The magnitude of Tottenham Hotspur’s victory over Brentford in the Premier League last weekend cannot be understated. Had the Bees taken the spoils against their old boss, Thomas Frank, the atmosphere down N17 may have become poisonous.

But Spurs rallied after a tough run of results, secured three points, restored the faith that this new system, more pragmatic, better organised, will stop spinning its wheels and start showcasing actual progress.

The magnitude of Xavi Simons’ magnificent solo goal, breaking his duck, cannot be understated, but neither can the fact that some Lilywhites are still flattering to deceive after last season’s inconsistency, and that needs to change.

Spurs' most disappointing players in 25/26

Simons has probably been the most salient disappointment at Tottenham this season, but there is hope that the Dutch playmaker has turned a corner after a standout showing last time out.

However, Randal Kolo Muani’s struggles rage on, the French loanee yet to score in a white shirt. There’s a real player in there, but given Spurs’ attacking problems, Frank will expect more.

Analyst Raj Chohan clearly feels Tottenham need to make a change in the engine room, calling Rodrigo Bentancur a “candidate for worst centre-midfielder at a big six club”.

Bentancur is directly inhibiting Spurs’ central build-up play, but he’s not alone in flattering to deceive, with Pedro Porro’s creativity unable to detract from some really poor defensive displays, lacking awareness and physicality in the challenge.

1.

Mats Wieffer

19

2.

Neco Williams

18

3.

Pedro Porro

17

4.

Hugo Bueno

16

5.

Matty Cash

16

Porro has been well below the standard this season, but he is not alone in struggling to adapt to Frank’s tactics. Indeed, there’s another defender who simply can’t bring it all together at the moment, and in this, he runs the risk of becoming the London club’s new version of Ryan Sessegnon.

Spurs' new version of Ryan Sessegnon

In 2019, Tottenham signed Sessegnon from Fulham for a whopping £25m fee. He had enjoyed a stunning start to senior life at Craven Cottage, but fell by the wayside after incessant hamstring injuries, five in five years down N17.

One half-season loan spell aside, in 2020/21 with Hoffenheim in Germany, the fact that the 25-year-old only made 57 appearances tells much of his problems, unable to reach the potential that was clear for all to see.

Sessegnon is now enjoying a measure of revival back at Fulham, but his door at Tottenham has been closed, and fans may be worried that lightning is striking twice with Destiny Udogie, who has struggled for form this season after a few injury-hit years in the capital.

Udogie, 23, also has a shoddy track record on the fitness front, with Frank confirming ahead of Tottenham’s Champions League tie against Slavia Prague this week that the Italy international is sidelined until the new year after tweaking his hamstring against Brentford.

For a player who was considered by Clinton Morrison on BBC Sport to be “the best left-back” in the country when he broke onto the scene in 2023/24, this is a real concern. Udogie appears somewhat stagnant, having yet to raise his level to the standard that he can surely reach.

There will be heightened fears that this season could become another write-off after this latest blow. Udogie needs stability and a landscape on which he can take forward strides, and having been ruled out for the remainder of the calendar year, Spurs’ left-sided balance has been knocked out of kilter and so have the defender’s chances of restoring full fluency.

Sofascore outline the player’s struggles, and it’s not pretty reading. Udogie has only won 46% of his duels in the Premier League this season, completing 27% of his dribbles and averaging only 0.6 key passes per match. One coach said that he “needs to wake up” from a defensive perspective this term.

So much has been left to be desired by a rising star who has ebbed and flowed and found himself lower on the chart than he would have envisaged a few years ago.

If injuries continue to weigh him down, we may be looking at Sessegnon 2.0 here.

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1 ByAngus Sinclair 4 days ago