Tottenham's recent upturn in form has left many supporters believing that a bright future is ahead under the guidance of Antonio Conte. Following an inconsistent run of results in the first two months of 2022, Spurs have won seven of their last nine Premier League fixtures to move into the final Champions League place.
While there is still plenty of football left to be played until the campaign draws to a close on Sunday, May 22, the Lilywhites certainly stand a good chance of a return to Europe's premier competition going on their current form. Conte will now have an idea of who will be in his Spurs XI next season and which positions he needs to look at as he aims to form a team who can compete for top honours on a regular basis.
So which players will be in his starting XI next season and which positions aren't set in stone just yet? football.london takes a look.
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Conte's Tottenham undroppables
Hugo Lloris
It's a very easy decision to make in terms of who starts between the sticks for Tottenham. Lloris is Spurs' undoubted No.1 and he will continue to be next season under Conte.
Cristian Romero
It's no surprise to see that Tottenham's upturn in form coincided with the return of Romero to the team following his three-month injury layoff. The Argentina international has been outstanding at the back for Spurs and he quite simply is an undroppable.
Tottenham have one of Europe's best defenders at the club in Romero and the good thing is that he is just going to get better and better.
Eric Dier
A regular at centre-back under Jose Mourinho before dropping down to the bench towards the end of his reign, Dier has really caught the eye of Conte this term. Spurs are so much better at the back with him in the side, with his leadership skills really making a big difference across the backline.
Conte told football.london back in December that the ex-Sporting CP man can become "one of the best defenders in the world" in his position at the heart of defence. Like Romero, there's no way the experienced player misses out on selection.
Rodrigo Bentancur
Usually it does take foreign players quite some time to adapt to the Premier League but Bentancur has hit the ground running. A classy operator who is calm and composed on the ball, he has helped take Spurs' midfield to the next level.
While it remains to be seen if Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg or Oliver Skipp will become his midfield partner on a long-term basis, one thing for sure is that Bentancur will be a certain starter under Conte despite having plenty of competition.
Dejan Kulusevski
As is the case with fellow January signing Bentancur, Kulusevski has wowed since his move to the Premier League from Juventus. Some Spurs fans may have been a bit underwhelmed by the signing initially following the attempts to sign Luis Diaz before his move to Liverpool, but nobody can question the Swede now after a stunning start to life in England.
Registering three goals and six assists in 13 appearances for Tottenham, the youngster has already formed a very good understanding with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min. Spurs now have a formidable front three who can cause major damage to Premier League defences.
Harry Kane
Kane has been in sublime form for Tottenham over the past two months after a slow start to the season by his extremely high standards. Not only getting himself on the scoresheet regularly, the England captain has also contributed with a number of assists and dictated play at times with his excellent range of passing.
His position in the team just isn't up for debate.
Son Heung-min
Conte told the media one month ago that he would have to be crazy to drop Son despite a number of poor performances from the South Korean. Son may not have been at the top of his game but he was still contributing with goals and assists to help the Lilywhites.
With six goals in his last three league games, which have taken his total to 17 for the season, he is simply undroppable.
Places up for grabs
Right wing-back
Matt Doherty has made the position his own since February but it remains to be seen if he will still be first choice come next season. As a new right wing-back was seen as a transfer priority for Tottenham in January, the club may revisit it this summer and that could in turn see Doherty drop down to the bench.
Left wing-back
Question marks also remain on the opposite flank with Ryan Sessegnon and Sergio Reguilon vying for the position. With the former starting six successive games for Spurs and Conte's comments hinting that the the latter may find it hard to win back his place in the team, the answer could become a lot clearer in the remaining seven games of 2021/22.
Left centre-back
Ben Davies is currently an undroppable in Conte's XI but that may not be the case come August. Spurs were looking to sign a new left-sided centre-back in January but in the end decided to hold off until the summer instead.
As he doesn't really face any competition for his place in the team at present, a new addition could change Conte's backline plans for next campaign.
Central midfield
As mentioned above, it's not exactly clear who Bentancur's midfield partner is going to be. Hojbjerg has built up a very good partnership with him over the past two months but then Conte is a huge fan of Skipp and he could easily be brought straight back into the team upon his return from injury.
