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Spurs fans would probably disagree, but Ally McCoist has suggested the club’s best player is not even a world-class talent, despite a long career performing at the top of the game.

Heung-min Son hasn’t done enough to impress McCoist

Heung-min Son is now approaching ten years with Tottenham Hotspur, and over that time he has consistently delivered goals, assists, and game-changing moments for the club.

He’s also a superstar for his country, leading South Korea through various major tournaments, and is on his way to breaking the records for appearances and goals for the Asian nation.

But, according to Ally McCoist in a recent appearance on talkSPORT (08/10/2024 at 7:45 am), the Spurs skipper is not quite at the level he would consider world-class.

When asked about Son’s status, McCoist replied: “The fact of the matter is not recently [Son hasn’t been world class], but over the career, he is on the cusp. He is on the cusp. But, no.”

Ally McCoist is wrong about Son

It is hard to quantify what amounts to world-class talent these days, but simply looking at Son’s numbers and longevity would be enough to warrant the label.

More so when Harry Kane was still at the club, Son was absolutely prolific, and he and his former strike partner are still the most deadly duo in Premier League history, with 47 assists for one another.

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He has also delivered double-digit goal tallies every season since the 2016/17 campaign, proving his consistency in the Premier League for Spurs.

Son still has more to give

At 32-years-old, we are sadly entering the final years of Son’s career, but he still has so much more to offer. His pace hasn’t left him, and his finishing is still top-drawer.

There’s every chance we will get another two or three years of high-quality performances out of Son, and when he wins a trophy with Spurs, he will cement his status as a legend.

Paul Robinson does not think Tottenham Hotspur have abandoned their pursuit of Eberechi Eze, but there could be competition for the Crystal Palace star.

Eze likely to be on the move?

It has been reported by a number of sources that Eze is keen to swap Crystal Palace for a fresh challenge on the back of the club’s poor start to the season.

This claim was also carried recently by Football Insider, who suggested that while the attacking midfielder could be available for a fee of around £50m-£60m, the Eagles are reluctant to lose any of their key players in January.

The outlet claimed that it could be a three-horse race for the England international’s signature between Spurs, Liverpool and Newcastle United.

Paul Robinson’s claim

Robinson asserted that Ange Postecoglou’s men are indeed looking at the market for an attacking midfielder and that Eze remains one of the names on their wishlist.

However, the former Tottenham number one predicted that there will be a major scramble for the 26-year-old’s services among many of the Premier League’s top clubs.

He has now told Football Insider: “An attack-minded midfielder is something they are looking at alongside James Maddison. Eze, depending on how this season goes with Crystal Palace, will sit down and see where his future lies.

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“It’ll be a tough one to get done in the winter. He’s under contract until 2027, so come next summer he’ll have two years left on his contract. I fully expect there to be interest in Eze if he has a good season for Palace this year and plays well for England as well.

“There’ll be a number of clubs ready to take him away from Selhurst Park next year. The top clubs in England will all be after him. The likes of Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham are all admirers of Eze and are keeping tabs on his situation ahead of next summer’s transfer window.”

Kulusevski’s change of role

With Dejan Kulusevski now operating as a number eight, it remains to be seen if Postecoglou would prioritise spending big on an attacking midfielder in January, particularly with Lucas Bergvall also waiting in the wings for an opportunity.

The Tottenham head coach might decide to sign another wide player instead to offer competition to Brennan Johnson on the right wing.

Craig Burley has blasted one Tottenham man for his poor showing against Brighton and has backed Ange Postecoglou to drop him for the London derby against West Ham.

Injuries up front for Spurs

Tottenham are currently without three of their attackers in Heung-min Son, Richarlison and Wilson Odobert.

That has meant that Postecoglou has persisted with Timo Werner on the left, with the German struggling to make the most of his opportunities in the final third.

While the former Chelsea man has looked a threat with his running off the ball and his ability to take defenders on, his inability to finish or pick out a teammate in the box proved costly for Spurs at the Amex Stadium.

Burley unleashes on Werner

Burley believes that we have seen enough evidence to be sure that Werner does not have what it takes to succeed in the Premier League.

