After a troublesome begin to the season that noticed them drop factors in opposition to Leicester Metropolis, Arsenal and Newcastle United, there’s now an plain air of positivity round Tottenham Hotspur.
Ange Postecoglou’s facet have turned their fortunes round with 4 wins on the bounce, and following their emphatic away victory in opposition to Manchester United on Sunday, they give the impression of being able to tackle anybody.
The sport noticed Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke proceed their good kind in entrance of aim, though as spectacular because the pair have been in the previous couple of weeks, they’re being outscored by a former Spurs flop who was offered for a pittance in the summertime.
Johnson and Solanke’s spectacular kind
Whereas the temper round Tottenham is a constructive one in the mean time, and for a very good purpose, it definitely wasn’t a few weeks in the past when Johnson felt he had to deactivate his Instagram account because of the quantity of abuse he was receiving from followers over his perceived lack of kind.
It wasn’t a pleasant state of affairs, however the place many gamers would understandably crumple underneath stress, the Welshman pushed forward and has answered his critics on the pitch, scoring in 4 video games on the bounce.
He hasn’t simply scored the fourth in a 4-0 thrashing, both; he has scored essential targets: the winner in opposition to Coventry Metropolis, the opener in opposition to Qarabağ when the workforce had been down to 10 males, and the opener at Previous Trafford.
In brief, the previous Nottingham Forest ace has develop into one of many membership’s most essential gamers over the past fortnight or so and now seems to be as a lot, if no more, of a aim menace than the club’s £65m striker, Solanke.
That stated, whereas the previous Bournemouth star had a sluggish begin to life in North London this season, failing to score in his first three games, like Johnson, he has discovered his footing within the final couple of weeks.
The Englishman opened his account with a aim in opposition to Brentford, adopted that up with one other in opposition to Qarabağ, and eventually in opposition to United on Sunday.
Total, whereas Johnson and Solanke endured powerful begins to the season, they’re on hearth now, though they’re being outscored by a participant offered by the membership in the summertime.
Giovani Lo Celso’s current kind
Sure, the previous Spurs flop in query is Giovani Lo Celso, who initially joined the membership on mortgage in the summer of 2019 before finishing a everlasting transfer the next summer time, which cost the club around £42.3m, together with his mortgage payment.
There was loads of pleasure across the Argentine when he arrived in England, however it will be truthful to say that he in the end underwhelmed in N17.
Certainly, he made simply 108 appearances for the club, scoring ten targets, offering eight assists and occurring mortgage to Villarreal for a season and a half between January 2022 and June 2023.
Where Are They Now
Your star participant or largest flop has left the membership however what are they doing within the current day? This text is a part of Soccer FanCast’s The place Are They Now collection.
After playing just 597 minutes final season, the two-time Copa América winner was lastly offered on to former membership Actual Betis for a payment stated to be as low as £8.4m, and since then, he has appeared like a participant reborn and would be the top goalscorer in Spurs’ squad had he stayed.
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Lo Celso vs Johnson & Solanke in 24/25 |
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|---|---|---|---|
|
Participant |
|||
|
Appearances |
5 |
8 |
6 |
|
Minutes |
361′ |
544′ |
505′ |
|
Targets |
5 |
4 |
3 |
|
Assists |
0 |
0 |
1 |
|
Objective Involvements per Match |
1 |
0.50 |
0.66 |
|
Minutes per Objective Involvement |
72.2′ |
136′ |
126.25′ |
|
All Stats through Transfermarkt |
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In simply 5 appearances for Los Verdiblancos, the 28-year-old “chief”, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has scored 5 targets, together with a brace in his first begin for the membership in opposition to Getafe, and his underlying numbers are simply as spectacular.
Furthermore, according to FBref, which compares gamers in related roles throughout Europe’s prime 5 leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, the previous Tottenham ace sits within the prime 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers for non-penalty targets, tried passes, progressive passes and tackles, the highest 2% for cross completion, the highest 3% for shot-creating actions and the highest 6% for anticipated assists, all per 90.
In the end, given his lack of affect final season and his uptick in kind this yr, promoting Lo Celso in the summertime was most likely the fitting determination for all events concerned. Nonetheless, there have to be part of Postecoglou questioning why he could not have proven this goalscoring contact for him.
