Tottenham's Unbeaten Preseason Draw Against Hoffenheim

Tottenham signed off an unbeaten preseason with a 2-2 draw against TSG Hoffenheim at their training ground – a low-key setting that still managed to throw up plenty of intrigue for Roberto De Zerbi.

Twenty-four hours after a sharp 3-0 win over the same opponents, this was looser, more experimental. Hoffenheim went ahead from the spot after James Maddison hauled down Leon Avdullahu, Spurs hit back through Ben Davies and the outstanding Luca Williams-Barnett, before Valentin Gendry’s thumping volley levelled it after the break.

The scoreline hardly mattered. The details did.

Absentees return, squad deepens

Spurs’ XI was packed with players easing their way back into the picture.

Maddison, Pape Matar Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur, Souza and Damola Ajayi all made their first appearances of the summer. Kevin Danso and Mateus Fernandes, who had been drip-fed minutes so far, also started.

For De Zerbi, it was exactly what he needed: bodies back, options expanding, the weekend’s competitive opener suddenly looking better stocked than it did a week ago.

A strange, stitched‑together XI

Look at the team sheet and you could almost hear the double-take. Central midfielders everywhere, no recognised striker, one natural winger. It bordered on parody.

Yet De Zerbi didn’t rip up his blueprint. He stuck with a 4-2-3-1 of sorts: Fernandes and Bentancur as the double pivot, Sarr operating as a No 10, Williams-Barnett and Ajayi out wide, and Maddison asked to play as a false nine.

It never quite fit. Maddison kept dropping into his comfort zone, deeper and deeper to help with the buildup. Sarr did the same at times, leaving the box sparsely populated. It looked awkward, but it served its purpose: minutes in legs, touches on the ball, rhythm slowly returning.

Given the lack of fit forwards available, this was compromise football.

The Micky van de Ven question

One name stayed missing. Again.

Micky van de Ven has yet to play a single preseason minute. Others – Dominic Solanke, Destiny Udogie – have had minor issues and been managed carefully, but Van de Ven’s situation feels murkier.

He returned late after the World Cup with the Netherlands, yet his involvement there ended earlier than that of teammates who have already featured. With his injury history, the suspicion is obvious: some kind of knock, some kind of setback.

Spurs can talk about depth and versatility all they like. Without Van de Ven at the heart of that back line when the real games start, they are weaker. Plain and simple.

Hoffenheim press the weak spots

Hoffenheim had clearly done their homework. They knew Spurs would insist on playing out from the back. They also knew exactly where to squeeze.

They targeted right-back Tye Hall and goalkeeper Brandon Austin, the two least comfortable on the ball. Often they sat off, waited for Austin to feed a pass into midfield, then sprang forward the moment anything looked even slightly under-hit.

The opening goal came straight from that script: Maddison dropping deep, Avdullahu pouncing, Maddison tugging him down in desperation. Adam Hlozek rolled in the penalty.

The warning was obvious. De Zerbi wants risk in the first phase. Opponents will hunt those weak links relentlessly.

Maddison miles off top gear

Maddison’s return late last season, even at half-speed, gave Spurs a creative outlet they otherwise lacked. The vision never goes away. The legs, though, take time.

Here he looked exactly like a player short of sharpness. Flashes of quality – a clever pass here, a disguised ball there – but not enough influence, not enough control.

His error for the penalty summed up his afternoon. He dropped into traffic, received with his back half-closed, got stripped by Avdullahu and then compounded it with the foul.

He will play his way back. The touch is still there. The intensity isn’t yet.

Mateus Fernandes starts to show the range

Fernandes has a reputation as a bold, aggressive passer. The first half only teased it.

What did stand out early was his work around the box. A low ball from the right skimmed just in front of an onrushing Sarr. A short corner routine saw him take the return pass and whip in a superb cross that Davies attacked and buried with a firm header.

After the break, the game opened up and Fernandes finally stretched his legs. Crossfield switches fizzed and floated off his boot, dragging Hoffenheim from side to side. He hit driven diagonals, then followed them with looping, teasing balls that invited his wide players to run.

Spurs lacked that kind of range and bravery in possession for long stretches of last season. If Fernandes can translate this into the Premier League, he changes the geometry of their attacks.

Austin stakes his claim

Under pressure from Hoffenheim’s press, Brandon Austin had some jittery moments in possession. With his hands, he was far more convincing.

He reacted sharply at his near post to deny a flick-on from Nathan De Cat, then stood up big and timed his intervention perfectly when Adam Daghim broke through one-on-one.

Austin will start the season as third choice behind Guglielmo Vicario and Martin Dubravka, with Antonin Kinsky also in the mix. On pure talent, none of them sits in the league’s elite bracket yet, but as a trio they look unusually balanced – different strengths, solid floors, real competition.

And Kinsky still has the profile to climb much higher.

Williams-Barnett steals the show

In a scrappy game, one player cut through the noise.

Luca Williams-Barnett tormented Vladimir Coufal repeatedly, beating him on the dribble with a kind of relaxed inevitability. That part of his game is no surprise. What has changed is what comes next.

Earlier in preseason, especially against Sydney FC, he sometimes dribbled just to dribble, head down, chasing the spectacular. Here his decision-making jumped a level. After beating his man, he picked out crisp, early passes, slipped teammates in, and linked play rather than chasing headlines.

His goal capped it. Sarr slalomed away from Albian Hajdari with a brilliant dribble, then slid a reverse ball into Williams-Barnett’s path. The teenager didn’t snatch at it. One clean, first-time finish, passed into the far corner. Spurs went in at half-time ahead because of him.

He’s not ready for a loan yet, but performances like this force conversations. With attacking depth still thin, De Zerbi may find himself turning to Williams-Barnett sooner than expected.

Fresh faces from the academy

De Zerbi has leaned heavily on the academy this summer, but most of the youngsters involved have been familiar to anyone who follows the U-21s.

This time, a few new names slipped into the frame.

On the bench sat 15-year-old Mikel Jack – son of former Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Kelvin Jack – so fresh to the setup he doesn’t even have a squad number yet. Reiss Elliot-Parris and Miracle Adewole both stepped onto the pitch for the senior side for the first time.

Neither grabbed the game or changed its course, but that hardly mattered. Two 18-year-olds walking into a senior environment, feeling the pace, hearing the noise, is part of the long game Spurs are playing with their pathway.

Fitness first, and a statement of intent

The pattern of substitutions told its own story. This wasn’t about chemistry as much as conditioning.

Maddison came off at half-time for Elliot-Parris, a natural striker who at least gave Spurs a focal point. Souza and Ajayi, both coming back from injury, were withdrawn around the 70-minute mark, their workloads carefully capped.

Fernandes stayed on. So did Sarr and Williams-Barnett for the bulk of the contest. De Zerbi wanted them pushed closer to full 90-minute readiness, and he got it.

With mostly one game a week on the horizon and preseason minutes spread with clear intent, Spurs look physically primed. The ideas are bedding in, the squad is thickening out, the kids are knocking on the door.

The football will decide the rest. But if this is the platform, how bold are they prepared to be about what comes next?