The pundit suggested that Mikey Moore offers more than the on-loan RB Leipzig man and backed the 17-year-old to start against the Hammers.

He told ESPN UK: “And again, I don’t want to sort of pick on him, but I am going to. I mean, Timo Werner. Timo Werner whatever he did in Germany, he has been unable to do in two spells in England.

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“His end product was once again atrocious, and that adds to the pressure that goes on a team defensively when you are just not finishing teams off.

“It wasn’t just Timo Werner, but if he starts the next game after the international break, I will be very surprised.

“A young 17-year-old in Moore is probably going to come in his place. Brennan Johnson has come through a tough time when people were talking about his end product. He gets six goals in six.”

Son to be back?

According to some reports, Heung-min Son was ‘pushing hard’ to be fit for the clash against Brighton and Spurs are hopeful that he will be fit for the London derby (The Standard).

One would thus expect the Tottenham captain to come back into the eleven in place of Werner and his return will certainly come as a major boost to the Lilywhites.

Dominic Solanke has made an admission about his England debut back in 2017 after breaking back into the Three Lions set-up this week.

Seven years between caps

Solanke was just starting out in his career when he won his first cap, aged 19, against Brazil. The fact that he won his first cap so young is proof that he was always highly rated by those in and around the game.

However, his career has not been straightforward as he has had to battle his way back to the top after being let go by both Chelsea and Liverpool.

Proud moment

The 26-year-old undoubtedly deserves the call-up on the back of the brilliant season he had in Bournemouth last term and the impressive start he has made to life at Tottenham.

When asked about his memories of his first England cap, the striker has now told England football’s official website: “Making my senior debut for England is something I’ll never ever forget. I think that’s what every kid dreams of.

“Not just becoming a footballer but representing your country is a whole other level. Especially against Brazil at home, at Wembley. It couldn’t really get much better than that. That’s definitely one of the highlights of my career.

Starting to come together

Solanke confessed that while his journey has had some ups and downs so far, he would not change it because it has helped him become the footballer he is today.

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The Tottenham man admitted that things are now finally coming together for him as he looks to make his mark at the highest level.

He added: “I’ve had quite a journey in football. Everyone’s journey is different and I wouldn’t change it. I’ve had a lot of ups and a lot of downs as well but I think that’s made me who I am today on and off the pitch.

“I’m grateful for everything and hopefully I can carry on my form. I’m improving all the time and I feel like, at the moment, I’m full of confidence. I feel like my game’s improved a lot and I’m at that point in my career where it’s all starting to come together.”

The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare has spotted a worrying pattern for Tottenham when they take the lead in matches under Ange Postecoglou.

Disastrous second half against Brighton

A lot of the good work that Tottenham have done over the last few weeks was undone by an extremely poor 20 minutes at the start of the second half against Brighton.

Not only did the Lilywhites concede three poor goals but they struggled to muster up any sort of response, looking helpless as the Seagulls flooded forward with numbers.

It is the sort of performance that showed that Spurs still have a long way to go before they can have ambitions about competing with the best sides in the Premier League.

Eccleshare notices pattern

That second-half performance at the Amex appeared to come out of nowhere, given how much control Tottenham have had over their games this season.

However, Eccleshare pointed out that we saw a similar pattern from Spurs away from home last season as they struggled to show any kind of threat on the counter-attack while having the lead.

He wrote: ‘Something that happened yesterday as well for Spurs that’s happened a few times under Ange is in away games creating nothing in the 2nd half having been ahead. Wolves, Everton, West Ham last season eg. They seem to struggle to retain a threat on the counter when leading sometimes.’

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Postecoglou takes responsibility

Postecoglou admitted in his post-match press conference that the performance from his side in the second-half was unacceptable, stating that he saw a drop off in intensity.

However, rather than throwing his players under the bus, the Tottenham boss accepted responsibility for the result and insisted that he will try to ensure it does not happen again.

He told Football.London: “It’s unacceptable at the end of the day. You can kind of understand that you’re not going to win every game. But there’s the manner you lose games. And that’s the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve lost the game in that manner. And like I said, unacceptable.”

