The performance against Chelsea was one of their best in a while, yet Spurs still lost. If only they had these game-changers available.
Tottenham’s revolving door transfer policy might have been brought to an overdue end by Mauricio Pochettino, but their stuttering form both domestically and on the continent will have many Spurs fans lamenting the premature departure of three players who could certainly have proven themselves to be very useful for the Argentine tactician.
Nabil Bentaleb
Alongside Ryan Mason, the Algerian youngster cemented his position in the heart of Spurs’ engine room in the second half of Pochettino’s first season in charge, lugging the coal and lighting the fire for the forward players to thrive on. However, Bentaleb failed to build on his early promise, with Spurs fans growing increasingly frustrated by his penchant for safe, sideways passing.
However, just a few short months into his new life in the Bundesliga with loan side Schalke, Bentaleb is unrecognisable, adding a creative streak to his game while scoring five goals from midfield including one crossbar clipping scorcher against Augsburg. With his parent club looking increasingly pedestrian in the centre, and Moussa Dembele yet to find his spark, Bentaleb could have come in rather handy.
Iago Falque
At 5ft 9ins and blessed with quick feet and a sharp turn, Iago Falque is a clever, creative Spanish play-maker cut from the same cloth as David Silva and Juan Mata. So why he only played five minutes of Premier League action across three years at White Hart Lane is anybody’s guess.
These days, the diminutive schemer is lighting up Serie A for surprise packages Torino after a disappointing stint with Roma, scoring seven times in 11 league appearances including a match-winning double in last weekend’s narrow win against Chievo. With Erik Lamela, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen scoring just five goals between them all season from attacking midfield, Falque’s clinical finishing may well have compensated.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
The first of many signings in the erratic reign of Andre Villas-Boas, Iceland international Sigurdsson never quite managed to showcase his potential at White Hart Lane, not helped by the Portuguese tactician’s restrictive game plan and sterile possession philosophy. Almost immediately after returning from whence he came with Swansea, Sigurdsson found his form again, averaging a goal every three games from his nominal number 10 role.
And with Alli preferring to drive forward from deep, and Lamela, Eriksen and Heung-Min Son all better suited to starting in wider roles, Sigurdsson’s subtlety and creative talents through the centre could provide Harry Kane with a conveyor belt of chances. He is not bad from a dead ball either, as Crystal Palace found out this weekend.
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