Spurs 22/23: So, do we have a manager?

Jimy Hendrix

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Agreed re Davies and the backline being good enough. Getting better players and depth across MF and better depth should be enough. Lenglet is much better than Dav or Japh with his feet, and that alone probably makes him a better rotation option. I hope Dav gets moved for his sake, as I still think there's a quality CB in there. Rodon and Japh also need to be moved, but ultimately 1/3 last year's backups will remain even with Lenglet in the fold.

WRT Dier, the other thing that's helped him immensely is defending in a deeper block. Dier's biggest weakness is still his awareness, especially directly behind him. Having less space to worry about in behind has done wonders for him.
I think Dav is your nailed on Romero backup at this point. He doesn't have nearly the passing awareness and full-on eccentricity, but he (maybe to a much lesser extent Tanganga who hasn't figured out how to do it yet without just fouling) is the only one who can replicate at least some of the aggressive pressing up front-foot defending Romero does.
 

Zososoxfan

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I think Dav is your nailed on Romero backup at this point. He doesn't have nearly the passing awareness and full-on eccentricity, but he (maybe to a much lesser extent Tanganga who hasn't figured out how to do it yet without just fouling) is the only one who can replicate at least some of the aggressive pressing up front-foot defending Romero does.
Likely correct, and certainly from a footballing perspective. But if financials go into the equation, Rodon is another right-footed aggressive type CB who can also fill in at CB (CCB? MCB??). Rodon is better with his feet but certainly not as sure as an actual defender. Dav is also a specimen and his speed doesn't get mentioned enough. Dav has also shown to be pretty damn good in the air and had some nice goals to close out the year. But Dav is worth $20M more than Rodon and if that difference finances another transfer, then I have to think that's a possibility.

Shifting gears, I've been thinking about the outgoings and I'm pretty bummed that GLC is almost certainly going to be sold. Any Spurs fan can admit that one thing missing at the moment from our MF corps is a creative element. Of the guys who finished the season on the squad, Winks is the closest thing we have and it's pretty clear to me that both player and club would benefit from a separation. It seems to me that GLC is a better passer than any other CMF on the squad, and he doesn't sacrifice much if anything in pressing, work rate, or other major areas. He's also ideally suited farther upfield than everyone else. Tanguy is an even better passer and would be a great fit for the role but everything indicates that he's just not there right now and his market value is way down. GLC's value OTOH is pretty solid and it seems inevitable he will move on, but I still wish/think GLC could be a huge keep for Conte this season.
 

Kliq

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Likely correct, and certainly from a footballing perspective. But if financials go into the equation, Rodon is another right-footed aggressive type CB who can also fill in at CB (CCB? MCB??). Rodon is better with his feet but certainly not as sure as an actual defender. Dav is also a specimen and his speed doesn't get mentioned enough. Dav has also shown to be pretty damn good in the air and had some nice goals to close out the year. But Dav is worth $20M more than Rodon and if that difference finances another transfer, then I have to think that's a possibility.

Shifting gears, I've been thinking about the outgoings and I'm pretty bummed that GLC is almost certainly going to be sold. Any Spurs fan can admit that one thing missing at the moment from our MF corps is a creative element. Of the guys who finished the season on the squad, Winks is the closest thing we have and it's pretty clear to me that both player and club would benefit from a separation. It seems to me that GLC is a better passer than any other CMF on the squad, and he doesn't sacrifice much if anything in pressing, work rate, or other major areas. He's also ideally suited farther upfield than everyone else. Tanguy is an even better passer and would be a great fit for the role but everything indicates that he's just not there right now and his market value is way down. GLC's value OTOH is pretty solid and it seems inevitable he will move on, but I still wish/think GLC could be a huge keep for Conte this season.
I think we know the score with Dav. He's an elite physical player; great leaping ability, strong in the air, has great speed to recover and get challenges in. He lacks awareness and is prone to falling asleep on set pieces, which nullifies some of his aerial talents. He's been good when paired with a cerebral partner (like whenever he was with Belgians) but has struggled outside of that. Dier and Sanchez were always a risky pairing because they had similar issues on that end. In a back three it's a little more forgiving (I think Ben Davies has benefitted a lot from that) so he can be less of a risk.
 

coremiller

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Likely correct, and certainly from a footballing perspective. But if financials go into the equation, Rodon is another right-footed aggressive type CB who can also fill in at CB (CCB? MCB??). Rodon is better with his feet but certainly not as sure as an actual defender. Dav is also a specimen and his speed doesn't get mentioned enough. Dav has also shown to be pretty damn good in the air and had some nice goals to close out the year. But Dav is worth $20M more than Rodon and if that difference finances another transfer, then I have to think that's a possibility.

