5 Tottenham Hotspur players who remain underrated by fans

Currently, in the 4th position in the Premier League and also into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, it’s hard to deny that despite not winning any trophies yet, Tottenham Hotspur have developed into one of England’s most formidable sides over the past few years.

Manager Mauricio Pochettino now has a deep, talented squad at his disposal and while everyone knows and sings the praises of the likes of Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Mousa Dembele, many of Tottenham’s players remain somewhat underrated by the majority of observers and analysts.

Without these players though, who knows where Spurs would actually be? Here are 5 Tottenham players who remain criminally underrated.

#1 Jan Vertonghen

Jan Vertonghen (left) remains less highly rated than Toby Alderweireld (right) despite a tremendous season

Under Pochettino, Tottenham have become renowned for boasting one of the toughest defences in the Premier League. 2015/16 and 2016/17 both saw them concede the least goals of any side in league action, and thus far this season only the Manchester sides have let in fewer.

The tightness of Tottenham’s defence has usually been credited to two things – the arrival of Pochettino as manager, and the presence of Toby Alderweireld – one of the most highly rated defenders in world football. But in reality, during this season at least, it’s been Alderweireld’s fellow Belgian international Jan Vertonghen who’s kept things solid at the back – and usually, he’s done it to little plaudits.

Alderweireld has missed swathes of Tottenham’s season with a hamstring injury he suffered in November, and yet Spurs’ defence has not crumbled like some suspected it might. Paired instead with the talented but inexperienced Davinson Sanchez, Vertonghen has stepped up in a way that few fans expected him to.

He’s made 29 appearances in the Premier League this season and has looked stronger than ever, improving his game both in the air and in terms of his passing success rate – and perhaps most impressively, of all the games he’s been involved in this season – in all competitions – he’s only failed to complete the full 90 minutes once.

There’s an argument that – Harry Kane aside – Vertonghen has been Tottenham’s most important player in 2017/18, and yet he continues to largely fly under the radar with many observers.

#2 Hugo Lloris

Hugo Lloris is one of the world's best keepers despite often being overlooked

When discussing the best goalkeepers in the world, the names that usually come to the forefront include the likes of David de Gea, Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre Ter Stegen and Jan Oblak. Rarely mentioned is Tottenham’s French keeper Hugo Lloris, and yet there’s an argument to be made that he’s certainly up there with them if not better than some.

Lloris might not have as much athleticism as someone like de Gea, but he’s more than capable of producing phenomenal acrobatic saves – witness his dive to prevent Cristiano Ronaldo scoring for Real Madrid in the Bernabeu in October – and while his passing isn’t as highly rated as Neuer’s, he rarely sees too many go astray – averaging a pass success rate of 75% in the Premier League this season.

Most importantly, though, when was the last time you can recall Tottenham conceding a goal that was entirely Lloris’s fault? It’s honestly hard to remember an incident in which the French goalkeeper made a major error. Granted, he’s behind one of the toughest defences in English football, but a lot of that confidence comes from knowing that Lloris is in goal as the last man, and when you’ve got a keeper capable of point-blank stops like his one to prevent a Karim Benzema goal in that Bernabeu game, you know you’re usually going to be alright.

Despite every big-name Tottenham player being linked with supposed bigger clubs as of late, apparently, nobody has expressed an interest in Lloris. Which is only a good thing for Spurs fans as it’s hard to think of a keeper who could replace him, even if he’s somehow forgotten when people talk about the world’s best.

#3 Christian Eriksen

Despite fewer plaudits, Christian Eriksen might be Tottenham's most important player

The fact that the England national team have been so desperate for a Jack Wilshere return, and that Barcelona were willing to part with a crazy £105m for Philippe Coutinho shows how valued creative central midfielders are in the modern day game, and yet Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen somehow remains largely under the radar in the position despite being one of the very best.

The Danish international tends to be overshadowed by Dele Alli when it comes to Spurs’s attacking midfielders, but in reality, it’s Eriksen who really makes Pochettino’s side tick. While he hasn’t made as many direct assists as Alli – 8 to the Englishman’s 9 – he completes far more passes – an average of 60 per game with a success rate of 82%. He’s the man who picks the locks of some of the Premier League’s toughest defences and allows the likes of Kane and Son to score so many goals.

In fact, his stats compare similarly to those of the afore-mentioned Coutinho – which begs the question of why more people don’t rate him among the best creative midfielders in the world. Sure, he’s highly rated by some analysts but if you asked fans which player Tottenham would miss the most, they probably wouldn’t name the Dane in the top five.

In reality, Eriksen may well be the one man that Tottenham simply couldn’t do without, and the fact that many people don’t see him in that light means he’s criminally underrated – which is a good thing for fans of Tottenham as it might mean he stays there for a longer period of time.

#4 Kieran Trippier

Kieran Trippier has quickly made Tottenham fans move on from Kyle Walker

When Kyle Walker decided to up sticks and force a move to Manchester City last summer, Spurs fans would’ve been forgiven for panicking – after all, under Pochettino’s guidance, Walker had developed into one of the best right-backs in world football, and it was hard to see how Spurs would replace him fully. Pochettino didn’t seem all too bothered though, and for good reason.

Despite lacking the fleet-footedness and sheer power of Walker, it could be argued that Kieran Trippier offers Tottenham so much more. While Walker has assisted in more goals this season – 6 to Trippier’s 4 – he’s also played more games, and the key statistic in comparing the two is the rate of crosses that they complete – Trippier averages a rate of 1.1 per game, compared to Walker’s 0.1. And when you’ve got a predator in the box like Harry Kane to cross to, that becomes even more important.

The form of Trippier has meant that not only have Spurs not especially missed the most expensive full-back in the history of football, but it’s also meant that flashy new signing Serge Aurier has not really been able to fully establish himself as a staple of the first team, instead largely sharing duties with Trippier, with the Englishman being preferred in Tottenham’s biggest Premier League games.

Despite all of this though, it appears that Trippier is still largely in the shadow of Walker – particularly when it comes to the England national side – and he remains underrated by the majority of fans, who figured Aurier would’ve sewn up Tottenham’s right-back position by now. As it stands though, Trippier is still the top dog for Pochettino and he’s still one of the most underrated players at Spurs.

#5 Ben Davies

Ben Davies has worked hard to keep Danny Rose out of Tottenham's starting line-up

Last summer, Tottenham’s first-choice left-back Danny Rose gave an inflammatory interview in which he hinted at a wish to move away from Spurs in order to win trophies – and probably earn more money, too. Despite spending the end of 2016/17 out with a knee injury, Rose was expected to come back into the Tottenham first team as soon as he was fully fit this season.

Instead, it appears he’s been supplanted by one of Tottenham’s most underrated players – Welshman Ben Davies. Until the end of last season, Davies had largely played second fiddle to Rose, but when the England international picked up his injury, he pounced and hasn’t looked back since.

The fascinating thing is that during this season, Davies has been involved in 7 Premier League goals – scoring 2 and assisting in 5. That’s as many as Rose’s best effort in 2014/15, and in 4 fewer games, too. And more importantly, Davies has been almost as defensively solid too – his stats in tackles, interceptions, blocks and clearances all compare similarly to those of Rose in his last full season.

And yet Davies still feels like a temporary replacement for Tottenham while Rose regains fitness, despite arguably performing just as well as Rose ever has for Spurs. That’s why he’s so underrated – everyone figures he’ll slip away from the starting line-up any time now and yet it hasn’t happened yet – it’s a testament to his hard work and under-the-radar talent.