When asked what he can do about it, he responded: “There’s a lot I can do about it. That’s why I’m in the role. If I couldn’t do anything about it I’d get somebody else to sit here.”

Archie Gray has spoken about his preferred position and his big summer decision to swap his boyhood club for Tottenham.

Impressive start to life at Spurs

Some eyebrows were raised when Spurs paid £40m to sign Gray in the summer as that is not the sort of fee that one pays for signings from the Championship, particularly for a player who is just 18 years old.

However, it already looks like money well spent by Tottenham, with the teenager showing maturity beyond his years in his opportunities so far.

What has surprised many is the ease with which he has adapted to different positions. Gray has already featured as a right-back, left-back, centre-back and a number six for the Lilywhites.

Gray makes confession about his best position

Surprisingly, Gray has revealed that he does not really have a preference for any one position, insisting that to become a great player, he has to be comfortable across multiple roles.

He told The Times: “Honestly I don’t care where I play. In our system you have to be able to play in different positions, not just to cover for people when they’re injured, but to be comfortable wherever you are on the pitch.

“A lot of teams demand that now. You have to be open-minded, you can’t be fixed on one thing or one area. Even the incredible players, they’re comfortable wherever they are, that’s how the game is now.”

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Tottenham is the right club for Gray

Gray is confident that he is at the right club to take his game to the next level, admitting that he knew he had to make the move when Spurs came knocking in the summer.

When asked if he had any doubts about leaving his boyhood club at such a young age, the 18-year-old responded: “There’s always thoughts like that in the back of your head, but when I knew Tottenham were coming in, I knew it was the right time to go.

“These opportunities don’t come around very often, and you never know, if I didn’t take it this year it might not come around again. A club like Tottenham and the chance to work under this manager and his staff, sometimes it’s the chance of a lifetime and you never know when it might go by. I felt like it was the right time this summer.”

When asked if he believes he is on his way to the top of the game, the 18-year-old confidently responded: “I do and Tottenham is the perfect club for that. If I keep working hard hopefully I can get to that top level. I believe in my ability and I believe I can do that but there’s a lot of hard work to do to get there.”

Former Aston Villa CEO Keith Wyness has made a big claim about potential investment into Tottenham Hotspur.

Amanda Staveley plotting minority takeover

Over the last few weeks, it has been widely reported that Amanda Staveley and her husband Mehrdad Ghodoussi, who were formerly co-owners at Newcastle, are plotting a move to buy a stake in Spurs.

Staveley, backed by ‘serious money’ from the Middle East, is thought to have put together a team to buy into the North London side (The Sun).

It has been alleged that the consortium could look to buy around 25 per cent of Tottenham, having already held discussions with Daniel Levy.

Levy wants to remain in control

Wyness has now revealed that Tottenham have appointed Rothchild to analyse all potential suitors and to recommend the right one for the club.

The former Everton and Villa CEO explained that the Spurs chairman wants to continue calling the shots even after the minority sale.

Wyness told Football Insider: “Daniel Levy has appointed Rothchild to analyse all these potential partners. We all know he’s a smart commercial operator. I know of a lot more parties who have held talks.

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“Levy is not just looking for the money but for a PR boost or something else. He’ll also want someone who will carry on letting him run the club. He doesn’t want someone coming in and shouting the odds in the boardroom.”

Decision expected soon

Wyness further revealed that talks over a takeover have been ongoing for a long time, remarking that he expects a final decision from Tottenham soon.

He added: “We’ll have to see who Rothchild recommends – it could be nobody. They’ve been looking for a long time.

“Every season this goes on, they’re paying less and less stadium interest and the need for money reduces. But I do believe they are going to make a decision soon, pay off that debt and leave Spurs in a very strong position.”

Manchester City have won a big legal battle with the Premier League over rules about ‘inflated’ sponsor deals, with the verdict set to have a seismic impact on Tottenham and other Premier League clubs.

Sponsorship deals permitted

City legally challenged the Premier League after they put in place new rules, whereby certain sponsorship deals were branded unlawful.

