Ange could bench Bentancur for Spurs’ “deluxe” £55k-p/w machine

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou conceded that his side needed to learn some lessons after Everton came from behind twice to draw at Goodison Park.

A certain lack of maturity is understandable to a degree; this is a young and gelling group of players that is performing well after a dismal 2022/23 term.

Fifth-placed in the Premier League, Spurs will now need to focus on returning to winning ways as they prepare to host Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.

Victory would put Tottenham a point ahead of Aston Villa in the top four (who host Manchester United one day later) and Postecoglou will be delighted that he has a squad of far greater collective fitness than has been the case for much of the campaign.

Spurs team news vs Brighton

Heung-min Son and Yves Bissouma are both expected to be involved after respective exits from the Asia Cup and African Cup of Nations.

However, Manor Solomon, Giovani Lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon all remain on the sidelines. Postecoglou would love such stars back but his options are plentiful heading into the clash against Brighton.

Son has been involved in relentless action and so might start from the bench this afternoon but Bissouma – who played just 30 minutes in AFCON’s knockout stage with Mali – is in line to start.

Yves Bissouma must replace Rodrigo Bentancur

Tottenham signed Bissouma from Brighton in a deal in excess of £25m in 2022 but he struggled to make his mark throughout a tumultuous season, starting just ten matches in the top-flight.

This season, the 27-year-old has been in finer fettle, praised for his “deluxe” presence in the Lilywhites squad by The Athletic’s Charlie Eccleshare, integral in the blistering early-season start – though he has been hampered by three separate suspensions.

As per Sofascore, the £55k-per-week titan has completed 91% of his passes across 15 Premier League fixtures this term, averaging 3.3 tackles, 4.8 ball recoveries and 6.9 successful duels per game, also succeeding with 73% of his dribbles.

Disciplinary troubles notwithstanding, Bissouma has been immense and ranks among the top 2% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 8% for successful take-ons and the top 3% for tackles per 90, as per FBref.

With the dynamic Pape Matar Sarr also in line for a start, it might be wise for Postecoglou to order a return to the bench for Rodrigo Bentancur, who has been in the thick of the action after the new year, having finally put a year of injury woe behind him.

The Uruguayan has started the past four Premier League games for Spurs but hasn’t quite returned to his former standard – which is expected after so long on the sidelines – and failed to make a single key pass against Everton.

Of course, he was filling in at a deeper-lying role than usual with Sarr not ready to start and Bissouma still away, but with both players now raring to return to the heart of Tottenham’s efforts, it might be wise for Postecoglou to provide Bentancur with a breather.

Bissouma can produce the goods and then some, and after nearly two months of no club action, he will be desperate to make a good impression against his former outfit.