw away a Joe Rodon header that was going in the near bottom corner, stopping it when it was halfway across the line.

Those two saves alone proved what a good keeper Kinsky is, confirming his ability to come up with a brilliant moment even though he was not always busy. And they showed — even before you get to his excellent distribution — why Kinsky should now be considered Tottenham’s No 1.

What does this result mean for the relegation battle?

West Ham were given a major lifeline in the relegation battle by Tel, whose error enabled Calvert-Lewin to keep the relegation battle very much alive.

Until that point, Tottenham looked to be on their way to a crucial three points. Tel’s excellent finish had put Spurs on the “magic” 40-point mark in the as-it-stands table. That would have meant West Ham would need to win both of their remaining two games, while hoping Tottenham took no more than one point from their final two games, given their superior goal difference.

Now, though, the gap is just two points, leaving West Ham just a win away from 17th.

West Ham sit 18th on 36 points, two away from Tottenham. They have the opportunity to get that much-needed win on the board on Sunday, when they travel to Newcastle United.

Spurs do not play until Tuesday, when they travel to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea — who will be in the FA Cup final three days before. It is a ground they have not won at since 2018.

Should results dictate that their futures come down to the final day, Leeds will, again, have a huge part to play. They travel to the London Stadium on Sunday, May 24, while Tottenham host Everton at the same time.

Elias Burke

What next for Spurs?

Tuesday, May 19: Chelsea (Away), Premier League, 8.15pm UK, 3.15pm ET

What next for Leeds?

Tottenham Hotspur host Leeds United today in a crucial game in their battle to avoid Premier League relegation.

Spurs have won their past two games under Roberto De Zerbi as they mount a late challenge to avoid a first relegation in 49 years.

For Leeds, a run of six league games without defeat has secured safety to guarantee Premier League football for them next season.

Start time: 8pm BST, 3pm ET, noon PT

How to watch: Sky Sports (UK), USA Network (U.S.)

Join the Discuss tab or email your thoughts: live@theathletic.com

I said a few weeks ago that Tottenham were in danger of going down without a fight. Contrary to his billing as an idealist, fight is the one thing Roberto De Zerbi has instilled in them immediately.

They are playing with a totally different attitude, a team no longer drifting aimlessly towards relegation. If they had performed all season with just a fraction of the intensity and desire Leeds have shown, they would not have been in this position in the first place.

Unlike Leeds, they still have work to do.

Tottenham 2-1 Leeds

Will Spurs get relegated?

Is Roberto De Zerbi the right manager for them?

How do you rate Leeds’ first season back in the top flight?

Send us your thoughts on the above — or anything else related to tonight’s game — by heading to the Discuss tab at the top of the page or emailing live@theathletic.com.

We’ll aim to include your response in our live coverage this evening.

A narrow FA Cup semi-final defeat against Chelsea may have dampened the end of Leeds’ season, but their league form has given supporters plenty to cheer about of late.

Their most recent result — a 3-1 victory against relegated Burnley — took Daniel Farke’s side above the 40-point mark and further away from the relegation zone.

That was Leeds’ third win in four league games — a big step towards top-flight survival, which was confirmed with West Ham's defeat by Arsenal on Sunday.

If Spurs are to be relegated from the Premier League, then at the moment they are going down fighting.

Their last outing was a massive 2-1 victory at Aston Villa courtesy of first-half goals from Conor Gallagher and Richarlison, with Emi Buendia getting a late consolation for the hosts.

That added to a 1-0 victory at relegated Wolves the previous week and hauled Spurs above London rivals West Ham and out of the bottom three.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

Lauded as one of the best stadiums in Europe when it was completed in 2019, the venue has a capacity of 62,850.

The towering South Stand in particular is a sight to behold, seating 17,500 in a single tier and measuring more than 34 metres in height.

The club’s emblem, a cockerel, is perched on top in gold.

The stadium has also been used as a concert venue and hosts several NFL games each year, as well as all of Spurs’ home matches.

There is no better time to subscribe to The Athletic for all the sporting insight, analysis and live coverage you need.

As well as the conclusion of the Champions League and Premier League seasons, we have one of the biggest events in the sporting calendar coming up with the World Cup later this year.

The Formula 1 season is now in full flow and we’ll also be covering the remaining men’s golf majors, including this week's PGA Championship.

And that is just the start — you can, and should, subscribe to The Athletic on an exclusive offer here.

The mood around Tottenham Hotspur has been transformed over the last two weeks. At one stage on April 25, when Spurs were drawing with Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United were beating Everton, it looked like they could finish the day four points off safety. Throw in a season-ending injury to Xavi Simons and, understandably, there were a lot of sombre-looking faces in the away end at Molineux, grappling with the prospect of spending next year in the Championship.

