Arnaut Danjuma's wait for his first Tottenham start goes on after he was once again named amongst the substitutes for their FA Cup fifth round tie away at Sheffield United. Featuring off the bench in three games prior to their trip to Bramall Lane, the cup encounter looked the perfect opportunity to give him a go from the off, with attacking changes always going to take place.
There were two alterations to the Spurs frontline that started in the 2-0 win over Chelsea last Sunday, with Richarlison keeping his place and Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski the duo to miss out. Son Heung-min, as expected, came back into the side and there was also a surprise recall for Lucas Moura, who last started for the Lilywhites in their Champions League win over Marseille at the beginning of November.
"We need Lucas like all the players," said Cristian Stellini when asked about the experienced attacker in his post-match press conference. "We thought this was the right moment to use Lucas from the start. His effort was good.
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"The effort from our team every time is good and we can't be disappointed about this. It's about the energy and the mentality and how we are focused on the win during the game."
Following an injury-hit campaign to date and just one substitute appearance since his outing in the south of France, fans questioned the decision to start the Brazilian ahead of Danjuma. What also made it even more puzzling is that Lucas is departing Tottenham at the end of his current deal and Danjuma is trying to earn one, as the agreement with Villarreal does contain an option to buy.
Key to Spurs exercising that option will be the Netherlands ace making a big impression in the final third and catching the eye when minutes come his way. That is going to be extremely hard for the Lagos-born star to do at present, though, with a total of 47 minutes accrued across four Spurs appearances.
Eight of those came in South Yorkshire on Wednesday evening as Stellini introduced the January signing moments after Iliman Ndiaye had put the hosts ahead with a low finish after evading three challenges. It was next to no time for the player to have a say on the game as Spurs couldn't force an equaliser in what remained of the contest and duly crashed out of the FA Cup fifth round for the fourth consecutive term.
Tottenham's reluctance to use Danjuma just over a month into his Spurs career has already raised a number of questions regarding his signing, most notably why was he brought to N17 if he isn't going to be given a chance. Some fans have even drawn parallels with Djed Spence's situation at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as he was glued to the bench and only used sparingly before he was allowed to depart on loan to Rennes at the end of the January transfer window.
Danjuma's move to the club did allow Bryan Gil to head back to Sevilla before the January transfer window slammed shut and it does unfortunately look like he is taking on the Spaniard's role at present.
Antonio Conte always seemed very reluctant to give Gil a go in the team due to his size and lack of Premier League experience, with opportunities only coming his way when the head coach had no other option but to play the winger.
The youngster did demonstrate why the club signed him in 2021 when given a rare chance to shine, notably away at Crystal Palace in the Premier League and then Portsmouth at home in the FA Cup. Spurs' lack of rotation has also not helped their cause, with those coming into the side after hardly playing any football extremely rusty and off the pace.
You quite simply cannot expect miracles from Danjuma in very little time on the pitch on the back of barely any playing time. Always going to be a tough ask for the January signing to break into the team with players such as Kane, Son, Kulusevski and Richarlison ahead of him in the pecking order, the attacker will have expected more minutes than those that have come his way so far.
The decision to start Lucas ahead of him at Sheffield United was a perplexing one and the questions will continue to persist about Danjuma if his bit-part role continues. Having a player at the club who contributed with 16 goals and four assists for Villarreal last season, Tottenham must start to use him.
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