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After destroying Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad a couple of weeks ago, there was a general expectation that Tottenham Hotspur would go on a good run of form and climb up the Premier League table.

Unfortunately, that couldn't have been any further from the truth.

Instead, Ange Postecoglou's side drew their subsequent games before losing 1-0 to Bournemouth and blowing a two-goal lead to lose 4-3 at home to Chelsea.

There were poor performances all over the pitch for the host's during Sunday's derby defeat, but one player arguably stood out for all the wrong reasons and simply has to be dropped for tonight's must-win Europa League game against Rangers.

The Spurs star who must be dropped

So, while the likes of Pape Matar Sarr, Son Heung-min and Pedro Porro had games to forget on Sunday, the worst offender was undoubtedly Yves Bissouma.

The former Brighton & Hove Albion star put in one of his worst performances in a Spurs shirt to date, failing to add anything in attack or defence and, worse yet, actively contributing to his team's total capitulation.

For example, in the second half, with the score at 2-1, the Mali international made the "braindead" decision, as Jamie Carragher put it, to wipe out Moises Caicedo in the box, giving away a penalty and completely changing the tide of the match.

The incident saw him receive his fifth yellow card for the league campaign, and now he'll miss the game against Southampton on the weekend. However, based on his display against the West Londoners, Postecoglou might not have picked him anyway.

Unsurprisingly, football.london's Alasdair Gold awarded him just a 3/10 at full-time and slammed him for being 'poor in possession' and simply 'daft.'

Overall, it was the sort of display that should see him dropped for the game this evening, especially as the atmosphere will be incredibly intense inside Ibrox.

The Spurs player to replace Bissouma

Now, there are several players Posetcoglou could start in Bissouma's place tonight, from the more attacking James Maddison to the inexperienced Lucas Bergvall.

Nonetheless, for a game that's set to be as important and intense as this one, he has to start Rodrigo Bentancur.

The Uruguayan international is, without a doubt, still one of the club's best midfielders.

Furthermore, as he can currently play in European competition, his inclusion in place of the Malian ace is a no-brainer.

Able to help out in defence and attack at times, we can better understand just how brilliant the 27-year-old "monster", as dubbed by Statman Dave, really is by looking at his underlying numbers.

For example, according to FBref, the Nueva Helvecia-born titan sits in the top 1% of Premier League midfielders for interceptions, the top 4% for attempted passes, the top 7% for progressive passes, the top 10% for pass completion, the top 12% for total shots and the top 20% for non-penalty goals and aerial duels won, all per 90.

Moreover, with 67 senior caps for Uruguay under his belt and an impressive array of titles from his time with Juventus, he's not going to wilt or make silly mistakes due to the hostile atmosphere Rangers fans will surely create before a ball is even kicked.

Ultimately, Bissouma simply has to be dropped for tonight, and while there are some other options to replace him, the tenacity and security Bentancur brings to the team make him the obvious candidate.

Tottenham Hotspur's downward spiral got a whole lot worse on Sunday afternoon.

Ange Postecoglou's side responded to their 1-0 defeat away to Bournemouth in the week with a 4-3 defeat at home to Chelsea.

The North Londoners found themselves 2-0 up early in the first half, but some horrendous defending in the second 45 saw the Blues complete a memorable comeback.

Unfortunately, there is no time to rest and recover for the Lilywhites as they've got an incredibly tough away game against Rangers to deal with tonight, but given the onslaught of games, Postecoglou has to make some changes, such as dropping Dominic Solanke for a youngster previously compared to Harry Kane.

Why Solanke should be dropped

Okay, so the first thing to clear up is that this isn't necessarily down to Solanke's form, as even though he's not been exactly prolific since his £65m move to North London, the former Cherries ace has been impressive, and even scored against the Blues over the weekend.

Instead, Postecoglou should be looking to rest the club's main number nine due to his importance.

As things stand, the Englishman's tally of seven goals is the second-best in the entire squad, behind only Brennan Johnson, so the club must ensure he is not played into the ground and kept fit and firing to hopefully fire the club into some better form as the season progresses.

