Tottenham tactics: Kane’s injury will cause Eriksen to switch positions

By Rucker Haringey | Mar 12, 2018

LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 03: Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur evades Rajiv van La Parra of Huddersfield Town during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Huddersfield Town at Wembley Stadium on March 3, 2018 in London, England. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images) /

Eriksen will player deeper for Tottenham

The most obvious tactical change for Tottenham in the aftermath of Harry Kane’s injury will be to move Heung-Min Son forward to fill the Englishman’s shoes. That isn’t the only shift Pochettino will make however.

The Argentine gaffer showed another tactical maneuver he’ll employ in Kane’s absence in Spurs’ 4-1 victory over Bournemouth. Without Kane on the pitch to lead the line, Pochettino will also be inclined to shift Christian Eriksen further back in his formation.

At first, that seems a bit counterintuitive. It’s tempting to move your most creative players further up the pitch when you lose such a talented striker. That doesn’t make it the proper tactic though. Pochettino correctly understands that moving Eriksen back deeper in his midfield allows him to make the Spurs attack more dangerous in Kane’s absence.

When Son plays as a stand-alone striker the Tottenham attack becomes much more concerned with trying to beat opposing defenses over the top. The most likely way to achieve that is for a midfielder to ping a perfectly weighted pass over the opposing defenders. That can be difficult for an attacking midfielder to do just because of the compressed space.

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For Eriksen in particular, it’s a much easier endeavour to hit a ball to set Son free from deep. First off, it gives the classy Dane more of an opportunity to read the pitch in front of him. Typically he gets more time and space on the ball when he’s playing a more recessed role.

Secondly, it gives Eriksen more margin for error. When he’s playing a long diagonal, he’s much more likely to get an opportunity to play the ball to Son against just one defender. When that happens, he doesn’t need to play an inch-perfect pass to free his Korean teammate. Even an above average long ball can give Son the space he needs to punish his opposition.

Moving Eriksen back into a deeper role will likely cause a formation shift from Pochettino. He doesn’t seem comfortable with the idea of playing Eriksen in the double-pivot with just one defensive midfielder to shoulder the defensive responsibilities.

Instead, look for Tottenham to convert to a 4-3-3 of sorts without Kane in the starting XI. This allows Eriksen to play deeper without being overmatched defensively. It also gives him more targets to aim at running forward. If an opposing defense becomes too focused on containing Son, the likes of Dele Alli, Erik Lamela or Lucas Moura can get behind the opposition on the wing. Eriksen has the skill to pick apart the defense for any of the three attackers.

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Make no mistake, taking Harry Kane out of the Tottenham lineup causes Spurs to shift a lot of things. Pochettino won’t simply rely on Heung-Min Son to pick up his star’s slack. Instead, he’ll expect Christian Eriksen to pull the strings even more than usual. That’s the best avenue for Spurs to survive an extended absence of their star striker.

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