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As with all clubs, Tottenham Hotspur have made their fair share of ill-thought-out and expensive signings over the years.

The likes of Richarlison, Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso, while not necessarily bad players, are all examples of transfers that proved to be a massive waste of funds.

However, aside from the Brazilian, at least most of the club's poor investments have been taken off the books in recent seasons.

That said, there is a player who joined the club in 2020 for a sizable fee and has since seen his valuation crater, so when he does eventually leave N17, it will be for an enormous loss.

Spurs' 2020 signings

While it would be fair to describe Tottenham's signings in 2020 as mixed, that would imply there were at least a couple of successes in there, and the loaning in of Gareth Bale was certainly one of those.

The Welsh icon returned to North London for the 20/21 season, and while he wasn't the same player who left, he was still a great addition to the squad.

For example, in 34 appearances, totalling just 1680 minutes, the Cardiff-born star racked up an impressive tally of 16 goals and three assists.

That means he averaged a goal involvement every 1.78 games or every 88.42 minutes.

A far less successful signing that summer was Matt Doherty, who joined the North Londoners from Wolverhampton Wanderers in a £14.7m deal that August.

Unfortunately for the Irish international, he would make 71 appearances for the first team across the next two and a half seasons, only to have his contract terminated by mutual agreement in January 2023, after which he joined Atlético Madrid for an even more unsuccessful six-month stint.

However, while Doherty's time with Spurs was ultimately a failure, at least the club was able to cut their losses early and move on, which cannot be said about another player signed that summer.

The Spurs signing worth millions less today

There were a few other signings that didn't work out from the summer of 2020, such as Carlos Vinicius and Joe Rodon, but neither of those players ended up costing Spurs too much in the long run.

The same, however, cannot be said for Sergio Reguilón, who joined the North Londoners in September that year for a fee of around £28m.

Things started well enough for the Spaniard, as in his first campaign for the Lilywhites, he ended up making 36 appearances, in which he provided five assists, and then for much of his second year with the club, he remained the first-choice left-back, making 31 appearances, scoring two goals and providing three assists.

However, towards the end of that season, he picked up a groin injury and then, at the start of the following season, he was sent on loan to Atlético Madrid, where a combination of injuries and lacklustre form saw him make just 12 appearances across all competitions.

The following year saw him spend the first half of the campaign on loan with Manchester United, where he played just 12 games, and then the second half of the campaign on loan with Brentford, where he made 16 appearances, including one against West Ham United, where a particularly bad foul saw Gary Neville brand him "absolutely ridiculous."

This season has seen the Madrid-born full-back remain in North London.

However, it's crystal clear that Postecoglou does not rate him, as even though he's been fit, the Australian has handed the Spaniard just 242 minutes of first-team football across five appearances, and that was only likely down to the club's defensive injury crisis.

Unsurprisingly, two years of underwhelming loan moves and being completely frozen out of the first team this season has seen the 28-year-old's valuation plummet, with Football Transfers now valuing him at up to €8.5M, which comes to about £7m, or a whopping £21m decrease on what he cost Spurs in 2020.

The last few years have seen seismic changes take place at Tottenham Hotspur.

The club have churned through managers who employ dramatically different tactics, signed a plethora of players with varying levels of success, and perhaps most notably, sold Harry Kane.

The former captain was the club's all-time top goalscorer and, at the very least, the second-best striker in the Premier League, but after over a decade of service, he wanted to move on to pastures new.

Unsurprisingly, Ange Postecoglou and Co haven't been able to replace the iconic goalscorer yet, but there is a player out on loan who could potentially be their next Kane.

How Spurs' players are doing on loan

So, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is out on loan this season, the deal that took him to Marseille in July included an obligation to buy at £17m, so for all intents and purposes, he is out of the picture.

Of those Spurs players in and around the first team who are still out on loan and set to return this summer, the player who's had the most success has been Manor Solomon, who joined Leeds United in August.

Since moving to Elland Road, the 25-year-old winger has scored seven goals and provided eight assists in just 28 games, which comes out to a stellar average of a goal involvement every 1.86 games.

Bryan Gil, while not quite as prolific, is still having a decent campaign of his own away from N17, racking up a haul of four goals and three assists in 29 appearances for Girona, while Alejo Veliz and Alfie Devine have both scored four goals this season, for Espanyol and KVC Westerlo respectively.