It was his absence in the game against Fulham that clearly defined his importance to the team, as while Son Heung-min can still be a useful player, he simply cannot fulfil the role of a number nine in Postecoglou's system, as he lacks the ability to hold up the ball and bring others into play from central areas.

So, with Solanke hopefully getting some important rest tonight and Son simply not an option, who should the manager turn to?

The player to replace Solanke

The player who deserves a chance to lead the line tonight is academy product Will Lankshear, who has already won some flattering comparisons to the legendary Kane.

The one to make the comparisons was Spurs writer Alasdair Gold, who was full of praise for the youngster after a particularly impressive Premier League 2 performance in which he scored a hat-trick last season.

Speaking on his podcast, he described the forward as having "a little bit of the [Harry] Kane physique about him," before going on to wax lyrical about his "lovely touch" and the partnership he had with Jamie Donley, which reminded him "a little bit of Kane and Son."

However, away from comparisons to the England and Spurs great, the teenage phenom is also an incredibly promising marksman in his own right, with a record of 31 goals and five assists in just 41 appearances for the club's various youth sides.

Moreover, while he foolishly got himself sent off in his previous start against Galatasaray, he also scored his first senior goal and seemed relatively unbothered by the incredibly hostile atmosphere, which bodes well for how he'd deal with Ibrox.

Ultimately, while he's not ready to replace Solanke on a permanent basis, Lankshear has the raw ability and physical stature to be a brilliant stand-in, and as his role in the squad increases in the coming years, he could develop into a genuine rival for the former Bournemouth man.

It's been an eventful campaign for Tottenham Hotspur this season, although given how last year went, that's hardly a surprise.

Ange Postecoglou's side have once again been enthralling to watch, although a significant reason is that you never know which team will show up.

Sometimes, the North Londoners are able to blitz Manchester City off the park, while other times, they'll lose at home to winless Ipswich Town.

This tendency to bounce between spectacular and disastrous is perhaps best exemplified by the midfield, although there is one starter who's been impressive for most of the season, someone who's been compared to Martin Odegaard and Phil Foden.

Tottenham's midfield options

Before we get to the player in question, it's worth looking at some of Spurs' other midfield stars and how they've performed this season, starting with co-vice-captain James Maddison, who has, unsurprisingly, impressed and disappointed this season.

For example, the former Leicester City star has racked up a great haul of five goals and five assists in 20 appearances but then looked miles off the pace and unable to influence proceedings in matches against Crystal Palace, Arsenal and Fulham, while not even being trusted to start against Chelsea, Ipswich or Aston Villa.

Likewise, Yves Bissouma has put in some of his best performances in a Lilywhite shirt this season.

Against City, in the League Cup, he made a goal-line clearance to deny Nico O'Reilly a guaranteed equaliser, and then against Everton, he made amends for his pre-season controversy by scoring an absolute screamer.

However, for every impressive display, the Mali international seems to put in a worrying one, with his "braindead" tackle on Moises Caicedo, as Jamie Carragher described it, just the latest example.

That said, while there are some serious issues with Spurs' current midfield options, they have at least one superstar among their ranks, someone who's made that area his own and has won comparisons to Odegaard and Foden.

The Spurs player like Odegaard & Foden

So, to get straight to the point, the Spurs ace compared to Odegaard and Foden is the incredible Dejan Kulusevski, but where have these comparisons come from?

Well, they primarily stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions in Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one, and in this instance, has concluded that the Englishman is the seventh most similar midfielder to the Swede over the last 365 days, while the Norwegian is the eighth most similar.

The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the trio ranks closely, including, but not limited to, expected and actual assists, expected non-penalty goals, key passes and shot-creating actions, all per 90.

However, on top of the statistical similarities between the trio, there is also the fact that both the City ace and the former Juventus star will occasionally play out on the wing.

Likewise, the Arsenal captain spends a lot of time in games interchanging with Bukayo Saka on the right-hand side, even if he officially starts in midfield.

With that said, it's not just the similarities to great players that make the Stockholm-born dynamo "world-class", as described by talent scout Jacek Kulig, it's also his output and tangible impact on games.