Shifting gears, I've been thinking about the outgoings and I'm pretty bummed that GLC is almost certainly going to be sold. Any Spurs fan can admit that one thing missing at the moment from our MF corps is a creative element. Of the guys who finished the season on the squad, Winks is the closest thing we have and it's pretty clear to me that both player and club would benefit from a separation. It seems to me that GLC is a better passer than any other CMF on the squad, and he doesn't sacrifice much if anything in pressing, work rate, or other major areas. He's also ideally suited farther upfield than everyone else. Tanguy is an even better passer and would be a great fit for the role but everything indicates that he's just not there right now and his market value is way down. GLC's value OTOH is pretty solid and it seems inevitable he will move on, but I still wish/think GLC could be a huge keep for Conte this season.
GLC's issue is that Conte's preferred 3-4-3 doesn't really have room for a midfield playmaker. GLC is probably not quite defensive enough to play in Conte's midfield two and doesn't offer enough attacking value to play in the front 3.
 

Zososoxfan

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GLC's issue is that Conte's preferred 3-4-3 doesn't really have room for a midfield playmaker. GLC is probably not quite defensive enough to play in Conte's midfield two and doesn't offer enough attacking value to play in the front 3.
You may be right, but I think he could reprise the Deki playmaker role on the right, he could be a terrific 3rd CMF in a 3-5-2, and could be a more attacking CMF option (likely as a sub to your point) when Spurs are chasing a result. Role fit is one thing, but Conte also wants very 'automatic' players who are good at following very specific instructions. That may also play a part in this, although that's hard to know. Eriksen famously chafed at this approach at first (and sat on the bench accordingly) before coming around and becoming a Conte favorite in Milan.
 

DJnVa

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Eriksen didn't become enough of a Conte favorite
I'd like him back too, but I saw a quote of his (or maybe it was someone close to him) that said Eriksen values new experiences and that led him to ManU.

Of course, the contract offer was probably better than Brentford or Spurs (even we even offered).
 

DJnVa

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Haven't found the terms yet (but it won't be much), but Jack Clarke moving to Sunderland.

 

DJnVa

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Winks, Ndombele, Reguilon, and GLC didnt make the cut to go Korea.

Devine and Scarlett given the okay to rest after international duty.

Rodon is sick and didn't go.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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Winks, Ndombele, Reguilon, and GLC didnt make the cut to go Korea.

Devine and Scarlett given the okay to rest after international duty.

Rodon is sick and didn't go.
Reguilon is the surprise on that list for me.
 

DJnVa

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It's possible he has a knock or something, but the tweet lumped him in with the others that are seemingly on the way out.
 

swiftaw

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It's possible he has a knock or something, but the tweet lumped him in with the others that are seemingly on the way out.
Spurs will listen to offers for non-touring foursome
Giovani Lo Celso, Tanguy Ndombele, Sergio Reguilon and Harry Winks will be allowed to leave Tottenham if the right offer comes in this summer.
The quartet have been omitted from the Spurs squad due to travel to South Korea on a pre-season tour later this week
Lo Celso, Ndombele, Reguilon and Winks will continue their pre-season preparations at Hotspur Way, with Spurs understood to be willing to sell them all for the right price.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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The Son and the rest of the squad getting an appropriately enthusiastic response from the Korean fans (Kane and others come out of the gate around the 6 minute mark):

View: https://youtu.be/pAIe1ho2SXE

It's going to be a fun week with all the coverage of the Spurs players & staff hopping around Seoul and other cities.
 

Kliq

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The Son and the rest of the squad getting an appropriately enthusiastic response from the Korean fans (Kane and others come out of the gate around the 6 minute mark):

View: https://youtu.be/pAIe1ho2SXE

It's going to be a fun week with all the coverage of the Spurs players & staff hopping around Seoul and other cities.
Yeah this was great. Even Bissouma, coming out last, on his phone, got a big reaction from the crowd there haha.
 

SocrManiac

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I figured it would either be a big hug and laughs or Richarlison falling to the floor clutching his face.
 

