Tottenham Hotspurs Lack Of Squad Depth

When you spend 40-odd million on Brennan Johnson and 60-plus million on Solanke, no one will understand the logic that you still need players who can come off the bench and replace these guys during games or as a rotation piece. To do so, you need to be able to spend more every year. Now, Spurs have been spending money first to replace Harry Kane and now to get the overall balance of the squad right, but it still isn’t a complete squad despite the recent spending.

There is also no defending for Ange Postecoglou, who did not correctly use the players at his disposal. I mean, if you really lack balance in the midfield, you can’t put both Sarr and Bissouma on the bench and then not bring them on despite watching your side get overrun in the midfield. Still, the midfield is somewhat a less conflicted area.

The defence is looking shaky, and granted, most of it has to do with Ange’s kamikaze tactics, but Spurs do not have experienced backups sitting on the bench. Davies, Reguilon, Dragusin, and Spence are all decent backups if you are playing in a Europa League tie, but the Premier League is a different beast. If Romero or Van de Den go down to an injury, then Davies and Dragusin will have to perform out of their skin. Dragusin has had a shaky start to his Spurs career with the sending-off against Qarabağ.

Spence is an incredibly flaky player currently. He has shown glimpses of what he can do going forward but needs more consistency, a bit like Glen Johnson. Reguilon has been around for a while now and is still just 27, and he still keeps getting sent out on loan; it must be frustrating for the Spurs fans. Udogie has made that Left-back position his. There is no one else who is a like-for-like replacement, and also, it is tough to see anyone overtaking Udogie in the starting XI. There is no one on the bench who can replace the starting defenders for Spurs, and that needs to be corrected.

The major issue is the attacking depth. We’ve already seen early in the season how impossible a task is to replace Son. Werner is a great workhorse. Odobert hasn’t gotten opportunities because of his injury concerns, but that left-wing looks bland when he is out injured. There is no proper replacement on the bench for Spurs; the silver lining has been Brennan Johnson’s form, which has masked the impotence on the other flank. Odobert, Werner, and Kulusevski were supposed to be the able backups, but Kulusevski has been thrust into the no.10 role, making the depth even more shallow. With Odobert dealing with an injury of his own, Ange has had to force 17-year-old Mikey Moore into the limelight and credit to the youngster, who looks absolutely blazing.

Spurs cannot rely on a 17-year-old to solve their squad depth crisis, but come the January window and then the next summer window, the board really needs to address their lack of squad depth and get players in who are like-for-like replacements for the starting XI. Son isn’t getting any younger, and the other young players need time to fulfil their potential. Spurs have to get in players who are ready now!