After a few weeks of pulling together a squad which was down to its bare bones, Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou finally has a positive selection dilemma on his hands.

While the likes of James Maddison and Micky van de Ven remain sidelined with injuries, other players are slowly starting to return to the fold at Hotspur Way.

Cristian Romero made a goalscoring return from his three-match suspension during the 2-1 defeat against West Ham on Thursday 7 December while Pape Matar Sarr made his first start since the international break three days later during the 4-1 victory over Newcastle United.

Although the club’s five-match winless run suggests otherwise, some of the players who have been asked to step up in the absence of several of Postecoglou’s first-team stars have made a positive account of themselves.

One of these players is Argentina international midfielder Giovani Lo Celso. The 27-year-old’s sudden rise to form saw him score in consecutive games against Aston Villa and Manchester City, with some relatively strong performances to go alongside those goals.

In the 2-1 defeat against Villa on 26 November, Lo Celso completed 92 per cent of his passes, with three of those being key, and chipped in defensively, making four tackles and winning seven of his 13 ground duels (Sofascore).

Against City, he was just as impressive as he completed an astonishing 100 per cent of his passes. While he wasn’t at the same level against West Ham, very few of those in white shirts on the pitch that night were up to scratch, and it seemed like a harsh decision by Postecoglou to drop Lo Celso for the visit of Newcastle.

Nonetheless, the Australian’s call proved to be the right one as he opted to play Dejan Kulusevski in the number ten role, with the Swede putting in one of his finest performances of the season to date, completing 92 per cent of his passes with five of them being key.

On paper, it would be incredibly harsh to drop Kulusevski after his display on Sunday afternoon, but Lo Celso reminded his manager that he is also available and ready to play a part with his positive cameo against Eddie Howe’s men.

Having replaced Richarlison in the 73rd minute, the former Real Betis man helped his side to see out a much-needed three points, completing 92 per cent of his passes, succeeding with one of his two dribbles and making two tackles during his 17 minutes on the pitch.

Postecoglou will now be scratching his head over what team he should name on Friday 15 December when he takes his players to the City Ground for a showdown with a struggling Nottingham Forest side.

While Kulusevski should surely start in the Midlands, leaving Lo Celso and the goalscoring threat he provides on the bench could prove costly. Considering Forest’s struggles and tendency to leak goals, Postecoglou might be tempted to name a more attack-minded team which features both Kulusevski and Lo Celso.

Either way, the Australian will just be relieved that his tough team selection is due to too many quality players being available, rather than a lack of them.