Spurs in crisis: What next for the club? | OneFootball

Where do Tottenham go from here?

The Championship is the wish of their rivals, after Sunday’s home defeat by Leicester left them dangerously close to the drop zone, with Spurs supporters wondering where their next win might be coming from.

Ange Postecoglou’s side have now lost 13 times in the league this season, with four successive defeats, and are only eight points clear of the relegation zone.

Since beating Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium last November, Spurs have won only once in 11 league games, and that came at bottom club Southampton in December.

Winning at City was a high-water mark, but the injury crisis since then has hit Postecoglou’s plans badly, with ten players unavailable to face Leicester.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario fractured his ankle in that game, and he joined Cristian Romero and Micky Van de Ven on the long-term injured list. Since then, a host of first-choice and fringe players have been out of the side, some for long periods.

Richarlison’s return was marred by the news that Dominic Solanke is likely to be out for six weeks, and Spurs are struggling to score now, having been the league’s top scorers in the first half of the season.

So what can they do to ease this injury crisis? Especially as those players who have been filling in during Tottenham’s punishing schedule look exhausted.

Being in the enlarged Europa League and in both domestic cups means Spurs have had to play every weekend and midweek since November. That City game came after an international break, but since then they have played a game every few days, and it is taking its toll. This week’s game against Elfsborg is a must-win game if they are to guarantee reaching the Europa League’s knockout stages, and will be their tenth game in the past month.

Clearly reinforcements are needed, as Postecoglou has said repeatedly.

Where do Tottenham need to strengthen, and who can they sign in the final week of the transfer window?

Centre-forward is one position where Spurs have lacked real cover since Harry Kane’s heyday. They did not replace the England captain and club record-scorer when he was sold in August 2023, and it was only last summer that Solanke arrived. The former Bournemouth man has hardly had a break, and is now out, and even Richarlison’s return was disrupted by a groin injury on Sunday.

Will Lankshear is a raw youngster, and Heung Min-Son is a winger who is far less effective as a central striker. So a proven number nine is an absolute priority.

Central defence is another problem area, with teenage midfielder Archie Gray having to fill in there for the past two months. Romero and Van de Ven are world-class centre-backs on their day, but both have a history of injury problems and Tottenham’s poorest runs have come during their absences, both last season and this season.

Longer term, they need a real leader, ideally a powerhouse midfielder. Son is Tottenham’s captain, but playing wide means he is not as involved as others, and his deputies Vicario and Romero have hardly played since November.

The problem is where they can identify and sign players of the quality they want, especially in the last week of the transfer window. Daniel Levy is famed for leaving it late, but brinkmanship is a dangerous game when so much is at stake, not least Premier League survival.

Postecoglou’s position is obviously being called in to question, and the manager was realistic about it on Sunday evening, but it makes little sense to change manager now, even if there were a top-class coach able to take over and transform an injury-hit squad.

The simple answer for Levy would be to spend now to bring in reinforcements and hope Spurs get through this tricky period, and even go on to success in one of the cups.

But without bringing in fresh faces, and with little prospect of a fully-fit squad between now and the end of the season, it is going to be tough for Tottenham to get through the next few weeks and months without more trauma.