Tottenham manager Thomas Frank has praised one Spurs player who he's barely used so far this season, highlighting his excellent displays in training ahead of their Premier League return against Aston Villa this weekend.
Spurs braced for Premier League return against Villa
Both Spurs and Villa enter Sunday's contest on a good run of form.
The Lilywhites, despite some near-misses, haven't lost a single game in all competitions since their 1-0 defeat at home to Bournemouth, since displaying a real grit and resilience to battle through testing scenarios and come through unscathed.
Over their last three games, Tottenham nicked a dramatic 1-1 draw at home to Wolves by the skin of their teeth, courtesy of an expertly taken last-gasp equaliser from Joao Palhinha, with Spurs then stealing another draw away to Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt in the Champions League.
History threatened to repeat itself nearly a fortnight ago when Noah Okafor equalised for Leeds at Elland Road.
However, man of the match Mohammed Kudus was on hand to both end the Yorkshire side's year-long unbeaten run at home in the league and break Tottenham's pre-international break curse, as Frank's side travelled back south with a 2-1 victory.
Spurs have proved they can grind out results under their new manager, and their newly-found defensive prowess was largely missing from Ange Postecoglou's Europa League-winning squad of last season.
Villa, by contrast, endured a torrid start to 25/26, and it took them six Premier League games for Unai Emery's men to score their first top flight goal of the campaign.
That being said, Matty Cash's wonder strike against Sunderland opened the floodgates for Villa, who've since won their last four games in all competitions and come into this clash against Tottenham with renewed confidence.
Frank has some very key decisions to make before the weekend, like whether to stick with Mathys Tel as the starting striker in place of Richarlison, amid doubts criticism surrounding the latter and Dominic Solanke's gradual return to fitness.
The latter has been on the pitch this week, according to Frank, but it remains to be seen whether he's ready to start a full match or even be included against Villa.
"Dom is progressing well after surgery," Frank said in his pre-match press conference.
"He's been back on pitch this week, he's progressing and going forward, that's good."
In a big boost for Frank, though, summer signing Randal Kolo Muani is poised to return very soon after recovering from a dead leg which has kept him out of action.
Thomas Frank praises Randal Kolo Muani in Tottenham training
The Dane, speaking to reporters on Friday, claimed that the France international has been getting "better and better" in training with Kolo Muani now in contention to play against Villa.
"Kolo Muani has trained for two weeks with the team, that's good," Frank said.
"He looks better and better and is in contention for the squad on Sunday, so that's a positive."
The 26-year-old has played just 13 minutes since joining Spurs on loan from PSG, mainly due to his injury, but Kolo Muani's imminent return comes as a real boost for Frank.
The versatile attacker, who bagged 23 goals and 17 assists for Eintracht Frankfurt during a phenomenal 2022/2023 campaign, showcased flashes of his best form on loan at Juventus last season and Frank could now be set to benefit.
Kolo Muani was ex-chair Daniel Levy's last parting gift to Tottenham, and some believe that he may even become the club's best striker ahead of Solanke.