Joao Palhinha’s scrappy 82nd-minute strike earned Spurs their first win in the Premier League since December and they followed it up with an impressive 2-1 victory over Aston Villa. West Ham’s 3-0 defeat at Brentford allowed Spurs to jump out of the relegation zone and now with three games of this miserable season remaining, their destiny is back in their own hands.

Tottenham’s away points tally (26) is only bettered by league leaders Arsenal (35) and second-placed Manchester City (32), but the fact their one remaining away game is at Chelsea, where they have only won once in the last 36 years, would suggest they probably shouldn’t bank on bumping their away points total to 29.

Spurs host Leeds United on Monday evening, before welcoming Everton on the final day of the campaign. However there is one complication: They have only won two home league games all season.

The most recent came way back on December 6, when Richarlison and Xavi Simons scored in a comfortable victory over Brentford. It was also the last time they kept a Premier League clean sheet in front of their own supporters.

Spurs now have the worst home record in the division this season, thanks to Burnley’s point against Aston Villa on Sunday. They have lost 10 times, conceded 30 goals and only accumulated 11 points.

To ensure their Premier League survival, that surely has to change.

Tottenham’s record was also underwhelming last season under Ange Postecoglou — even if not quite so disastrous.

They won 21 points from 19 games, which was level with Wolves and marginally better than West Ham (20). The three worst-performing sides at home were all relegated.

Since the start of the 2024-25 season, Spurs have the worst home record out of the ever-present top-flight sides. They have won fewer games than Wolves and conceded the same amount of goals.

Spurs have a measly average of 0.89 points per Premier League home game in that time. No wonder the fanbase, who pay some of the most expensive ticket prices in the division, have so often lost patience with the team and ownership over the last 12 months.

“There is a lot of literature and data out there on home advantage but certain clubs struggle with the expectations of the fans versus the reality of where the team is,” Dan Abrahams, a sport psychologist who has worked with teams and individual athletes around the world, tells The Athletic.

“Players think, ‘If I make one mistake, the crowd are going to get on my back’. It is anxiety-inducing, which can have an impact on awareness, anticipation, decision-making, physical functioning and technical co-ordination. It makes good players look poor. There have been examples this season of players experiencing extreme performance anxiety probably for the first time in their careers.”

It is an issue they need to address even if head coach Roberto De Zerbi does not sound too concerned.

“It’s not my problem now,” the Italian said when asked about the club’s struggles at home ahead of Monday’s fixture against Leeds. “Now, I don’t want to lose energy. We have to be good, smart, to keep this mentality, to keep this momentum, with the same qualities we showed in this last period. Then we go to analyse why we have not won too many games at home, what were the problems at home.

“But I think it was a coincidence, because against Atletico Madrid they won, against Borussia Dortmund in January they won in the Champions League. If you ask me, against Brighton, we won. We won, but we didn’t take three points. We took one point, but in my head, we won. As a performance, if we analyse the game against Brighton, it’s like a win. I think it’s a mistake if we keep the focus on this part.”

The atmosphere at the stadium was superb during Postecoglou’s first year in charge but it unravelled last season when progress in the top flight was sacrificed for Europa League success. Frank never had a chance of uniting the crowd following lethargic home defeats to Chelsea, Fulham and Arsenal.

Before March’s humbling loss to Nottingham Forest, which turned out to be Igor Tudor’s last game in charge, a group of fans wrote an open letter to the squad on social media which included the lines “we are right behind you and we believe in you”. The message was shared by multiple players including vice-captain Micky Van de Ven, Guglielmo Vicario and Kevin Danso. A group of supporters called Show Up, Sing Up, Stay Up organised for thousands of fans to greet the team bus. ahead of the game, with some standing on bus stops and hanging from lamp posts as the players arrived in N17. Blue flares were lit, flags and banners were handed out in the stands. Spurs started brightly against Forest but collapsed when Igor Jesus scored just before half-time.

So much pressure and weight had been put on that fixture that it risked becoming “emotionally exhausting,” according to Tom Bates, a performance psychologist with experience working at several Premier League clubs and the Team GB Olympic squad. “I’m pretty sure that (the fans) were all doing that with the best of intentions,” Bates tells The Athletic. “They’re trying to create an injection of emotion. Of power, positivity, optimism, enthusiasm, all of that good stuff, but it is counter-intuitive.

“The key is not placing so much emphasis on one game, moment, player or situation. Instead, think, ‘From now until the end of the season, collectively, our aim is to achieve what?’ The pressure that gets created by turning every game into a cup final is the opposite. It creates emotional fatigue.”

