“Absolute cinema” – Tottenham fans have new darling as Wilson Odobert makes impressive debut | OneFootball

Tottenham Hotspur fans have a new darling as Wilson Odobert made his debut in their 4-0 win over Everton.

Ange Postecoglou’s side had a tough start to the 2024/25 Premier League season, held to a 1-1 draw by newly-promoted Leicester City. Tottenham took the lead in that game but allowed their opponents back into the match and had to settle for a point.

When Yves Bissouma gave Tottenham the lead in the 14th minute against Everton, some fans may have been fearing the same outcome. It was a wonderful striker from Bissouma from outside the box, coming at the end of a lovely team move, with Kulusevski laying the ball back to him.

But shortly after taking the lead Tottenham — who had looked very good — rested up slightly, allowing Everton to settle a bit more. Fortunately, Tottenham were gifted a second.

Everton had a throw-in inside their own half and were looking to keep possession. But Jordan Pickford dwelled a second too long on the ball and was closed down by Son Heung-min. The South Korean tackled Pickford and put the ball in the empty net.

It was 3-0 with 20 minutes left to play as Cristian Romero headed home from a James Maddison corner. Son then added his second to round off the win.

Tottenham even escaped what had first looked to be an injury to Micky van de Ven when he planted his knee awkwardly. There will have been fears for the worst, but the Dutchman was able to continue.

Nothing could dampen the spirits among Tottenham fans as they got their first win of the season. And Odobert in particular was picked out for the plaudits.

The teenager joined Tottenham from Burnley last week and was handed his first start for the club. In the build up to the match, Postecoglou had talked Odobert up, highlighting what he could bring to Tottenham.

“I really like the way he plays in the wide areas, he’s different to our other wingers,” Postecoglou told reporters.

“He’s a dribbler, he likes to get into the front third. He can play either side, he can play central.

“He’s had a really good development if you look at his trajectory from PSG as a youngster to Troyes, playing in Ligue 1, and France and Premier League football before the age of 19. I think he ticked all the boxes for us and he’s a fantastic young bloke as well, so really happy to get him in.”

Odobert started the game on the left wing for Tottenham, a position he spent 46% of his minutes in the Premier League last season. In 29 matches overall, Odobert 102 take-ons in 2,107 minutes, more than any other Burnley player. Among his new teammates, only Dejan Kulusevsku (120) attempted more — but he did play over 600 more minutes than Odobert. Per 90 minutes, Odobert averaged 4.36 take-ons attempted, more than any Tottenham player with at least 1,710 minutes played. Kulusevski was top for Tottenham with an average of 3.91.

That duo were in a friendly battle for take-ons against Everton toon. In their time on the pitch, Odobert and Kulusevski combined for 73.3% of Tottenham’s attempted take-ons. Odobert had the most with seven. He also contested more duels (14) than any other Tottenham player during his time on the pitch and won the joint-most (six).

Now, per Opta’s stats, Odobert did only complete two of his seven take-ons, but Tottenham fans appreciated his willingness to go one-on-one against defenders.

Odobert, who will turn 20 in November, also led Tottenham for touches in the opposition box when he left the pitch, with seven in total. Of course, this is just his first game against an Everton side that have started the season poorly.

But, there is certainly a lot for Tottenham fans to be excited about. And Odobert was deserving of the standing ovation he received when taken off with 25 minutes left to play.