Predicting Tottenham's First Team Following Close of the 2014 Transfer Window
The faces of the players contending for a place in Tottenham Hotspur's first team have changed this past summer.
The transfer window has seen starting XI contenders from last season, Michael Dawson, Zeki Fryers, Sandro and Gylfi Sigurdsson, depart. In have come Ben Davies, Eric Dier, Federico Fazio, Benjamin Stambouli and Michel Vorm.
Predicting what manager Mauricio Pochettino's team will look like moving forward is, for a start, subject to who returns fit from this week's international break. Given the changes he has made throughout the season so far, a mixture of experimentation and rotation will also ensure a fixed line-up is some way off being decided (if at all).
Now he knows who he has to work with for the next few months, this week's game away at Sunderland should give us a look at what the Argentinian might have in mind.
Goalkeeper
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Hugo Lloris is Tottenham's first-choice goalkeeper.
The arrival of Michel Vorm has added to the competition for a place in goal. If anything, though, it should serve to ensure Lloris does not get complacent.
So long as he is fit, the Frenchman will start against Sunderland.
Vorm will get his opportunities soon enough, certainly in cup games, possibly in the league from time-to-time. For this season, at least, him playing on a regular basis is going to be reliant on his team-mate suffering from injury or a dramatic loss in form.
Defence
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With no confirmed return date for Kyle Walker following lower abdominal surgery, Eric Dier and Kyle Naughton look set to be left vying to play at right-back for the immediate future.
Naughton's unfortunate sending-off on the opening day handed Dier a chance to make his mark with playing time he might not have been immediately granted at centre-back. The 20-year-old has made the most of it thus far, and he will get more playing time soon enough.
An injury suffered by Dier on duty with England under-21s last week might force him to miss this week's game. If so, it will provide Pochettino an opportunity to get another look at Naughton in league play and contrast his options at right-back as the season hits its stride.
On the opposite flank, Danny Rose has been given the nod at left-back in the first few games of the Premier League campaign. Despite receiving an England call-up, his performances have been mixed enough that Ben Davies may now be handed his chance to impress.
The Welshman was not severely tested in his two starts in the Europa League versus Limassol, and he will understandably be keen to get more challenging experiences akin to his substitute appearance against Liverpool.
Davies will not become the automatic choice because of one good performance at Sunderland, but the advantage might be something he can run with. That proved to be the case when he came in for the injured Neil Taylor at Swansea City a couple of years ago—he did not look back.
Centre-back is a position where Pochettino is yet to figure out what might be his most solid combination. The return to fitness of Vlad Chiriches, and the arrival of Federico Fazio should get him closer to figuring it out.
The signing from Sevilla was judged to be not quite ready for the Liverpool game, despite the club confirming his availability for selection. After an erratic display by Younes Kaboul in that loss, it now seems as good a chance as any to see what Fazio can do in the role of the defence's big-man.
Alongside the Argentinian, Jan Vertonghen's experience and composure will likely be utilised in helping ease his new team-mate into English football. There is only so much he can do there, of course, while he will have plenty to deal with on his own side.
If Kaboul is dropped, it will be more important than ever for the Belgian to assert himself in a leadership role. With Michael Dawson gone, the defence needs someone to properly assume that responsibility as they adapt to the demands of their new boss.
Midfield
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Tottenham's two lines of midfield in Pochettino's (so far) preferred 4-2-3-1 formation are still working towards a happy understanding. It is something they hope will come with time as they adapt to the high-octane game they are being asked to play. Like the team's defence, it may still take some tinkering to figure out the best combinations.
In attacking midfield, Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela appear to have been granted that time.
It was always likely to be the case with the Dane, one of Spurs' undoubted best players last season. Lamela had to show something early in this campaign to prove he deserved to play, which he has done encouragingly in the opening month.
The 22-year-old is consistently looking to influence proceedings with his passing and dribbling. He has also already looked much better equipped in dealing with Premier League defenders attempting to barge him off the ball.
Though not immune to this treatment, Lamela's timing on the ball has improved to the extent it is at least resulting in him winning free-kicks when he has threatened to get away. Last season he was too easily dispossessed in these situations.
If Eriksen and Lamela are the team's chief creators, the last couple of games have seen Pochettino go with Nacer Chadli in a more varied role. The manager has trusted in his ability to play both as an auxiliary striker (as in the win over Queens Park Rangers) and a more traditional attacking midfielder (the loss to Liverpool).
The Belgian provides a welcome versatility in a section of the pitch where Spurs are looking to embrace purposeful flexibility. He will need to carry on producing in the manner he did against QPR. Regardless, he should be back for a third league start in a row this weekend.
Central midfield proper is where the greatest intrigue over Pochettino's intentions lie.
Nabil Bentaleb and Etienne Capoue have performed well enough so far that they could well be kept in the side for Spurs' next game. Though the former is still developing his ability to have an all-round influence on his team, while the latter still needs to prove he can protect his defence sufficiently against a range of opposition attacks.
It may be the case one of them sees more playing time than the other moving forward, clicking better with someone else. Here Benjamin Stambouli has been brought into the fold, while a fully tuned Mousa Dembele will have more than enough to earn a starting position (Paulinho looks like is going to be competing with Eriksen and Co. further forward).
It should be the same again for Sunderland, then, but how Stambouli fares on his introduction in this department—whenever that may be—will especially make for some interesting viewing.
Up Front
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Even if Roberto Soldado is fit again this week, Emmanuel Adebayor seems likely to continue as Pochettino's main-man up-front.
The potential of Adebayor seems to have captured the imagination of his new manager like so many coaches before.
We have seen the good (a big role in Spurs' win over QPR particularly) and the indifferent (the opener versus West Ham United) from the striker already this season. The truly bad might not be far off, but the prospect of bringing the good out of this talented forward is something Pochettino has been unable to resist.
Ideally for Spurs fans, there will not be a week where Adebayor's regular stating place comes under scrutiny. They know better, though, and at some point down the line the prospect of Soldado or Harry Kane coming in will be discussed in earnest.
And with that, a final look at the predicted team for Tottenham following the return from the international break.
Lloris (c); Naughton, Fazio, Vertonghen, Davies; Capoue, Bentaleb; Lamela, Eriksen, Chadli; Adebayor.
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