Show Up, Sing Up, Stay Up had loose plans to meet the team bus for the remainder of the season but De Zerbi wanted the players to make their own travel arrangements for the 2-2 draw with his former side Brighton & Hove Albion. De Zerbi likes his squad to arrive at the stadium four hours before kick-off. They have a meeting which lasts up to 45 minutes and then have a meal together.

“I don’t want to put pressure on the players with my plan but what the fans want to do, is good for us, it’s something more,” De Zerbi said in his press conference before Brighton. “I didn’t know the fans wanted to make again this (gesture). I am very sensitive with the fans and what they want to do, I consider the fans in every team I’ve been as a player, like a player. But I didn’t know but for the next time, if the people ask me to change the plan, no problem.”

Spurs have recorded victories over Man City, Everton, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace on the road and picked up draws against Newcastle United and Liverpool. They have won a higher proportion of their points away from home (70 per cent) than any other team in any season in Premier League history. They managed to beat Wolves at Molineux despite Dominic Solanke and Xavi suffering injuries. The key is to transport those performances to north London. Even celebrating tackles can make a small difference.

“Footballers can be shy about (celebrating) but desperate times call for desperate measures,” Abrahams says. “Those mini celebrations after winning a duel, the psychology backs it up, they are letting their bodies and actions lead their mindset. De Zerbi has to draw on that and say, ‘Our job is to do that, raise the temperature in the stadium in the first five to 10 minutes to set the tone and stay there’. He will be striving to create a narrative of ‘we did that (against Aston Villa) and I want exactly the same at home’.”

De Zerbi has been adept at managing the noise around Spurs, particularly when compared to Frank and Tudor, who were both guilty of fanning the flames at times. After Rutter’s last-minute equaliser for Brighton, De Zerbi said the squad needed “to come to training on Monday with a smile or go home”.

Reflecting on Xavi’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, the Italian said “the challenge now is to silence the voice inside of us” which “produces negative thoughts”.

“I heard, ‘It’s impossible, we are crying, everyone is crying, we are relegated’ — no, not yet,” he added. He has uplifted the squad and the fanbase.

Abrahams is full of praise for De Zerbi’s messaging. “The sensibility of most head coaches is to ignore the outside world and focus on the team’s processes and your own individual responsibilities,” he says. “You have to take control of the language, the temperature, the culture and environment. That’s exactly what De Zerbi is doing and he has got a big enough persona to do that.”

De Zerbi took a gamble joining Spurs with only seven games remaining. He boldly predicted Spurs could win five games in a row after that draw with Brighton and they have ticked off the first two. If he manages to help Spurs win at home for the first time in 156 days, supporters can start optimistically thinking about the future again.

Two years ago, Archie Gray was preparing for the first leg of Leeds United’s Championship play-off semi-final against Norwich City at Carrow Road.

The then 18-year-old started in an advanced midfield role behind Georginio Rutter, Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto in a 0-0 draw. Four days later, Gray played the full 90 minutes at right-back in a crushing 4-0 victory in the return leg at Elland Road. Gray retained his position at full-back for Leeds’ 1-0 defeat to Southampton in the play-off final.

Within a month, he was at the centre of a dramatic transfer tussle between Brentford and Tottenham Hotspur. Gray was on the cusp of joining Brentford before changing his mind at the last minute and completing a £40million move to Spurs.

Gray will be reunited with his former employers, and the club his family shares a fascinating history with, on Monday when Spurs host Leeds. He will be desperate to make an appearance after being an unused substitute under Thomas Frank when Spurs won 2-1 at Elland Road in October.

The visit of Leeds raises questions about Gray’s development in north London over the last two years and what the future holds. Game time has been limited since Roberto De Zerbi replaced Igor Tudor in the dugout in March, but Gray’s new boss insists his hopes for the youngster are high.

“He is very young, (but has) big potential as a player,” De Zerbi said in his press conference ahead of the Leeds game. “I think he can become the future. I am sure he can become the future of this club, the captain of this club and he has to understand better what will be his position on the pitch.”

Following Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat to Sunderland in De Zerbi’s first game in charge, television pundit Jamie Carragher criticised their central midfield.

Carragher argued on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football that West Ham United, Nottingham Forest and Leeds have better options than Spurs. The former Liverpool and England defender highlighted their lack of quality in possession before pointing out Gray and Conor Gallagher’s poor defending in the build-up to Nordi Mukiele’s deflected winner. He did offer some faint praise for the former.

“I think (Lucas) Bergvall and Gray have been two of the better players for Spurs,” Carragher said. “(But) are two young kids learning their trade going to get you out of a relegation battle?”