For example, in just 22 appearances so far this season, totalling 1469 minutes, the 24-year-old maestro has scored three goals and provided seven assists, equating to a goal involvement on average every 2.2 games, or every 146.9 minutes.

Ultimately, while Spurs have more than a few midfielders who seem incapable of maintaining a run of form at the moment, they also have a sensationally gifted talent in Kulusevski.

A "top quality" England international has informed his club that he's going to leave, as Tottenham Hotspur reach out and open talks with the player via representatives.

Ange Postecoglou holds transfer meetings with Johan Lange

Under-fire Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou and technical director Johan Lange will already have a good idea of how they best need to strengthen heading into the next two transfer windows, with the pair holding regular recruitment talks behind-the-scenes.

Broadcast giant Sky Sports writes that Postecoglou has been involved with Lange meetings ahead of the January window, as they discuss the potential to do business mid-season, with Spurs' head coach under mounting pressure after a dismal run of form.

Tottenham's last 10 matches in all competitions have been inconsistent at best, with impressive wins over the likes of Aston Villa and Man City overshadowed by dismal defeats to lowly Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town - who both sealed their first league victories of the season against Spurs.

Postecoglou's side have also squandered early two-goal leads on multiple occasions this season - firstly against Brighton in a 3-2 defeat at the Amex, and secondly against Chelsea in their 4-3 home defeat on Sunday.

Tottenham look fragile, and while you can make a serious case they've lost a lot of key players to injury, their season is threatening to unravel at the midway point.

Cristian Romero is reportedly set to miss six weeks after picking up a fresh problem in his quadriceps, while the likes of Wilson Odobert, Richarlison and Guglielmo Vicario are also out with long-term problems and won't return until 2025.

Spurs also have to think beyond this season, and some very intriguing transfer opportunities are emerging from Ligue 1.

Both Lille striker Jonathan David and midfielder Angel Gomes are out of contract at the end of the season, giving interested Premier League sides a major chance to snap up either one of the in-form duo at zero cost.

Tottenham have already held talks with David's camp, and now the same can be said of Three Lions midfielder Gomes.

Tottenham hold talks with Angel Gomes who's told Lille he's leaving

According to The Boot Room, Gomes has told Lille he's leaving at the end of the season, and Tottenham have held talks with his representatives as they attempt to gauge his interest in a move to N17.

The former Man United gem was excellent for Lille last season, bagging eight assists in 31 Ligue 1 matches as a mainstay player for the French side, and former Spurs keeper Paul Robinson has urged the club to strike a bargain deal for Gomes before.

“He’s the type of quality player you want your club looking at, obviously. If there is a route back to the Premier League for him, Spurs won’t be the only suitors for him," said Robinson to Tottenham News.

“Lee Carsley is looking more and more likely to get the England job on a permanent basis, and with that in mind, he’s going to get more minutes at international level. He’s a top-quality player.

“A move back to the Premier League won’t be out of the question. If he’s playing at the top level, you want your club to be involved in the race. He fits the mould of the type of player Spurs would sign – young, English and talented.”

Tottenham Hotspur have held talks with a striker who's scored 169 career goals for club and country combined, via his representatives, following a recommendation from ex-managing director Fabio Paratici.

Spurs slump to 4-3 Chelsea defeat after spurning two-goal cushion

Ange Postecoglou remains under pressure in the Spurs dugout after Chelsea sealed a comeback from 2-0 down to beat them 4-3 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, a result which makes it just one win in seven games for the Lilywhites.

Cole Palmer's brace, Enzo Fernandez's half-volley and Jadon Sancho cancelled out early strikes from Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski, with reports in the aftermath having to clarify Tottenham's stance on sacking Postecoglou as unrest grows among the fanbase.

Tottenham are now eleventh in the Premier League table, having lost seven top flight games already, with Postecoglou also around seven points adrift of Man City in fourth as the prospect of Champions League football next season threatens to become elusive.

Their inconsistency is a real worry, not to mention their sheer number of injuries right now. Star defender Cristian Romero is out for around six weeks after picking up a quadriceps injury against Chelsea, according to reports in South America, as he joins the growing list of long-term absentees.

