Premier League 2019/20: 4 reasons why Tottenham can make a real title charge

#3 There’ll be no World Cup hangover for Pochettino’s stars

The likes of Dele Alli looked tired in 2018/19 after their efforts in the World Cup

Last summer’s World Cup was fantastic entertainment for football fans across the world, but for Tottenham, it perhaps wasn’t quite so good.

Sure, it was a great achievement that the club had eight of their squad involved in the semi-finals – more than any other club in the world – but it meant that many of Pochettino’s players came into 2018/19 with somewhat of a hangover.

Kieran Trippier, for instance – one of England’s shining lights in the tournament in Russia – simply couldn’t find his form and struggled throughout the season, a complete collapse for a formerly consistent player that eventually led to his exit to Atletico Madrid.

France’s World Cup-winning captain Hugo Lloris was inconsistent too, making some major errors at times and also becoming embroiled in legal problems due to a drink-driving charge. Dele Alli also had his least productive season to date at Spurs and while Harry Kane was his usual goalscoring self, he also picked up more injuries than he’d ever done before and missed swathes of the season.

Add in the fact that Heung-Min Son also missed portions of 2018/19 on international duty, and it becomes clear that international football wasn’t Tottenham’s friend last season.

Coming into 2019/20 though, that shouldn’t be an issue at all. England’s players were of course involved in the Nations League finals, but that ended way back in early June, and since then the whole squad for the most part has been recharging its batteries.

A fully fresh Tottenham squad are a match for anyone in the Premier League, and if the likes of Alli and Kane come into the season firing on all cylinders, it’ll take some stopping them.