It's become blatantly obvious in recent weeks that Tottenham Hotspur are absolutely missing the presence of Dejan Kulusevski in the final third as the Swedish workhorse has emerged as an imperative figure to manager Antonio Conte since his arrival back in January.

Spurs have been struck with some tough results in recent weeks, ranging from defeats to Sporting CP in the Champions League and at the weekend, in the north London Derby and then on Tuesday night, the frontline looked woeful against Eintracht Frankfurt.

Indeed, a front three of Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Richarlison mustered up only two attempts on target throughout the 90 minutes as the Lilywhites were held by the Europa League holders in Germany.

Before the game, Conte hinted at a tweak in the system to cater for the loss of the injured Kulusevski and it was perhaps especially surprising to not see the change deployed at the Waldstadion.

"With this type of players and this squad we can play with these two systems, 3-4-3 and a 3-5-2," the Italian told reporters (via football.london). "Also [Yves] Bissouma who is a good player who can play with the two midfielders and the two strikers can be Sonny and Kane or Richarlison and Kane."

That 3-5-2 is what brought a first Serie A title in over a decade back to Inter Milan in 2020 and it's a change that helped him adapt to the loss of key players after his Premier League triumph at London rivals Chelsea, where Eden Hazard was allowed to roam free with Cesc Fabregas the main 'creator' in the hole.

With Spurs now in a slump, it's a system that the 53-year-old must return to and the key to that exciting transition is surely Oliver Skipp, who can become the anchor of that midfield three, allowing any two of Bissouma, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur the freedom to advance forward.

Tottenham could keep their defensive stability by going to a three-man engine room and it could lead to greater control of matches, with the side ranking seventh-worst in the Premier League for passes into the final third (24 completed per 90), via FBref.

That's worse than Wolverhampton Wanderers, who recently sacked their manager Bruno Lage, and Southampton, where Ralph Hasenhuttl is looking likely to be the next to go in the English top-flight.

Skipp had been a regular starter under Conte before he picked up persistent injury troubles but now he's fit and available, it would be foolish to not unleash him in the coming fixtures.

Last season, the England U21 international enjoyed a better tackle success rate per 90 (66.6%) than Hojbjerg (62%), and registered fewer inaccurate short passes per 90 than the Dane, as well as Bentancur, as per WhoScored.

That stability is exactly what Conte needs to make the 3-5-2 work, so heading into this weekend's clash with Brighton and Hove Albion - who are just three points behind Spurs in fourth - Skipp must be back in the starting XI.

The £80k-per-week enforcer, once lauded as an "absolute machine," by Opta's Matt Hayes, can help Spurs forget about Kulusevski and his injury in the short term and help aid the smooth transition into Conte's success-proven 3-5-2.

AND in other news, £50k-p/w "special talent" who had 101 touches was Conte's one shining light in Germany...