"Every time we have seemed like we are on solid footing something has come along which will become an impediment for us to do that," said Postecoglou on Tottenham's inconsistency after their Chelsea defeat.

"It’s just the way our season has gone so far. It went like that last year. It’s not like since I have been here this is unusual territory. Ultimately, my role now is to focus on the things I can control and keep preparing the team the best we can to keep progressing as a football team and turn our season around.

"When I look at today’s performance I don’t see them lacking confidence or belief. It’s probably the other way. Both penalties we conceded were borne out of desperation. I think they are desperate to turn our season around and are really disappointed how it has gone.

"When you’re in that mood you kind of lose that composure and discipline you need. It’s not like we are hanging on in games, we wouldn’t play like we did today if there was a lack of belief and confidence. When you get into this situation we are in there is also a sense of desperation from the players and I thought that cost us today."

Tottenham open talks with Lille striker Jonathan David

The next two transfer windows are soon upon us, though, and it could hand Postecoglou an opportunity to strengthen in key areas with a view of competing more fiercely next season - if he is indeed still at the helm.

They've been sporadically linked with a new number nine, despite the arrival of Solanke last summer, with Lille star Jonathan David rumoured to be on their radar heading into 2025.

The Canada international will be available at zero cost at the end of the season, and it could shape up to be one of the biggest bargains of the year, considering David already has 17 goals from 23 appearances in all competitions this term - including four in five Champions League games.

As per The Boot Room, Tottenham have opened talks with David's representatives, as they plot signing the Ligue 1 star on a Bosman deal.

The report states that this comes after Paratici recommended David to Spurs recently, and if Postecoglou wishes to bring in an alternative for Solanke, there are hardly more prolific options on the market available at a cheaper price.

For all the genuinely brilliant players Tottenham Hotspur have been blessed with over the years, they have also dealt with their fair share of duds.

The likes of Vincent Janssen, Roberto Soldado and Tanguy Ndombele all moved to N17 to plenty of excitement, and each failed to deliver.

However, when it comes to recent problem players for the Lilywhites, it's hard to look past full-back Serge Aurier.

So, it's unfortunate that Ange Postecoglou may have already found his own version of the Ivorian international.

Aurier's Spurs career

Following the sale of Kyle Walker to Manchester City, Spurs needed a new full-back in the summer of 2017 and opted to pay Paris Saint-Germain £23m to secure the services of their trouble-making defender, Aurier.

Now, while it was obviously a mistake in hindsight, there was a belief that the North Londoners were getting an incredibly talented replacement, as in 32 appearances across the prior campaign, he provided five assists, equating to a reasonably impressive return - for a defender - of one every 6.4 games.

However, any hopes that the Lilywhites would be able to get the good without the bad from the Ouragahio-born ace were almost immediately shattered, as he managed to get himself sent off in his first Premier League start for the club.

It would be two years before the Ivorian would be sent off for a second time, but across his first two seasons, he built up a somewhat deserved reputation for being an "erratic" defender, per Spurs icon Teddy Sheringham.

So, when he gave away the free-kick that led to Manchester City's goal in the 2021 EFL Cup final, it was the final straw.

That summer saw his contract terminated by mutual consent, but not before Jamie Carragher could tear into him on Sky Sports, describing him as "one of the biggest liabilities in Premier League football."

In all, while Aurier had the talent, his inability to stay out of trouble and not throw away games due to silly mistakes meant his time in North London was a failure, so it's a little worrying that Postecoglou could have already signed a player who could become his own version of him.

Postecoglou's own Aurier

So, of the players signed by Postecoglou since last summer, it's Romanian centre-back Radu Dragusin who seems to be at the biggest risk of becoming the Australian's Aurier.

The first thing to say is that's not down to any off-field controversies, nor his attitude on the pitch either, but it is down to the fact that he has made several mistakes in his short time at the club and already seems to be the scapegoat for many fans.

Starting with his mistakes then, at home against Qarabağ, he got himself sent off within 15 minutes and was luckily bailed out by his teammates; against Galatasaray, he practically gifted Victor Osimhen his first goal with a horrendous touch, and then against Bournemouth, he lost the ball in the lead up to Evanilson's strike.

