The 2023/24 Tottenham Hotspur season has come to an end. It was a year of growth for Ange Postecoglou’s side as new faces, new players, and new philosophies dominated the storylines this season. In this four-part piece from White Hart Live, we will hand out our year-end grades for all the players and the gaffer himself.
If you missed part one or two of this summer special, be sure to go back and check it out. You can find part one here at this link and part two here at this link.
Let’s dive into part three …
Midfielders
There is a lot to say about our midfield this season. Every single player seemed to be hot and cold due to injury. There were bright moments. There were disappointing moments. Some players emerged some players showed they had something despite what previous managers thought, some players reminded us who we thought they were. Let’s dive into this list.
A quick note before we get started (once again), I will not be including Mikey Moore on this list. I am really excited for this youngster to get a bigger run with the club, but I do not think it is fair to grade him on two Premier League appearances. Also, Bryan Gil and Dejan Kulusevski will feature in part four with the attackers.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg
It was a season of change for everyone’s favorite Viking as the Danish midfielder saw his role with the club change drastically this year. The man who was once undroppable under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte took a very different role in Ange Postecoglou’s possession-based system. Hojbjerg’s destroyer style simply was not what Ange was looking for in the midfield, which found the player coming off the bench this season. Making just 10 starts in 39 matches, things are abundantly clear that his time in North London is coming to a close. While his minutes decreased, PEH’s work rate and character never took a hit as he continued to show his quality both on and off the pitch. While reporters continually questioned him about his feelings on the change in systems, he always spoke about doing what was best for the club and being a part of the change. On the field, he put up numbers that mirrored his three previous seasons with the club in terms of passing accuracy at all levels, shot-creating actions per 90, and tackling percentage. While his time appears to have come with Spurs for the Denmark international, I want to take this opportunity to thank him for his service. He always played for the badge and gave us some memorable moments. PEH will always be the Viking in my heart.
Grade: B
Pape Matar Sarr
It was a big step forward this year for Pape Sarr. Having featured in just 14 matches in his debut season with the club under Antonio Conte, people were very intrigued to see what the Senegalese sensation could do in Ange Postecoglou’s up-tempo season. When he signed from Metz in the summer of 2021, many pundits claimed Spurs may have found a diamond in the rough, and it was now time to see this diamond in action. Things got off to a great start for the 21-year-old as he rocketed Spurs ahead of Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in match week two. Sarr would finish the year with six goal contributions (3G, 3A) across 34 matches played (27 starts) while earning a 7.08 average match rating (according to FotMob) and finishing in the 85th-plus percentile among central midfielders in the PL in the areas of expected goals, successful passes, long ball accuracy, tackle win percentage, interceptions, and possession won in the final 3rd. While he did suffer a dip in form later in the season while he battled injuries, there is a lot to be exicted as this player continues to mature and grow under the tutelage of Ange Postecoglou. This was even more evident when he landed a contract extension at the beginning of the calendar year, which will see him stay in North Londo through the year 2030 (still convinced that is not a real year). He has the potential to be a real star in this league
Grade: A-
James Maddison
It only took three years, but Spurs finally found their replacement for Christian Eriksen. While the club was blessed to have a solid number ten in the form of the world’s best striker Harry Kane, it was evident that the club needed a player to drive the offensive play and create from the midfield position. When Leicester was relegated last season, there was one name on everyone’s shortlist that seemed to fit what the club needed, and that player was England international, James Maddison. Spurs were able to pounce early as they brought in the CAM early in the window, which seemed to pay off dividends as he seemed more than comfortable in the side from the jump. It took him no time to show his class as his pair of assists helped Spurs net a two-all draw with Brentford on the opening day. His start was smooth as the team soared through the first ten league games with an unbeaten record. It was in Spurs’ early November match at home with Chelsea that things went sideways as Maddison was forced off in the first half with an ankle injury that would sideline him through the festive fixtures and into the end of January. Upon his return, it was clear Maddison was not quite 100% as his form never reached its peak levels from the beginning of the season. It wasn’t that the effort was poor but more of him just not being at his top level. All in all, there is a lot to be excited about seeing James Maddison in a Spurs shirt.