Lastly, Ashley Phillips has become an integral player for Stoke City, starting 70% of their league games and making 25 appearances overall.

At the same time, it's too early to make a judgement on Min-hyeok Yang's time with Queens Park Rangers, as he's only made four appearances thus far.

In all, the Lilywhites' loanees are looking quite impressive this season, although there is one more player who might be the most exciting of the lot, a player who's mirroring a part of Kane's early career.

The Spurs loanee who's emulating Kane

Before he got the chance to show his stuff on a regular basis for the first team, Kane went out on several loan moves to varying levels of success.

He played for the likes of Leicester City, Norwich City, Millwall and Leyton Orient, where he did reasonably well, scoring five goals in 902 minutes, and it's the League One side who currently have the Spurs player who could emulate the great number nine: Jamie Donley.

Now, we appreciate the fact that a comparison such as this is quite extreme, but like the England captain, the young Englishman is starting to show his quality with the O's.

For example, while he's primarily played as an attacking midfielder this season, he has played as a central and second striker in the past, and more importantly than that, he has shown himself to be a real threat this year.

In 34 games for the East London outfit, totalling just 2305 minutes, the "perfect" prospect, as dubbed by Alasdair Gold, has scored six goals and provided six assists as well as forcing Stefan Ortega into an own goal in the FA Cup thanks to a brilliant shot from the halfway line.

That means the 20-year-old is currently averaging a goal involvement every 2.83 games, or every 192 minutes, which is seriously impressive for a youngster playing in the middle of the park.

Ultimately, there is an awful long way to go if Donley is to get anywhere near the level Kane did during his time with the North Londoners.

Still, if the Hotspur Way talent continues to progress the way he has this season, then there is no telling how good he may be in four or five years.

Tottenham Hotspur have moved in with a transfer offer to one "skilful" player behind-the-scenes, following failed talks with his teammate, as chairman Daniel Levy and technical director Johan Lange attempt an astute pre-summer move.

Tottenham prepare for Ipswich after back-to-back Premier League wins

Spurs are fresh off the back of two consecutive Premier League wins for the first time since September, which funnily enough also came against Brentford and Man United, as manager Ange Postecoglou seeks to resurrect their dwindling season.

The Australian is now aiming for Spurs' first hat-trick of consecutive wins this season, as he prepares the Tottenham squad for a tough trip to relegation-threatened Ipswich Town, who'll be aiming to take advantage of Postecoglou's weakened squad.

Spurs welcomed back Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison, Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson against United last Sunday, with left-back Destiny Udogie also fit enough for an appearance on the bench.

However, at the time of writing, Postecoglou still remains without star striker Dominic Solanke, alongside centre-back trio Radu Dragusin, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero due to injury.

"It does make a massive difference," said Postecoglou on Tottenham's returning players from injury. "Getting guys like Vic and Madders contributing straight away, you can see the quality they have and the presence they have.

"As you said I can put guys on and for guys like Brennan and Wilson, Vic, Madders to a certain extent, it might take them one or two games to get up to speed, but the fact we have them available, yeah, it's an enormous boost for us.

"It was an important game for us and an important week. We needed to put in a performance today to get us the result and I think we did that. That coupled with the fact that we've got some significant players back, and they got through the game.

"They got through unscathed and really contributed, it was important for us. It signals a little bit of an opportunity for us to push on from here."

In the background, Levy, Lange and the Lilywhites recruitment team will be mindful of making sure they're less likely to be plunged into a player-selection crisis next season.

Tottenham make offer to Lille midfielder Angel Gomes

According to The Boot Room and journalist Graeme Bailey, Lille midfielder Angel Gomes is a summer target for the club.

The England international is out of contract at the end of 2024/2025 and available as a free agent, piquing interest from north London. It is believed that Tottenham have already made a transfer offer to Gomes after holding talks, following failed negotiations with his teammate at Lille, Jonathan David.

Spurs are seriously pushing for the midfield technician, with a return to the Premier League described as possible, while David appears most likely to head to Barcelona despite some discussions with Postecoglou's side.

However, that being said, Man United are still in the picture, and Gomes' former club could well tempt him with a return to Old Trafford.

