What Tottenham’s rotated Europa League XI could look like – opinion

Spurs are back in the Europa League, and it’s a competition that presents a very viable opportunity for Ange Postecoglou to win some silverware. But, he will need to manage his squad effectively across the season, so here’s a look at what his rotated lineup for European football might look like.

Who steps in for Spurs?

We will work on the assumption that Postecoglou would be keen to give fringe players and youth stars a chance, while still wanting to maintain some semblance of experience in his lineups.

It’s also safe to expect a strong lineup for the likes of Roma, Rangers, and Galatasaray, so this is more of a rotated XI for the games against teams like Qarabag, Elfsborg, and Ferencvaros.

Brandon Austin: The boring choice here would be to play 36-year-old Fraser Forster, but Postecoglou has to give Austin a chance at some point, and these games would be the perfect opportunity to finally hand the keeper his debut.

Archie Gray: While he’s certainly stronger in central midfield, the exclusion of Djed Spence from the Europa League squad definitely means that Archie Gray will be used at right-back as cover for Pedro Porro.

Radu Dragusin: The Romanian centre-back arguably deserves more minutes than he gets, so he is likely to start the vast majority of the Europa League league phase matches this year.

Ben Davies: Spurs are short on options at left-back, and while Davies is more comfortable at centre-half now, he can do a job as cover for Destiny Udogie. Just don’t expect quite as much adventurous play from the Welshman.

Yves Bissouma: Postecoglou will want a bit of experience in the middle of the park, and Bissouma can offer just that, as well as protecting the younger defence behind him. The Malian will relish the added responsibility and will flourish against some of the weaker teams.

Lucas Bergvall: The young Swede has already featured as a substitute in the league, but is ready to explode onto the scene this month and beyond. Bergvall will very likely start the first game against Qarabag, and may be hard to drop after that.

James Maddison: With both Heung-min Son and Cristian Romero likely to be busy on international duty again later this year, and Maddison sadly looking frozen out for England, Postecoglou could and should make the playmaker his captain for the games where he can afford to rest players.

Brennan Johnson: Postecoglou is unlikely to want to disrupt Brennan Johnson’s good form for Spurs at the minute. He is likely to play at least a half for the Lilywhites in the Europa League.

Will Lankshear: With Lankshear back fit and Richarlison still out, it seems possible that the youngster could get some minutes in the Europa League in the coming weeks. Qarabag will probably come too early for him, with Solanke a more likely starter, but beyond that, there will be chances.

Mikey Moore: If you’re good enough, you’re old enough, and Mikey Moore is definitely good enough. What better way to give the 17-year-old his first start than to set him loose on teams from Azerbaijan, Hungary, and Sweden?

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