3 Spurs players who’ve sprung a surprise this season including Gary Neville’s ‘nightmare’

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Tottenham Hotspur have done very well so far this season, sitting in the upper echelons of the Premier League table and very much in the title race.

Which Spurs players have sprung a surprise and exceeded expectations for Jose Mourinho’s side this season? Let’s take a look.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

Although the Dane came with an impressive CV – a stint at Bayern Munich with four Bundesliga titles, three German Cups and a Club World Cup – he had been frozen out at Southampton – who finished 11th last season – prior to his Spurs switch and wasn’t exactly what you’d call a marquee signing.

Hojbjerg’s Spurs debut against Everton didn’t go to plan either, failing to click with Harry Winks in a midfield partnership which lacked pace and creativity – in the words of Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, the partnership was “a quiet nightmare” as the Toffees ran out 1-0 winners.

Since then, however, the 25-year-old’s form has improved massively, becoming one of the first names on Jose Mourinho’s team sheet and putting in solid performances week in, week out.

Harry Kane

This might raise a few eyebrows at first, given Kane has been consistently superb for Spurs over the years – what’s surprising is how Kane has effectively started playing as a No. 10 as well as a No. 9 and doing amazingly in the process.

Kane’s talents as a centre-forward are well known, but this season he’s been operating deeper to get on the ball and create opportunities – Jose Mourinho’s decision to utilise the Spurs talisman in this manner has worked wonders, the 27-year-old registering 16 goals and 13 assists from just 22 appearances this term.

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson recently claimed that Kane is on the way to becoming the best player in the world given he’s now doing what Kevin De Bruyne does, on top of his usual No. 9 duties.

Serge Aurier

The Spurs full-back has shown major signs of improvement under Jose Mourinho this season following an uncertain future over the summer.

Aurier was reportedly on AC Milan’s radar but he stayed put in North London and eventually became Tottenham’s first-choice right-back amid competition from Matt Doherty.

The Ivory Coast international finished the 2020-21 campaign as the only senior recognised player at right-back, but inconsistency and errors affected some of his displays.

However, a combination of increased competition for places, Mourinho’s coaching and Aurier’s hard work have all culminated in the 27-year-old turning his career at Spurs around.

Admittedly, there are still some errors – the penalty he conceded against Leicester, for example – but overall, he’s done well and hopefully the error against the Foxes will prove a blip.