Ange Postecoglou has been warned that Tottenham Hotspur may be better without Heung-min Son in the team as the forward struggled in an unfamiliar role.
Tottenham limped to a 1-1 draw at home to 10-man Fulham as injuries took their toll on Postecoglou’s team who looked well off the pace. The Lilywhites looked sluggish for 90 minutes as they failed to win yet again following a Europa League midweek match.
Postecoglou’s squad has been decimated by injuries with the North London club missing five starters for the clash including Dominic Solanke, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur and Guglielmo Vicario.
Postecoglou warned not to use Heung-min Son as a centre-forward
Ange Postecoglou has been warned by The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke that he cannot use Heung-min Son as a centre-forward. The Tottenham boss was forced to find an alternative to Dominic Solanke who was ill for Spurs’ draw with Fulham.
The Lilywhites looked toothless in attack and their struggles in Fulham’s half highlighted how crucial Solanke is to the team. Son was just unable to fulfil the same parts of the game which the 27-year-old excels in, such as leading the press and being an outlet up top in the final third.
Pitt-Brooke told The View From The Lane: “Solanke is so integral to how Tottenham play. Even aside from the goals he’s scored, he is brilliant at pressing, and his ability to keep the ball in the opposition half and bring others into play is so good.
“Son just can’t do that, there’s a reason why this was only the second time Son started through the middle. There were so many times when they played the ball forward to Son, he would try to take it on the half turn and he would just run straight into a defender.
“It meant that Tottenham were only able to do anything either on the break like their goal or set pieces. So Spurs just weren’t able to build up properly, they just weren’t able to keep the ball in Fulham’s half and go from there. They just need Solanke.”
Tottenham journalist raises Dominic Solanke concern
The Athletic’s Tottenham correspondent, Jay Harris, also raised concerns over Solanke ahead of Spurs’ busy festive period. Postecoglou has very few alternatives to the striker, especially with Son struggling in centre-forward.
Richarlison suffering another long-term injury and has further limited Tottenham’s attacking options. Will Lankshear is another player who could play up top, but there are question marks as to whether he is ready.
Harris said: “Over the next month, Solanke is going to have to play far too often, when he doesn’t play and Son goes in the nine, nothing clicks. You need Richarlison but during his time at Spurs he’s never been consistently available.”
Spurs fans were already concerned by Postecoglou overusing Solanke and now during a busy period, he is going to have very few chances to rest the striker.
Receive a digest of our best Spurs content each week direct to your mailbox
