Tottenham Hotspur are top of the Premier League. No, that is not a typo.
Spurs were expected to endure another difficult campaign, especially with talisman Harry Kane departing for pastures new at Bayern Munich right before the start of the season.
However, the North London side appear to be rejuvenated by Australian manager Ange Postecoglou — who was by no means Daniel Levy’s primary target for the vacant position when the Spurs chairman drew up his shortlist of successors to Antonio Conte.
Tottenham are one of two teams who remain unbeaten after the opening eight weeks of the season, with Arsenal being the other. But Postecoglou’s side currently hold the top spot in the standings from their local rivals due to the fact they’ve scored more goals than the Gunners.
They are due to host Fulham at the state-of-the-art Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Monday, October 23, and are the heavy favourites to pick up a seventh win of the season if you’re looking for a Spurs v Fulham bet.
So, as anticipation builds for the fifth Monday Night Football fixture of the season, let’s take a look at four players who have impressed for Tottenham so far this year.
James Maddison
Summer recruit James Maddison seems like the perfect place to start. Spurs signed the midfielder from the relegated Leicester City for a bargain price of just £40m, and the 26-year-old could prove to be one of the best pieces of business this season.
The England international has been a key cog in Spurs’ fine start to the campaign, scoring two goals and providing five assists in his eight Premier League appearances for Tottenham. Postecoglou needed someone to step up when Kane left, and Maddison has done just that.
Son Heung-min
By his incredibly high standards, Son Heung-min fell below the bar of expectation last season — and following a slow start to the 2023-24 campaign, in which he failed to score in the first three games, some Spurs fans might have been worried his powers were starting to dwindle.
However, the South Korean forward has since scored six goals in his last five Premier League outings and is starting to look like his old self once again. A hat-trick against Burnley was followed up with a brace against Arsenal and a goal against Liverpool.
Cristian Romero
It was hard to pick between Cristian Romero and his new centre-back partner Micky van de Veen, but we’ve sided with the former, as the Argentine World Cup winner has arguably been slightly better.
Romero has started all eight of Spurs’ games this season and has been solid at the back. The 25-year-old has kept three clean sheets, conceded just six goals, made 20 tackles (including one last-man tackle), 12 interceptions, 35 clearances, 45 recoveries and won 47 duels.
Guglielmo Vicario
The general consensus amongst football fans and pundits alike this summer was that Guglielmo Vicario was not good enough to take on the responsibility of being Spurs’ number one shot-stopper from Hugo Lloris.
However, the Italian is doing a good job of proving his doubters wrong thus far. Vicario has three clean sheets and has conceded just eight goals in his eight appearances, while he’s made 26 saves, eight sweeper clearances and seven high claims.