Things have improved since then, although Tottenham Hotspur were already in the mud heading into the January window, needing a new spark to lift progress.
Four years earlier, with Newcastle United on the brink of relegation, a new ownership regime brought in the likes of Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier and Bruno Guimaraes, three men who quickly raised the bar at St James’ Park.
In the case of Spurs, the decision to get around £35m for Conor Gallagher as the only winter purchase remains a moot point, especially as the Lilywhites are so short in depth in other departments, including in the flanks.
New manager Roberto De Zerbi was full of praise for England following his arrival in the box, although there was no immediate revival on Sunday, with Gallagher needing to be taken out of the firing line.
Gallagher is no longer the player De Zerbi “loved” at Chelsea
Speaking ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Wearside, De Zerbi named Gallagher as one of the players he was most excited to work with, suggesting he was keen to see the 26-year-old return to the player he “loved” at Stamford Bridge.
In the midfielder’s final year with the Blues back in 2023/24, he was a key player in Mauricio Pochettino’s side, playing an eight or midfield role, scoring and assisting 12 Premier League goals that season.
It was once described as “like [N’Golo] Goal-scoring Kante” by commentator Tony Cascarino, it seems there are many strings to his bow, a relentless defender who also has a knack for scoring goals in his game.
However, as seen over the weekend, Gallagher looks to be a shadow of that player these days, as he registered one assist and failed to score in his first ten Premier League games back in England.
Alongside Archie Gray against the Black Cats, the former Atletico Madrid man did not win a single game, winning just three of seven contests and providing a key pass on his own, struggling to provide attacking impetus in that 85-minute spell.
|
Gallagher vs Sunderland |
|
|---|---|
|
Mathematics |
Record |
|
Minutes |
85 |
|
To touch |
48 |
|
Pass rate |
87% |
|
Key passes |
1 |
|
The ball is lost |
7 |
|
It carries |
13 |
|
Success. dribbles |
1/2 |
|
Fighting |
0 |
|
Ground duels |
2/5 |
|
Aerial duels |
1/2 |
In those ten games so far, he hasn’t created a single ‘big chance’, and averages just 0.8 key passes per game, which is about as low as would be expected from a player of his previous Premier League experience.
With a visit to De Zerbi’s former club Brighton and Hove Albion next on the agenda, the Italian could shake things up in the center of the park.
De Zerbi could replace Gallagher with Spurs’ Carrick & Modric hybrid
Thanks to De Zerbi, if there’s one place Spurs have depth, it’s in midfield, with Joao Palhinha and Pape Matar Sarr both missing from the bench at the weekend, with Yves Bissouma part of the matchday squad.
The next Paul Gascoigne could finally end Simons’ Spurs career
Spurs may already have a replacement for Xavi Simons.
If the former Marseille boss is looking for a replacement for Gallagher, as Gray’s new team-mate, he may look to the returning Rodrigo Bentancur instead, with the Uruguayan having returned to first-team training this week.
Like many in north London, Bentancur has endured an injury-plagued few years at the club, notably seeing 2022/23 and 2023/24 hampered by hamstring injuries, and has also been limited to 28 appearances this season following a recent hamstring injury.
The 28-year-old did not feature at all under Igor Tudor, and when he played the last league games against Bournemouth in January, he was clearly absent.
Indeed, the Lilywhites haven’t won a top-11 game since then, with Bentancur starting 17 of the 21 games before that.
That’s not to say that Spurs haven’t begun to crumble even with the South American in the side, although the decline in his absence has been steep, as he has already overtaken Gallagher in a number of Premier League metrics this season.
|
Bentancur vs Gallagher – 25/26 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Bentancur |
Statistics (*per game) |
Gallagher |
|
20 |
Games |
10 |
|
1 |
Goals |
0 |
|
1 |
It helps |
1 |
|
85% |
Pass accuracy* |
81% |
|
1.1 |
meeting* |
1.1 |
|
1.9 |
fight* |
1.0 |
|
5.0 |
Adoption* |
3.8 |
|
52% |
Total winnings* |
45% |
|
0.7 |
Success. dribble* |
0.6 |
|
7.6 |
Ball lost* |
9.1 |
At his best, the former Juventus man is a silky, but controversial asset in his deeper role, so classy that he was compared to Luka Modric and Michael Carrick in the past by Sky Sports’ Michael Bridge.
“He’s just got good skating, he’s a smart ball player… he’s a decent player and he’s got something [Michael] Carrick about him, a little [Luka] Modric.”
With the same goal threat as Modric, who has scored 10 times for the club so far, Bentancur again resembles Carrick by being a pillar in midfield in front of the back four, proving to be more erratic on the ball than Gallagher.
While De Zerbi may be wary of bringing him back into action, it is a must with just six games left in the pre-season, with the hope that Bentancur can prove the difference when it comes to scoring or not.
De Zerbi could push Spurs to safety by offloading their new signing Heung-min
Oh how Spurs could do with Heung-min Son this season…
