Top 5 Tottenham players so far this season | Premier League 2020-21
Thus far, the 2020-21 campaign has been a relatively strong one for Tottenham Hotspur, who currently sit in fifth place in the Premier League.
Tottenham have only lost three league games this season, and they’re also still involved in three cup competitions, giving them a good chance of finally winning a trophy after more than a decade.
Naturally, Jose Mourinho’s squad has been full of outstanding performers, but which players have impressed the most for Tottenham?
With that in mind, here are Tottenham’s top five players so far this season.
#1 Harry Kane
Tottenham’s talisman and star striker, Harry Kane, hasn’t just been one of Tottenham’s top players this season. He’s arguably been the Premier League’s best overall performer, too.
After an injury-hit 2019-20 campaign saw him score a somewhat disappointing 24 goals, the England captain has started the 2020-21 season on fire.
Kane has already scored 19 goals across all competitions for Tottenham, with 12 of them coming in the Premier League in just 18 games. But the striker has also widened his game dramatically and is also Tottenham’s leader when it comes to assists, having registered 13.
Rather than acting as a straight-up center-forward, Kane is now more than comfortable when it comes to dropping deep and looking to thread balls through for the likes of Son Heung-min and Steven Bergwijn.
In fact, you could argue that he’s not just Tottenham’s main goal source, but he’s their most creative player too.
Thus far, Kane has played in 25 matches this season for Tottenham, so their fans will be hoping that he can continue to stay fit. If he avoids injury, then the sky is the limit for Mourinho’s side.
#2 Tanguy Ndombele
The evolution of Tottenham under Jose Mourinho has been pretty amazing to see, but perhaps no player sums it up more than Tanguy Ndombele.
Tottenham’s record signing, Ndombele, arrived from Lyon in the summer of 2019 for around £63m, but for a while at least, it looked like he’d go down as an expensive flop.
The Frenchman struggled for fitness and form throughout 2019-20, and when Mourinho arrived, it looked like the Portuguese would make an example of the midfielder. He publically criticized him on numerous occasions, and it looked like he was on his way out of the club.
Something changed prior to the start of 2020-21, though. Ndombele clearly began to knuckle down in training. After scoring the winner in a Europa League qualifier against Lokomotiv Plovdiv, he found himself back in Mourinho’s first team in Premier League action.
Since then, the French midfielder has been a revelation. Playing in an advanced role, Ndombele is usually tasked with bringing the ball forward, and it’s a job he’s excelled in. At times, despite an odd gait, it seems nearly impossible to get the ball off him – even when multiple opponents surround him.
And more recently, Ndombele has started scoring goals for Tottenham too. He’s now netted six in the current campaign, more than any other Tottenham player not named Kane or Son.
If Ndombele can keep up his current form going forward, he could well be the key man in any kind of Tottenham title challenge. He’s a unique talent, and if Mourinho can continue to unlock that talent, he might’ve unearthed one of the Premier League’s best midfielders.
#3 Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
Of Tottenham’s seven new signings coming into 2020-21, it’s probably safe to say that none have had quite the impact of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. The Dane only cost £15m from Southampton, and it’s likely that when all is said and done, that fee will go down as an all-time Premier League bargain.
Hojbjerg has been absolutely fantastic thus far into the season, adding the combative bite that Tottenham’s midfield has been missing during the last couple of campaigns.
He’s averaged the most tackles, interceptions, and fouls committed of any of Tottenham’s midfielders this season, screening their defense brilliantly.
But Hojbjerg doesn’t just bring steel to the cause; he’s also a highly classy player on the ball, with a tremendous range of passing to go with his tough tackling style.
No other Tottenham player averages as many passes as Hojbjerg does per game, and his pass success rate of 87.9% is also the highest of Tottenham’s regular starters too.
And incredibly, discounting goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, the Danish international is the only Tottenham player to have featured in every single minute of the club’s Premier League games thus far.
Basically, Hojbjerg has surpassed any expectations that Tottenham fans could’ve had for him this season. Right now, they can’t do without him.
#4 Eric Dier
Once largely used as a holding midfielder by Tottenham, Eric Dier expressed his interest in switching to become a center-back midway through the 2019-20 campaign.
Evidently, Jose Mourinho agreed, moved Dier into his new position, and handed him a new contract last summer after some encouraging performances.
Since then, Dier has gone from strength to strength and is now clearly Tottenham’s key defender. He’s missed only one of Tottenham’s Premier League games this season and has been remarkably consistent where some of his partners – Toby Alderweireld and Davinson Sanchez – have not.
In matches against the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, and West Brom, Dier has been an absolute rock. He puts his body on the line to ensure no shots get through, wins almost all of his aerial duels, and maintains a strong standard of passing, too.
It’s arguable, in fact, that no other Tottenham player has improved quite so much under the tutelage of Mourinho than Dier. He’s gone from a player on the periphery of the starting XI to someone who’s basically undroppable.
#5 Son Heung-min
Almost as important to the Tottenham cause as Harry Kane, Son Heung-min has been absolutely lethal in front of goal since the beginning of 2020-21.
Tottenham’s second Premier League game of the season saw the Korean plunder four goals against Southampton, and from there, he hasn’t looked back. Son has already scored a total of 15 goals, and largely thanks to a seemingly telepathic relationship with Kane, he’s also registered seven assists.
More to the point, Son seems to be the man that Tottenham rely on most to score their goals in big matches. He’s found the back of the net against Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, and Liverpool this season.
Seemingly always capable of finding gaps in opposition defenses – the Korean is particularly adept at slipping in between the lines. Son has gone from strength to strength since Jose Mourinho arrived at Tottenham.
With reports of the Korean signing a new contract in the near future, Tottenham fans will be hoping that they can continue to rely on his incredible finishing abilities for a long time to come.
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