Tottenham prepared to give winger one last chance
Tottenham fans may be surprised to learn that Mauricio Pochettino is prepared to give Georges-Kevin N’Koudou another chance to make it at Spurs.
When Georges-Kevin N’Koudou was loaned out to Burnley last winter most assumed his time at Tottenham was over. The combination of World Cup wear and tear and upcoming international duty for Heung-Min Son have opened up a potential need for the Frenchman at Spurs.
Most Premier League observers expected Tottenham to be very active in the transfer market this summer. To date, that hasn’t happened. That could make things tricky for Mauricio Pochettino for the first couple months of the season. He’ll need to rest quite a few players who exerted themselves during World Cup competition. In particular, Dele Alli, Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen will all need some time off. That will leave Pochettino short of attacking options.
Last season, the Argentine gaffer would have turned to Son. That option won’t be available to him for the first month of the season. He’ll be away playing for South Korea in an attempt to win the Asian games. That’s a prestigious honour for Son, but it doesn’t help Spurs at all.
That leaves a heavy burden on players like Lucas Moura and Erik Lamela to shoulder the load as the season begins. They are both talented players, but neither is a sure thing to play every match at a high level. Spurs will need to rely on other attackers.
That gives N’Koudou a huge opportunity. Fortunately for Spurs fans, it seems that the young Frenchman understands the opportunity in front of him. His agent insists that he’s only focused on proving himself to Pochettino during the preseason. In other words, he hasn’t given up on his place at Tottenham.
The logical question is whether or not N’Koudou has the talent to take advantage of his new lease on life. He certainly has the pace to be an intriguing Premier League attacker, but his lack of end product can be maddening. He needs to show Pochettino he can make the simple, adequate play in the final third the majority of the time. If he does that, he at least has an outside chance at sticking with Spurs this season.
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N’Koudou is one of several players Tottenham fans should really be watching closely this summer. He faces an uphill climb to force his way back into Pochettino’s plans, but it’s not impossible. It’s a make or break preseason for the pacy winger.