Moreover, those are just some of the standout mistakes made in the last couple of months.

Yet, for all his lapses of concentration and sloppy touches, the former Genoa ace has stepped up in moments, and considering how poorly the team has played around him, it doesn't feel entirely justified to make him the scapegoat, which seems to be happening somewhat.

For example, on the BBC's Football Daily podcast, former professional Nigel Reo-Coker argued that "the Premier League is a bit too much for him," while journalist Mitch Fretton described the 22-year-old as a "horror show" for his efforts in the loss to Ipswich Town.

Ultimately, for all his talent, Dragusin has struggled at Spurs, and so long as he keeps making mistakes and being singled out, there is an ever-increasing chance he'll become Ange's Aurier.

To put it bluntly, Sunday was not a good day for Tottenham Hotspur.

Ange Postecoglou's side played host to fierce rivals Chelsea, and after just losing to Bournemouth, they were under immense pressure to come away with all three points.

Things started well enough, with Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski putting the North Londoners 2-0 up, but some braindead defending and brilliant play from the visitors saw the game end 4-3 in their favour.

Unsurprisingly, Cole Palmer was the star of the show once again, and while he looks destined to reach the very top, it was Spurs who had a potentially era-defining talent in their squad first.

Spurs' exciting youngsters

Before we get to the player in question, it's worth delving into some of the exciting talents within Postecoglou's squad today, as while they aren't getting as much attention as Palmer, some of them could end up being just as good.

For example, Mikey Moore is still only 17 years old but has caught the imagination of the fanbase with his impressive cameo appearances, including the one against AZ Alkmaar that saw James Maddison compare him to Neymar Jr and his sensational form at the youth level.

In just 33 appearances for the various junior teams, the England U19 star has scored 20 goals and provided 15 assists, which equates to a brilliant average of 1.06 goal involvements per game.

Moving back to the first team and to a player who's been getting plenty of game time recently, Archie Gray looks set for an incredible career at the top level.

Described as a "future £100m cm" by analyst Ben Mattinson, the Durham-born gem has primarily played at right-back so far this season, making 15 first-team appearances, but the club believe that his future lies in the middle of the park.

Interestingly, that could see him form a partnership with another of the Lilywhites' terribly exciting youngsters, Lucas Bergvall.

The Swedish phenom, whom Mattinson described as "uber-complete", signed for the North Londoners in January despite interest from Barcelona.

While he hasn't been able to make a significant impact yet this season, he seriously impressed in his home country last year, racking up a tally of six goals and five assists in 19 senior appearances for Djurgården.

However, while the three aforementioned prospects could develop into incredible players, they, and Palmer, for that matter, pale in comparison to Spurs' original star boy.

Spurs' original Palmer

So, to get straight to the point, the former youngster in question was, of course, Dele Alli.

The former England international was a sublime player for the Lilywhites and certainly the club's own, arguably more impressive, version of Palmer.

The Milton Keynes-born gem joined the North Londoners in a £5m deal from MK Dons in February 2015 but remained with his hometown side until the following season, when he truly burst onto the scene.

In his first season with Mauricio Pochettino's team, the midfield maestro, whom talent scout Jacek Kulig described as a "pure wonderkid," scored ten goals and provided ten assists in 46 games.

However, as impressive as that was, the following season was on another level entirely, as in 50 appearances, the incredible talent scored 22 goals, provided 12 assists and thoroughly established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League.

This rich vein of form continued to some degree for a few years, but things eventually went wrong for the Englishman, and while he now finds himself without a club, his immense natural talent means he could still find his way back to the game in some form or another.

Ultimately, while Palmer is the toast of Chelsea at the moment, he'll have to go up another gear in the coming seasons to match the utterly sensational form Dele was in for the first few years of his Spurs career.

Under-fire boss Ange Postecoglou is already dealing with an injury-hit Tottenham Hotspur squad right now, but it is now rumoured that another star player in their squad is set to be sidelined for weeks.

Tottenham injuries and suspensions

Spurs currently have as many as eight first team players suffering with one issue or another in terms of fitness, while both Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma are currently suspended from action.

