Dean Saunders has singled out Tottenham quartet Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Heung Min-Son and Dele Alli to step up to the plate when they face Barcelona on Tuesday.
Spurs’ hopes of reaching the last-16 of the Champions League rest on them ideally beating the La Liga giants at the Nou Camp, and Saunders believes it is time for these four players to make the difference in major ties like the one on Tuesday.
He then went on to say that Kane is the sort of player who should “decide” important fixtures like this one, as well as matches against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester United.
“With Harry Kane in the team Spurs can win any game!”
Dean Saunders isn’t writing off #THFC’s chances of winning at the Nou Camp ?
What’s your prediction for Barca v Spurs? ? pic.twitter.com/Iw0Ps9p1CZ
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) December 11, 2018
“Pochettino will be looking at Eriksen, Son, Harry Kane [and] Dele Alli – step up to the plate lads..big stage,” he said on the Alan Brazil Breakfast Show on talkSPORT.
“Harry Kane has got to decide these big games, it’s the next step for him. Decide international matches, decide Liverpool, Man United games, Arsenal games, and then decide these games. With him in the team, you can always win a game.”
OPINION
Tottenham’s Champions League dreams can only be kept alive by ideally winning at the Nou Camp, which is a tough ask for any team that travel there. However, Saunders is right – these four Spurs players need to start stepping up to the plate in these big games, as there is no doubt that they have the talent and ability to heed a major influence on the result. Eriksen is currently in the best form he has been in – the same goes for the other three – so there is no reason why they cannot be the deciding factors on Tuesday night. Saunders said that Kane needs to start deciding “these big games”, and while he is right to an extent, it is not the job of a single player to decide the result of a game. Spurs have the quality to do the damage as a team – with Kane as their talisman.