It’s been a season of extremes for Tottenham Hotspur this year.
Ange Postecoglou’s side have looked utterly sensational in some games and have played some of the best attacking football in Europe, let alone England.
Yet, the North Londoners have still found ways to throw matches away, as they did against Galatasaray on Thursday night following Will Lankshear’s sending-off.
The youngster didn’t make the most of what was a golden opportunity, and he might not get as many next season as one of the club’s other young forwards is currently outscoring him and club captain Son Heung-min out on loan.
Lankshear and Son's seasons so far
It wasn’t the night young Lankshear would’ve hoped for on Thursday.
However, given his lack of top-flight experience and the intense atmosphere in the ground, his sending-off should not see him receive too much stick, especially as before his silly second foul, he was playing reasonably well.
The 19-year-old was the man who got the North Londoners back in the game in the first half, perfectly putting away Brennan Johnson’s pass on the half-volley to score his first senior goal for the club in just his second appearance.
In fact, before he was sent off, it would be fair to say he was playing better than his captain was, as Son never looked likely to provide an assist, let alone score a goal in Istanbul.
However, while he was ineffective on Thursday, the South Korean superstar has remained a relatively reliable attacking threat in his other appearances this season, as he’s scored three goals and provided three assists in his other nine appearances.
That said, even the former Bayer Leverkusen star is being outscored by one of the club’s promising loanees, who’s enjoying a great campaign in Spain.
Spurs' goalscoring loanee
So, there are several talented Spurs players out on loan this season, from Dane Scarlett to Alfie Devine, but in this instance, we are talking about the 21-year-old striker Alejo Veliz.
The Argentine prospect joined the North Londoners in a £13m deal from Rosario Central last summer after an impressive campaign that saw the youngster rack up a tally of 11 goals and one assist in 24 first-team appearances.
He spent half of last season in N17, scoring one goal in eight games, but the latter half on an unsuccessful short-term loan move to Sevilla, where he made six goalless appearances.
With his long-term future somewhat up in the air this summer, the Lilywhites sent him back to Spain on a season-long loan with Espanyol, and while he isn’t tearing it up in Catalonia, he’s doing far better.
In 11 appearances across all competitions, the promising “phenomenon”, as he was dubbed by Argentine legend and 1978 World Cup-winner Daniel Bertoni, has scored four goals, meaning that, at the moment, he has more to his name than both Son and Lankshear.
Appearances
12
2
10
Minutes
741′
126′
720
Goals
4
1
3
Goals per Game
0.33
0.50
0.30
Minutes per Goals
185.2′
126′
240′
Ultimately, it is far too early to say with any certainty that Veliz will become Spurs’ next great goalscorer, but based on his limited minutes this season and the way those in the know speak about him, there is every chance he could be.
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