If there is one thing that has come to define Tottenham Hotspur’s season, it’s injuries.
It is undeniable that Ange Postecoglou’s side has suffered a significant decline in performance over the past nine months, but the number and severity of team injuries cannot be ignored.
For example, 18-year-old midfielder Archie Gray made nine appearances at centre-back, five at left-back and five at left-back because he had no other options at certain points.
Unfortunately, the heavy fortune from this injury has hit the people of North London once again. They will be without Dejan Krucevsky in their match this weekend and in the Europa League final next week.
Kulusevski’s injury disaster
Perhaps to keep him fresh and try to rediscover some of his incredible forms from the beginning of this season, Postcoglo chose to start a Crucevsky with Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.
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Unfortunately, it was a decision that came back to bite him soon. With just 19 minutes into the game, Swedish International left the pitch with apparent discomfort.
After the game, the manager told the press that he was just a “just a knock” and “he’s fine”, which actually proves very wrong.
Just yesterday evening, the club announced that the former Juventus star had “injured his correct patella” against the Eagles, and that he had now “surgery.”
James Madison was also on the rest of the campaign, so it’s not hyperbolic to say that Tottenham is on the verge of injury once Tottenham is in 10th place.
Unfortunately, there is no perfect solution at this point, but Post-CoGro is bold and could potentially start one of his most exciting options over the weekend.
Spurs players to start for Kulusevski
Some fans are hoping Postecoglou will play kids this weekend, but it would be better to play something close to the team facing Manchester United on Wednesday at least in the first half.
Doing this gives managers the opportunity to see how Mathys Tel carries the fare in the 10th position by avoiding the player being a bit rusty.
Now, before the pitchfork comes out, we know this is an unorthodox proposal, but as things stand there are not many other options.
Additionally, the young Frenchman who can permanently sign a £45 million contract this summer is primarily winger and striker, but he has shown he is a very creative attacker at Bayern Munich last season.
For example, FBREF placed him in the top 1% of midfielders and wingers during the Bundesliga attack for goal-creating actions last year, top 2% of goals and assists and medium pass completions, top 6% in penalty areas, top 9% of assists and top 6% per 90.
Tel’s 23/24 Scout Report | ||
---|---|---|
statistics | Around 90 | Percentile |
Goal Creation Action | 1.11 | Top 1% |
Goal + Assist | 1.03 | Top 2% |
Medium pass completed | 86.5% | Top 2% |
Long pass completed | 72.0% | Top 4% |
Target shot | 1.54 | Top 4% |
Total shots | 3.69 | Top 4% |
Take it to the penalty area | 2.66 | Top 6% |
assist | 0.43 | Top 9% |
All statistics via FBREF |
On top of that, Fbref considered Florian Wirtz to be the 10th player Jamal Musiala, the eighth-like player from the Sarcells-born gem last season.
Therefore, if he is statistically similar to two of the dozens of Germany’s most technically talented two, then his game must be worth exploring this weekend. If successful, we can see him start again next week.
Furthermore, if Ange plans to start Dominic Solanke on top, “generational talent” almost acts as the second striker at the point, as the Spurs himself explained internally, dovetails along with the British, giving the Red Devils a real headache.
Ultimately, there is no ideal solution to Spurs’ current injury crisis, but Tel has Ange at least a promising young man who has parts in the game and can do the job of attacking the midfield.
So Australians need to start Bayern lenders there this weekend as a test case for next week’s final.
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