A big-name attacker is seemingly open to the idea of signing for Tottenham Hotspur, with there being a willingness on his side to make the move to north London behind-the-scenes.

Tottenham targeting new forward for Ange this summer

Spurs secured a dramatic, deadline-busting deal for Bayern Munich sensation Mathys Tel near the very end of the winter transfer window - which includes an option to buy the Frenchman for around £45 million - but it is far from a foregone conclusion that he'll stay beyond this season.

The Lilywhites keeping hold of Tel will depend on the teenager's final decision, even if he has already agreed terms on a six-year contract if he is to remain (The Athletic), so it is perhaps wise for Spurs to identify attacking alternatives ahead of next campaign.

Tottenham are among the clubs displaying interest in Lille star Jonathan David, who has been a consistently prolific marksman in France and is set to be available on a free transfer this summer when his contract expires.

However, given the Canada international will be one of the bargains of the summer window, following a record of 104 goals across 218 appearances for Lille in all competitions, the competition for his signature will be fierce.

It is already believed that Barcelona are out in pole position to sign David from Lille, with the 25-year-old making no secret of the fact he's a boyhood fan of the La Liga heavyweights.

"(Barcelona) was always the team I grew up supporting," he told The Athletic. "When you grow up supporting a team, it’s your dream to play for them."

Bearing this in mind, Spurs do have other options, albeit potentially much more expensive. Tottenham's all-time top goalscorer and England legend Harry Kane has been linked with a sensational return to N17, with The Telegraph reporting that they have a first-option agreement in potential talks for the £400,000-per-week Bayern Munich superstar.

However, there is no fixed fee in this arrangement, meaning they'd have to negotiate a price or trigger his release clause (The Telegraph). They'd also have to convince Kane himself, but reliable journalist Ben Jacobs has some encouraging news on that front.

Harry Kane privately refusing to rule out returning to Tottenham

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jacobs says that Kane is privately refusing to rule out re-joining Tottenham, in what could be a boost for Ange Postecoglou.

“I think if Kane returns to the Premier League, there is a willingness to go back to Spurs. That's not been ruled out by the player," said Jacobs.

“We have to wait and see if there's an appetite for Tottenham to do that deal, especially with Dominic Solanke.”

The 31-year-old may be approaching his twilight years, but Kane's exceptional goalscoring record has not faltered in the slightest. This season, the prolific marksman boasts 29 goals and 10 assists across all competitions, adding to his total Bayern tally of 73 strikes in 76 outings.

There hasn't been much to cheer about for Tottenham Hotspur this season.

Ange Postecoglou's side are 12th in the Premier League and out of both domestic cup competitions.

While many of their problems are undoubtedly linked to the seemingly never-ending string of injuries they've had to deal with, it would also be fair to say that the form of a number of their fit stars has been subpar.

However, it's not all doom and gloom, as some players have impressed, including one of Postecoglou's signings who is sure to be worth a king's ransom in the future.

Postecoglou's most expensive signings

While he's not the player in question, Dominic Solanke, who was Spurs' record signing in the summer at £65m, is one of those regular starters who has been having an impressive campaign.

Prior to his recent knee injury, which has kept him out of the side for a month now, the Basingstoke-born poacher had racked up a brilliant tally of 11 goals and six assists in just 29 games, totalling 2248 minutes.

That means the Englishman was averaging a goal involvement every 1.7 games, or every 132.23 minutes, which is great for his debut campaign for the club, although he's still only the second top scorer, behind Postecoglou's second most expensive signing: Brennan Johnson.

The Welshman cost the North Londoners around £47.5m in September 2023, and while he endured a slow start to both last season and this one, he's become a useful attacking outlet for the team.

Across the season and a half he's played for the club, the 23-year-old has made 67 appearances, totalling 4395 minutes, in which he's scored 17 goals and provided 13 assists, which comes to an average of a goal involvement every 2.23 games, or every 146.5 minutes.

Such a rate of return makes it hard to describe Johnson's move to Spurs as anything other than a success.

However, his performances haven't been so incredible that his valuation will soar in the future, unlike one of Postecoglou's signings from the summer.

The Postecoglou signing set to be worth a fortune

Alongside Solanke, Spurs also welcomed in the likes of Lucas Bergvall - although his deal was completed in winter - and Wilson Odobert, who both look like players who will be worth considerable sums of money in the future.

