Spurs can replace Sarr & Bissouma with young midfielder who’s a “Modric vibe”

Igor Tudor may have been in the Tottenham Hotspur hotseat for only a matter of days but he’s already feeling the pressure.

The Croatian has already said that his team will have enough to remain in the Premier League but there is genuinely a very realistic chance they go down.

Indeed, that Europa League victory in Bilbao now feels like a lifetime away. Since that win, Spurs have sacked both Ange Postecoglou and Thomas Frank. Neither manager was able to generate much success domestically and if they do end up dropping to the Championship, they will have Frank to blame more than the new man, Tudor.

What the future holds for the Lilywhites is currently uncertain but what is for certain is that the squad will need to be gutted and completely refreshed over the summer, irrespective of what division they play in.

While they face problems right throughout the team, it feels like the midfield is one of the biggest problems.

The big issue with the Spurs midfield

Long gone are the days of Mousa Dembele, Christian Eriksen and Dele Alli trotting through the Spurs midfield. Since those incredible days under Mauricio Pochettino, the middle of the park has become a growing concern for each manager.

It wasn’t long before that mesmerising trio shifted towards the likes of big-money signing Tanguy Ndombele and the likes of Oliver Skipp, Harry Winks and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. Yeah, it’s hardly the most inspiring list of names, is it?

Skipp, Winks and Hojbjerg, while handy Premier League players, lacked the technical ability to really influence a game. They also lacked power and most importantly, the ability to progress play. None of them are ball carriers.

Fast forward to 2026 and Tottenham are facing a similar problem. In the January window, the north Londoners welcomed Conor Gallagher to the club and on paper, it looked like a solid signing.

Gallagher has Premier League experience and has 22 England caps to his name. Yet, like those before him, he has issues with being able to carry the ball up the pitch.

In fact, that’s an issue that’s seen right across the central areas. Tudor’s other options right now are Joao Palhinha, who actually played in defence against Arsenal, Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr.

Those two, in particular, are becoming a big concern for Spurs. Bissouma has been way off it for a number of years now and it speaks volumes of the dire situation the club finds itself in right now that they are relying on a player whose career in the capital looked finished last summer.

Indeed, Frank alienated him from the squad for the Super Cup final for what was described as ‘persistent lateness’.

Sarr, on the other hand, was becoming “a big problem under Frank” in the words of The Athletic’s JJ Bull and showed no signs of improving during Tudor’s first game in charge, beaten all too easily by Bukayo Saka in the build-up to the first goal.

So, while Spurs will have players back from injury in 2026/27, they will need to find fresh alternatives. Perhaps they could look towards the academy to do so.

Spurs’ homegrown midfield solution

Providing they remain in the Premier League next term, you imagine the Lewis family will invest heavily in improving the middle of the park.

However, if they are keen on saving a bit of cash and promoting from within, the Londoners have a number of top young players in the academy they could promote.

For all of their woes, the future does look bright from a playing staff point of view. Bergvall and Archie Gray are improving all the time, while they signed budding young striker James Wilson from Hearts this winter and have Luca Williams-Barnett, Spurs’ next great hope from the academy, coming through the ranks.

Let us not forget about Tyrese Hall either. While Wilson and Williams-Barnett are more forward-thinking players, Hall is a midfielder by trade and has been seriously catching the eye on loan at Notts County in League 2.

Now, that is a considerable step below the Premier League, of course it is. Yet, Spurs need solutions and Hall has an abundance of qualities that would make him a strong squad player.

We’re not for one moment suggesting the 20-year-old could start but anyone is better than Sarr and Bissouma, right?

Harsh words but if Tottenham are looking for squad players with a brighter future in the game, then Hall ticks plenty of boxes.

So far this season, he’s played 31 times for County, scoring six goals and providing two assists. While yet to make his first-team debut for Spurs, there is a belief that he could solve some of the ball progression issues they have had in midfield. A canny knack for popping up with goals from deep is not something to be sniffed at.

Not only can he play as a holding midfielder, but pivotally, he often plays as an attacking midfielder. That’s the role he’s featured in most in the Football League this season, impressing right throughout.

If you don’t believe Hall will be good enough, then we’ll hand over to White Hart Lane icon Jermain Defoe.

Speaking a year ago about the young midfielder, the former striker said: “I’d probably go as far as saying he’s one of the best players at his age I’ve seen in the country.”

Defoe didn’t stop there in his appraisal of Hall, adding: “He’s someone who I believe is a Premier League footballer. He has so much potential, and he reminds me a little bit, technically, how he is, so silky, again another big statement, of that Luka Modric sort of vibe, and Joe Cole.”

That’s quite the appraisal from one of the best to wear a Spurs shirt and if the youngster lives up to that billing, there is no doubt he could play a part in the Spurs midfield in years to come.

Fans will be longing to see the end of Bissouma and Sarr in Tottenham shirts and Hall could well grant them that wish.