The future hasn’t always been bright for Tottenham Hotspur but under Ange Postecoglou he is building something with a lot of potential.
Let’s forget about that disastrous 3-2 defeat to Brighton for a moment and look at what’s still to come.
Indeed, this Spurs team have a crop of young players who could well become pivotal parts of where Postecoglou’s side land, providing the craggy-faced Aussie sticks around long enough.
Over the summer, the Lilywhites welcomed promising teenager winger Wilson Odobert to the club and they further dipped into the Championship to bring one of English football’s hottest young talents in Archie Gray to London.
You’ve also got Lucas Bergvall to add to the equation and perhaps the finest young prodigy of them all, Mikey Moore.
Mikey Moore's emergence at Spurs
What a young talent this boy is. At just 17 years of age, Moore is already making waves in the senior game and looked like quite the star in the making against Ferenvcaros in the Europa League last week.
Up to then, the teenager had only been afforded a few cameos from the bench but this was his first start in a competitive fixture. How he took his opportunity.
Spurs won the game 2-1 and Moore should have had an assist if colleague Timo Werner was at the races. The academy star dashed down the right-hand side and laid the ball on a plate for the German on the edge of the box. He took a horrific touch and then slid the ball into the side netting. He was one-on-one with the goalkeeper but fluffed his lines.
Coincidentally, it could well be the teenage sensation who ultimately ends up taking Werner’s place in the side.
Moore, who regularly played as a striker at youth team level, played on the right against Ferencvaros and then actually played ahead of Werner down the left in the last few minutes at the Amex last Sunday.
A scorer of 19 goals in just 24 outings for the U18s, there is clearly a natural finisher in there and it surely won’t be long before he becomes a more prominent asset in the Spurs squad.
Whether or not he is the natural heir to Harry Kane’s throne, only time will tell, but Postecoglou has high hopes for him.
“There are always exceptions to the rule and [Lamine] Yamal is certainly one of them, but if you look at the Premier League, how many 17-year-olds are actually contributing? Mikey is already, which shows that he’s got something special, but we’ve just got to be really careful about how we develop that.”
Yamal may well be the gold standard for all of the budding teenage footballers out there but until Moore develops a little bit more, Spurs do already have a Yamal-like talent who’s brimming with confidence and playing his best football for the club.
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Tottenham's very own Yamal
Barcelona superstar Yamal has had an outrageous 2024 to date. There’s no other way of putting it really. This kid has already been nominated for the Ballon d’Or and had a breathtaking Euro 2024 campaign in which he helped Spain take home the trophy.
During the continental competition, the 17-year-old scored once – a stunner against France – and registered four assists.
This season he’s continued where he left off for his country with four goals and five assists already in LaLiga action. Barca have found a Messi regen and it’s rather unfair to be totally honest.
Still, we must marvel at his skillset, his incredible attributes that are taking the global game by storm.
He might not be cut from quite the same cloth but believe it or not, Spurs have a player who’s registering similar numbers this term and that man is Dejan Kulusevski.
Said to be a star who could become a £80m-£100m player by Gary Neville last term, the Swede is certainly starting to live up to that billing this season.
“Players that play in that role, that take it on the back foot and accept it on the back foot, the attacking midfielders, the No 10s, any player of that ilk, they’re very rare to be able to do that. You’re talking about him going from a player who might be £50m on the right to being something that if he gets going in that No 10 position, can be really special and then you’re pushing it to an £80m or £100m player.” – Neville on Kulusevski.
He is one of the best supply lines around and created a whopping nine chances in that impressive 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford a week and a bit ago.
Kulusevski has been supreme and although the base numbers only show a haul of one goal and two assists for his efforts this season, there is much to admire. Before last weekend’s action, he was top of the charts and level with Cole Palmer for chances created from open play in the Premier League this season with 15.
So, let’s dig a little deeper into that comparison with Yamal, shall we? According to FBRef’s similar players tool, the Spaniard is the fourth most similar attacking midfielder/winger to the former Juventus ace. Why? Here’s what the stats tell us.
Progressive carries
4.92
5.38
Progressive passes
6.10
5.50
Pass success %
73%
77%
Key passes
3.56
2.25
Passes into final 3rd
2.88
2.75
Expected assists (xA)
0.20
0.26
Through balls
0.51
0.63
Shot-creating actions
6.48
5.50
Carries into final 3rd
2.71
3.38
There are some distinct differences. Yamal is by far a better carrier of the football but it’s worth paying particularly close attention to some of the passing metrics here.
A pass is considered progressive if the distance between the starting point and the next touch is at least 10 meters closer to the opponent’s goal or any completed pass into the penalty area.
When it comes to expected assists, through balls and passes into the final third, they are very alike. In fact, when analysing things closer, it becomes apparent just how similar they are for chance creation.
In this season’s LaLiga, Yamal has so far created a total of 17 chances for his Barcelona teammates. Kulusevksi is ahead, but not by much, creating 21 chances in the Premier League, according to Opta.
With such a stat in mind, Dominic Solanke and Co must be licking their lips at the thought of what’s to come from the Swede. He’s still only 24 – much older than Yamal – but it’s still incredibly young in football terms.
If the Spurs star is creating this many chances at this age, you can only imagine how good he could be once he hits his prime. Postecoglou is certainly unearthing a star here.
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ByRobbie WallsOct 9, 2024