Spurs can repeat Spence success with loan star who's "like tackling smoke"

Tottenham Hotspur have been put through the wringer this season, with players dropping like flies since last summer and wrecking any chance of challenging the Premier League‘s elite for a place at the top of the division.

However, amid the slew of setbacks, Ange Postecoglou might just have found some gems within the rubble. Tottenham have a youthful foundation, geared up for success at the highest level across the coming years.

While players like Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall have been thrown into the deep end this season, Mikey Moore also earning chances to shine too, it speaks highly of Tottenham’s long-term future under Ange’s wing, who appears to have survived the harshest point of the storm and can now seek to forge ahead with the next phase of his project.

Moreover, players like Brennan Johnson appear to have turned corners and made headway as they improve their game. Johnson has been good, albeit injured over the past two months, but it’s Djed Spence, 24, who deserves the plaudits for his resurgence this term.

Djed Spence’s Spurs resurgence

After Spence signed for Tottenham, he was brushed off by Antonio Conte, who froze the young full-back out and made it clear that he did not covet the player – resulting in a succession of loans to Rennes, Leeds United and Genoa.

It’s been a rocky road, but Spence, has found his feet and then some down at N17, putting in an almighty MOTM performance against the Red Devils to continue his excellent campaign.

Postecoglou is a brilliant man manager, and you have to wonder whether the versatile defender would have found an inroad were the Australian not appointed back in 2023.

As per Sofascore, Spence has won 61% of his duels and completed 61% of his dribbles this season, also completing 88% of his passes. Remarkably, he’s played the lion’s share of the campaign out of position, at left-back.

Ange isn’t perfect, but he’s a talented manager capable of crafting a high-class team and pushing it into the limelight. Spence serves as a micro case in point. Tottenham can forge a successful end to their campaign but need to look beyond.

With Heung-min Son, for example, beginning to decline, the gaffer might turn to Manor Solomon as the latest star whose Lilywhites career could be resurrected.

Ange could repeat his Spence success

In July 2023, Tottenham signed Solomon from Shakhtar Donetsk on a free transfer after the winger impressed on loan with Fulham during the 2022/23 campaign.

His maiden (and currently only) season with Tottenham was disrupted by injury, with Solomon actually missing 33 total matches for the club after being ruled out of 17 for the Cottagers the term before. Thankfully, such issues have been put to bed with Leeds, where he has only missed out on four fixtures.

Still only 25, the two-sided winger started slow in the second tier but has come alive over the past several months, actually posting five goals and six assists across his last 12 league matches, exclusively being played from the left wing.

There’s surely enough there to convince Ange that he could play a role next year, especially after the success of Spence. Moreover, Son will need support and Wilson Odobert, 20, has not yet proved that he is fit for purpose in the first team either.

It’s important to note that Spence’s efforts this season have been a product of his hard work. As per FBref, the defender ranks among the top 1% of positional peers in the English top flight this season for successful take-ons, the top 4% for tackles and the top 4% for blocks per 90, highlighting his balanced approach.

Solomon’s efforts for Leeds similarly show that he is working tooth and nail toward making his name in the English scene, ranking highly for ball recoveries and ball-carrying metrics to showcase his commitment and willingness to impress beyond that of goal involvements.

He’s also crisp in possession, with an 81.7% pass success rate only marginally behind that of Son: 84% in the Premier League. Moreover, with a decent amount of progressive passes placed and a highest-degree creative spark, Solomon is dynamic enough to make his mark.

Whether he is afforded another opportunity to impress down N17 remains to be seen, but Solomon has the perfect qualities for a place in Postecoglou’s project and could end up saving the club millions in investment – especially when the 2024/25 campaign has proved that chairman Daniel Levy has plenty of problems to work on, plenty of areas to target for upgrades.

Spence’s success doesn’t automatically qualify that of another, but there’s little doubt that Solomon has got the potential, having already impressed with Fulham in the Premier League and indeed been picked out by Spurs scouts.

One-time Whites boss Neil Redfearn has hailed Solomon for his “unplayable” performances this season, going on to remark that his dribbling ability and knack for taking on his man mean “it’s like tackling smoke” for defenders looking to dispossess him. Clearly, he’s too good for the Championship and could be a real asset next year.

It’s recently been reported that Leeds are hoping to open talks with Tottenham over Solomon’s permanent signing, but he’s a player who could make a real difference to the London club next season and could be Ange’s next version of Spence, perhaps partnering the Englishman down the left flank.

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