Playing for 90
Fansided

Tottenham player ratings v Southampton: Kane wasn’t the only Spurs star

By Rucker Haringey

LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 26: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring his sides fifth goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on December 26, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 26: Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates after scoring his sides fifth goal during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on December 26, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 26: Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur is challenged by Oriol Romeu of Southampton during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on December 26, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 26: Mousa Dembele of Tottenham Hotspur is challenged by Oriol Romeu of Southampton during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton at Wembley Stadium on December 26, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images) /

Mousa Dembele-5.5

The talented Belgian midfielder played an acceptable match while he was on the pitch, but his performance has to be downgraded for limping off after under an hour of play. Dembele would get a pass if this were a freak occurrence, but it’s happening all too often these days.

In short, it’s a good thing that Victor Wanyama is tantalizingly close to making his Spurs return. Everytime Dembele gets injured he seems to find a way to miss at least three weeks of action. Pochettino needs to purchase more defensive midfield cover in January.

Eric Dier-7

It’s pretty obvious at this point that Dier should be deployed as a defensive midfielder whenever possible. He may be a passable centre back against some opponents, but he’s a much better player when given the freedom to roam the middle of the pitch.

He wasn’t great against Southampton, but that’s not what Spurs needed on the afternoon. The Argentine gaffer needed his English midfielder to provide quality cover for the back four and transition the ball forward whenever possible. That’s just what Dier did on the afternoon and he deserves credit for a job well done.

Home/Tottenham Hotspur