Spotlight on Spurs’ less-sung heroes of the winter title assault

Coming into the season, it was all about getting Gareth Bale. Once the season started, with Bale regaining his fitness and acclimatising, people looked to Hugo Lloris’ continued supremacy in net, which carries from the end of last season, and, of course, the goal scoring.

Harry Kane has become a near-perfect, all-round striker for this season, with his wingman Heung-Min Son offering such a threat that defences are kept honest when the Englishman has the ball. However, Tottenham’s surge to the top of the table was very much a team effort: one that increasingly looks to be the epitome of a modernised José Mourinho system.

So here, the spotlight turns to the Premier League players between Kane and Lloris who shot Spurs to early title contention.

Underpinning the title credentials

Despite a really strong start to the season, the football odds don’t reflect Tottenham as a leading contender. While the oddities that have occurred this season is keeping the bookies cautious, Spurs sit at 6/1 alongside Chelsea to see out their title claim, with Liverpool and City up at 9/5 and 8/5, respectively.

Of course, history and the emphasis on the high-quality, super-modern set-ups of Liverpool and City lend them favour over the course of a whole season. Still, Mourinho now has found the midfield lynchpin that notoriously makes his teams hard to beat, coming in the form of the rather unassuming £15 million signing Pierre-Emile Højbjerg.

Playing for Southampton, many pundits overlooked the Dane and his dogged midfield work, but the advanced stats showcase his ability in front of the defence. For Mourinho, Højbjerg looks to be even more potent, snapping at the heels of the most skilful attackers and keeping a near-90 per cent pass completion rate through a team-high number of passes per game. His defensive work has allowed others to push on in attack, even though many of them have also been drilled to chip-in defensively when the opportunity arises.

Rekindling his defensive strength

Quite possibly due to the inconsistencies of who he lined up next to each week, as well as some potential lingering injuries, Toby Alderweireld seemed to lose his way, somewhat, in the last couple of seasons. Few deny his world-class credentials, but inconsistencies have crept into his game. Many thought that with compatriot Jan Vertonghen gone without a replacement, the Belgian would continue to struggle.

This season, however, he’s been rock solid at the back. After riding the bench for three games – during which, Spurs conceded four goals – Alderweireld came back with a vengeance, even managing to put up some decent stats in the throw-away West Ham United tie. He seems to have his consistency back and even returned from what initially looked to be a bad muscle injury after one league match.

The comeback of the season

His £54 million transfer fee looked to be money down the drain last season, particularly after the boss publically slated his efforts on the field. It’s all changed now, though, as Mourinho has invited Tanguy Ndombélé in from the cold to play as his creative presence in midfield.

Being allowed to stay out of the dirty areas a bit more thanks to the presence of Højbjerg, Ndombélé has become an essential threat behind the front line. He’ll press in the forward areas, force defenders to leave their assignments – namely, Harry Kane – but will also track back to add bodies to the line guarding the defence. A great deal of the credit goes to the Frenchman’s continued efforts to be fit enough to feature in the hard-drilled starting XI of Mourinho.

There’s a lot of football to be played between now and game 38, but Spurs’ success will continue to depend on the continued classy efforts of Højbjerg, Alderweireld, and Ndombélé while the likes of Kane and Son grab the headlines.