Nuno’s plan for Danny Ings will impact Son Heung-min

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New Tottenham Hotspur boss Nuno Espirito Santo is making plans for the new season – and he may have to find a way to get Danny Ings and Son Heung-min into the same team.

Nuno was appointed as Tottenham’s new boss last month, bringing an end to a ridiculous two-month pursuit of Jose Mourinho’s replacement.

The Telegraph now report that Southampton striker Danny Ings is emerging as Tottenham’s top target for the summer window, with the forward out of contract in 2022.

Ings seemingly wants to leave Southampton, and Nuno’s plan is for Ings to play up front with Harry Kane in a front two.

That’s an interesting idea.

In theory, the pair could be outstanding together, but the plan will raise questions about what formation Nuno plans to play if he does manage to bring Ings to North London.

One idea would be to play a 4-4-2. Nuno utilised that system at times with Valencia, with Paco Alcacer and Rodrigo as the front pairing, whilst Javi Fuego dropped into a holding midfield role – something Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg could do at Tottenham.

Another idea is to play a 3-4-1-2, another tactic Nuno played, this time at Wolves. Diogo Jota worked off Raul Jimenez, with Joao Moutinho ahead of Ruben Neves and Leander Dendoncker.

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The big question mark here would be Son Heung-min, and how Nuno would utilise him.

In a 4-4-2, Son can still play on the left flank and cut infield, freeing up room for Sergio Region on the overlap. That’s where Son is at his best, though playing in a 4-4-2 would require him to take up a deeper starting position.

In a 3-4-1-2, it’s hard to see his best role. Mauricio Pochettino used him as a wing back on a couple of occasions, but that didn’t work. Number 10? You could maybe see Son playing there, but he’s not comparable to Moutinho at all and would be expected to do his work centrally inside of going one-v-one with full backs.

Son is one of Tottenham’s top players and must have a key role in any formation, so Nuno has to figure this one out if he does sign Ings – and we would suggest the 4-4-2 as the most likely solution.