Tottenham Hotspur have been no stranger to raiding Premier League rivals West Ham United in recent times, with the likes of Michael Carrick and Mohammed Kudus trading east London for north London.
Is there a world in which they could have landed former Hammers hero and current Arsenal talisman Declan Rice, too?
Well, a direct move from the London Stadium to N17 never appeared a likely prospect, even with Teddy Sheringham suggesting back in 2022 that Rice was the type of signing needed to help keep the likes of Harry Kane and Heung-min Son on board.
“West Ham supporters wouldn’t like it but Declan Rice would be ideal for Tottenham.
“Tottenham have got to go to the next level to keep players like Son and Kane happy. You can’t be signing average players.
That said, The Athletic reported in the past that following the Englishman’s release from Chelsea at the age of 14, Tottenham – alongside Fulham – had registered an interest in poaching the teenager.
Alas, Rice found solace with the Irons and the rest is history, with Spurs’ midfield unit, meanwhile, remaining a long-standing issue.
Why midfield has been Spurs’ biggest post-Pochettino issue
In their Mauricio Pochettino pomp, the Lilywhites were blessed with a powerhouse, if not somewhat underrated, midfield pairing of Mousa Dembele and Victor Wanyama, the two men proving a stable base to allow Spurs’ attacking quartet to shine.
With Dembele, the man so often name-checked by former teammates as the club’s real MVP in that era, having departed in January 2019, it’s fair to say that the north London side have never truly filled that void.
It’s not for the want of trying, of course, with the Premier League side going down every available route, notably persisting with academy graduates such as Harry Winks and Oliver Skipp, the latter of whom formed an unpopular, steady eddie partnership with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.
That has been contrasted with marquee signings like that of Tanguy Ndombele or Rodrigo Bentancur, while they’ve also gone down the path of landing Premier League-proven options, be it Hojbjerg or Yves Bissouma.
More recent times have seen the north Londoners also seek bargain deals for young up-and-comers like Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall, albeit with neither man yet to really nail down a consistent role, the Swede notably hamstrung by injury.
|
Spurs midfielders – 25/26 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Games |
Goals (Assists) |
|
Palhinha |
38 |
5 (3) |
|
Sarr |
32 |
2 (3) |
|
Gray |
31 |
2 (3) |
|
Bentancur |
28 |
1 (1) |
|
Bergvall |
27 |
1 (4) |
|
Gallagher |
10 |
0 (1) |
|
Bissouma |
8 |
0 (0) |
|
Olusesi |
2 |
0 (0) |
There have been signs of life from the experienced pillar that is Joao Palhinha, although whether the Portuguese titan stays beyond his loan spell is up for debate.
With questions already being asked of £34m January arrival, Conor Gallagher too, this post-Pochettino curse seemingly remains. Or does it?
Spurs sensation is looking like a “young Declan Rice”
Considering Tottenham’s predicament under Igor Tudor, there will be few getting carried away by the club’s two positive results over the past week, with this side still very much at risk of relegation.
£25m flop must never start another game for Spurs after Atletico Madrid
Spurs now need to look to the future after Wednesday’s promising Champions League display.
That said, it was difficult not to be heartened by the midweek display against Atletico Madrid, with everything seemingly coming together for the first time under the Tudor regime.
With Xavi Simons and Mathys Tel at their sparkling best, there was a real dynamism in attack, while defensively, the deployment of a fluid back three or back five largely helped to contain a previously rampant Atleti forward line.
The star attraction, however, arguably came in midfield, with Archie Gray putting in the type of performance that will have forced anyone to sit up and take notice.
Now, this was no great surprise considering the 20-year-old’s impact in recent weeks and months, although considering the calibre of the opposition, it felt like a significant, breakthrough moment. Even Atleti’s Marcos Llorente was left impressed.
The ex-Leeds United starlet notably pounced to set up Simons for the Dutchman’s first of the night, having regained possession eight times in total, while registering two key passes in that 3-2 triumph.
In the view of The Athletic’s Duncan Alexander, speaking on the Totally Football Show podcast, it was like watching a “young Declan Rice”, with Gray having popped up all over the park, putting out fires while also boasting the ability to turn defence into attack with elegant strides forward.
That assist for Simons very much felt like the type of sight Arsenal supporters have become accustomed to at the Emirates, with regard to Rice, with the 27-year-old the driving force behind the Gunners’ title charge.
Even at £105m, Rice has proven something of a bargain, and with Gray himself now looking like a “future £100m” midfielder, in the view of analyst Ben Mattinson, Spurs’ £30m investment looks more and more like a coup.
The development of the pair already boasts real similarities, with Rice having honed his craft with the Hammers, initially emerging on the scene as a teenage centre-back, before slowly transitioning into the midfield monster that is now the centre-piece for both club and country.
In the case of Gray, it was at right-back where his chance came during the 2023/24 campaign under Daniel Farke at Leeds, with much of his work in a Spurs shirt also coming as a full-back, or an auxiliary centre-back.
Like with Rice’s rise, however, it is in midfield where the youngster truly flourishes, with Spurs potentially boasting their own £100m plus talent to build around for the next decade or so.
Tudor must bench 68-touch Spurs star who was embarrassed by Archie Gray
Archie Gray was a class above as Spurs secured a deserved 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid.
