With three straight wins, everything is finally looking rather rosy for Tottenham Hotspur.
Roberto De Zerbi has cleared away the rubble of successive relegation battles and Spurs now sit in eighth place in the Premier League. That’s more like it, isn’t it?
While the defensive structure and organisation should be applauded, the forward line is starting to come alive too. While they are yet to find a consistent goalscorer, Omar Marmoush, Dominic Solanke, James Maddison and Mathys Tel have all found the net in recent weeks.
We’ve also seen the teenage Luca Williams-Barnett begin to make an impact.
Why Williams-Barnett needs more minutes
Given the state Spurs have found themselves in over the last year or so, it is perhaps unsurprising that Williams-Barnett has not been given more of a runout.
While some might argue that Tottenham needed a player with his attributes to reinvigorate the place, throwing such a young player into a relegation battle may well have been a scarring experience.
Well, on the evidence of his short cameo against Crystal Palace last week, he should have been given more chances to show what he can do. He would have thrived.
The simple fact is that the 18-year-old is one of the best young English talents in the country. Some behind the scenes at Hotspur Way think he’s up there with Max Dowman.
It’s clear to see why. The way he manipulates the ball and the way he can burst past an opponent is seriously eye-catching. He showed that firsthand on Saturday night when he should have walked away with an assist on his Premier League debut.
The academy graduate weaved his way past three Palace defenders, got to the byline and then laid the ball on a plate for Mohammed Kudus. He couldn’t miss, could he? The goal was at his mercy, but he somehow fired off target.
Still, the excitement around Williams-Barnett is palpable. Now is the time to give him more minutes.
Reports in recent weeks have linked the teen with a move away from Spurs and if more first-team opportunities are not forthcoming, he will likely head elsewhere.
Williams-Barnett is bad news for £30m signing
With Spurs now starting to fire, winning three on the bounce, the debate surrounds who Williams-Barnett should be given minutes over.
One boon for De Zerbi is that this young attacker is a versatile figure. Against MK Dons in pre-season, the youngster played as a deep-lying midfielder.
|
Williams-Barnett by position (U18s-senior level) |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Position |
Games |
Goals |
|
Attacking midfield |
32 |
24 |
|
Central midfield |
5 |
8 |
|
Left wing |
5 |
1 |
|
Right wing |
3 |
1 |
|
Centre-forward |
2 |
3 |
He was also seen as an attacking midfielder over the summer but it was on the left flank where he appeared at the weekend. Replacing Tel, the English wonderkid made an almighty impact.
As a result, Tel should be running scared at the thought of Williams-Barnett’s emergence. Why? Well, he’s hardly set the world alight in Spurs colours.
It was in January 2025 that the Frenchman first arrived, signing on loan and helping Ange Postecoglou’s side to Europa League glory.
In the summer of that year, he joined Tottenham on a permanent £30m transfer. Since then, however, he has not lived up to the hype.
At Bayern, Tel was a wonderkid cut from a similar cloth as Williams-Barnett. As European football expert Neal Gardner alludes to, he was billed as “the next Mbappe”.
With just four goals in all competitions last season, it’s evident he’s not matching Kylian Mbappe for goal involvements. There are a few similar qualities, though. For instance, he’s a mighty fine dribbler.
In fact, this term, Tel has registered more dribbles per 90 minutes (4.10) than Mbappe (3.20). He’s also reached a higher top speed (34.8 km/h) than his fellow countryman (34.1 km/h).
So, the 21-year-old is a threat. He has actually shown strong signs in the last two weeks too. It was Tel who scored the game-clinching goal against Chelsea and he stood out versus Crystal Palace as well, successfully completing six dribbles and registering four key passes.
It’s just a pity he has not shown these levels on a regular basis. The winger has still only scored once in 2026/27 and the jury remains out on whether he will ever be able to establish consistency in a Spurs shirt.
It’s for that lack of goal involvement that Williams-Barnett must be banging down De Zerbi’s door to start ahead of him. With Spurs now in good form, there is less risk attached to throwing the teenager in at the deep end.
Judging by his cameo on Saturday and by the fact that he scored 16 goals in 19 youth team games last campaign, he is more than good enough for more minutes in the senior side. He should be rather frustrated if he isn’t given them.
