Graeme Souness has ruled Tottenham out of winning the Premier League title this season, but said they are close enough to the race to be considered as “contenders.”
Spurs currently sit in third, six points off the pace – they are on 48 points whilst Liverpool are on 54 – and the Sky Sports pundit remarked that anyone who thought the title was a “two-horse race” between Liverpool and Manchester City were absolutely spot on.
He added that their bid will be seriously affected when Son Heung-Min departs for the Asian Cup after their clash against Manchester United next week – and questioned who will be their source of goals if Harry Kane suddenly went and got injured.
“If you are deducing that I have just reduced this Premier League to a two-horse race then you are absolutely right,” he said in his Sunday Times column.
“Tottenham are a fine team and certainly close enough to be considered as contenders but I can’t see them winning the title.
“Heung-Min Son will head off to the Asian Cup after Spurs’ game against Manchester United a week from now. Depending on how far South Korea progress, Son could miss games against Fulham, Watford and Newcastle.
“Imagine if Harry Kane were to pick up an injury while Son is away — to whom would Tottenham turn for goals?”
OPINION
To be honest, it is rather easy to disagree with Souness here – after all, it is still premature to rule Spurs out of the race when we still have four months of the season left to play. They have proved to be a force to be reckoned with – especially recently – and with making no signings in the summer transfer window. It is, therefore, unfair to rule them out, particularly when you look at the talent that Mauricio Pochettino has at his disposal. He has the squad depth which means he is able to rotate them regularly, just as he demonstrated when they took on Tranmere Rovers on Friday. Promoting younger players like Juan Foyth and Oliver Skipp to the first team is certainly the way to go, and it is a decision that so far has not backfired on the manager. Spurs have the quality and the credentials to be in with a good shout of the title – all they need to do now is make ground on Liverpool.