However, of the young up-and-comers signed by Postecoglou and Co over the summer, the one who looks the most like a dead certainty is undoubtedly Archie Gray.

The young Englishman joined the club from Leeds United for around £30m, and while many saw him as one for the future, who might be gradually introduced into the team, circumstances dictated that he'd be thrust into the spotlight in December, a spotlight he has hardly vacated since.

Primarily seen as a midfielder in the long term, the club's severe injury crisis has seen the "outstanding" Durham-born ace, as dubbed by respected football analyst Ben Mattinson, almost exclusively play out of position.

So far, he has made 16 appearances at centre-back, seven at right-back, five at left-back, and just two in defensive midfield.

However, instead of struggling and being a weak point in the side, the 18-year-old phenomenon has been one of the most reliable starters for the manager, and if his first campaign is anything to go by, then Mattinson's claim that he's a "future £100m" player seems entirely realistic.

Ultimately, while he's been thrust into a less-than-ideal situation this season, it looks like Gray is set to be a leading star in this Tottenham team for years to come and someone who'll eventually be worth a king's ransom.

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou is facing the prospect of Real Madrid tempting another one of his star players this summer, but the Lilywhites do not plan to let him go on the cheap.

Tottenham summer transfer plans including Mathys Tel

The north Londoners are fresh off the back of a dramatic end to the last transfer window, with Austria international defender Kevin Danso and Bayern Munich loanee Mathys Tel joining Spurs in the final days of January.

Danso put pen to paper on an initial loan switch, which includes an obligation to buy set at around £21 million, while Tel's temporary move from the Bundesliga also has an option to make it permanent for around £45 million.

The former is set to join Tottenham indefinitely this summer, while more uncertainty surrounds the latter, amid some claims that Tel would like to join Man United as a Premier League alternative following this campaign.

However, manager Postecoglou appears convinced that the 19-year-old, who's already impressed and scored his first goal for Spurs in the FA Cup against Aston Villa recently, will be staying at N17 for the long-term.

"He will play a significant part in our end to the season for sure and beyond," Postecoglou said before their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg defeat to Liverpool, via Sky Sports.

"He wants to make an impact and I expect him to do that. He will be a Tottenham player. I think he will show everyone he will be a Tottenham player in the next six months. I didn't bring him here for six months."

Tel has already agreed terms on a six-year contract at Tottenham (David Ornstein), if the club and player opt to extend his stay beyond 24/25, but whether the Frenchman remains in London will hinder on his final decision at the end of the season.

Signing Tel permanently is one of Spurs' reported transfer plans this summer, and the teenage forward is said to be loving life in the English capital.

Meanwhile, it is also believed that they could look to sign another defender, with some media sources suggesting that Tottenham have already reached out to make an offer for Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen.

What Tottenham could demand from Real Madrid for Micky van de Ven

This comes as La Liga and European champions Real Madrid target star Spurs defender Micky van de Ven.

The Galacticos are keen to bring in a world-class centre-back this summer, with Real shortlisting van de Ven as a summer transfer target ahead of the window later this year.

According to a Spanish media source, Tottenham could demand as much as £99 million for van de Ven, which would be a world-record fee for a defender - surpassing Harry Maguire's £80 million switch to Man United in 2019.

The Dutchman was a crucial player alongside Cristian Romero at the heart of Postecoglou's high line last season, but both van de Ven and his usual centre-back partner have spent the vast majority of this term injured and unavailable.

Nevertheless, he is imperative when fit for action, and would be a tough man to replace.

It would be fair to say that this season has been a particularly tough one for Tottenham Hotspur.

Ange Postecoglou's side have been devastated by a seemingly endless stream of injuries to key players, but even then, the fact they are 12th in the Premier League and already out of the FA Cup and League Cup is particularly concerning.

That said, we'd hazard a guess that there is still a sizeable portion of the fanbase that would like to see the Australian given more time; as for all his faults, he has turned what was a turgid team to watch under former boss Antonio Conte, into one of the most exciting teams in the country.

Moreover, while the Italian was able to lead the club into the Champions League places, he didn't look likely to end their hunt for silverware and was responsible for his fair share of dud signings, including one who is costing the team just over £4m-per-goal.

