New era beckons for Spurs under Nuno Espirito Santo

NEW Tottenham Hotspur manager Nuno Espirito Santo has already signalled his intent to take the club to a new era.

It is quite evident that Spurs are in a rebuilding phase. The North Londoners need a new formula if they want to re-establish themselves as trophy contenders.

The fact that the club failed to qualify for the Champions League for the past two seasons has led to speculation that Harry Kane could leave.

At 28, Kane is at the prime of his career and has yet to win a trophy at club level despite being a generational great in terms of talent.

The reality is that if he does not win a trophy soon, he will never do so in the future especially given that he will now not get any better as a player.

Santo has so far made two brave but correct decisions in allowing Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela to leave. Alderweireld (32) was impressive for the club over the past six years and has since joined Qatari club Al Duhail while Lamela has linked up with Sevilla.

Though he showed glimpses of brilliance, Lamela largely failed to live up to expectations at Spurs, especially as he was one of the players that was expected to fill the void left by Gareth Bale’s first departure to Real Madrid in 2013.

Santo has also signed goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini from Atalanta. The 26-year-old could eventually end up succeeding Hugo Lloris as first-choice keeper. Lloris’s contract with Spurs is set to expire at the end of next season by which time he will be 35.

While players ponder their futures with Spurs, one bright development is that Son Heung-min has committed himself to the club until 2025.

Son has established himself as one of the Premier League’s best wingers and a vital leader in the Spurs’ dressing room, while also having the makings of a club legend.

If Lloris and Kane leave the club in the near future, it is a no-brainer that Son should be handed the captaincy.

Meanwhile, another exciting signing by Spurs was young Spanish winger Bryan Gil who joined the team as part of the deal that saw Lamela join Sevilla.

An interesting fact about the 20-year-old Gil is that he was the first player born in the 21st century to score a goal in the La Liga after netting his first goal for Sevilla against Rayo Vallecano in April 2019. A left-footed player who appears mainly on the left-hand side of the field, he is somewhat similar in style to Jesus Navas. Gil can operate as a number 10 if needed and proved in his loan spell with Eibar last season that he is impressive when cutting in from wide.

More of an assist-maker than a goal scorer, one of Gil’s strengths is his ability to deliver pin-point crosses and he has promising setpiece ability.