Spurs have found a CR7-inspired goal machine – and they stole him from Chelsea
It’s difficult to comprehend that as recently as this year, we were all laughing at Tottenham’s identity crisis while Antonio Conte was giving us press conferences we will never forget.
Despite his glorious CV of honours, even Conte could not shake off the shackles of Spurs that Tottenham appear to be locked into and it gave us neutrals around two years of pure entertainment.
Many feared the worst for Spurs when he was dismissed earlier in 2023, though. The mood around the club was destroyed, Harry Kane had one foot out of the door and the next manager coming in would have to deal with the Italian’s extremely strange taste in players.
Thankfully, Ange Postecoglou has come in and somehow managed to undo all of that Spursy-ness in a matter of months, working what feel like genuine miracles to remould the team into a ruthless and endlessly fun attacking outfit.
With Kane out of the way, Big Ange’s side can breathe a little more – and the revolution is down to the Aussie’s approach.
Postecoglou has been the step-dad we didn’t want to like, but have been won over by almost immediately. Tells bad jokes and grates on you at first, but ultimately he means well and has let you loose on his cool vinyl connection and – crucially – has a killer Firestick for all the 3pm kick-offs and boxing.
No more dodgy streams. The key to everybody’s hearts.
In Ange’s case, the dodgy Firestick equivalent has been him introducing Spurs fans to a plethora of young talent to be excited about.
Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie et al have all been the main attractions thus far, but it’s actually 19-year-old Jude Soonsup-Bell stealing the show at academy level who’s destined to work his way into the side and take Spurs to the next level.
Amid the Kane drama throughout this year culminating in his eventual move to Bayern Munich, Soonsup-Bell’s switch across London from Chelsea to Tottenham earlier in January 2023 had completely flown under the radar.
And it’s an extreme coup for Spurs.
Inspired by Cristiano Ronaldo, Soonsup-Bell was converted from a midfielder to a forward in his younger years at Chelsea’s academy and hasn’t looked back.
A technical marvel with an imposing frame to match, the 19-year-old possesses a frightening range to his play and has mesmerising feet that would leave any defender down in a heap.
Crucially, he loves a golazo.
Sunderland under-21 felt the full effect of that just five minutes into an eventual 2-1 defeat to Spurs’ youngsters, with Soonsup-Bell stealing the show in dreamy fashion.
Jude Soonsup-Bell goal 5’ Tottenham U21s 1-0 Sunderland U21s
byu/ChulitoBurito incoys
How on earth have Chelsea let him slip through their fingers?
The Blues’ loss is certainly Spurs’ gain, however, with Soonsup-Bell banging in worldies reminiscent of an early Ronaldo with the footwork in the buildup, before smashing it beyond a helpless goalkeeper in a style that you’d expect from Kane in full pomp.
With eight goals and five assists from 11 games so far in 2023-24 at under-21 level, the teenager is becoming harder and harder to ignore.
And if there’s any manager out there willing to let such raw potential run wild on the Premier League, it’s our favourite Aussie step-dad.
Soonsup-Bell could well be the future in a youthful and resurgent Spurs side, made all the more sweet by the fact he crossed the London divide.
By Mitch Wilks
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