FIFA 20: Tottenham Hotspur Career Mode Guide, tactics, formations, transfers & tips

Spurs are something of a revelation in the modern Premier League.

They have dragged themselves into the top bracket of teams without the influence of major foreign money, instead relying on savvy transfer signings and the development of young prospects.

However, the golden generation of Spurs players is yet to bring home a trophy despite ample opportunity.

They were the top six club chasing down Leicester the hardest during *that* remarkable campaign, and then made it to the Champions League final last season only to fall short.

Can you build on Pochettino's hard work in your FIFA 20 Spurs Career Mode? RealSport is here to guide you to the promised land in FIFA 20.

Team Rating

Tottenham have a five star rating, with a strong 86 attack and a well-balanced 83 midfield and 83 defence.

Formation

Tottenham's default formation is a 4-2-3-1 Wide, and you should stick with this on FIFA 20.

This works well with their current squad, but you might want to consider a 4-2-3-1 Narrow, or the 4-2-2-2 as Spurs lack true wingers.

The difficulty you will have is trying to get both Christian Eriksen (OVR 88) and Dele Alli (OVR 83) into the team without it making you too narrow or unbalanced without the ball.

An effective way of playing would be to stick with the default formation and put Dele Alli into the CM role alongside Moussa Sissoko and use the left-footed Erik Lamela on the left wing so you can pepper balls into the box and play with some real width.

READ MORE: Arsenal FIFA 20 Career Mode Guide

In the 4-2-3-1 you should have Hugo Lloris in goal, with a back four of Serge Aurier, the experienced centre back duo of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen, with Danny Rose at left back.

Moussa Sissoko (91 stamina) and Dele Alli (83 short pass) can hold down the central midfield, with and attacking three of Heung Min Son (88 pace), Christian Eriksen (91 short pass), and Erik Lamela (84 dribbling) supporting the lone-striker Harry Kane (94 finishing).

Your bench should consist of Paulo Gazzaniga (OVR 76), Ben Davies (OVR 79), Davinson Sanchez (OVR 83), Eric Dier (OVR 79), Tanguy Ndombele (OVR 81), Giovani Lo Celso (OVR 83), and Lucas Moura (OVR 83).

Tactics and instructions

Offensively, you should use the possession tactic with Spurs. They have a team full of players comfortable on the ball and lack the overall pace required to play fast build up.

Defensively you can play press after possession loss thanks to the high defensive work rate of both Eriksen and Alli. With a deep subs bench, you can flip to constant pressure if you need to.

If you find yourself trailing then bringing on Lucas Moura (92 pace) and Giovani Lo Celso (85 dribbling) as attacking subs is your best way to go. While replacing Dele Alli with Eric Dier (80 defending) is a smart way to protect a lead.

READ MORE: Top 10 wonderkid defensive midfielders in FIFA 20

For your instructions, you'll want to try and keep the connection to Kane strong and use Christian Eriksen as the link. His defensive support should be set to basic defence support so he isn't always tracking back, while his positioning freedom should be set to free roam so he can take advantage of space.

In the same vein, Heung Min Son should be set to stay forward so you can use his pace on the counter-attack and ensure Kane isn't isolated when you win the ball back.

Against bigger teams you will need to compromise a little, and set Eriksen's defensive support to come back on defence so that you have more numbers behind the ball.

When you expect to dominate a game or are in need of a goal make sure you set your full backs attacking runs to join the attack. Their run type will depend a little on if you like to cut in with your wingers or stay wide, but the classing overlap is always a good option to have.

Training

Your focus in training should be on high growth players which are indicated by the green symbol in the training section of Career Mode. These players tend to be younger and have strong potentials.

Spurs have a number of promising young players you can choose from here and there are first team players that will benefit from a focus in training.

The likes of Harry Winks, Dele Alli, Ryan Sessegnon, Kyle Walker-Peters, and Tanguy Ndombele should be getting regular training drills.

The Transfer Market

Starting transfer budget: £68.2 million

Starting wage budget: £586,000 a week

Who should go

Spurs don't have a particularly deep squad that contains deadwood to trim, however there are one or two players you can wave goodbye to without missing that much.

Victor Wanyama is at the bottom of a deep central midfield group, and the 28-year-old is not going to get more valuable if you wait to move him. The defensive midfielder is valued at £8 million and you'll recoup his £65,000 a week wages.

READ MORE: Top 10 central attacking midfielders (CAM) in FIFA 20

Youngsters Timothy Eyoma and Tariq Hinds may yet make some impact in the Spurs team, but FIFA doesn't give them particularly high potentials so you can add another £1 million and clear £10,000 a week by dropping those two.

Loans

Tottenham's busy fixture list includes the Champions League and both domestic cups, so you shouldn't be too eager to send players out on loan. However, there are a few young guns that will benefit from more playing time.

17-year-old striker Troy Parrott (OVR 64 - POT 85), CDM Oliver Skipp (OVR 67 - POT 84), and teenager Tashan Oakley-Boothe (OVR 63 - POT 81) would all gain from a loan spell without weakening the squad too much.

Who to sign

New transfer budget: £77.2 million

New wage budget: £661,000 a week

Dangerous winger

The Spurs team as it currently exists requires a very narrow style of play as the squad lacks true wingers.