Conte's worst Spurs signigs

So, before we get to the player in question, it's worth looking at one of the other poor signings made under Conte's tenure, a loan signing that couldn't have gone much worse: Clement Lenglet.

The French centre-back joined the North Londoners on a season-long loan with an option to buy in July 2022, and while there was some excitement around the deal at the time, it didn't take long to dissipate.

Described as "a complete & utter liability" by journalist Jonathan Johnson a year before his move, the former Sevilla star proved to be as much during his one-year stay in the capital, making 35 appearances across all competitions and 26 in the league, where the club conceded an astounding 63 goals, which looks like a total they won't even hit this season with all their defensive injuries.

Fortunately, the option to buy was not exercised at the end of the campaign, and Lenglet was sent back to Barcelona to join Aston Villa for the following season, where he was only able to make 25 appearances.

However, while the club were luckily spared from spending millions on the dismal defender, the same cannot be said for Conte's worst signing in North London.

The Conte signing costing Spurs millions per goal

When it comes to the very worst signing made by Conte during his time in the Spurs hot seat, there can only really be one answer.

In the summer of 2022, the North Londoners opted to spend £60m on Everton star Richarlison after a campaign in which he scored 11 goals and provided five assists in just 33 games.

Unfortunately for all involved, two and a half years later, there's no other way to describe the transfer than as a disaster.

In all, the former Watford striker, who Ally McCoist described as "frustrating," has scored just 18 goals and provided nine assists in 80 appearances, which can hardly be described as value for money considering his transfer fee.

Worse still, the Nova Venécia-born poacher earns £90k-per-week, meaning that, in the 137 weeks since he joined the club, the 27-year-old has made around £12.33m in wages, which brings his overall cost to the North Londoners up to an eye-watering £72.33m.

So, when we break that number down, it comes to £904k-per-appearances, just over £4m-per-goal, just over £8m-per-assist and about £2.67m-per-goal-involvement, which is a terrible return on the club's investment.

Ultimately, Richarlison is a talented forward, but his time with Spurs cannot be described as anything other than a massive failure. Therefore, Postecoglou and the board need to get rid of him as soon as possible.

The last couple of years have been rough for Tottenham Hotspur.

The North Londoners were finally forced into selling club icon Harry Kane, and while Ange Postecoglou's side have still been able to score plenty of goals, the results have been inconsistent at best.

Fortunately, with the signing of Dominic Solanke, it appears as if the club have found their new starting number nine for the next few years, as after two and a half campaigns of injuries and lacklustre displays, it's become crystal clear that Richarlison is not that.

The Brazilian forward can never be accused of not trying, but he's simply not clinical enough in front of goal, and now his valuation has fallen below that of a former youth player the club lost almost seven years ago who is now a regular starter in the Premier League.

Richarlison's Spurs career

Spurs decided to pay Everton £60m for Richarlison in the summer of 2022.

While it was probably too much at the time, it wasn't totally absurd, as in just 33 appearances for a subpar Toffees side, he managed to score 11 goals and provide five assists.

However, it didn't take long for the move to look like a mistake, as by the end of his first campaign with the Lilywhites, the Nova Venécia-born forward had only managed to rack up a paltry record of three goals and four assists in 35 appearances, which comes out to a dire return of a goal involvement every five games.

His sophomore season in the capital wasn't quite as bad as the 27-year-old marksman managed to score 12 goals and provide four assists for Postecoglou's side, but injuries limited him to just 31 appearances and have been a constant problem during his time in N17.

For example, the former Watford star has already missed 33 games for the club this term, but even when he has played, he's been underwhelming; in the 14 first-team appearances he's only been able to make for the Australian, he's only scored three goals and provided one assist.

In all, a mix of persistent injuries and disappointing performances have seen Richarlison's valuation plummet since 2022, as according to Football Transfers, the Brazilian is only worth up to €38m, which comes to about £32m, or £28m less than he cost the club two and a half years ago.

Moreover, the former Goodison Park icon is now worth millions less than an academy player Spurs lost back in 2018.

The Spurs academy star worth millions more than Richarlison

While this season has been something of a disaster for the first team, one of the few positives has been the emergence of academy stars like Mikey Moore, who's already scored for the first team, Jamie Donley, who's tearing it up for Leyton Orient and Lucá Williams-Barnett, who looks like he could be a future superstar.

