In a Premier League season, where the opening two months have been filled with new players stealing the headlines, it is a player in his second season in England who is playing a vital role with aplomb at White Hart Lane.
The early season exploits of Korean signing Heung-Min Son and 19 year old Dele Alli have taken the headlines for Spurs, along with Harry Kane's search for a Premier League goal which was ended during the 4-1 rout of Manchester City at White Hart Lane.
Alli, following a stellar start to the season alongside Eric Dier in central midfield, has received his first England call up by Roy Hodgson for the upcoming international fixtures against Estonia and Lithuania. Whether this decision is premature or not is yet to be seen, but having only started a handful of Premier League games, Spurs will worry that introducing him to international football this early may corrupt his future growth as a football.
Worries ring around White Hart Lane
The worry for the North London club is many fold. Firstly, their is a potential for Alli to get injured whilst with England, which would be calamitous for Tottenham as it would leave Mauricio Pochettino with only Tom Carroll realistically being able to play alongside Eric Dier in a deeper midfield role.
Furthermore, there are worries that the over exposure of Alli may lead to too much expectation on the young man's shoulders which could adversely affect his improvement in the future, which currently is Tottenham's priority. It is unlikely, as so far Alli has conducted himself in a very humble way, but the call up and integration with players of such relative prowess may go straight to the head of the youngster, potentially leading to arrogance, which furthermore could stunt his development.
Is Alderweireld getting enough credit?
While, Alli and others have undoubtedly started the season partiularly well, it is Toby Alderweireld who has played a particularly understated yet valuable role in his first few games for the games. Although, he made a conspicuous start by conceding a fateful penalty on home debut, ever since Alderweireld's performances have been exceptional.
This was finally highlighted against Manchester City, when he rose to head Spurs into the lead early in the second half.
For so many years Spurs have been looking to replace Ledley King and it now seems that finally that they've found their man. While Jan Vertonghen's elegance and ability to play out from the back is becoming vital to Spurs' brand of football, his intensity and physicality is lacking in comparison to Spurs' great former captain. However, in tandem with Alderweireld, Vertonghen's own performances have been galvanised, as the pressure has been taken off of him somewhat.
Alderweireld's distribution may not be as good as Vertonghen's but he is fully able of playing out of defence, unlike some of Vertonghen's previous partners in central defence. What is more is that Alderweireld's decision making under pressure takes the pressure off of Spurs' vastly improved back five this season.
Furthermore, Alderweireld also possesses the physicality which on occasion is lacked by his Belgian counterpart. This was on exhibition against Manchester City as he was able to prevent the ever-dangerous Sergio Aguero from hurting Spurs.
Ultimately, the chemistry between Vertonghen and Alderweireld is a breath of fresh air following a series of incohesive partnerships between Vertonghen and others. Spurs are much better for it, and are now unbeaten in the league since the opening day of the season.
The central defenders have been brilliant but without doubt the presence of Eric Dier in front of them has taken an enormous amount of pressure off them. He has been exceptional. Breaking up play, filling in for out of position defenders, starting attacks and scoring goals, Dier's contribution has been massive. Credit must go to him for adopting to his new role and also to Mauricio Pochettino for entrusting him to play in front of the back four. He will have been gutted to miss out on the England squad for the upcoming European Championship Qualifiers.