Football, by nature, is fickle, with the shifting mood over at Tottenham Hotspur emblematic of the superabundance of feelings that can drift through the climate of a football club throughout a campaign.
Battered and bruised after a wretched 2022/23 campaign that led to an eighth-place Premier League finish that meant no European endeavours this year – it also meant that Harry Kane, who had scored 30 goals top-flight goals, opted to move abroad to Bayern Munich.
It also led to the shrewd appointment of Ange Postecoglou from Celtic, with the Australian's trophy-laden stint in Scotland and attractive brand of football winning Daniel Levy and Spurs bosses over.
Tottenham, objectively, have suffered from hard luck on the injury front that rooted out the high-flying form of the first few months that had supporters giddy with title aspirations and players oozing confidence and gusto as slick attacking play and newfound togetherness led fans to cry in unison: 'we've got our Tottenham back'.
And maybe so, maybe, a glimpse of what is to come was revealed to the north London club, rolled out like some prophetic piece of parchment to speak of the riches yet around the corner for Postecoglou's Tottenham.
It's year one – it's important not to forget that point. Defensive deficiencies and vaporised confidence have sent Tottenham's season in a spin, with Thursday's defeat the third on the trot – though hobble is probably the more apposite phrasing.
Still, trust the process. With Postecoglou signings like Micky van de Ven in the mix, there is just cause for optimism.
Micky van de Ven's season in numbers
A dismal defence and a lack of cohesion were the cruces of Tottenham's woes last term but the £43m signing of Van de Ven from German side Wolfsburg has proved to pay dividends in lifting Spurs back up the Premier League table, with Destiny Udogie's link-up with the squad restoring the left side.
As per Sofascore, the Dutch defender has completed 23 matches in the English top-flight this season, showcasing his elite athletic swagger and crisp, progressive style of play through an average of 5.6 ball recoveries per game, also completing 65% of his 0.6 dribbles per game.
This inborn strength and speed, belying his central defensive position, is further evidenced through metrics collated by FBref, with Van de Ven ranking among the top 2% of positional peers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion and successful take-ons, the top 20% for goals scored and the top 16% for tackles per 90.
His goal threat and robustness in defensive phases are highlighted there too, and since he's averaging 2.0 tackles per game in the Premier League and winning 65% of his ground duels, it would be difficult to dispute his promise, still only 22, as a high-level, modern-day defender.
He wasn't cheap, sure, but Tottenham would turn over a healthy profit already, were they to cash in this summer (they won't), and given that he's earning £50k-per-week in north London, a relatively small salary in comparison to several high-profile teammates.
One such Spurs star, Timo Werner, earning a staggering salary, eclipsing that of Van de Ven, arrived to bolster the ranks in January but must now be ditched.
Why Spurs must ditch Timo Werner
Werner has several interesting qualities and his marauding presence down the left channel has added depth and dynamism at a crucial time, with Richarlison spending large portions of the past few months nursing a knee injury.
Signed on loan from RB Leipzig in January, the former Chelsea forward was hailed for his "lightning-quick" speed by pundit Paul Merson and indeed has showcased this quality, ranking among the top 3% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for progressive carries and the top 7% for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90.
His deal expires at the end of the season but a buy option of £15m was inserted in the terms, with Postecoglou revealing that he hopes to keep the German at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
But Tottenham are a team with renewed ambition under Postecoglou's leadership; recent results must not dissuade supporters from the vision. However, Werner is not the answer in the long-term, with a permanent position in the first team, especially considering his sizeable salary.
1.
Heung-min Son
£190k-per-week
2.
James Maddison
£170k-per-week
3.
Timo Werner
£165k-per-week
3.
Cristian Romero
£165k-per-week
5.
Dejan Kulusevski
£110k-per-week
While Werner is a loanee, Tottenham are covering his full salary during his time at the club and, signing him for £15m will not whittle down such earnings with any significance, pulling him away from the upper level.
To illuminate how large his pay packet is, Werner is taking home on a weekly basis more than three times what Van de Ven earns. Moreover, Dejan Kulusevski, Tottenham's fifth-highest earner, is provided with a wage of £110k per week, so even combining the Swede's earnings with Van de Ven's would still fall short of Werner's weekly £165k-per-week salary.
In the Premier League, the 28-year-old has started ten matches, making three substitute appearances, scoring two goals and supplying three assists, completing 81% of his passes and averaging 1.2 key passes per game.
But he's not even averaging a dribble per match – 0.9 per game – nor is he proving himself to be a defensively sound member of the team, making just 2.1 recoveries each outing and winning just 42% of his duels, of which he is making a pitiful 1.9 per fixture.
Picking up a hamstring injury against Arsenal in his final appearance of the campaign – perhaps his final display in a Tottenham shirt.
Handed a 4/10 match rating by football.london's Alasdair Gold after an ineffectual opening 30 minutes that had people questioning why he had started over Brennan Johnson, Werner's influence is perhaps pinned to this point, that he has skills but that there are others who do them better.
Wingers Raphinha and Samuel Iling-Junior have been of interest to the Lilywhites while a striker is also understood to be a priority position, meaning Son could return to his natural role on the left flank with greater regularity.
Ange must immediately bin Spurs ace after 4/10 display v Chelsea
Postecoglou watched in horror as this Tottenham player lost nine duels at Stamford Bridge.
ByAngus Sinclair May 3, 2024
Tottenham need to be bold. Tottenham need to prove themselves eager to move with conviction to close down those at the forefront of the Premier League next season.
Tottenham need to allow Werner to leave this summer, with the winger's fleet feet and electric movements not compensating for a high salary and moderate levels of potency.
He must be ditched for a better addition.