Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has assembled a team that supporters would have baulked at last season – and that's without Harry Kane – due to the seemingly irrevocable path that was being taken toward the misery of midtable.
But things have changed for the better, and after slumping to an eighth-placed Premier League finish in 2022/23 and consequently missing out on this year's European competition, Spurs have used this malaise as a launchpad, now driving toward revival.
The theme of Tottenham's campaign has been improvements, growth, but also regression, like an undulating wave, and Postecoglou will strive for the level of steadiness that will see his side pushing further up the table in the seasons to come.
Tottenham drew away against West Ham United on Tuesday evening after fighting tooth and nail to overcome struggling Luton Town at home last weekend. Previously, before the international break, the Lilywhites were thumped at Fulham, only one week on from the standout showing of Postecoglou's tenure when Aston Villa were thrashed 4-0 on their own turf.
The result of this ebb and flow is that Tottenham remain in fifth place after 30 matches, though trail Unai Emery's Villa by just two points with a game in hand.
Failing to break away from their rivals, Villa were trounced 4-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday after Phil Foden masterminded a stunning Manchester City victory with an expert hat-trick, underpinning a first-rate campaign with another world-class performance.
He is City's homegrown virtuoso, of similar merit to his Three Lions teammate Kane, and while all teams strive to promote prospects of this calibre, Tottenham might just have their very own version currently pushing for a regular role in Postecoglou's senior squad in Jamie Donley.
Jamie Donley's season in numbers
Donley is a left-footed forward who has been on the books at Tottenham since he was just eight years old, and having been considered one of the club's most exciting young stars for many years, he has gone from strength to strength in recent seasons to chalk up four senior appearances for Postecoglou's side, including three cameos in the Premier League.
Why has the 19-year-old been entrusted with a part in the senior set-up? Well, he's been utterly scintillating at youth level, taking the seeds of the 2022/23 campaign – where he clinched nine goal contributions from six games in the U18 Premier League – to now play a starring role in Wayne Burnett's development team in the Premier League 2.
Tottenham's U21s are top of the table by two points having played two fixtures fewer than West Ham United in what is a glowing representation of the strides taken by chairman Daniel Levy in strengthening from the bottom in recent years.
This season, across the Premier League 2 and the EFL Trophy, Donley has plundered an incredible return of six goals and 14 assists from 16 matches, with correspondent Alasdair Gold hailing his "perfect" creativity.
To highlight just how impressive his skill set is, in the EFL Trophy, Donley complemented his three goals and two assists from three fixtures with an 80% pass completion rate and an average of 3.3 key passes, 2.7 tackles, 10.0 ball recoveries and 6.3 successful duels per game, as per Sofascore.
This budding skill set speaks of a complete and polished nature that only the finest players have, and given the teenage talent's natural deadliness in the final third, he may yet prove to be Postecoglou's own Foden.
Ange's very own Phil Foden
Foden has long been regarded as one of the finest talents in English football and he boasts quite the trophy cabinet aged just 23 having played a prominent part in the entirety of Pep Guardiola's dynasty in Greater Manchester.
But this season, the England international has truly come into his own, having posted 21 goals and ten assists from 41 matches in all competitions as his side chase silverware across the biggest tournaments once again.
23/24
30
28
14
7
22/23
32
22
11
5
21/22
28
24
9
5
20/21
28
17
9
5
19/20
23
9
5
2
18/19
13
3
1
0
17/18
5
0
0
1
Manchester City are not at their best this season; they are not quite performing at the level that saw the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup all bagged in a stunning treble last term.
But make no mistake, Guardiola's hardened maestros may yet prevail against hungry Arsenal and fairytale-ending-chasing Liverpool, and it's largely down to Foden's prowess.
The slick-moving, smash-shooting midfielder is emerging as his side's main man with Erling Haaland ostensibly off the pace this season – by his ridiculous standards, mind – and Kevin De Bruyne missing large portions of the campaign with injury.
Foden is undeniably "world-class", as was said by pundit Micah Richards after he dismantled Villa, and Manchester City fans will rejoice in the knowledge that he is one of their own.
Tottenham supporters know this feeling, have felt it through years of Kane's scoring success, but Donley might just be cut for a role to replicate that of Foden.
He is absurdly effective with his creativity and has demonstrated immense powers of recovery and elegance in his movements and drive.
In The Pipeline
Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
While he has a long way to go before cementing not just a spot in Tottenham's first-team but a place among the brightest young talents in the Premier League, Donley is making all the right moves to reach this goal and must now be provided with the platform to realise his lofty ambitions.