Bentancur is in the midst of a domestic ban from the FA, while Bissouma is set to be ineligible until their clash against Liverpool on December 22 after picking up his fifth yellow card of the campaign in their 4-3 defeat at home to Chelsea on Sunday.

It is unclear whether Mikey Moore will finally return from his illness to face Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday, with star winger Brennan Johnson in the same boat after Postecoglou hauled the in-form Welshman off against Chelsea.

"Brennan just didn't feel well," said Postecoglou on Johnson's substitution against Chelsea.

"He didn't feel well at half-time, but he wanted to give it a go. He just wasn't feeling 100 per cent, so I had to take him off."

Left-back Ben Davies missed Tottenham's defeat to Chelsea with a thigh injury, while striker Richarlison, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and summer signing Wilson Odobert are all sidelined with long-term injuries and won't be back until the new year.

Postecoglou was gifted a reprieve when star centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven returned to the starting line-up on Sunday, but the former was replaced after just 15 minutes.

Van de Ven was taken off later in the 90 after feeling tightness (Postecoglou), but it is far more worrying for Romero, who apparently picked up a fresh injury around his quadriceps.

"Romero is just obviously hugely disappointing," said Postecoglou on Romero's injury against Chelsea.

"He felt something in his quad. He trained really well. He wasn't the one I was worried about, to be honest, but, you know, it's just like I said, the way the season's going for us unfortunately. So we just have to wait and see."

Tottenham set to be without Romero for six weeks after fresh injury

The Argentina international had been sidelined with a toe injury, but this instance is a completely separate problem, with TyC Sports reporter Gaston Edul providing an update on the £150 million defender's condition.

Edu, taking to X, writes that Romero will be sidelined for six weeks at Tottenham after his fresh muscle injury, dealing a major blow to Postecoglou, who must now contend without his "unbelievable" player yet again.

As a result, the former Atalanta star won't return to the field until 2025, and he is set to miss crucial games against Liverpool and in the Europa League.

Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy has stepped in to make a decision about manager Ange Postecoglou and his immediate future at N17, with pressure mounting on the Australian amid a dismal run of results.

Tottenham slump to 4-3 Chelsea defeat after two-goal advantage

For the second time this season, Spurs squandered a two-goal advantage in the Premier League to lose, with Chelsea becoming the next team after Brighton to do so when the Lilywhites and west Londoners met on Sunday.

Postecoglou's men were in dreamland after taking a quick 2-0 lead early in the first-half, taking advantage of two slips from Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella, with both Dominic Solanke and Dejan Kulusevski getting on the scoresheet with just 11 minutes on the clock.

However, the fightback also started early doors, as Chelsea summer signing Jadon Sancho grabbed one back just six minutes later before Cole Palmer's first penalty and Enzo Fernandez's excellent half-volley completed their comeback and handed them a deserved second-half lead.

Palmer, who has become even more of a superstar at Stamford Bridge this season, then rounded off their win with a cheeky panenka six minutes from full-time. Son Heung-min bagged a very late consolation for Spurs, who have now won just once in their last seven games across all competitions, with the under-fire Postecoglou facing a barrage of criticism lately.

"Obviously it's a painful one because we started the game really well," said Postecoglou on Tottenham's 4-3 defeat to Chelsea.

"Not just the goals we scored but the way we were playing. We were really in control of the game and had some really good opportunities apart from the two goals. Then you lose Cristian after the second goal which is just the way our season has gone.

"Nothing has run smoothly and they capitalised before we had settled back down to score. I still felt that in the first half we had the better moments to get a third goal, a couple of key ones.

"In the second half they came out and put us under pressure. I felt we were handling it not too badly and then when they scored we had a big moment at 2-2 to go 3-2 up and in these kind of games, those moments are important. We don't take it and then both penalties were poor on our behalf. They're self-inflicted and unnecessary challenges."

There have been reports that Tottenham are shortlisting potential replacements for Postecoglou if they decide to part company with the ex-Celtic boss, and Ipswich Town boss Kieran McKenna is believed to feature highly among them after he snubbed a move to Chelsea in the summer (Football Transfers).

