Danny Higginbotham has revealed his fears for Tottenham when it comes to competing with rivals Liverpool and Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table as a result of their lack of depth outside the starting XI.
The Lilywhites bucked the trend by becoming the first top flight side in over a decade to not make a single summer signing, thus leaving manager Mauricio Pochettino with the same options that he had at his disposal last season.
Speaking about the sides occupying the top three spots of England’s elite competition, Higginbotham insisted that Liverpool and City had the means to keep their system the same when changing personnel, whereas Spurs did not have that luxury.
He told Sky Sports’ The Debate (21/12, 22:30): “I think the strength in depth is the key issue with Tottenham. You can talk about Lucas Moura, obviously Son’s going to be going away to the Asian Cup.
“The problem is with Tottenham is if you take Harry Kane out of that team and you then bring in someone like Llorente, who is more of your like-for-like centre forward swap… the whole emphasis of the team has to change.
“Look at (Sergio) Aguero and (Gabriel) Jesus – if Aguero is out of the team then Jesus comes in, they can play a similar way so things don’t have to change. Tottenham’s starting XI, when everyone is match ready and good to go, is a match for anyone in the Premier League.
“What we’ve seen with Manchester City, with Liverpool – when you look at Tottenham, they’re an outstanding team (but) how many players in that starting XI can do the role that Harry Kane does? You look at (Mohamed) Salah, he can go play in that centre forward position.”
Opinion
Hammer, meet nail of the head. Higginbotham has well and truly picked up on the most important, and perhaps only, problem that Pochettino faces with his current squad. The starting XI is outstanding when fully fit and there are even a number of quality options sitting on the bench offering cover for their senior counterparts. What they desperately lack is a centre forward option who can take Kane’s place, either through injury, suspension, rotation or even just off the bench in a game. Llorente is a hard working striker but things have to change to incorporate him into the side, which is where things start to fall apart for Spurs. If the Lilywhites want to be considered as actual contenders at the peak of the Premier League, rather than part of the chasing pack, they need to be able to keep playing the way which suits them week in, week out. Any change disrupts things and thus hinders their progression. Can Spurs find a way to fix this? It would mean dipping their toes into the transfer market – but for who?