SocrManiac

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The contrast between conditioning and long-term fatigue will be interesting to see develop. Will this approach leave the tanks empty at the end of the season?
 

67YAZ

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The contrast between conditioning and long-term fatigue will be interesting to see develop. Will this approach leave the tanks empty at the end of the season?
Thats going to be a novel calculation this year with the packed schedule and a number of key players heading to Qatar for a month. Guys like Son and Kane who are essential to both club and national team are going to need lots of rotation and recovery.

But Troy Parrott making a case for himself!
 

Jimy Hendrix

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Thats going to be a novel calculation this year with the packed schedule and a number of key players heading to Qatar for a month. Guys like Son and Kane who are essential to both club and national team are going to need lots of rotation and recovery.

But Troy Parrott making a case for himself!
Parrot is interesting to me in terms of team shape because quality aside (which is a big "other than that how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?"), he's the only person near the roster who is close to Kane in terms of play style and role fit as a kinda 9/10 hybrid guy.
 

Zososoxfan

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The Son and the rest of the squad getting an appropriately enthusiastic response from the Korean fans (Kane and others come out of the gate around the 6 minute mark):

View: https://youtu.be/pAIe1ho2SXE

It's going to be a fun week with all the coverage of the Spurs players & staff hopping around Seoul and other cities.
That's awesome. It's easy to forget, but for a young man who may have grown up in hard circumstances to get to travel the world and be cheered like this must be quite a wild feeling. Good for them, good for the Koreans, and good for COYS!!

This was friggin outstanding. On one of the Spurs pods they were talking about the Romero-Richy dynamics and 2 things jumped out. First, regardless of whether they get along or not, the first time Richy goes down and the opposition stands over him or gives him shit, and Romero comes bursting in ready to enforcer the shit outta them will be when the Richy-Romero friendship begins in earnest. OTOH, if Romero doesn't come busting in...

Second, there are so many tropes that could be used to describe the shithouser meets shithouser dynamic going on here. It could be Fulton Reed meets Dean Portman, headbanging ensues. Spiderman pointing meme, etc. But yeah, in sum having both these guys playing for the good guys almost approximates having Lamela back, almost.

I love this sport, but fuck that looks awful. I don't think Conte will have any trouble managing the squad to peak at the right time. The team has built a ton of depth, and probably isn't quite done. Keep in mind that if some of his depth isn't good enough, or there are injuries, Spurs can reload in January. I trust Conte so friggin much. I think this will be a lot like earlier Barca iterations where you see some funky lineups in 2022, see a shortened rotation in January and February, and by March (i.e. UCL knockouts) we know our best XI (and probably extend that to 13-14) and you ride your horses to the finish.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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Longer video of Spurs in Korea from the Tottenham YouTube channel, really cool to see the support not only for Son, but for the entire squad. My man in the front row has an Oliver Skipp jersey:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1RathGXshI
Oddly, it's not easy to buy Spurs gear in Korea.

There are tons of MLB, NBA, and even a few NFL shops but not for EPL. I believe it has to do with complicated sponsorship deals but still.
 

OCST

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https://theathletic.com/3409054/2022/07/11/everton-transfers-replacing-richarlison/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983

(paywall)

Per FBREF, which uses Statsbomb data, Richarlison made more pressures over the last year than all but eight per cent of his positional peers. More tackles than all but five per cent. He was in the top seven per cent among forwards for interceptions, top one per cent for blocks and top eight per cent for clearances.
He can score, he can create, but if you watch him week in, week out, this is why you love Richarlison. In hockey terms he's a fantastic forechecker. Again, for a team with Son, who is the most ruthless player on a counter I've seen*, this is gold. Richy will run himself into the ground to get that ball high up the pitch, and all he needs to do is leak it out in front of Son and he's off to the races with nothing but fifty yards of green between him and the keeper. You're going to slice up the soft underbellies of so many sides this year.

*That I've watched enough of to have an opinion. Peak Vardy was close.
 