However, a panel of retired judges has ruled that these regulations introduced by the Premier League, preventing clubs from inflating deals with companies linked to their owners, breach the Competition Act.

This verdict could thus open the door for the likes of Man City and Newcastle to sign off on significantly higher deals with related parties.

Impact on Spurs and others

This ruling puts the financial regulations currently in place in jeopardy as it allows a massive leeway for clubs such as Man City to artificially inflate their revenue.

Clubs like Spurs, who had a competitive advantage when it comes to PSR, owing to their healthy balance sheet, might now forfeit some of that advantage.

Additionally, Associated Party Transactions (APTs) have also been deemed unlawful, which means that clubs will no longer be allowed to borrow huge sums from their shareholders as the likes of Arsenal and Brighton have done recently.

Separate from City’s financial breaches

While this verdict is undoubtedly a big win for City, it is separate from the 115 alleged financial breaches that the club have been accused of by the Premier League.

However, the Mail points out that this verdict does impact some of those alleged breaches as City’s previous 10-year deal with the Abu Dhabi-based airline features heavily in the case on those 115 charges.

Spurs have made it two wins out of two in the Europa League and are so far proving their worth as one of the favourites to win the entire competition in seven months – but how far can Tottenham really go?

Tottenham have history

Tottenham do hold a strong history in the Europa League, winning the competition twice, in 1972 and 1984, when the cup was named the UEFA Cup – but Spurs’ involvement in the modern competition has been less impressive.

Since 2011, Tottenham have been involved in UEFA’s second-tier European competition seven times. The furthest Spurs have gotten is the round of 16, where they were infamously knocked out by a Dynamo Zagreb side that comically were managerless for their second leg 3-0 victory due to the Croatian side’s head coach being in prison. (The Athletic)

It’s those types of storylines that have coloured Tottenham fans’ recent memories of the Europa League.

Ange Postecoglou wields the chance to change the attitude of fans towards the Europa League. Winning your first two games and blooding some of the club’s most exciting young players while still showing sincerity towards the competition is certainly a good way to start.

Tottenham’s squad depth

A dimension that often can be the determining factor as to whether a club lifts the Europa League is depth of squad, and the quality of that depth.

The evidence is clear to see. Take last season’s final for example – Bayer Leverkusen were almost definitely the best team in the competition, but once they’d reached the final, Xavi Alonso’s side looked leggy and as though the treacherous German league season had left their tanks on zero as Atalanta shockingly swept aside the Bundesliga champions.

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Chelsea are one of the clearest examples of squad depth playing a key part in winning the cup. They had the luxury of rotating Gonzalo Higuain and Oliver Giroud throughout the 2018/19 season, with the latter starting the final and getting his name on the scoresheet.

The Blues also had incredible depth on the wings with Pedro, Hazard, Willian and Hudson-Odoi who were key in ensuring that Sarri’s side not only won the final but reached it undefeated.

Tottenham, unlike perhaps in previous years, do have enough strength in depth to go all the way in Europe, although it does obviously depend on how long Spurs last in the two domestic cups also.

Ange Postecoglou has been able to make six changes in his first Europa League game and seven in his most recent and Tottenham have comfortably won, a statement that couldn’t be made when Spurs faced Mura and Dynamo Zagreb only a handful of years ago.

The emergence of young stars such as Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear should only help lighten the load for Postecoglou’s squad with only a seismic injury crisis such as the one Spurs suffered against Chelsea last season, able to affect Tottenham’s squad depth that appears to currently be providing Postecoglou’s first-choice eleven rest bite – in the group stage at least.

Competition for the trophy

Tottenham were widely touted as the favourites to win the tournament before a ball was kicked, with Spurs already potentially proving their worth not only with their two wins. The fact that Postecoglou’s men comfortably swept aside one of the fiercest rivals for the Europa League, Manchester United, 3-0 last weekend will only enhance their credentials.

Ajax and Roma are two other sides that join Spurs at the top of the list of fancied sides to win the Europa League, but Tottenham have the potential to already have the upper hand against Roma on match week 5 of the competition when they host the Italian giants.