If your playing style involves getting the ball wide and driving at defenders then you will need to make a splash on the transfer market to bring that aspect to Tottenham.

A strong choice is PSV youngster Steven Bergwijn who can be had for around £40 million with a £74,000 a week wages with a starting OVR of 82 and a massive 87 potential the pacey winger can bring another dimension to your team.

Alternative options:

• David Neres - Ajax, Age 22, OVR 81, POT 86, Cost: £32 million, Wage: £40,000 a week
• Cristian Pavon - LA Galaxy, OVR 79, POT 86, Cost: £27 million, Wage: £25,000 a week
• Milot Rashica - Werder Bremen, Age 23, OVR 79, POT 85, Cost: £30 million, Wage: £40,000 a week
• Federico Chiesa - Fiorentina, Age 21, OVR 79, POT 87, Cost: £33 million, Wage: £60,000 a week
• Allan Saint-Maximin - Newcastle United, Age 22, OVR 79, POT 86, Cost: £36 million, Wage: £72,000 a week

Hot prospect at centre back

The Tottenham first team has very few holes to patch, but one impending issue is at the back.

The current centre back pairing of Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld are 32 and 30 respectively and both only have one year left on their contracts.

While Spurs have Davinson Sanchez and the talented young Juan Foyth waiting in the wings, another option in the pipeline would be more than welcome.

A good option for this role would be Dayot Upamecano. The 20-year-old RB Leipzig centre back is physically imposing and strong in the air already, with an overall rating of 77 and a potential of 88. He'll set you back in the region of £25 million with a weekly wage hit of £35,000-40,000.

Alternative options:

• Ruben Dias – Benfica, Age 22, OVR 80, POT 86, Cost: £29 million, Wage: £12,000 a week
• Jules Kounde - Sevilla, Age 20, OVR 77, POT 86, Cost: £30 million, Wage: £21,000 a week
• Evan Ndicka - Eintracht Frankfurt, Age 19, OVR 76, POT 86, Cost: £21 million, Wage: £23,000 a week
• Unai Nunez - Athletic Club, Age 22, OVR 77, POT 84, Cost: £26 million, Wage: £27,000 a week
• Boubacar Kamara - Olympique Marseille, Age 19, OVR 75, POT 86, Cost: £21 million, Wage: £22,000 a week

Contracts

There is a black cloud looming over White Hart Lane when you take over on FIFA 20.

Superstar creative midfielder Christian Eriksen (OVR 88) is in the final year of his contract. At 27 years old he is worth the investment of a new deal, so the first thing you should do when you take over is get him to the table to negotiate.

READ MORE: Attacking tips to dominate weekend leagues

He'll want to have a crucial squad role, which is obviously fine. He'll take a three or four-year deal at a bargain £120,000 a week, but want a release clause. With a £61.2 million value you should be looking for £110+ million here.

Once Eriksen is locked down you should look to add one year to Toby Alderweireld (OVR 87), but if you have signed another centre back you can allow Jan Vertonghen's contract to expire, or even look to cash-in on his £29 million value and sell him.

Among the young players with one year left, Jamie Bowden (OVR 60 - POT 80) and Japhet Tanganga (OVR 65 - POT 80) are worth extending.

Managerial Objectives

Expectations are high at White Hart Lane, so you will have your work cut out proving to the board that you are the man or woman for the job.

The board need silverware from you, and you are expected to win the FA Cup as well as reach the final of the Champions League. In the Premier League you are expected to finish in a UEFA Champions League place, so that's the top 4. All of this means you can't take your foot off the gas in any competition beyond the League Cup.

READ MORE: Top 10 wonderkid right backs (RB & RWB) in FIFA 20

One critical objective is your brand exposure. That means hitting £180,000,000 in shirt sales. As long as Harry Kane is banging in the goals and with one or two new signings this should be attainable, but success on the pitch will be crucial to hitting this goal.

Youth development is a high priority, with the board wanting you to grow 2 youth academy players by at least 10 overall. As soon as they have grown you are expected to play them in 10 matches. So use your training and build up those teenagers.

You also need to sign 4 youth players to the senior team in the same season they were scouted and play them in 20 matches.

Financials come in as a medium priority. You are expected to increase club worth by 25% within three seasons.

Victory parade

The expectations at Tottenham are lofty, and if you are playing on a high difficulty it will be tricky to achieve them all.

For as much as Spurs have achieved under Pochettino, the lack of trophies is a black mark on his record and you need to correct that as quickly as possible.

While Spurs have been in the ascendancy in North London of late, their rivals Arsenal have still pulled in FA Cup wins recently.

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Spurs have some exciting younger players along with two truly world-class talents in Harry Kane and Christian Eriksen, so if everything breaks right you can compete for the Premier League title right away.

A handful of injuries could easily derail your hopes though, so it is more realistic to look to 2020/21 for a title challenge after you strengthen the squad with some youth development and savvy signings.

Adding a winger will help to add an extra dimension to their forward play, while Lloris and his commanding centre backs secure the back.

After that, you should set your sights on claiming a first Champions League trophy to truly get one over on your rivals.

Full Tottenham Player Ratings

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