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Ange could spring a surprise by dropping Son & unleashing Spurs "phenomenon" instead - opinion

Over the last year and a half, Ange Postecoglou has turned Tottenham Hotspur into one of the most exciting teams in the Premier League.

The North Londoners are the leading scorers in the competition and look a million miles from the underwhelming side managed by Antonio Conte and José Mourinho just a few years ago.

However, for all the success the Australian has enjoyed in N17, he hasn't been able to banish the club's inconsistent streak, which has been on full display over the last week or so, as they beat Manchester City 4-0 away only to draw against AS Roma and Fulham at home.

dragusin-spurs

So, tonight's clash with Bournemouth is a must-win to ensure the team don't go into the weekend's match with Chelsea in terrible form, and to ensure the team do pick up all three points, Postecoglu must drop club captain Son Heung-min.

Why Son should be dropped

Okay, so the first thing to say is that Son's impact at Spurs over the last nine years or so is perhaps only surpassed by his old partner in crime, Harry Kane.

son-heung-min-tottenham-premier-league

However, therein lies the problem: the South Korean superstar has had an incredible impact on the club, but as most fans will likely attest, he's struggling to have that same impact this season.

For example, against Roma, he may have scored the penalty, but after that he was a passenger, taking just 36 touches, failing to complete a single cross, registering an expected assists number of 0.08 and generally making the wrong decisions when in dangerous positions.

Son-heung-min

Unsurprisingly, such a performance saw Spurs writer Alasdair Gold award the 32-year-old a paltry match rating of 6/10 at full-time, writing that he was 'not quite in his full rhythm.'

Postecoglou tried to reduce how much running the former Bayer Leverkusen ace would have to do in the game against Fulham by starting him in the number nine position, but it only led to an even more underwhelming display.

son-heung-min-tottenham-premier-league

In his 97 minutes of action, he amassed a combined expected goals and assists figure of just 0.21, took a single shot on target, misplaced all three of his crosses, lost the ball ten times despite taking just 40 touches and missed one big chance, which led to Gold giving the Chuncheon-born star just a 4/10 rating, writing that he was 'very quiet' and 'contributed very little.'

In short, with him struggling on the wing during the week and looking even worse at centre-forward on the weekend, the manager should drop him and reintroduce someone who could terrorise Bournemouth's defence.

The Spurs ace who must start in place of Son

So, if Son is to be removed from the number nine position ahead of tonight's game with Bournemouth, there is only one player who can and should come in to replace him, a player the opposition will be more than a little familiar with, Dominic Solanke.

Dominic-Solanke-Bournemouth-record

Now, some might say the Cherries' knowledge of how the Englishman plays could be a disadvantage for him, but that is more likely going to be the other way around, as Solanke will have a better understanding of things like their defensive shape, trigger presses and general tactical approach.

However, away from that, there is one incredibly straightforward reason why the former Liverpool gem has to start in the game: his output.

Solanke's recent form

Season

Appearances

Goals

Assists

Goal Involvements per Match

All Stats via Transfermarkt

Despite a slowish start to the campaign, likely down to his need to adapt to Postecoglou's demanding system, the 6 foot 2 "phenomenon", as dubbed by Ian Wright, has still scored six goals and provided three assists in 17 appearances, which equates to a reasonably impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.88 games.

On top of that, the Basingstoke-born ace will give his teammates far more of a target to aim for and play off of than Son did against Fulham, which should help the team play higher up the pitch and generally create more chances, as defenders won't be able to rest for even a moment.

Ultimately, Spurs need to pick up a win after last week's disappointing results, and the best way for Posetcoglou to ensure that happens is by dropping Son and, in his place, starting Solanke.

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