Tottenham's midfield was my favourite to watch last season. For one thing it contains one of my favourite midfielders in the league in Yves Bissouma.
I thought Yves would go on to be one of the league's best midfielders when he left Brighton. However, before Ange took over, his Spurs career was stuttering due to injuries among other things. But now he seems to be back to something like his best and he's a joy to watch again and for that, I'm grateful to Ange.
So, what does the Spurs midfield look like going into this season?
Before we look ahead, let's look back and recap.
Last season's setup was typically a midfield 3 of Pape Sarr, Yves Bissouma, and James Maddison. Sarr and Bissouma played in a double pivot behind Maddison who had the freedom to roam the pitch in that number 10 role that suits him so well.
I was sceptical of the Sarr - Bissouma pivot early on. This was mostly because I wasn't very familiar with Sarr and I thought that their gameplan meant Bissouma played as a lone 6 most of the time.
Sarr has cleared pretty much every doubt I had by now. He is a really industrious, energetic midfielder capable of covering ground as well as being technically proficient enough to do all the things required of him on the ball as a double-pivot central midfielder. He's no Frenkie De Jong on the ball, but he is tidy enough, picks the right passes and carries the ball really well. And that is all he needs to be a really good fit for his role in Ange's system.
But, my concerns over Bissouma remain. He is not a lone 6 and the way Tottenham set up at the moment means that he has to play like one a lot. And playing him like that doesn't help him one bit (see also: Caicedo at Chelsea last season). Bissouma does not excel at covering large spaces, and it showed on occasion last season. Putting an energetic midfielder like Sarr next to him certainly helps, but I think a few tactical tweaks from the coach would certainly help him more.
The one player who shone last season in the middle was James Maddison. When Tottenham signed Maddison I was so envious. A proper Wenger-type player, he brought a dynamism to the Spurs midfield that had been missing under the last two managers with their more defence-minded styles. He ended the season with 13 g/a in 28 matches in the league, averaging a goal contribution every other game. Injuries did derail him a bit, but should they keep him fit this season, he will be crucial to their plans.
Tottenham have added two scintillating pieces to their midfield lineup in Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray. Both players are only 18 right now and already look like they could go on to be world class players.
I had no idea who these players were before they signed but I'm really impressed by the little I've seen so far. So, let's look at them both.
Lucas Bergvall
Just look at this Lucas Bergvall clip from a friendly last month. I watch this once a week right now because this is so impressive. Two-footed player, can cross, can shoot, can carry the ball, can pass it well. Look at how he disguises his passes, and shows a very good positional sense as well as an awareness of what's going on around him. Athletic and doesn't shy away from a duel. And he's still only 18!
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He reminds me a lot of Frenkie De Jong, but given how young he is, I don't see any reason why he couldn't go on to be even better than Frenkie. And this is important because I imagine that Lucas will rotate with Sarr this season. As noted above, Sarr isn't particularly noted for his abilities on the ball.
Lucas, it seems, will bring all the energy and tireless work that Sarr brings, but with elevated technical ability on the ball. And if there's one important thing you want to be doing when building a midfield from scratch, it's elevating the technical floor and ceiling of the group.
I know a two minute clip (and a few preseason games) isn't good enough to judge a player but at the moment it seems like Ange and the Spurs team have unearthed a gem of a midfielder.
Archie Gray
I have to be honest, I'd never heard the name Archie Gray until Spurs signed him. This is strange because I spent a lot of time watching my second favourite club, Southampton, in the Championship last season. In fact, Southampton beat Leeds, Archie's former club to gain promotion back to the Premier League.
However, from the information I've been able to gather, this is another case of Ange and the team buying another potentially world-class midfield talent really early.
Archie is 18 and a defensive midfielder by trade, even though he played most of last season at right back for Leeds due to injuries. That fact alone made me sit up and take notice. I find players who have the intelligence to play different roles very fascinating. Even more fascinating if they are young players.
I think it says something about a young player's abilities both mentally and physically to be able to put in a shift at a new position for the sake of the team. Think Saka at left-back for Arsenal a few seasons ago or Camavinga playing just about everywhere for Madrid last season (fun fact: Pep played De Bruyne at left-back a couple of times as well).
So, it seems like in Archie have a young player with the intelligence to play multiple positions very well. But, I think they have more than that as well.
I think I watched more Archie clips than Bergvall ones but seeing as they are mostly clips of him playing right-back, it's a bit frustrating. I'd like to see him in his natural habitat. Nevertheless, you can glean a lot from clips like the one below.
Quick feet, calm and patient to pick the right pass. Not afraid of a tackle, has great passing range, and always looks to find a player in space when his team is on the break. Of course, as always, you can only tell so much about a player from watching clips.
My favourite thing about Archie is how tenacious he is in his actions. Whether it's on the ball carrying it forward, or off the ball tracking a runner, or in a duel, he just doesn't let up. Given that he is very much a Bissouma upgrade if you ask me, I think that trait is going to come in handy playing as a 6 in Ange's system.
If you want more in depth coverage of this signing, see FourFourTwo's video.
Now, The Future
Alright, so it looks like Tottenham have signed an incredible midfield pivot for the future. So, with those two midfield additions under their belt. What does the Tottenham midfield look like heading into the season?
Their midfield options are:
Yves Bissouma, P. M. Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur, Oliver Skipp, James Maddison, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Mikey Moore, and Giovani Lo Celso.
(I've put Lo Celso last because as I write this, it seems like he is headed for an exit this summer, so I won't discuss him at all.)
Now, a few things about this group immediately jump out at me:
Ange now has a much better midfield rotation. Archie Gray is an immediate upgrade on Hojberg as a Yves Bissouma rotation option at 6. Bergvall looks to be the Sarr rotation, especially if Bentancur's injury problems persist this season. Oliver Skipp and Mikey Moore seem like capable players who can put in a shift when needed, say in the cup competitions.
Unfortunately, while the midfield has better rotation options, there is no direct Maddison rotation and that is a worry for two reasons. First, he's injury prone and ageing, and with Tottenham competing on so many fronts this season, Ange will need to manage his minutes carefully. Secondly, Tottenham just look so flat when he's not playing. He's really the creative hub of this group and it's hard to see where the creativity comes from when he's not on the pitch.
I worry a little about how physically imposing the options at 6 are. I assume that it will be a Bissouma/Gray rotation at 6. As I've noted above, I worry about Bissouma being asked to play as a lone 6, he doesn't have the physical dominance of a Rodri or a Rice, especially when asked to cover a lot of space. Gray might very well be a better physical specimen, but let's not forget that he's still 18.
The future looks good for the Tottenham midfield. Bissouma, Bentancur and Maddison are the oldest members of this group and they're all 27. Skipp is 23 and Sarr is 21. Bergvall and Gray are 18, and Mikey Moore is 17. Clearly, Spurs are building their midfield with both the present and the future in view, and that's never a mistake. Every Spurs fan should be looking forward to the future with hope right now.
A player I hope to see more of this season is Bentancur. Last season I thought a Bentancur - Bissouma pivot would have been better for Spurs creatively. Even though Bentancur would certainly be a downgrade on Sarr physically and energy-wise. That notwithstanding, I believe Bentancur is a special player who hasn't shown his best for Tottenham yet, and I hope this is the season we see him at his best.
This is Part II in a series of three articles. You can read Part I here if haven't. And you can find Part III here.
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