Why 2015/16 Is the Season Tom Carroll Will Break out at Tottenham

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has taken something of a risk this season. 

Having sold squad central midfielders Paulinho, Benjamin Stambouli and Etienne Capoue, there have been no incoming transfers. 

Instead, Pochettino has placed his faith in the options still remaining at the club. 

Of those, Nabil Bentaleb is untouchably first choice but the position alongside him is there to be won. 

Eric Dier was given the first chance to claim the role but his performance against Manchester United wasn't enough to lock it down. 

Ryan Mason, the preferred option last season, was solid in his cameo off the bench and remains very much in contention. 

The young dynamo Dele Alli also appears poised to push hard for the role. 

Another candidate already at the club is Tom Carroll. 

Carroll has seemingly been on the cusp of breaking into Spurs' first team for years. 

His loan spell at Leyton Orient, alongside Harry Kane, in 2010-11 drew acclaim and in 2012-13 he was a useful part of Andre Villas-Boas' team. 

Progressive loan spells at Derby, QPR and Swansea have seen him move up the leagues as his reputation has grown. 

He has regularly impressed at youth international level too; his exclusion from England's squad for the Under-21 European Championships in Israel was a travesty.  

Carroll should have broken out for Spurs years ago. His inability to do so can partially be blamed on the shortsightedness of previous managers but he has failed to grasp opportunities where they have been presented to him. 

Former Spurs boss Tim Sherwood compared Carroll to Luka Modric. 

While Modric is obviously far more accomplished, the comparison is not an unfair one. 

Like the Croatian, Carroll is far tougher than his slight stature might suggest. 

Modric was often criticised for not producing the flashy numbers in terms of goals and assists at Tottenham that his talent demanded. 

To be blinded by that lack of stats would be to miss what made Modric so good for Spurs. 

The same is true of Carroll. He has never been prolific, nor does he produce a great number of assists, but he makes players around him better. 

He is brave in possession and moves the play forward quickly. He knows where the ball needs to be and is good enough to get it there. 

This is the perfect partner for Bentaleb. 

The Algerian is the brains of Tottenham's attack but, as was made painfully clear at Old Trafford, he can be blunted without a capable partner. 

Kerstin Joensson/Associated Press

Carroll's ability to flit about in midfield, constantly available to relieve pressure, will mean Bentaleb is never without an outlet. 

When Tottenham dominate possession, as is the case in most of their matches, Carroll can move into more advanced areas, leaving Bentaleb to set the tempo and helping to overload the opposition defence. 

He excels in tight areas, loves getting the ball under pressure and has an almost otherworldly sense of when a defender is closing him down. 

Christian Eriksen would continue to dominate that area but Carroll would take a share of the workload from the Dane as he would from Bentaleb. 

It is crucial that Carroll prove his defensive abilities if he is to win the role as Bentaleb's permanent partner. 

That will be his biggest challenge and the defensively minded Dier will be difficult to unseat. 

Now 23, Carroll must grasp his opportunity this season as it may be his last at the club.

Spurs are trying to build a team around homegrown talent and Carroll, having joined the club as a teenager, should be a part of that but the pressure is on him to prove it.

Pochettino and Tottenham will not hesitate to divest themselves of him if they determine that he is not up to the required standard. 

Carroll certainly possesses the talent required to play in the Premier League. 

He is poised and fearless, he moves the ball quickly and intelligently and is combative enough to hold his own in central midfield. 

The Europa League and League Cup will likely need to be his avenue to the first team but that was enough for Kane to break out and Carroll can follow suit.