A big week lies ahead for Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou as he plays the waiting game with a number of situations.
The Australian is waiting and hoping that all of his Spurs players return fit and healthy from their international exploits ahead of the first North London Derby of the season. He is also waiting to see whether Sergio Reguilon agrees a move away from the club before the Turkish transfer window closes next week and the Tottenham boss is also waiting to see whether Dominic Solanke and Micky van de Ven will be fit to face Arsenal.
As that week begins, our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold answered your questions about the club and you can find them all below.
josephspursfan: “Are Micky van de Ven and Dominic Solanke doing fine and are they going to be ready for the North London Derby?”
Alasdair says: “We can only go on Ange Postecoglou’s words and he said Dominic Solanke will be ready to face Arsenal. He said last Friday that he was close for Newcastle but they wanted to “err on the side of caution” and had previously dispelled any suggestion he would miss the North London Derby. It sounded the same with Micky van de Ven as he said he was “close in training this week but with the international break he’s not quite 100%”. With a further two weeks of recovery and work under their belts you would imagine both will be in a position to face Arsenal, but we’ll get the final word on Postecoglou on Friday.”
Alasdair says: “Spence has done really well this summer and impressed everyone inside the club, including Postecoglou. I think he’s just been really unfortunate in that the squad choice would suggest the Spurs boss does not trust his back-up goalkeeper options enough to leave out the experienced Fraser Forster. That means Spence was the odd man out.
“It’s a very risky decision because it leaves the defensive cover very light for the group stages. Romero is suspended for the first game against Qarabag and an injury or two more and there’s going to be some problems. Spence was able to cover both right and left-back spots.
“How the 24-year-old will react is going to be interesting. He’s come on in two of the first three Premier League games and will likely play in the Carabao Cup, so he should still get game time. It’s just a massive shame because he would have played a lot in Europe.
“Overall it’s a big red flag against the squad management Spurs have overlooked in recent years with not a single outfield club-trained player in the first team now. They have made moves to change that but it’s been a problem they should have sorted a long time ago.”
Tom: “We’ve just added the likes of Solanke, Gray, Bergvall and Odobert to the squad. Some great additions but arguably not enough for a team that Ange suggested last season would be part of a title push this year. Realistically how far do you think Spurs can go? I’d love to think we have a real shot at the Europa League and maybe some real pushes in the domestic cups but as a Spurs fan of 30 years, it’s the hope that kills you!”
Alasdair says: “I think it’s a stronger squad that’s far better suited to what Postecoglou wants. Solanke in particular will be the missing piece for me in the Australian’s system. He’s going to score a lot of goals.
“It’s a very young squad, so there will be some inconsistent moments but it’s also a squad that Postecoglou can shape into what he wants it to be with good options in most positions, albeit not quite all of them.
“I think the Europa League has to be a strong target. There are some tricky teams in there but no more will drop down from the Champions League now. Overall I’d expect the reverse of last season in that this Spurs squad should get stronger and sharper as the Premier League campaign goes on but it will have the options in plenty of positions now to get through the number of games and injuries.
“I think the results haven’t reflected the performances so far, so Spurs are probably going under the radar at the moment. The Arsenal game will be tough but I think there’s a lot of exciting displays to come when Postecoglou can get an actual striker, a fit and sharp one, up front in his system.”
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