Tottenham Hotspur take on Bournemouth on Thursday night as they look to get back to winning ways following their draw on the weekend.
Ange Postecoglou has seen his side struggle with a real lack of consistency lately with the Lilywhites going into Thursday’s game in eighth spot.
Tottenham could pull themselves up to fifth place, though, if they are able to return to north London with all three points from the south coast.
But Spurs are still nursing a number of injury issues with Cristian Romero still sidelined for the Bournemouth trip due to his foot injury.
This has led to Postecoglou looking deep into his squad of players for potential options to help beef out the matchday squad.
Malachi Hardy trains with Tottenham ahead of Bournemouth
It has been another difficult start to the campaign for Tottenham when it comes to injuries with numerous starters struck by respective problems.
Micky van de Ven is nearing a return from injury but he will remain sidelined for the trip to the south coast on Thursday.
Postecoglou has provided some opportunities to some of the youth players this season with Mikey Moore impressing Glenn Hoddle in the Europa League.
Although he may not get the opportunity to take to the pitch on Thursday night, 16-year-old defender Malachi Hardy has been spotted in first-team training.
The 16-year-old can be spotted both in the gym and during the on-field work as he wears the rather unusual 102 squad number on his training wear.
With Postecoglou having to dig deep with his squad, some Spurs fans are worried about Moore’s unexplained absence from the side after being initially described as an illness.
Who is Malachi Hardy?
Despite being just 16, Hardy has already racked up some impressive achievements as he is the current captain of the England U17 squad.
The youngster has earned himself seven caps at U17 level and has become a regular in the Tottenham U18 side.
Postecoglou even included Hardy in the matchday squad for the emphatic victory away to Manchester City the other week, although the defender did not feature off the bench.