Full Tottenham squad for Sheffield United revealed with Brennan Johnson dilemma and Eric Dier call
Ange Postecoglou gets back to work in the Premier League after two weeks out
Tottenham are back and looking to extend their positive unbeaten start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign. After two weeks of worries and bated breath over the fitness of some of their stars, Ange Postecoglou has a near fully fit side.
Without the pressure of midweek European football or even the Carabao Cup now, Spurs have just league football to concentrate on until after Christmas. It gives them a chance to build on a strong start to life under their new Australian manager after capturing the attention of football fanatics across the country.
Spurs have gone from playing some of the least inspiring games to an entertaining outfit that many are excited to keep their eyes on moving forward. With a trip away to winless Sheffield United up next, there is an opportunity to continue putting pressure on those around them at the top of the table in this early period.
Luckily for Postecoglou there isn’t too much that needs to change either. All of those who helped dispatch Burnley in the last game before the break are once more available for selection despite some worries. Cristian Romero, one of three scorers on the day, has overcome a knock picked up with Argentina to return ready to play. He featured in his country’s second game as well, signalling a positive physical state heading to Yorkshire here.
Romero has been one of the most important parts of the Spurs team so far and is yet to commit a foul, a remarkable feat for a player who got 11 yellow cards and a red card in the last 12 games of last season. Alongside him in the key player category is James Maddison.
After taking some blows from the Ukrainian defence during England’s 1-1 draw he sat out the win over Scotland four days later but there is no sign of injury there, even if fans were increasingly worried when he went to ground. Maddison has been the star of the show so far and is likely to be ready to feature at Bramall Lane.
Ahead of him, club captain Son Heung-Min is also in a position to go again. He had a more serious issue whilst away with South Korea, being seen with a large ice pack and heavy strapping on his knee following a draw with Wales. Son returned to his side’s starting XI once more just days later though and has been seen back in training at Hotspur Way.
With the three amigos all back and ready to go it is full steam ahead of Postecoglou, though he is still without Rodrigo Bentancur through a long-term knee issue. The Uruguayan has warmed up with his teammates this week, the first time since he was ruled out for an extended period back in February, soccer4u understands, but is still on the sidelines.
Bentancur will be missing for at least another six weeks, it is expected, whilst Bryan Gil, Ryan Sessegnon and Giovani Lo Celso are also out. The latter was freshly ruled out by Postecoglou ahead of the game. [Lo Celso] is not available for this weekend,” he told reporters. “He trained with us yesterday but we’re going to give it another week.”
New summer signing Alejo Veliz, on the other hand of the Argentinian Spurs player spectrum, is now ready for his first taste of Premier League football. “Alejo is finally on the pitch, which is great,” said Postecoglou. “It was his first session yesterday. He’s been impatient waiting to get started. It was good to have him involved yesterday and he’ll be available from here on as well.”
Alongside Veliz, Brennan Johnson is waiting to get his debut having gone away with Wales during the break. He signed for Spurs the day before they got down to action against Burnley and will now be keen to earn a debut here but it could cost Veliz his place as Postecoglou looks to find a balanced group.
Eric Dier, meanwhile, will be fighting for a place in the group having not yet played for Spurs this season. He was selected in the 25-man squad for Premier League action, and Postecoglou was open about just how tough of a decision it was to include him.
“As I said leading into it it was a fairly fluid situation. We weren’t really sure what was going to happen with Hugo. Eric was never out of the squad. He was here and I obviously had decisions to make around the 25-man squad,” he explained.
“Obviously on the last day we had Reguilon moving to Man Utd then Ndombele and Sanchez out. So that’s three foreigners. If one of them had stayed it would have been a different decision, which I had already stated publicly, but once we got to the end of the window we knew the numbers we had.
“Hugo and Eric were still with us so we had room to put them on the list and they’re on the list. Nothing’s really changed from that perspective. They were training with the first team and they’re training with the first team and available now.”
Outside of the injured group of four, who have played either no part or a very minimal part, in Lo Celso’s case, of the season, there are no other worries. It leaves Tottenham with pretty much full choice for selection.
Here’s the squad soccer4u thinks he will take.
Goalkeepers: Guglielmo Vicario, Fraser Forster
Defenders: Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Pedro Porro, Ivan Perisic, Emerson Royal, Ben Davies
Midfielders: Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, James Maddison, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp
Attackers: Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-Min, Richarlison, Manor Solomon, Alejo Veliz, Brennan Johnson
