TTLB Opinion: Is Johnny Cardoso still Tottenham’s man with Champions League football secured?

With the Europa League win against Manchester United earlier this week, Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham Hotspur not only ended that 17-year trophy drought but also the Australian head coach repositioned the club…

With Champions League football guaranteed for the 2025/26 season, the Lilywhites are back into elite-tier clubs, and now that changes expectations, and it should also change the transfer policy. And this brings me to a certain Johnny Cardoso.

Cardoso has been playing some decent football in the Spanish top tier and was rumoured to move to N17 for a while owing to the £21 million purchase clause that the North Londoners have for the Real Betis midfielder. The clause was negotiated in the transfer that took Lo Celso to Betis, and this is set to give Daniel Levy a two-week exclusive window in June 2025 to trigger his signatures.

Now if I am talking only on paper, this is a clever deal, but with Tottenham having to operate at a level above, the right questions must be asked – is Cardoso still the right man for Tottenham’s midfield (or has the ceiling shifted)?

Let’s try to go into this a bit deeper…

How does Cardoso fit under Ange Postecoglou?

Cardoso plays as a screening midfielder, someone who is good at shutting down plays and shutting off passing lanes. He is also good at pressing quickly through the middle third. That being said, he’s not a Rodri or an Enzo Fernández-style dictator; he is more of a rhythm disruptor instead. At Betis, he’s proved to be a solid physical presence (especially when facing the teams in La Liga’s top half), showing tactical discipline and decent timing in transition-like situations. Crucially, he plays zone-first defence, which is needed to bring some balance to the current system deployed by Ange at N17.

So irrespective of how Ange plays (be it a double pivot in a 4-2-3-1 or one DM in a 4-3-3), he likes to have one of the midfielders stepping into the buildup phase as a secondary centre-back with another player from the midfield covering half-spaces and offering an option for vertical passes.

Now Cardoso has a decent awareness in the middle of the park when he is dealing in rest-defence setups and is comfortable to come back and offer himself as an option in the first phase by dropping in the middle of the defenders. Moreover, he also has that physical framework and the agility that aids him to reset shape quickly (as we have seen at Betis).

So in a 2-3-5 setup from the first phase, the USNMT international becomes that middle anchor, freeing Bentancur to push more higher.

Cardoso to N17 – a SWOT Analysis

Strengths:

As I said before, he is not a tempo setter, but his ability to disrupt opponents’ structure in that second-to-third phase makes him a dynamic presence if you were to put him into a double pivot. Moreover, in a side that needs balance, he brings exactly that, given how he doesn’t get drawn into chasing the zones where the ball is and instead prioritises his shape.

Weakness:

He is not a line breaker or a volume passer, and this can soon turn against Tottenham when playing against elite teams (especially in the Champions League). That takes me to his experience; the USNMT midfielder has not proved himself in the European top tier.

Opportunities:

Signing him now gives Levy a player that has the capacity to grow with the club, and given his age, in a few years maybe into someone that the North Londoners can make a decent profit out of selling.

Putting him into the midfield can also end up freeing a bit of Maddison’s #8 responsibilities and freeing him into more creative spaces.

Threats:

Bringing him in without selling one of Bentancur/Sarr/Bissouma can end up limiting opportunities for the likes of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall.

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Author Opinion

With Champions League football back at Tottenham, the ambition of the chiefs at Hotspur Way should also increase likewise, and I mean not only in words said but also in signings made, and Johnny Cardoso can end up being a smart signing. That being said, Levy and Postecoglou also need to be realistic about what the 23-year-old will bring at the moment, especially if the North Londoners are looking to continue to challenge at the top.

I think while the Lilywhites should sign the Betis midfielder, Levy will have to complement his arrival with others who can raise the ceiling around him.