Tottenham ended the 2023-24 season in 5th position on the Premier League table which means that they have secured a spot in the 2024-25 UEFA Europa League.
For the Lilywhites, this is significant progress from last season when they finished 8th and failed to secure European qualification.
What changed? A lot, actually.
They brought in Ange Postecoglou in the summer, a man who had a very unique style and had previously won the Scottish Premiership twice with Celtic, even completing the domestic treble in his final season there.
But he was presented with the harshest welcome gift not long after signing for Spurs – Harry Kane was leaving. Kane was obviously Spurs’ best player and Ange very likely looked forward to managing him, but the England captain moved to Bayern that summer.
And it wasn’t only Harry Kane who left. Harry Winks and Davinson Sanchez were sold as well, Eric Dier, Tanguy Ndombele, Ivan Perisic, and Sergio Reguilon left on loan, while Hugo Lloris and Lucas Moura left for free.
They did make signings, though. Brennan Johnson, James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Radu Dragusin, and Guglielimo Vicario were all bought while Timo Werner was brought in on loan halfway through the season.
Those new signings would end up being the core of the team in the 2023-24 season, but the man who led the attack and the team as a whole was one who knows the club more than most, Son Heung-min.
He was named captain following the departure of Lloris and Kane, and he really did lead from the front, scoring 17 goals and providing 10 assists while being played out of position for most of the season.
The new signings pulled their weight as well. Johnson scored 5 goals and provided 10 assists which meant that he finished in the top 3 for most assists in the Premier League while James Maddison, despite missing some games due to injury, still managed to score 4 goals and provide 9 assists.
Richarlison is one guy who deserves a mention. He had to play an auxiliary role on a number occasions, but he still ended the season as the club’s second-highest goal scorer with 12 goals and 4 assists.
The defense also showed a lot of potential. The back four of van de Ven, Romero, Udogie, and Porro were great when they all played together. There’s still a lot of maturing to do, but they showed some real positive signs.
In general, it was a decent season for Spurs. But there was a little blight towards the end. Fans appeared to be in support of Spurs losing their penultimate game of the season against eventual champions Manchester City just so their neighbors Arsenal don’t win the league. Postecoglou was shocked about that and made it clear that he wasn’t pleased about it in the slightest.
Anyway, we look forward to seeing Spurs back in Europe next season. But will they finally break their trophy drought in the 24-25 season? What do you think?