Grade: B+
Oliver Skipp
It was a bit of a disjointed season for Oliver Skipp. With the emergence of Pape Sarr and the veteran presence of Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma in the lineup, the Spurs’ Academy graduate seemed to be a fixture of the matchday squad without racking up the minutes in the Premier League this season. Skippy would play a mere 694 minutes across 24 matches this year for the club. He did match appearances in 12 straight matches stretching from the end of the November international break to the beginning of February, but it was not the run of games that the player had experienced in the previous seasons. A lot can be said about Oliver Skipp that I mentioned previously about Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg. The minutes dipped but the effort and intensity never faltered. There is a strong determination inside of Skippy. He will always compete and do what the club asks of him, which we found out this year includes playing leftback. Oliver Skipp may be one of the players on the way out this summer, but he proved once again this year that he can add tremendous depth to this squad when called upon.
Grade: B-
Giovani Lo Celso
It was another turn in the curious case of Giovani Lo Celso, just not the turn that anyone expected. While he was exiled by Antonio Conte and was plagued by injury during his loan spell with Villarreal, GLC seemed to find a place in Ange Postecoglou’s system. After making two cameo appearances against Fulham and Wolves, the Argentian made his first start for Tottenham in over two years when Ange Postecoglou named him in the starting XI against Aston Villa. Lo Celso made good on this start as he netted the club’s only goal in a 2-1 defeat. That would start a run of three straight league starts for the player as he would score two goals and average a FotMob player rating of 7.6 in that time. While he would find himself featuring less often due to injury, there were plenty of moments this season where Giovani Lo Celso reminded us why we signed him from Real Betis back in the summer of 2019. He has moments of creative quality (according to FotMob he averaged .61 expected goal contributions per 90), he is a strong passer, he is good in possession (strong passer, good on the ball, and can draw fouls), and he is good in coverage (ranks in the 90th-plus percentile among Premier League midfielders in six different defensive categories per 90 minutes). Unfortunately, his injury record is a concern, and he has had some periods during his time in North London where his form dipped significantly. His glimpses of quality this year may make him an intriguing transfer target this summer.
Grade: C+
Rodrigo Bentancur
Tell me where you have heard this before: injuries. That was the name of Rodrigo Bentancur’s season this year. I am hoping that we will finally get to see a complete season for Hot Rod in 2024/25 because I think we all know he is a tremendous player. He does so many things to make this team better. Who could get that he was the reason we played on Wednesday in 2022/23 after he came with his mate from Sweden? After returning from a knee injury in late October, he would have a run of four Premier League appearances before he suffered yet another setback due to injuries after tearing some of the ligaments in his ankle. He was able to make a John Cena-esque recovery as he reemerged on New Years’ Eve in Spurs 3-1 win over Bournemouth. Bentancur was primarily used as a substitute in the calendar year 2024, but he still showed his quality across the 20 appearances he made for the club after his return at home against Bournemouth. My hope is that he is able to get back into form this summer at the Copa Americas this summer and stroll into the club’s preseason tour of Japan and South Korea with the same fire we saw from the Uruguay international prior to his knee injury in 2023.
Grade: B
Yves Bissouma
Keeping with the school theme of grade cards, Yves Bissouma is the kind of kid we all knew in class who was one of the brightest and best students in the class when he wanted to be. He could also make the teacher want to kick him out of the class whenever he wanted. That is exactly how I would classify the 2023/24 season for the midfielder. His season started with a band as he was voted man of the match in both of the club’s first two matches of the season. He would then follow those performances up with strong showings away to Bournemouth, Burnley, and Arsenal and home against Sheffield United and Liverpool. The back and forth began when he picked up a red card in Spurs trip to Luton Town, which would see him suspended for the next three matches. Then, it was off to the AFCON tournament in mid-November before a return to Spurs in early December that was… less than ideal against Manchester City as he would earn a season-low player rating of 4.4 (according to FotMob). That bad showing seemed to catapult the Mali international forward as he appeared to be back at peak performance before earning a second red card of the season in mid-December would keep the player out of the Premier League until February against Brighton. This would be his final break in the action as he managed to stay clear of the dog house for the rest of the season. What is in store for the player? That is a little up in the air. My hope is that another summer tour with the club will see him lock into Ange’s philosophy and playing style. He can be an asset for this team moving forward, but he has to learn what it seems that Cristian Romero has learned since joining the club: the art of playing hard and tough while not becoming reckless. If he can do that, he will be a special player in North London.
Grade: C+
That is it for part three of the White Hart Live 2023/24 Player Grades. Be sure to join us soon for our fourth installment of this breakdown.
Thanks for reading. If you’d like to follow me on Twitter, you can do so by clicking here. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. You can also follow White Hart Live on Twitter here. Be sure to follow along as we bring you all things Tottenham Hotspur. My hope is to connect with Spurs’ supporters all over the globe through our love of this great club. COME ON YOU SPURS!
-Dustin Gentile
White Hart Live 
Leave a comment