For the premier clubs in Europe and around the globe, fans are treated to what is essentially all-star
teams every match. The back three or four are usually comprised of the most relentless and effective
stoppers in the game. The midfield is anchored by maestros who can put the ball anywhere on the field.
These rosters are also consistent with the fastest and most physically imposing strikers, who can bury the ball
into the back of the net. It’s an interesting contrast with some of the other clubs, who might only have
one or two players who make the cut for a World Cup team.
Once the premier tournament in the world ends in mid-December, players will go back to the franchises
that pay them handsomely. This includes the lot of Hotspur players competing at the highest level, who
will descend back on Tottenham when the season resumes in January.
We’ll take a look at three players who will be the main keys to Hotspur’s fortunes in the second half of the
campaign.
Son Heung-Min
The first portion of the schedule ended in concerning fashion for Son, who sustained an injury around
his left eye in Tottenham’s Champions League match against Marseille. Fortunately, the fracture around
his eye did not compromise his vision or jeopardize his involvement in the World Cup for South Korea.
Son, and the two teams he is a part of, dodged an enormous bullet.
Even before the scary incident in that match, Son’s production had not compared to the level he
performed at last season, where he won the Golden Boot along with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah. Unless
he gets very hot in the next few months, Son won’t be a part of the league’s leading scorer list in 2022-
2023.
That would be fine, but Tottenham fans would still like him to step up when play resumes. Harry Kane
has maintained his elite level of scoring again this year but has not had much help. Tottenham’s soccer odds betting on Premier League success tend to be more formidable with a second lethal option on the
pitch.
It’ll be interesting to see if manager Antonio Conte tries to deploy Son differently in the near future.
Hugo Lloris
Despite some of the high-profile names on the club’s rollcall, Tottenham has not exactly been lighting
things up from an offensive perspective. They had the fortune of playing two clubs who were forced to
play a man down in their final two matches before the World Cup. Tottenham came away victorious
against Leeds United but dropped an affair to Nottingham Forest a few days earlier.
If the team is going to continue to play games that can be decided by one or two plays, the performance
of goalkeeper Hugo Lloris will become even more important. There has been a groundswell of support
to keep the Frenchman with Tottenham long-term, and his value has not been more apparent than at
the start of this season.
Of course, Lloris has been a mainstay with the French national team, and was in goal when the nation
won the World Cup in 2018. Even though his best days may be behind him, the soon-to-be 36 year-old
still represents a potent option that will not shy away from the biggest moments.
Tottenham may not want to put that much pressure on Lloris, but it’s fair to think that he might have
one more dominant run in him if he needs to completely thwart the scoring chances of Tottenham’s
opponents.
Dejan Kulusevski
As alluded to above, Tottenham’s roster is littered with top-class talent who has made a name for
themselves during the World Cup. However, there are other Hotspur players who are not front and
centre during the tournament that might come back fresh as a result of extended rest from the competition.
Dejan Kulusevski might qualify as one of those players. He is a part of the Swedish national team, which
did not make the World Cup this time around. Be that as it may, the 22-year-old Kulusevski has a chance
to take off when the schedule picks back up.
His youth coupled with the break give him an opportunity to come out with a burst of energy that might
be hard for other teams to contain. It might even out as the season wears on, but Kulusevski might be
able to use both of those factors to help steal wins in Tottenham’s first couple of games in January.
The young Swede is also among the leaders in the Premier League in assists, which is more important
when considering the lack of punch the squad has had offensively in certain games. Kulusevski’s
playmaking ability might be able to set some talented teammates up for chances in the second half of
the schedule.