The most important change to the newly formatted Europa League that works in Tottenham’s favour is the fact that UEFA altered the competition to mean that Champions League sides can no longer drop down into the second-tier UEFA cup.

Of the last five Europa League finals, three of them have contained a team that has dropped out of the Champions League. (Europa League)

Spurs therefore won’t face any surprises should they progress to the knockout stages and can remain confident that they will be the pacesetters of the competition, with many fans likely believing that Tottenham hold the capability to beat any team in the Europa League.

Premier League distractions

Spurs biggest threat to Europa League success may be themselves, with a race to finish inside the top four perhaps taking precedence over a Europa League campaign.

The Europa League has often been a sweetener for sides who’ve had poor domestic seasons. Sevilla are serial winners of the competition and it’s understandable why, the Spanish side are always a way off winning the title which is dominated by Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Sevilla also finds themselves frequently out of touching distance from Champions League qualification too, allowing the Spanish side to pour all their efforts into lifting the Europa League yet again.

Tottenham may face an issue that Sevilla have benefitted from. Should Postecoglou’s side only rack up enough points to teeter just in or outside of the top four, it’s conceivable that importance and focus may be placed on Champions League qualification through the league – however, as earlier stated, the hope will be that Spurs’ depth will help see them through even if they chose to rotate.

Breaking the ‘Spursy’ tag

The biggest attractor of the Europa League is also the reason why so many Spurs fans may dismiss their chances of winning the competition; the fact it involves winning a trophy – something Tottenham haven’t done for over sixteen years.

In recent times, Spurs have continually fallen agonisingly short when they are offered a glimpse of silverware in a wait that has started to agitate fans.

Ange Postecoglou, who has famously reminded people that he is always successful in his second season, could be the man to change Tottenham’s final fate.

Apart from Heung-Min Son and Ben Davies, there aren’t any Tottenham first-team players who have experienced some of Tottenham’s most ‘Spursy’ moments in recent memory with new players providing new hope for fans.

The former Celtic manager has often been accredited with breathing belief into players and utilising the pain that players suffered in their first season under him to achieve success in his second.

Ange Postecoglou’s former assistant coach at Yokohama Mariners put it best, explaining:

“Some players loved that and others were fearful. That is normal. That’s part of developing a brand of football. We had to break down barriers, give them confidence and coach them in ways that gave them solutions and helped them to improve. The tough moments are the most important because you grow”. (The Athletic)

The hope will therefore be that Ange Postecoglou’s winning mentality could well provide Tottenham the edge they lacked under Mauricio Pochettino to lift an elusive piece of silverware with a final in Bilbao next May feeling a more realistic possibility with every impressive performance under the Australian.

So, can Tottenham actually win the Europa League this season. The simple answer is they can. The more optimistic Spurs fan would argue they should.

One Tottenham man is already breaking Premier League records despite only arriving in England just over 12 months ago. He now has his name in the top four of one stat three times!

A force of nature

The player we are referring to is Micky van de Ven, who continues to amaze everyone in the Premier League with his electric pace and acceleration.

The 23-year-old is a unique athlete as he is somehow able to glide across the pitch despite having such a large frame, standing at 6 feet 3 inches.

Van de Ven doesn’t just bail Tottenham out defensively with his pace but he is also able to use it to devastating effect going forward, having already produced two outstanding assists this season.

Micky Van de Ven – Record breaker

According to the Premier League’s official website, Van de Ven’s sprint at Old Trafford in the third minute of Tottenham’s 3-0 win is the fourth fastest-ever record speed in the Premier League.

Astoundingly, it is revealed that the Tottenham defender is responsible for three of the four fastest speeds recorded by a player in the division despite being in England for just over a year.

The fastest of those is the one he set against Brentford in January of this year, being clocked in at 37.38 kilometres per hour.

Tottenham’s most important player?

One can argue that Van de Ven is now Spurs’ most important player, given the way Ange Postecoglou’s men play. The central defender’s pace allows the Lilywhites to press high up the pitch without having to worry about balls over the top.

It is no coincidence that Spurs conceded two goals to counter-attacks against Newcastle last month when Van de Ven was out with an injury.