Timo Werner was the surprise inclusion in Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 win over Manchester United as Ange Postecoglou selected him to replace the injured Heung-min Son.
The German’s place in the line-up frustrated many Spurs fans who wanted the likes of Mikey Moore to be given a chance instead.
The 27-year-old had a mixed game as he worked very hard during the win at Old Trafford, however, he missed several chances to kill the game.
Football.London journalist Alasdair Gold has now been discussing why Postecoglou opted to start Werner over other options.
Alasdair Gold explains Timo Werner’s selection vs Man United
Alasdair Gold has tried to explain Postecoglou’s thinking behind starting Werner against Manchester United.
The 59-year-old needed to find a replacement for Heung-min Son, but to avoid having to change other areas of the team, he brought in the German as a direct replacement.
Gold said on his YouTube channel: “He had big shoes to fill coming in for Sonny, especially after struggling against Coventry in the Carabao Cup. I got the sense he was coming into the team and I understood it, I knew it was going to cause the usual social media fume.”
The Tottenham Hotspur journalist claims he understood the decision given Werner’s skillset and his three blunders aside, he believes Werner actually had a good game.
“But I understood it because putting Werner there, it kept the system as it needed to be. It kept the midfield trio doing exactly what you wanted them to do, it kept two fast wingers up there and pinning back the full-backs, I get it,” added Gold.
“Obviously we know he struggled against Coventry, he’s having some confidence issues but in essence, if you can get him to do the basics, which is run fast,m run past your man and trackback, but also get up there and get the ball across. Other than those three moments [two missed chances and a misplaced cross], I actually thought Timo Werner did pretty well.”
Could Mikey Moore start for Tottenham vs Ferencvarosi?
This could finally be Mikey Moore’s chance to be handed his first senior start with Werner likely to drop out of the team.
Elsewhere, Cristian Romero returns from suspension and could replace Radu Dragusin who saw red in their Europa League opener.
Teenagers Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall are both expected to be named in the line-up alongside Moore in what is likely to be a youthful Spurs side.
Tottenham predicted line-up vs Ferencvarosi: Vicario; Udogie, Davies, Romero, Gray; Bissouma, Sarr, Bergvall; Moore, Johnson, Solanke.
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