Gary Stevens has claimed that ‘something isn’t quite right’ at former club Tottenham Hotspur and believes that the debacle regarding their three South American players typifies that.
Argentina pair Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero and Colombia defender Davinson Sanchez defied Spurs’ wishes by representing their country in red-listed countries – Brazil and Paraguay – during the international break.
Because they had to self-isolate for 10 days upon returning to London, Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo was without the trio for games against Crystal Palace and Rennes – a 3-0 defeat and a 2-2 draw.
And Stevens claims that the Lilywhites have lost control of some of their stars, commenting that there’s a ‘disruption’ at the club.
He told The Highbury Squad podcast on YouTube: “There’s a lot of disruption at the club. I didn’t think any of the players from Premier League clubs would be going to red-zone countries. Suddenly it’s as if the club has lost a bit of a hold on their players. Something isn’t quite right at Spurs.”
According to The Athletic, all three were fined by the North Londoners but for two of them there hasn’t been much on-the-pitch penalties.
Lo Celso and Romero both started the 3-0 defeat by Chelsea last weekend and are likely to do so again for the trip to Arsenal this evening, while all three started the EFL Cup clash with Wolves in midweek.
Their perceived subordination has coincided with the wheels coming off the Lilywhites’ season in quite a big way, relative to their form before the international break – three Premier League wins from three.
But if they can help Nuno’s side to a derby-day win over Arsenal, it’ll go a long way toward healing those wounds.
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