Three ways Tottenham can slot Barkley into starting XI as Poch masterplan takes shape – view
Narrow 4-2-3-1: One of three attacking midfielders
Son, 23, would not be included in a side that would start with three attacking midfielders behind Harry Kane, with the 51-time South Korea international having to make do with the bench.
Dele Alli would start in his natural number 10 role, with Christian Eriksen and Barkley either side of him in a narrow system that would see the trio interchange and confound the opposition.
The 4-2-3-1 system is already well-known to the Spurs stars, and including Barkley would only further improve Pochettino’s free-flowing Tottenham attack.