OCST

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I love this sport, but fuck that looks awful. I don't think Conte will have any trouble managing the squad to peak at the right time. The team has built a ton of depth, and probably isn't quite done. Keep in mind that if some of his depth isn't good enough, or there are injuries, Spurs can reload in January. I trust Conte so friggin much. I think this will be a lot like earlier Barca iterations where you see some funky lineups in 2022, see a shortened rotation in January and February, and by March (i.e. UCL knockouts) we know our best XI (and probably extend that to 13-14) and you ride your horses to the finish.
Conte's won more silverware than I have, but this makes me cringe. It's a very long season, and there's the WC, and Spurs have CL too. The injuries that affect players the most are stress injuries to muscles - hamstrings, quads, etc. - I think this will hurt more than help. What do I know, etc.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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Conte's won more silverware than I have, but this makes me cringe. It's a very long season, and there's the WC, and Spurs have CL too. The injuries that affect players the most are stress injuries to muscles - hamstrings, quads, etc. - I think this will hurt more than help. What do I know, etc.
The answer must be one of these two things, but I don't know which yet.
  1. He and his fitness guys have a specific plan that involves frontloading this stuff to get to the level he wants players to be at, then managing things differently / more intermittently in the season to maintain and manage load.
  2. This might be right there along with his ownership beefing as part of his shelf-life where he only lasts so long at clubs, much as it is for eg. Bielsa or even to a certain extent Poch's Spurs tenure which ramped down substantially on its pressing in the back nine.
 

OCST

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FWIW, after the PL/CL seasons end in 2023, the Asian Cup starts up right away, which is a big deal in Korea (wasn't Son going to have his compulsory military service waived only if Korea won the last time out?). Son is going to die.
 

wonderland

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Conte's won more silverware than I have, but this makes me cringe. It's a very long season, and there's the WC, and Spurs have CL too. The injuries that affect players the most are stress injuries to muscles - hamstrings, quads, etc. - I think this will hurt more than help. What do I know, etc.
It cuts both ways. You can get those injuries by not having the endurance to playing a full game too. Most likely is the players had the last month off with minimal training so they were really feeling it.
 

coremiller

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Doesn't every high school team do wind sprints at the end of preseason practices? These guys are professionals. They'll be fine. The in-season issue is more lack of recovery time between matches, along with mental fatigue.
 

Kliq

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Yeah, I'm not taking a few Spy-gate level photos of guys on the pitch looking tired and report that Conte was running the guys hard as anything other than a typical approach to the start of training for the upcoming season. Conte has coached and won at clubs that have had to balance multiple competitions in the past, I take it he knows what he is doing.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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FWIW, after the PL/CL seasons end in 2023, the Asian Cup starts up right away, which is a big deal in Korea (wasn't Son going to have his compulsory military service waived only if Korea won the last time out?). Son is going to die.
That's correct. That Asian Cup gold got the team, including Son, off the military duty.

I think there's a good chance Son doesn't play at the 2023 AC, especially if Korea does not get to host the event.

To note, next year's tourney was supposed to be held in China but the AFC now accepting bids from other countries due to COVID (at least that's the official stance).
 

DJnVa

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Conte's won more silverware than I have, but this makes me cringe. It's a very long season, and there's the WC, and Spurs have CL too. The injuries that affect players the most are stress injuries to muscles - hamstrings, quads, etc. - I think this will hurt more than help. What do I know, etc.
I don't know. We heard talks about the Patriots running springs up the hills at training camps and how that grueling effort paid off later. We shall see...
 

OCST

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I may just be traumatized by Everton, who had the second-most player-days missed to injury last year. Most were of the pulled-muscle variety and reaggravations were common - both DCL and Mina came back and promptly did themselves again, if both of those guys are healthy for a full season no way we're fighting the drop and stand to do a lot better than that. Especially Mina - we average a full point more per game, and our xGA is a full goal lower, when he's in the lineup. Point being he never is, he's only played something like 48% of Everton's games over four years.

Who knows, maybe if we had him run a bunch of hills with a truck tire around his waist like Manny he wouldn't go down as much.
 

Kliq

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Spurs beat the K League All Stars in a very friendly friendly today. The Korean team conceded some comically bad goals, but did score some nice goals in a 6-3 defeat. Son scored a brace, including a penalty kick that Kane ceded to him.

Also Harry Kane finally scored on a free kick:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJ_4VHxUf2I
 

Gunfighter 09

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KPWT

I like it. Not enough to buy it yet, but it works. I've bought the green Alex Morgan kit from 20/21 and the space kit Son jersey for my boy recently, so it either has to be really good, or have an Amsterdam level memory associated with it to get me to spend on a new kit these days. This one is not quite there, but if they win a great match or two in it, I might have to get one of those.


But Troy Parrott making a case for himself!