Levy makes decision about sacking Ange at Tottenham

Fulham boss Marco Silva is also rumoured to have admirers at Spurs, but broadcast giant talkSPORT has shared an encouraging update for Postecoglou in regard to keeping his job.

The outlet writes that Postecoglou is in no immediate danger of the Tottenham sack, with Levy willing to give him more time to turn the club's fortunes around.

The Spurs chairman apparently acknowledges that they've been hit by a number of injuries to key players, so he's aware of damning factors like this and wants to hand Postecoglou more breathing room to get his house in order. Meanwhile, Tottenham's head coach desires more funds so he can strengthen the squad in January.

The last 20 years have not been particularly prosperous for Tottenham Hotspur in a trophy sense, but their fans have been blessed with some of the best footballers in the Premier League.

The likes of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min became one of the most dangerous attacking duos in the league's history, while the eternally underrated Mousa Dembélé bossed midfield up and down the country, and the defensive partnership of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld looked unbeatable at times.

However, when it comes to out-and-out star power and the ability to get fans off their feet at any moment, one Spurs star stands above all others in the last 15 years: Gareth Bale.

So, when another up-and-coming attacker was compared to him in late 2013, there was understandable excitement, although to say that comparison has since been proven wrong would be a colossal understatement.

Gareth Bale's Spurs career

In May 2007, Spurs paid around £10m for an incredibly exciting 17-year-old by the name of Bale, who was still primarily seen as a full-back at the time.

The Cardiff-born teenager made a decent start to life with the Lilywhites, scoring three goals and providing one assist in 12 winless appearances, but a torn ankle ligament put an end to his season in December, and when he returned, things weren't so easy.

The goal involvements dried up, and it took until his 25th appearance for him to be on the winning side, which had led to some in the game, including Alex Ferguson, labelling him a bad luck charm.

Fortunately, things did start to improve for the 6 foot 1 magician, and following a decision from Harry Redknapp to move him to the wing, he took off.

Overall, the Welsh icon scored 71 goals and provided 53 assists in 237 appearances for Spurs, equating to an impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.91 games.

However, it was in his final campaign, in 12/13, that he cemented himself as a world-class talent.

In just 44 appearances that season, the Lilywhites' talisman scored 26 goals and provided ten assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.22 games, which helps to explain why Real Madrid paid a world record £85m for his services that August.

Bale was undoubtedly one of the best Tottenham players of the 21st century, so when an exciting youngster was compared to him just a couple of months after he left, there was more than a little bit of excitement.

The Spurs ace who was the next Bale

So, to get straight to the point, the player in question is former England international Andros Townsend.

The 33-year-old was a part of Tottenham's academy system, and after four years of sporadic appearances and loan moves between 2009 and 2013, he was finally given a proper chance to impress in the first team and, to begin with, things looked incredibly promising.

For example, it was around this time that Roy Hodgson handed the then-22-year-old his first two senior England caps, and then, after a particularly impressive showing away to Aston Villa that included a goal from the winger, Spurs star Vertonghen made the comparison to the Welsh superstar, simply saying "Andros can be our new Gareth Bale."

Now, while the centre-back might have been trying to encourage his teammate, all he did was hand him an impossible task, as over the following seasons, it became increasingly clear that the "fearless" Leytonstone-born star, as dubbed by former manager Andre Villas-Boas, would never reach that level.

In fact, it didn't take long before he fell out of the starting lineup, and by the time he was sold to Newcastle United for £12m in January 2016, he had produced just 24 goal involvements for the club in 93 appearances.

The next nine years saw the 13-capped international become a regular starter for Crystal Palace and Everton before making a move to Luton Town as a free agent last season, where his four goal involvements in 27 league games were not enough to prevent the team from being relegated.

However, instead of going down with the Hatters and fighting to get back to the Premier League, Townsend made the surprise decision to join Turkish side Antalyaspor.

Unfortunately, despite having plenty of top-level experience, the 5-foot-11 attacker is struggling to make an impact with his new side and currently has a single goal to his name in 11 appearances, five of which have come off the bench.

Ultimately, while Townsend was able to make it in the Premier League and can boast a senior career most players would love to have, it would be fair to say that the comparisons to Bale in 2013 were miles off the mark.