Given the fact that Tottenham have only lost one game in the Premier League this season after eight fixtures, there is real cause for optimism for Mauricio Pochettino’s young team.
The top four and Champions League qualification is the ultimate goal for the North London outfit, with an ongoing project to transform the White Hart Lane outfit from nearly-men to consistent contenders at the top tier of English football.
One of the tactics that current boss Pochettino has clearly employed to get the club to the Champions League promised land is to trust in youth, with a group of starlets growing together and improving as a collective entity.
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Although raw talents from overseas such as Christian Eriksen, Clinton N’jie and Son Heung-min have been added to the contingent, a significant portion of the young players have come through the youth system.
The likes of Harry Kane, Ryan Mason and Nabil Bentaleb have a significant role to play in Tottenham’s progression, but another youth-team graduate looks destined for a role on the sidelines.
Following the sale of Gareth Bale, Andros Townsend progressed from a fringe figure to become a focal point of the Spurs attack last term.
The former QPR loanee’s pace and drive was reminiscent of the player he had replaced in the Spurs team, with some stunning performances for England as well as the London club.
Most of the White Hart Lane faithful felt that they had a significant talent on their hands to lead the club into a new age, but Townsend has stagnated over the last six months in particular.
Once opposition defences had become wise to the inverted winger’s desire to cut in from the right-hand side and shoot with his left foot, the winger’s impact on proceedings started to drop.
In more recent times and with injuries blighting Townsend’s ability to string consecutive games together both last season and this, the Spurs fans have become frustrated with the England international’s showings for the club.
His willingness to please and be the hero, much as Bale was for Tottenham, has seen him waste countless promising positions by trying to do too much and shoot rather than pass. Townsend’s end product is lacking more times than present and with the severe lack of goals and assists since he broke into first-team contention, the White Hart Lane faithful have every right to question his role in the team.
Pochettino’s options on the right-hand side of the midfield are significantly better now than when the youth-team graduate broke into the reckoning last season.
Alex Pritchard has returned from a mightily impressive loan stint at Brentford and looks set to play a role once he regains fitness, while the signings of Son and N’jie add options across the forward line.
Erik Lamela is finally now starting to live up to his billing also and as such Townsend’s role this season is under question. The infuriating winger has been linked with a White Hart Lane exit in the last number of transfer windows, with other Premier League teams prepared to take a gamble on the wideman.
With Pochettino possessing better options and Townsend doing little in recent performances to show that he has progressed or learnt from mistakes last season, it could well be time for Spurs to cash in on him.
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