How do you rank a group of players that has yet to win a game or score a meaningful goal in the Premier League this season?
Welcome to the first Tottenham Hotspur squad ladder, a new series on The Athletic that will provide a monthly assessment of who is in form at your club, who is slipping down the pecking order, why that might be — and how it might change.
The first Tottenham squad ladder of 2026-27 was a challenge. No one at Spurs has started the season with conviction and so many players are bedding in after the club’s £300million-plus summer splurge. In many respects, it feels like a brand new team, one currently lying at the foot of the table.
The list below was therefore based as much on importance to Spurs and head coach Roberto De Zerbi as on current form, with the least dispensable players at the top of the ladder. Players who are unavailable — due to long-term injury or eligibility — do not feature.
There’s also a section explaining our decision-making, as well as a prediction of what might happen in the weeks ahead.
We will repeat the ladder once a month during the season to see how it changes and who rises to prominence for De Zerbi…
With Spurs already out of the Carabao Cup, the third-choice goalkeeper’s chances of featuring this season depend on the fitness of Antonin Kinsky and Martin Dubravka.
The Swede is finally back in full training after two surgeries on a nasty kneecap injury. The idea of Kulusevski remains tantalising, but after so long on the sidelines, it remains unclear when he could contribute meaningfully.
Spurs’ longest-serving player is the fifth-choice centre-half and third-choice left-back, so he is unlikely to feature much. Davies remains an important ambassador for the club and leader in the dressing room.
One of the strangest signings in Spurs’ recent history, Mudryk is injured after one brief cameo. It remains to be seen if the loanee from Chelsea can contribute significantly this season after missing nearly two years of football.
Kinsky’s understudy has a wealth of experience but appears unsuited to De Zerbi’s football, which demands his goalkeepers attempt high-risk passes through the opposition press.
The deadline-day addition from Chelsea is likely to step into the team only when Jan Paul van Hecke needs a rest.
The signings of Savio and Omar Marmoush, and Mohammed Kudus’ return to fitness, have forced Tel to the peripheries. The 21-year-old has shown flashes of real talent but is yet to fulfil his potential.
The summer signing is a good fit for De Zerbi but remains the understudy to Micky van de Ven.
Gallagher played his part in keeping Spurs up last season but slipped down the pecking order over the summer. His versatility means he should still get minutes, but most likely from the bench.
Since asking to leave Spurs in the summer, Bergvall has signed a bumper deal and been promised opportunities to develop by De Zerbi and the club. The 20-year-old is a fine talent, but is behind Rodrigo Bentancur, Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes in the pecking order.
Signed as much for his leadership in the dressing room as his qualities on the pitch, Robertson has made a mixed start at Spurs. While the Scot seems like a canny signing, Destiny Udogie is better placed to lock down the left-back spot.
The sale of Djed Spence has increased Gray’s importance, leaving him as the main cover for Pedro Porro at right-back as well as an option in midfield. Well-liked by De Zerbi, the 20-year-old is emerging as an unlikely leader and has already captained the side this season.
The 23-year-old Italian is facing competition from Robertson but, when fit and firing, Udogie is an excellent left-back, both offensively and defensively.
Kudus last started a league game way back on January 4, but has looked physically imposing in appearances from the bench this season. With Spurs short of fit options in central and wide attacking areas, the Ghanaian’s versatility and ability on the ball make him a useful option.
Despite plainly struggling for form, fitness and confidence, Solanke remains important, largely because he is the only recognised centre-forward left in the squad (depending on how you view Marmoush).
He was shown up defensively in Spurs’ 3-2 defeat to Aston Villa, but Van Hecke’s comfort on the ball makes him vital to how De Zerbi wants to play.
It has been an inauspicious start for Spurs’ £100m signing who, according to De Zerbi, needs time to adjust to the club and work his way to full match fitness. Still, Tonali has produced enough glimpses to suggest he could run games for Spurs before too long.
Maddison has not started a game since May 1, 2025, against Bodo/Glimt — Kulusevski has started a match more recently — and yet the 29-year-old remains an important player in a squad lacking creativity. If he can return to match fitness soon, Spurs would surely pick up in the final third.
The Portuguese midfielder’s start has been mixed but he has shown enough to suggest he could be the pick of their summer signings. Currently playing as an advanced central midfielder, it seems likely that he will improve when Spurs consistently field a more creative option ahead of him.
It says something about Spurs’ struggle to click in the final third that Marmoush is arguably already their best option at left wing and centre-forward, even though he has barely got going for his new club.
The jury remains out on the 23-year-old goalkeeper at the highest level but Spurs have gone all in on Kinsky, who already feels crucial to how De Zerbi wants to play. If he were injured and No 2 Dubravka started, their ability to play out from the back would surely suffer.
The Brazilian is still finding his feet but already feels like an important player, offering pace, directness and a willingness to take on his man — qualities lacking in many of his team-mates.
The World Cup winner is Spurs’ only recognised right-back and one of the best technicians in the squad. Porro is sidelined with a hamstring injury, during which midfielder Gray will have to deputise.
The Uruguayan was not even supposed to be in the starting XI after Spurs splurged £180million on new midfielders in the summer. But Bentancur has outshone signings Tonali and Fernandes, offering Spurs energy and control to help make him undroppable.
The captain is Spurs’ best defender and the new figurehead of a dressing room that remains short of leadership. He offers the pace and physicality lacking in his defensive colleagues, and would be sorely missed if his injury problems of the 2024-25 season returned.
How The Athletic reached this conclusion
It was relatively easy to put Van de Ven at the top and Austin at the bottom, but every spot in between felt up for grabs.
As outlined above, the biggest challenge in assembling the list was differentiating between importance and form. Solanke, for example, is desperately short of rhythm but nonetheless hugely important for Spurs; De Zerbi could scarcely afford to lose his only recognised centre-forward after leaving Richarlison out of the Premier League squad — so Solanke still had to make the top 11.
Similarly, Kinsky has started the season shakily but it seems inconceivable that De Zerbi will drop him for Dubravka any time soon. By contrast, Gallagher has been one of Spurs’ better performers this season — scoring in back-to-back games against Liverpool and Villa — but still feels more dispensable than most owing to the midfield depth.
Some will presumably argue that Maddison and Kudus are among those too high, particularly against Robertson, Udogie, Gray and Gallagher, who are actually starting games. But Spurs’ creativity problem is such that Maddison and Kudus remain important members of the squad, even while De Zerbi is unwilling or unable to pick them in the starting XI.
Who’s not on the ladder?
Injured: Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert
Ineligible: Richarlison
Prediction time: Who will fly up the ladder next month?
The hope for many Spurs fans is that Kulusevski and Maddison will climb the list once they return to regular action. They can bring much-needed creativity and energy.
In the short term, the chances are that some of Spurs’ summer signings will be the big risers as they settle. It is easy to imagine Fernandes breaking the top five on the next list and Tonali jumping a few places higher. In that scenario, Bentancur could be a big faller.
If Porro’s injury is more serious than feared and Gray deputises well, the Spaniard could drop down the next list, with Gray rising.