Summary The new energy at Tottenham Hotspur under Ange Postecoglou is paving the way for a top-four fight with a renewed strength in the backline. Top signings like Van de Ven and Romero are turning Spurs' defence around, with the Dutchman's exceptional performances standing out on the pitch. Young talent like Vuskovic and Bergvall are enhancing Tottenham's future prospects, with Vuskovic already showing his potential on loan ahead of his 2025 arrival.
There is a spirit about Tottenham Hotspur that was not on display last season, and that stems from Daniel Levy's decision to appoint Ange Postecoglou as first-team manager.
Recent years have seen more high-profile names such as Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte come unstuck, and last season's disappointing eighth-placed finish called for change, else slip further away from those at the forefront of the Premier League.
Harry Kane's sale to Bayern Munich in August was a bitter pill to swallow but one that was expected, with the Three Lions captain about to enter the final year of his contract and understandably seeking pastures new at 30 years old, with no European football and no silverware throughout a record-breaking career down N17.
Still, Son Heung-min and Richarlison are hardly struggling to find the back of the net, and signings such as James Maddison, Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner have compensated, with Tottenham fighting for the top four with fresh life under Postecoglou's management.
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However, the real success of this early-stage Spurs system lies in the backline's revival, fortified with steel after a woeful 2022/23 campaign that saw an inpour of goals ravage any hopes of achieving their objectives.
How Van de Ven and Romero are performing this season
Last season, things fell apart down at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the crux of this issue was indeed the leaky defence, rectified and then some with the summer acquisitions of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and athletic centre-half Micky van de Ven to slot into Postecoglou's system.
Van de Ven in particular, signed from Wolfsburg in a deal worth £43m, has been a bonafide success so far, described as "absolutely exceptional" by Arsene Wenger since his arrival on English shores.
As per Sofascore, he has completed 95% of his passes across 17 Premier League appearances so far, averaging 5.9 ball recoveries and 2.9 clearances per game as well as succeeding with 63% of his dribbles and 68% of his ground duels. It's no coincidence that Spurs' slump before Christmas ran in tandem with the Dutchman's period of recovery from a hamstring injury.
His partner, Cristian Romero, might have been rooted at the heart of the problems last season, but there's no denying his world-class skills, with a confident peer alongside him working wonders.
Matches played
21
Clean sheets
5
Goals
4
Pass completion
92%
Tackles per game
2.0
Ball recoveries per game
6.0
Clearances per game
3.1
Duels won
5.1 (69%)
After all, as per FBref, Romero ranks among the top 3% of central defenders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals scored, the top 16% for shot-creating actions, the top 11% for pass completion, the top 14% for progressive passes, the top 7% for tackles and the top 12% for interceptions per 90.
This impressive spread of qualities makes it patently clear that the 2022 World Cup winner is one of the Premier League's finest, and while some might raise an eyebrow at his Argentinian compatriot Lionel Messi's praise that he is "the best defender in the world right now", the legendary forward isn't that wide of the mark.
The future is bright, and while these senior signings are exciting, the real success of this new flowering chapter at Tottenham is the remarkable wave of academy talent, with Luka Vuskovic possibly the pick of the bunch.
Why Spurs signed Luka Vuskovic
One of the first to ride this wave of activity among the formative ranks at Tottenham, Vuskovic was announced to have signed for the club in September 2023 when he was still only 16 years old, with his arrival scheduled for 2025 and the deal expected to cost around £12m.
For the time being, he remains in his Croatian homeland with Hajduk Split, where he will continue to nurture his ability and develop into a Premier League-quality defender, having already been described as a "truly amazing" youngster by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Despite his tender age, Vuskovic is proving to be quite the prospect and has chalked up 11 senior appearances this season: six for Hajduk Split and five for current loan outfit Radomiak Radom in Poland.
As per Sofascore, the young titan has been impressive in the Polish Ekstralasa after scoring twice from just four starting appearances, also averaging 3.6 ball recoveries and 5.6 clearances per game while succeeding with 100% of his dribbles and winning a whopping 71% of his aerial battles.
For certain, the 17-year-old will move to London next year to bolster a Tottenham youth squad that has more than a few players capable of making a mark within Postecoglou's senior setup.
He's not the only youngster to have been signed of late, with Lucas Bergvall one of the most exciting up-and-comers around, but Vuskovic is every bit as big a talent, and the omens bode prosperity down the line for the Lilywhites.
As big a talent as Lucas Bergvall
U21 stars such as Jamie Donley and Alfie Dorrington look like proper prospects, while Levy hijacked Barcelona's move for teenage midfielder Lucas Bergvall in January, with the talent linking up with the squad this summer.
Bergvall has been described as a "generational" talent by one analyst and has certainly caught the eye in Sweden, completing 88% of his passes and 68% of his dribbles in the top flight this season.
Vuskovic, though, is younger and has proved his skill set stretches into different facets of the defensive game, with the athleticism, progressive qualities and defensive solidity making for something of a hybrid between Van de Ven and Romero.
Moreover, imperious Premier League champions Manchester City had a big interest in the player before he chose Spurs, highlighting just how high his ceiling could be.
Ultimately, it's going to be a few years before Vuskovic finds himself earning a regular starting berth down N17, but he has the trappings of a world-class centre-back, and with Bergvall fashioning openings ahead of him, Tottenham might just be on the cusp of a golden age.
