View: Three winners from Tottenham’s pre-season friendly with West Ham
Tottenham might have lost their pre-season friendly clash with West Ham, but three players walked away winners.
Despite the scoreline reading 3-2 to the Hammers at the final whistle, Ange Postecoglou’s first match in charge of Spurs was an encouraging one.
Over 30 shots and 72 per cent possession (Sofascore) is something which has been unheard of in North London during recent seasons.
Pre-season is all about allowing players to re-adjust and reach peak fitness once again after their summers away and in the case of Spurs this year it is about Postecoglou identifying his key players.
The system that the Australian is looking to implement with his new club is a style of football that hasn’t been played at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since the days of Mauricio Pochettino.
It will take players time to adapt and for some, they might not make it at all. However, three players in particular demonstrated during the match in Perth that they are well up to the task.
Destiny Udogie
Although signed by previous boss Antonio Conte, it appears as if the Italian international will be more than capable of making an impact under Postecoglou.
Udogie spent last season on loan in the Serie A with Udinese after being signed by Spurs and then sent straight back to the club they had signed him from. When he put pen to paper the plan was for Udogie to return to the Premier League with some more first-team experience under his belt to operate as a left-wing back for Conte.
However, plans have now changed and the 20-year-old will need to prepare himself to instead play as a left-back in a back-four, although if the pre-season match with West Ham is anything to go by, that should be no issue.
Coming on to play the second 45 minutes, Udogie was awarded a 7.4 match rating (Sofascore), the joint-third highest of all 22 players who featured during the match.
Tottenham looked much improved during the second-half and plenty of that was down to Udogie. He made one tackle, was not dribbled past, had a pass accuracy of 91 per cent and put in two successful crosses (Sofascore).
As well as this he grabbed his first goal for the club, scoring Spurs’ equaliser from a corner.
It was a neat header toward the far post with his back to goal which made the score 2-2.
At times he made impressive bursts forward and showed signs that he can operate as an inverted full-back in his new manager’s system.
Manor Solomon
Another player making his first appearance for the club and it was an impressive one for the Israeli winger.
Signed on a free transfer this summer, the former Fulham man arrives without much expectation however he has a chance to really make an impact with the pressure off and he certainly showed signs he can do that against West Ham.
In his 45 minutes on the pitch, he was heavily involved, making 37 touches and had an impressive pass accuracy of 96 per cent, completing 26 of his 27 passes. Three of those passes made were key and he also created one big chance (Sofascore).
He often looked to get at his man and cause problems, remaining very wide throughout the match, something which Postecoglou expects from his wingers when operating in his preferred 4-3-3 system.
The above image is one key example of the types of positions which Solomon found himself in during his time on the pitch.
Even though the 23-year-old wasn’t necessarily signed as a first-team player, his performance in Perth suggested he can definitely make an impact for his new club next season.
Giovani Lo Celso
Quite the opposite to Solomon and Udogie, this is a player whose time with Tottenham has been far from short and so far rather unenjoyable.
Four managers have arrived at the club since Lo Celso was signed in 2019 and so far he has been unable to fit himself into three of those manager’s plans, spending time out on loan during the past two seasons.
However, during the match against West Ham, his performance perhaps suggested a manager has finally arrived at the club who could have some use for the Argentinian international.
He scored the first goal of the Postecoglou era with an empathetic first-time volley at the far post and was awarded a 7.8 match rating (Sofascore), the highest of any Tottenham player on the day.
During the 45 minutes he spent on the field besides the goal he grabbed, he had a passing accuracy of 90 per cent, made two key passes, 37 touches, one tackle and an interception (Sofascore).
On paper, the 27-year-old midfielder fits Postecoglou’s advanced number eight role seamlessly. During the match, his passes toward the winger and striker were excellent and his quick give-and-go’s would stretch the Hammers’ back line at times.
He often picked up positions such as the one in the image above, operating in and around the penalty area throughout the second half and giving opposition defenders something to think about.
This could finally be the manager Lo Celso needs to unlock his true potential with Tottenham, however, it will now have to be seen whether he wishes to remain with the club after a difficult four years.
In other Tottenham news, finance expert Dan Plumey has had his say on James Maddison’s transfer to North London.