Jan Vertonghen predicts a strong Spurs lineup in North London Derby

Even Marvin Gaye would blush at the amount of love pulsating through Hotspur Way at the moment. In comments made following Tottenham's victory against Crystal Palace, Jan Vertonghen had this to say about the team:

"We looked very solid for 90 minutes (against Crystal Palace)," the he said. "We played well at the start of the season but we weren't that focused at the end of the games.

"But things are looking very good. We have great young players and a good mix, so there are great things for the team if we can keep working like this.

"It looks very good for the future."

Encouraging words from our Belgian center-back but ones that aren't unmerited. One can chalk this optimism up to our recent string of success — three wins in eight days can certainly change the mood of a team — but there appears to be some substance behind the comments. While the end product hasn't always clicked, Spurs have played quite well in the young season. Sure the Stoke match saw a poor twenty minute period, our performance against Sunderland was not swashbuckling, and the first half against Leicester was a bit bland; but Spurs have left supporters with something to salivate upon in every match.

And it is Tottenham's youth that has been mostly responsible for this. Eric Dier has played better than a 20 million pound man, Delle Alli has been a sheer revelation, and Ryan Mason has added polish to the vibrancy he displays when he's at his best. Add twenty-three year old Heung-Min Son, twenty-two year old Clinton N'Jie, twenty-two year old Alex Pritchard, and a (fingers crossed) more confident twenty-three year old Erik Lamela; and there is legitimate reason to gush.Consider that Nabil Bentaleb, the first of this wunderkid class to breakthrough, has only played a bit part for Spurs thus far. He is being replaced by his peers, who are roughly the same age, and who are performing so well that his absence isn't eating away at the team. Think about making a statement like that in June; it would have been preposterous.

This depth will hopefully translate into more success in the near future. While Spurs have had a nice start to a tricky fixture list, Vertonghen thinks that the squad is large enough, and with enough quality, to see out a result against the Scum on Wednesday in the Capital One Cup.

"And in the Europa League we want to involve all the players. We have a big squad and it was very important to win to go into Arsenal on Wednesday.

"I don't know who's going to play but whoever does, everyone knows how important those games are for us and for the fans.

"We will play a strong team, I guess, and hopefully get the same result. I think I lost only once or twice and I've won a couple so my record is not too bad."

Players such as Danny Rose, Ryan Mason, Mousa Dembélé, Andros Townsend, Clinton N'Jie, and Christian Eriksen have a high probability of playing in the NLD. [Editor's note: this was written before today's team news.] Whether they are available because they are easing back from injury, or because they've had a lack of form, this is a pretty formidable grouping of players to send out in an early COC round; even if it is Woolwich.  The thing is, we can send out a strong side against the Scum, and still have the talent to compete with City at the weekend. This hasn't been the case for awhile, and it is a pretty cool position to be in.