Tottenham vs Aston Villa: Uncomfortable Truth is £152 Duo Aren't Good Enough

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Tottenham Hotspur stars Sandro Tonali and Jan Paul van Hecke were exposed during Saturday's defeat to Aston Villa.

Tottenham Hotspur's expensive summer transfer window is looking worse by the week, with Roberto De Zerbi's side suffering yet another home defeat on Saturday afternoon — this time at the hands of Unai Emery's Aston Villa .

The North Londoners were beaten 3-2 by the Villans , and their blushes were only somewhat spared from complete embarrassment due to two late consolation goals courtesy of Conor Gallagher and Jan Paul van Hecke.

Before these late goals, Johan Manzambi's tap-in gave Villa the lead on the stroke of half-time, before Nicolas Jackson's well-taken strike and Emi Buendia's screamer gave Spurs a mountain to climb. Roberto De Zerbi will take some solace from the fact that this performance marked a minor improvement offensively compared to what they've produced up until this point this term.

However, the attacking improvement came entirely at the expense of defensive solidity, and they now sit firmly in the relegation zone heading into the lengthy international break.

Tottenham opted to splash an enormous £100 million on Sandro Tonali in the summer. While many acknowledged this was probably an overpay at the time, few doubted the Italian's general pedigree.

However, after five weeks of the season, alarm bells are ringing for the Lilywhites on this front. Not only has Tonali not looked worth the nine figures Spurs paid for him, but he's also seemingly not elevated the level of their midfield at all. Against Brighton, this uncomfortable truth became blatant.

Tonali's Statsistics vs Brighton

- Touches: 80 - Pass Accuracy: 58/64 (91%) - Key Passes: 1 - Line-Breaking Passes: 11 - Passes into the Final Third: 7 - Tackles + Interceptions: 7 - Defensive Contributions: 11

As soon as Villa scored, they sat in a mid-block and allowed Tottenham to dominate possession. In theory, this is where Tonali is supposed to step up and get Spurs into dangerous areas via his passing and carrying. In reality, he wilted under this pressure, failing to step up as De Zerbi's men had no answer to Villa's stubborn defensive structure.

At Newcastle, Bruno Guimaraes took the offensive mantle and made things happen, with Tonali acting as more of a water carrier. At Spurs, having cost £100 million, taking responsibility ought to be the former AC Milan man's job, but he's proving incapable thus far.

Like Tonali, Spurs spent over the odds to bring Jan Paul van Hecke, who had a year left on his contract at Brighton, to North London. £52 million was the fee for the Dutchman , and while his form on the south coast suggested that this wasn't necessarily a reckless investment, the early signs haven't been positive.

The defender's unique selling point is supposed to be his ability to progress the ball through his passing and carrying. However, Tottenham are yet to benefit from this attribute, with the Netherlands international seemingly playing within himself in possession so far in a Lilywhites shirt.

The more concerning aspect of his game against Villa was how he failed to deal with Nicolas Jackson. The Aston Villa striker ran Van Hecke ragged with his relentless runs into the channels, and the Spurs man simply couldn't cope with this nimbleness and athleticism.

Van Hecke's Statsistics vs Brighton

- Touches: 83 - Pass Accuracy: 59/68 (87%) - Aerial Duels Won: 0/2 (0%) - Line-Breaking Passes: 10 - Passes into the Final Third: 10 - Tackles + Interceptions: 5 - Defensive Contributions: 9

Micky van de Ven bailed his compatriot out on a number of occasions with his exceptional recovery pace, but Van Hecke ultimately proved to be a clear weak point in Spurs' backline, and Villa targeted him.

The ex-Brighton star will need to fix up the defensive side of his game and start adding more on the ball to prove that he was worth this £52 million investment. Otherwise, he and Tonali will go down as poor bits of recruitment from the hierarchy at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

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