Coincidence or not, Tottenham Hotspur have found their groove again under Roberto De Zerbi, all while captain Cristian Romero has been forced to watch on from the sidelines.
Absent since colliding with Antonin Kinsky against Sunderland, an act that bizarrely didn't warrant punishment for Brian Brobbey, the World Cup winner hasn't exactly been missed, with the Lilywhites picking up seven points from their last three Premier League outings.
A monster at his best, as he notably showed in last season's Europa League final win, Romero has frustratingly teetered toward liability territory in 2025/26, so often an unwanted talking point due to his antics both on and off the field.
With a summer departure potentially on the cards, amid interest from Atletico Madrid, there is a sense that the 27-year-old may well have played his last game in north London, sparking the need for a long-term replacement as skipper.
Leading the charge at present in Romero's absence is his centre-back colleague, Micky van de Ven, with the Dutchman taking on the armband for the last three games, a sign of his growing status at N17.
That being said, the former Wolfsburg man has endured his own woes this season, not least amid his red card dismissal against Crystal Palace, with talk of a move to rivals Liverpool having not gone away.
If an exit is to be on the cards, then De Zerbi may well need an alternative for next season, with this a relatively young squad with few true standout candidates.
The returning Rodrigo Bentancur may well be best served prioritising his own fitness, before taking on the responsibility, while the same could also be true of the likes of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski.
Long-term absentee, Ben Davies, is currently out of contract this summer, and while De Zerbi has talked up Archie Gray's chances of being a 'future captain' of the club, the young Englishman isn't currently even in the Italian's starting lineup.
Gray, still only 20, could grow into the role later down the line, although a more short-term option might lie elsewhere in the Spurs ranks.
Spurs' answer to Declan Rice could be the next captain
Speaking after the win over Atletico Madrid under Igor Tudor, The Athletic's Duncan Alexander notably suggested that Gray looked like a "young Declan Rice", following his all-action performance on the night.
A shining light for much of the season, the ex-Leeds United man has faded from view in recent weeks, however, with a new midfield force emerging in the form of Joao Palhinha.
There might well have been doubts over the Portuguese's suitability to De Zerbi's progressive approach, yet those have been put to bed in recent weeks, following the 30-year-old's almost talismanic performances.
It was Palhinha's close-range effort which secured a vital first win in 2026 against Wolverhampton Wanderers, while he followed up that with a truly dominant showing at Villa Park, subsequently hailed as a "leader" by journalist Henry Winter.
Once tipped to be the aforementioned Rice's successor at West Ham United, the on-loan Bayern Munich man certainly fits that mould as a towering, midfield powerhouse, a pillar in front of the back four.
Against Aston Villa, for instance, he won four of his six ground duels, lost the ball just seven times and boasted a 90% pass accuracy rate, providing a sense of calm in a chaotic season at N17.
It is his ball-winning quality that truly sets him apart, however, having averaged 3.3 tackles per game in the Premier League - the most of any player in the division.
He's also scored as many league goals as that man Rice has at Arsenal (four), while the pair are both almost something of a wall in front of the back four, so difficult to get around, having been dribbled past just 0.7 and 0.4 times per game on average this season.
As Mauricio Pochettino had with Mousa Dembele, and like Mikel Arteta has with Rice, every great top-flight side has that towering, physical specimen in midfield, with Palhinha looking like he could be De Zerbi's own centrepiece moving forward.
The ex-Marseille boss has already talked up the possibility of signing the one-time Sporting CP star permanently this summer, with a £21.5m buy option mooted, having spoken of the need to have players who are so "reliable" in the squad.
As Winter stated, Palhinha is looking like a 'leader' right now, and if he is to stay put beyond this season, the captain's armband could well be his for the taking.