Ryan Mason's Tottenham team impressed in the opening 45 minutes of their 3-1 defeat against Brentford after opting to go with a 4-2-3-1 formation
Tottenham's final home game of the 2022/23 season may have ended in defeat but for 45 minutes they did give a glimpse of what could come next campaign. So often slow starters before turning it on in the second half, this time it was the complete opposite as Brentford rallied from 1-0 down to win 3-1.
Tottenham's failure to get a second goal in the opening 45 minutes did prove costly, as did the drop in intensity after the break that allowed Brentford a way back into the contest. Having tweaked things tactically in the past two games, acting head coach Ryan Mason once again did the same as he opted to switch to a 4-2-3-1 formation for the visit of the Bees.
If the Dutchman is to take on the job this summer then he can take heart in the fact that he already has players at the club who can take on his formation immediately. Tottenham did make the best possible start to proceedings with Harry Kane finally netting from a set piece with a sumptuous effort that found the top corner after Kulusevski had backheeled the ball into his path.
Impressive going forward and unlucky not to add to Kane's goal as Danjuma headed wide of the target and Son Heung-min saw an effort blocked in the area after Kulusevski had played him in with a reverse pass, the Sweden ace then had an effort of his own palmed over by David Raya on the stroke of half-time.
Not seeing the best of Kulusevski this season after making such an impact in his first few months at the club, this was undoubtedly one of his better performances of the campaign. His bright showing did tail off after the restart, however, although that was very much the case for the Tottenham team in general as Brentford duly punished them.
As per FotMob, the ex-Parma man created five chances in his 75 minutes on the pitch, he was successful with his one dribble and 22 of his 27 passes and made one pass into the final third. Speaking to the media in his post-match press conference after the game, Mason was asked if the No.10 role could become Kulusevski's on a long-term basis.
"I'm not sure. I think he can operate centrally or on the right side very well," said the 31-year-old after the game. "We wanted to bring some pace in with Danjuma today and push up high and wide and get in behind as much as possible and we got into the pocket so many times with Harry and Deki in that first half and created quite a few openings.
"They made some crucial blocks and in the second half their keeper made some good saves. Deki is a player that we like. We want to add more goals to his game absolutely but he's a young player and I think he will be important for this club going forward."
Registering a 93 per cent pass success rate and being accurate with four of his six long balls, the summer addition also made eight passes into the final third as he helped push the team forward. Looking much more like his old self, Bissouma could really thrive in a more attack-minded team if given the freedom to do what he does best rather than be stifled as a result of tactics that impact his game.
Even though the final result did go against Tottenham following Bryan Mbeumo's double and Yoane Wissa's late strike, Mason and Tottenham fans can certainly take positives from the first-half showing.
"I thought we played a good game in the first half but it's the Premier League, it's a 95-minute game and if you're not ready to compete for 95 minutes and you're not focused then you concede and lose the match," he told BT Sport after the loss.
On the frustration of Tottenham failing to add to their solitary goal in the first half, he added: "Of course. In the first half we should have been more clinical but that's football and in the second half they were clinical, they took their chances.
"Defensively it was probably poor on our behalf but it's the Premier League, you have to be ready for 95 minutes, you have to be focused and together as a team and unfortunately in the second half we probably wasn't."
"We shall spend the period ahead of next season working relentlessly to position our club for on-pitch success and football you will love to come and watch," he stated. "Every element of the club's operations is geared toward delivering that."
Key to giving supporters football they "will love to come and watch" is playing attacking football that is easy on the eye and successful, as was the case in the first half against Brentford as the 4-2-3-1 formation clicked into gear and Spurs flourished in the final third as a result. If it is to be Slot who is named as Conte's long-term successor, the Feyenoord boss can help meet those requirements Levy has set out and that could potentially see the Lilywhites get back on the right track after an extremely frustrating couple of years.
Also proving in Rotterdam that he can rebuild a team after leading Feyenoord to Eredivisie glory after their squad was completely decimated last summer, it's perhaps not hard to see why the 44-year-old is rated so highly and the current odds-on favourite for the hotseat. The first 45 minutes against Brentford did give Tottenham fans a sneak preview of what could be set to come their way if Slot signs on the dotted line in the coming weeks.