Three ways Tottenham could line up without Dejan Kulusevski in Europa League final
The news every Tottenham supporter was dreading arrived on Wednesday with the club's announcement that Dejan Kulusevski's knee surgery will rule him out of next week's season-defining Europa League final against Manchester United.
Kulusevski has been off the boil since returning from a foot injury last month but, with James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall already sidelined, Spurs will be without a creative midfielder for their biggest game since 2019.
Pape Matar Sarr is the favourite to deputise at No10, as he did with limited impact in the 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace last weekend, but Ange Postecoglou has said he is considering "creative ways" to solve his side's creativity problem and suggested he will experiment in Friday's Premier League game at Aston Villa.
The head coach has played down the chances of anything "radical", such as a completely new system, but said he could make a "positional change", suggesting someone could be in a new role in Bilbao to help fill the void at No10.
The game at Villa Park should offer some clues as to Postecoglou's thinking but here are three possible solutions to solve Spurs' creative shortage.
Wilson Odobert played the final half-hour against Palace as an auxiliary No10 and did... OK.
The Frenchman did not exactly change the course of a one-sided game but he linked play smartly on a couple of occasions, made a chance for Heung-min Son and saw a low shot blocked.
Odobert is yet to make a major impact for Spurs during an injury-hit first season at the club but he has played as a No10 before and, on paper at least, is a more exciting option than Sarr, who is a runner rather than an inventor.
Postecoglou, though, appeared to play down the chances of Odobert starting centrally, saying after the Palace game that his deployment at No10 was a case of "needs must".
So how about Son? The South Korean has almost never played as a 10 before but his dribbling and shooting ability may worry United.
If, however, Son is deemed fully fit in Bilbao, it would be strange if Postecoglou did not deploy one of his most experienced and impactful players in his preferred position from the left wing.
Possible XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Bissouma, Odobert; Johnson, Son, Solanke.
Switching to 4-4-2 may not count as the kind of "radical" change that Postecoglou is unwilling to consider, largely because the head coach effectively used a front two in the semi-final decider against Bodo/Glimt.
With Spurs protecting a two-goal lead from the first leg, Richarlison pushed closer to centre-forward and Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson tucked in from the right wing, with Spurs defending with a compact midfield diamond.
In Norway, Kulusevski played as an advanced midfielder but Postecoglou could try a variation of the approach against United, with Solanke and Richarlison as high-pressing forwards and the full-backs and wingers providing the service.
Both strikers can link play and hold up the ball, so there is potentially genuine merit in the system, which was effective against Glimt (who were admittedly limited opposition).
However, with Richarlison better suited to pulling left, it may be hard to fit Son into this system from the off, and leaving out Spurs' captain and a credible match-winner would be an enormous call from Postecoglou.
Possible XI: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Johnson, Bentancur, Sarr, Bissouma; Richarlison, Solanke.
Asked on Thursday about playing Solanke or even right-back Pedro Porro in midfield, Postecoglou insisted "all options" were still on the table.
And Porro is, after all, the best progressive passer now available to the manager, underlined by his excellent assist for Maddison in the first leg of the semi-final against Glimt (he also scored in the decider in Norway, although that was surely a mishit cross).
Pushing Porro higher up the pitch, into a middle three or the right of a four-man midfield, may be a means of Spurs being more dangerous and expansive in the attacking third.
Ultimately, though, there is little to suggest that Porro would be able to replicate his creativity from right-back in a new role (just ask Gareth Southgate and Trent Alexander-Arnold), so this seems the most far-fetched solution of the three.
A better bet would be to ensure that Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma offer Porro plenty of cover to get forward, ensuring he is not bogged down with defensive responsibilities and can concentrate on trying to hurt United with his delivery.
Possible XI: Vicario; Spence, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Bissouma, Porro; Johnson, Son, Solanke.
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