Bergvall, Gray and Gallagher started together against Sunderland last month. Since then, De Zerbi has seemingly agreed with Carragher’s analysis. The Italian has kept faith with Gallagher but preferred the experience of Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma or Joao Palhinha alongside him. Bentancur’s return from a three-month lay-off with a hamstring injury has had a significant impact. The Uruguay international looks composed on the ball under pressure and more capable of playing progressive passes. Spurs have won seven points from the last three games Bentancur has started.

Palhinha scored the crucial winner against Wolverhampton Wanderers and was excellent out of possession in his first start under De Zerbi against Aston Villa. Gallagher rewarded De Zerbi’s patience with a stunning long-range strike in the 2-1 victory over Unai Emery’s side at Villa Park. The Bentancur and Palhinha partnership, which became a source of frustration for fans during Frank’s reign for a perceived lack of creativity, suddenly looks like the right blend to help Spurs avoid relegation. De Zerbi has now publicly expressed his desire to keep Palhinha beyond the end of his season-long loan from Bayern Munich.

Gray made a 30-minute cameo off the bench in De Zerbi’s second game, the 2-2 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion, but has been an unused substitute in their last two matches. He has been transformed from one of the only players to emerge with any credit from Tudor’s brief spell to a spectator.

Gray’s progress has been disrupted by Tottenham’s injury crisis over the last two seasons. The England Under-21 international has never been able to consistently play in midfield because he has always provided emergency cover in defence. The 20-year-old has therefore been unable to establish a more exact role in the midfield. Gray’s position map for the 2025-26 season demonstrates he has regularly switched between holding midfield and a slightly more advanced position.

Gray started 12 games in a row across the Premier League and Champions League between February and April. He played in three different positions (central midfield, left-back and right-back) under three head coaches. Gray has made 80 appearances since he joined Spurs from Leeds, and worked with Ange Postecoglou, Frank, Tudor and De Zerbi. Each coach has their own tactical ideas and instructions for the players — Gray has barely any time to learn them before the next head coach is installed.

Some would argue Gray made a mistake in the build-up to Callum Hudson-Odoi’s first goal in Nottingham Forest’s 3-0 victory over Spurs in December. Gray received the ball from goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario on the edge of his own box and should have played a first-time pass to Cristian Romero. Instead, Ibrahim Sangare pounced on his loose first touch and played in Hudson-Odoi. Gray started Tottenham’s next four matches in central midfield but since the turn of the year has again regularly been deployed across the defence, and sometimes on the right of midfield. How is he supposed to become better at receiving the ball in those situations if he rarely plays there?

If Gray’s development has stalled, it is a symptom of Spurs’ struggles over the last two seasons. The 20-year-old’s versatility has become a strength and a weakness. De Zerbi alluded to this on Thursday.

“He can play in a lot of positions, but maybe I would like him to be more specific in one position,” De Zerbi said. “We are working on that, in individual meetings with individual clips for me and anyway he is an important player. Palhinha did not play the first three games and the fourth was one of the best players on the pitch.”

This pattern has followed Gray throughout his career. At 17 he impressed for Leeds in a fifth-round FA Cup tie against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in February 2024. Gray played in a midfield pivot alongside Ethan Ampadu and his tackle on Moises Caicedo on the edge of Chelsea’s box led to Mateo Joseph giving Leeds a 1-0 lead.

Chelsea went on to win 3-2, Gallagher scoring the decisive goal, but Gray held his own against Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez who had just moved to west London for £106m after winning the World Cup with Argentina.

Gray’s reward? A place at right-back for a 1-1 draw with Huddersfield Town in the Championship three days later.

Gray has also played in a variety of different positions at youth level and scored when playing in midfield alongside Borussia Dortmund’s Jobe Bellingham in England U21s 4-1 victory over Moldova in March.

A lot of this applies to Bergvall too. It feels like the pair’s fate is intertwined. They both joined Spurs in the summer of 2024 when they were only 18, play in the same position and have a good relationship off the pitch. Postecoglou memorably praised them after Bergvall scored in Spurs’ 1-0 victory over Liverpool in the first leg of last season’s Carabao Cup semi-final. Gray started that game at centre-back alongside Radu Dragusin.

“I’m so happy they’re at our football club,” Postecoglou said. “In two or three years’ time, I just pray to God I’m the beneficiary of their talent, mate, because if somebody else is getting it, I won’t be happy.”

Clearly, the only focus for Spurs right now should be picking up enough points in their remaining three games to avoid relegation. Next season, there needs to be a consistent long-term plan to help Gray and Bergvall fulfil their potential. On the opening day of the campaign, the duo started together in midfield with Pape Matar Sarr in a 3-0 victory over Burnley. It was a youthful blend which offered an exciting glimpse of the future but, unfortunately, none of them have truly flourished this season.