Moreover, it looks as if the club will be keeping a hold of all three young stars for some time to come, which they weren't able to do with Noni Madueke.

The Barnet-born dynamo was a part of the Lilywhites' youth set-up until the summer of 2018 when he joined Eredivisie giants PSV Eindhoven, despite the North Londoners' best efforts.

In the Netherlands, the youngster went from strength to strength and, in 80 first-team appearances, racked up an impressive haul of 20 goals and 14 assists, which was good enough to secure a £30m move to Chelsea in January 2023.

Despite initially struggling to assert himself in West London and break into the starting lineup, the "elite talent," as was described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is now a key member of Enzo Maresca's first team squad.

Before the potential hamstring injury he picked up on Friday, he had racked up a brilliant tally of eight goals and four assists in 38 appearances, totalling 1653 minutes.

That comes to an average of a goal involvement every 2.33 games, or every 137.75 minutes, which is why Football Transfers now value the Englishman at up to €58m, which comes to about £48m, or £16m more than Richarlison is now worth.

Ultimately, Spurs did try to keep a hold of Madueke in the past, so his exit cannot really be blamed on them, but it's still likely frustrating for them to see him flourishing at Stamford Bridge, while one of their most expensive attacking signings most certainly is not.

Tottenham Hotspur have been put through the wringer this season, with players dropping like flies since last summer and wrecking any chance of challenging the Premier League's elite for a place at the top of the division.

However, amid the slew of setbacks, Ange Postecoglou might just have found some gems within the rubble. Tottenham have a youthful foundation, geared up for success at the highest level across the coming years.

While players like Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall have been thrown into the deep end this season, Mikey Moore also earning chances to shine too, it speaks highly of Tottenham's long-term future under Ange's wing, who appears to have survived the harshest point of the storm and can now seek to forge ahead with the next phase of his project.

Moreover, players like Brennan Johnson appear to have turned corners and made headway as they improve their game. Johnson has been good, albeit injured over the past two months, but it's Djed Spence, 24, who deserves the plaudits for his resurgence this term.

Djed Spence's Spurs resurgence

After Spence signed for Tottenham, he was brushed off by Antonio Conte, who froze the young full-back out and made it clear that he did not covet the player - resulting in a succession of loans to Rennes, Leeds United and Genoa.

It's been a rocky road, but Spence, has found his feet and then some down at N17, putting in an almighty MOTM performance against the Red Devils to continue his excellent campaign.

Postecoglou is a brilliant man manager, and you have to wonder whether the versatile defender would have found an inroad were the Australian not appointed back in 2023.

As per Sofascore, Spence has won 61% of his duels and completed 61% of his dribbles this season, also completing 88% of his passes. Remarkably, he's played the lion's share of the campaign out of position, at left-back.

Ange isn't perfect, but he's a talented manager capable of crafting a high-class team and pushing it into the limelight. Spence serves as a micro case in point. Tottenham can forge a successful end to their campaign but need to look beyond.

With Heung-min Son, for example, beginning to decline, the gaffer might turn to Manor Solomon as the latest star whose Lilywhites career could be resurrected.

Ange could repeat his Spence success

In July 2023, Tottenham signed Solomon from Shakhtar Donetsk on a free transfer after the winger impressed on loan with Fulham during the 2022/23 campaign.

His maiden (and currently only) season with Tottenham was disrupted by injury, with Solomon actually missing 33 total matches for the club after being ruled out of 17 for the Cottagers the term before. Thankfully, such issues have been put to bed with Leeds, where he has only missed out on four fixtures.

Still only 25, the two-sided winger started slow in the second tier but has come alive over the past several months, actually posting five goals and six assists across his last 12 league matches, exclusively being played from the left wing.

There's surely enough there to convince Ange that he could play a role next year, especially after the success of Spence. Moreover, Son will need support and Wilson Odobert, 20, has not yet proved that he is fit for purpose in the first team either.

It's important to note that Spence's efforts this season have been a product of his hard work. As per FBref, the defender ranks among the top 1% of positional peers in the English top flight this season for successful take-ons, the top 4% for tackles and the top 4% for blocks per 90, highlighting his balanced approach.

A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.

Solomon's efforts for Leeds similarly show that he is working tooth and nail toward making his name in the English scene, ranking highly for ball recoveries and ball-carrying metrics to showcase his commitment and willingness to impress beyond that of goal involvements.

