When Tottenham Hotspur sacked Thomas Frank and replaced him with Igor Tudor last week, the powers that be found themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Tudor, a coach without experience in the English game in any capacity and with a reputation for short-lived managerial stints, was thrashed 4-1 on his debut at the Spurs helm, but Arsenal’s second battering of their rivals in the Premier League this season emphasises the severity of the crisis.
Tottenham’s talented players are playing without their talent. The January transfer window represented a chance to put things to rights, but new recruit Conor Gallagher has thus far failed to provide a solution.
Conor Gallagher’s start to life at Spurs
Gallagher, 25, is a midfielder with a wealth of experience at the highest level, from Chelsea to Atletico Madrid to the Three Lions squad.
He hasn’t been a Lilywhites player for very long, but some fans are already frustrated by his performances.
Admittedly, it’s not Gallagher’s fault that he’s the stylistic profile that he is. However, he’s still not providing the all-action presence his arrival promised when Spurs snapped him up from Atletico Madrid in a £35m deal.
He was bright during that hard-fought draw against Manchester City at the start of February, but Gallagher’s limitations as a ball-playing midfielder have been laid bare in recent weeks, accentuated by the fact that this was something that desperately needed fixing ahead of the closing months of the campaign.
Conor Gallagher in the Premier League
Stats (* per 90)
23/24
25/26
Matches (starts)
37 (37)
6 (6)
Goals
5
0
Assists
7
1
Accurate passes*
92%
28.2 (82%)
Big chances created
11
0
Key passes*
1.4
1.2
Succ. dribbles*
1.0 (68%)
0.8 (71%)
Ball recoveries*
6.3
4.8
Tackles*
2.3
1.7
Duels (won)*
5.7 (50%)
4.8 (47%)
Now Spurs are in real danger, but Gallagher shouldn’t shoulder all the blame, having stepped onto a sinking ship.
However, assessing his long-term position as a mainstay in the Spurs midfield, it’s clear that Gallagher needs to buck up his ideas as a box-to-box presence, with a young Spurs talent already showing that he could leapfrog him in the pecking order.
Spurs talent could surpass Gallagher
Tottenham are on a downward spiral, but they have a bedrock of up-and-coming quality that could lift them back to higher ground in the Premier League.
Leading that pack is Archie Gray, who at 19 years old has already chalked up 72 appearances and lifted a Europa League title after transferring from Leeds United to N17 in a deal worth nearly £30m.
At this early stage of his professional career, Gray is proving himself quite the versatile talent. That versatility is balanced against immense technical skill and a willingness to lead. In this, Spurs may find that they have a “future £100m centre-midfielder“.
Gray is, at his core, a midfielder, even though he has been utilised across any number of positions.
Archie Gray’s Tottenham Career by Position
Position
Apps
Goals + Assists
Defensive midfield
27
1 + 0
Centre-back
20
0 + 0
Right-back
13
1 + 0
Centre-midfield
10
0 + 0
Left-back
6
0 + 0
Already standing at 6 foot 2, the dynamic prospect is one of the more seasoned Tottenham first-teamers of the past two years, and it’s no mistake that he’s still several years away from his physical prime.
Stifled by Frank’s reluctance to give him minutes, Gray played the full 90 against Arsenal, struggling at right-back in what still showcased his flexible ability.
When Spurs sort out their overload of injury problems and resemble something closer to a coherent unit, Gray might just start to earn more chances to impress in his natural berth, and from that point forward, he would threaten the multi-faceted Gallagher’s place in the starting line-up.
Harry Redknapp has even hailed Gray as being the club’s standout player of the 2024/25 campaign, going on to suggest he is “the future Tottenham captain“.
With the making of an elite No. 8, Gray might just be the star of the show down the line, though that might come at Gallagher’s expense as a starting option.
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