Ange Postecoglou has finally helped Tottenham replace Dele Alli with £47m transfer call
Ange Postecoglou’s bold transfer decision looks to have paid off with the Spurs unearthing a new Dele Alli……
Mauricio Pochettino’s relentless Tottenham were epitomised by the dynamic front four of Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli and Son-Heung min. Now, over four years later, only one of those remains and he is now club captain following Kane’s late summer move to Bayern Munich.
While finding a replacement for their talisman is near-impossible, Ange Postecoglou bringing James Maddison to the club has seen him seamlessly fill the shoes of Eriksen and it looks as though Postecoglou could have now found his very own Dele.
While under Pochettino and during part of the Jose Mourinho tenure, Dele was frequently unplayable with his best season seeing him score 22 goals and pick up 13 assists across four competitions. The 27-year-old’s late runs into the box became the source of so many goals for Spurs with his incisive decision-making in high-pressure situations proving to be extremely valuable.
Since his departure, the north Londoners have struggled to find another player who can offer the same as Dele, but the debut of Brennan Johnson showed he could be a successor. The Wales international completed a £47million deadline day move to Spurs from Nottingham Forest and, in search of goals, was introduced to make his first Spurs appearance since signing, on Saturday against Sheffield United.
Just five minutes after coming on, Johnson was picked out Yves Bissouma with a delightful pass over the top. Despite the presence of Wes Foderingham and Luke Thomas, the 22-year-old brought the ball under control easily with one touch, before calmly finishing with his second.
Unfortunately, the offside flag stopped a dream debut for Johnson, but that one moment showed exactly what Johnson can bring to the team. Many were perhaps left confused by the addition of another attacker following Manor Solomon through the door when a second central defender was needed, however Johnson’s qualities do not match anyone else’s.
His blistering pace can get him into those positions and his sharpness in and around the final third will prove to be crucial in certain moments. Dele was the master of instinct finishing and Johnson is certainly on his way to potentially reaching those heights, as evidenced by his disallowed goal.