He's also crisp in possession, with an 81.7% pass success rate only marginally behind that of Son: 84% in the Premier League. Moreover, with a decent amount of progressive passes placed and a highest-degree creative spark, Solomon is dynamic enough to make his mark.

Whether he is afforded another opportunity to impress down N17 remains to be seen, but Solomon has the perfect qualities for a place in Postecoglou's project and could end up saving the club millions in investment - especially when the 2024/25 campaign has proved that chairman Daniel Levy has plenty of problems to work on, plenty of areas to target for upgrades.

Spence's success doesn't automatically qualify that of another, but there's little doubt that Solomon has got the potential, having already impressed with Fulham in the Premier League and indeed been picked out by Spurs scouts.

One-time Whites boss Neil Redfearn has hailed Solomon for his "unplayable" performances this season, going on to remark that his dribbling ability and knack for taking on his man mean "it's like tackling smoke" for defenders looking to dispossess him. Clearly, he's too good for the Championship and could be a real asset next year.

With back-to-back wins in the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur supporters have enjoyed a period of respite within a gruelling and injury-hit campaign.

Ange Postecoglou's worries are far from over. Even after defeating Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, Spurs remain in the bottom half of the table, 12th and 14 points behind fourth-place Manchester City.

Out of the Carabao Cup, out of the FA Cup, into the last 16 of the Europa League. Tottenham may yet strike gold before the summer, but looking at it with a wider lens, there have been a few bright sparks that may have quite the impact over the coming years.

Spurs' bright sparks this season

Djed Spence was handed Tottenham's Man of the Match after the recent victory over Man United, proving not to be a flash in the pan but a highly gifted player with the ability to play a long-term role in Postecoglou's squad.

While Spence is 24, his rocky road travelled over the past several campaigns shows that he is one of the biggest bright sparks. However, Tottenham's rich youth crop bespeaks a prosperous future with Postecoglou at the helm.

Mikey Moore has been excellent, with the 17-year-old enjoying opportunities in place of injured seniors and scoring his first professional goal as Tottenham beat Elfsborg in the Europa League while playing seven top-flight games and threading an assist through for Richarlison's late consolation goal during last month's defeat to Everton.

In defence, Archie Gray deserves plenty of praise for regularly playing out of position in central defence in recent months as Ange sought to fix defensive deficiencies, but there's one man above all others who looks like they might be the jewel in the Tottenham crown.

Spurs' most exciting talent

If Postecoglou is able to shape the club's talent into something concrete at the highest level, fans may look back at the 2024/25 campaign with fondness, the springboard from which future heights were reached.

Leading this new order: Lucas Bergvall. The Swedish midfielder arrived in north London for a €10m (£8m) fee plus add-ons on January deadline day 2024, leaving Swedish side Djurgårdens IF. Barcelona were homing in on the teenager, but Spurs canvassed their proposal and bagged their man.

He's slick and stylish in the middle of the park with a cheeky on-field personality, endowed with strength and technical quality that suggest he could rival the best midfielders that Europe has to offer in a few years.

In fact, he might even prove to be Postecoglou's own version of Ryan Gravenberch in a few years, for he is of a similar profile to the Liverpool star, as per FBref. Gravenberch has been described as "absolutely world-class" in Arne Slot's system by one data analyst.

The players' contrasted statistics from the current campaign really do make for exciting reading. Bergvall mirrors many of the Netherlands star's metrics, has showcased similar strengths in ball-playing and -carrying while also demonstrating a combative side to his arsenal.

Gravenberch is only 22 but Bergvall is much younger still at 19, and with the former's market value skyrocketing to £82m over the past year, according to CIES Football Observatory, you could say that Bergvall has the capacity to hit such a level too, especially as he's earning invaluable Premier League experience at this young and inexperienced point in his career.

With 32 senior Spurs caps, one goal and three assists to his name, Bergvall has the world at his feet, especially with The Athletic analyst JJ Bull stating that he "has a first touch like [Luka] Modric."

Sky Sports commentator Rob Hawthorne noted the "incredible" time to score his first goal for Tottenham, and while Liverpool prevailed in the end, this is some player alright.

Gravenberch might be the talk of the town but here Spurs have an elite-level superstar in the making.