Luca Williams-Barnett's impending breakout raises an interesting question for Wilson Odobert
Young Tottenham Hotspur winger and attacking midfielder Luca Williams-Barnett only had a couple of minutes to impress off the bench against Crystal Palace, but he dazzled in that short space of time, providing one moment of magic beyond any other in a totally dominant 2-0 win for the Lilywhites with a bustling run down the left flank before delivering a perfect ball into Mohammed Kudus right in front of a gaping net that the right winger almost had to try to miss on purpose.
But few are caring much about the Kudus miss after the result and are more enamored with the brilliance on the ball from Williams-Barnett. Tottenham fans had been begging manager Roberto De Zerbi to give their top academy prospect a chance after watching him shine as one of the club's best players in the preseason, and all he did in his first chance at Premier League action this season was, in a few short minutes, do the same exact thing he was doing to preseason defenses.
Williams-Barnett looks like the next big thing for Tottenham, and after Spurs fans have watched former top striker prospects Troy Parrott and Will Lankshear score goals and win games for their teams since leaving N17, the last thing they want to see is a missed opportunity with the even more talented Luca Williams-Barnett in 2026/27.
Wilson Odobert might be the odd man out
After the game against Crystal Palace, Roberto De Zerbi told reporters that WIlson Odobert will be able to return to training in January 2027 after his torn ACL last season. Although Odobert took some time to get going after a significant transfer fee from Burnley, just before his injury, he was playing the best football of his career and looking like a dynamic creator and part of the solution out wide.
The Tottenham Hotspur attack is obviously more crowded now with the additions of Savio and Omar Marmoush from Manchester City. And Mathys Tel is in a better position now than he was done. That already had Odobert looking like the odd man out, and now both James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are healthy from their major knee injuries, too. Then, there is the addition of De Zerbi's pet favorite Mykhaylo Mudryk.
As if Wilson Odobert were not already up against it, the ambipedal and even more explosive and talented Williams-Barnett leaves everyone wondering where Odobert will play and if he will play at all, or if he will have to be loaned or simply never cut it at Spurs. But Odobert is a good footballer and worth keeping in mind in the rotation; he just won't have much margin for error, even coming off a big injury.