Gil was apparently quite fit as well, that has to play well with a psychopath like Conte. The absolute best case scenario roster management / spending wise is that Gil & Parrott convince Conte they belong on the squad as the 6th & 7th attackers the team needs and they take the money they might have spent on someone like Memphis and use it for a key addition elsewhere. (This is the foundation my Weston McKennie dreams are built on).
 

Zososoxfan

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I like it. Not enough to buy it yet, but it works. I've bought the green Alex Morgan kit from 20/21 and the space kit Son jersey for my boy recently, so it either has to be really good, or have an Amsterdam level memory associated with it to get me to spend on a new kit these days. This one is not quite there, but if they win a great match or two in it, I might have to get one of those.





Gil was apparently quite fit as well, that has to play well with a psychopath like Conte. The absolute best case scenario roster management / spending wise is that Gil & Parrott convince Conte they belong on the squad as the 6th & 7th attackers the team needs and they take the money they might have spent on someone like Memphis and use it for a key addition elsewhere. (This is the foundation my Weston McKennie dreams are built on).
I like the shirt alright, but it does look like a training shirt as opposed to a match shirt. As always I'll defer to @dirtynine but I think the 3 centralized elements (the cock, the swoosh, A1A) look too cluttered. The swoosh should be near the shoulder or down by the waist. To a lesser extent, there's something to be said for having the badge/cock over the heart. But I think if the swoosh were moved elsewhere I'd be OK with the cock in the middle.

One of the Spurs pods mentioned recently that we may be more likely to keep one or more of the English/British players on the fringes of the squad (e.g. Parrott, but maybe Devine, White, or even Nile John) to comply with the homegrown rules, especially for UCL. Moreover, such a move might be a stopgap if those players can't find good loans now. A related consideration would be if Spurs can't close a deal for a remaining target or two that they'll aim to use the January window to satisfy gaps in the squad or even the homegrown rules.
 

Kliq

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They experimented with Moura playing wingback in the friendly against Sevilla. I assumed he would be on the outs with Perisic and Richarlison coming in, but if they can figure out more ways to use Lucas, I'm happy with him staying. I really like him as a bench player that can give you something different with his pace, pressing and general samba skillset.
 

Jimy Hendrix

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They experimented with Moura playing wingback in the friendly against Sevilla. I assumed he would be on the outs with Perisic and Richarlison coming in, but if they can figure out more ways to use Lucas, I'm happy with him staying. I really like him as a bench player that can give you something different with his pace, pressing and general samba skillset.
Moura as a starter or as even one of your critical bench options is an issue because of his consistency, relying on a guy who's like "roll the die and hope for a six" is a problem.

Have him as a squad depth piece and then it suddenly becomes "nice, this guy can really uncork something extra if you hit that six!".
 

Zososoxfan

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It also makes sense if Spurs are as good as we all hope, and opponents start really bunkering in against us. I had assumed that Deki would've been the option at RWB when a more attacking option is needed (with Richy in front of him), but Moura seems like a fine option there as well if he can get the defensive part down.
 

Kliq

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Spurs play Roma today in a friendly in Israel at 2:15 EST. The game is on Paramount+.
 

Kliq

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Roma leads 1-0 at halftime. Spurs have controlled most of the game but have looked shaky on a pair of set pieces, which is how Roman took the lead off a corner where nobody marked anybody.
 

DJnVa

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Monday updates:

--Rodon off to Rennes on loan.
--Galatasaray meeting with Spurs re: Ndombele.
--GLC in Spain, final meeting with Villareal. Fiorentina also involved.
--Spurs to talk to Roma about Zaniolo again.
 

Kliq

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A demolition today. Southampton put together a nice first goal, but Spurs controlled the game and in the second half in particular, squeezed Southampton down into nothing with their pressing and constant pressure. Kulu was the man of the match; both with his pressing and his ability to get the ball back, and his class as a dribbler, passer and finisher. He has more assists in the EPL than any other player in 2022. Son had a nice assist but probably wasn't as sharp as he normally is.

A big thing was how open the game was for fullbacks to attack the defense. Sessegnon is a natural attacking player out of that position and was dangerous for his entire shift, including the opening goal. Emerson is not the natural attacker that Sessegnon, but he did get himself involved today and made a lot of smart runs which helped open the game up for Kulu on that side of the pitch.

Chelsea is next Sunday.