Opinion: Five things we learned from Tottenham’s penalty shootout defeat to Newcastle

Tottenham Hotspur’s 2023/24 campaign is now officially over, ending with a 1-1 draw (and penalty shoot-out defeat) to Newcastle in an Australian post-season friendly.

Let’s take a look at the five things we learned:

A Regular Occurrence

With over 78,000 Australian fans turning up to watch the match, it is clear that Premier League sides will host more and more money-making post-season friendlies if they are allowed to do so.

It remains to be seen whether player welfare sanctions will forbid such fixtures in the future, but Spurs and Newcastle clearly made a pretty penny from this one-off match.

Radu Dragusin Debut of Sorts

While he has started a few games for Spurs now, this was our first real look at Radu Dragusin in his preferred position – right centre-back. One would assume that Tottenham will sign a new left-footed central defender this summer, and Dragusin will become Cristian Romero’s back-up.

Spurs are going to need two players in every position next season to compete in Europe. Thankfully, Dragusin looked really strong, composed and comfortable on the ball today at the back.

Kulusevski Down the Middle

Tottenham will definitely delve into the market for a new striker this summer, but Dejan Kulusevski throws up an interesting option for Postecoglou next season. There seems to be a nicer balance to Kulusevski down the middle as a false nine and Heung-min Son out wide than the other way around.

With two goals against Sheffield United and now a good performance against Newcastle, Kulusevski could become Tottenham’s back-up striker next season, depending on what happens with Richarlison.

Stand-out Youngsters

With so many youngsters getting onto the pitch for a runout in the second half, we wanted to highlight a few of the best performers. Tyrese Hall was compared to Mousa Dembele on commentary and he certainly lived up to that at moments. Those drops of the shoulder and driving runs through midfield have been a trademark of the U21s this season. Dane Scarlett went close a couple of times in the second half before rolling his penalty home, while Jamie Donley curled a beauty of a spot-kick into the top corner. Alfie Devine also had a couple of bright creative moments, while Ashley Phillips was solid at the back.

Attention Turns to Transfers

Ange Postecoglou can finally breathe for a few days while he catches up with friends in Australia, but then it is time to turn his attention to the summer transfer market. And it’s going to be a busy one for Tottenham! We expect between 5 and 10 outgoings and at least three or four new signings for the Lilywhites this summer.

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