The Spurs fans in the Transfer Tavern are excited about their team’s prospects this season as their win over Crystal Palace on Sunday moved them level on points with second place Man United in the Premier League.

The Lilywhites also defeated holders Real Madrid 3-1 at Wembley last week to go top of their Champions League group and secured qualification for the knockout stages with two matches to spare. Therefore, they wouldn’t have wanted the international break to arrive at a time where momentum is gathering and they wouldn’t want their progress to be derailed. Moreover, cumbersome injuries to key players can often occur when they depart for international duty which tends to sever relationships between club and country managers.

However, the international break can also give out-of-favour players the opportunity to reflect on their situation and try to make the necessary improvements to their game that could result in greater first-team action. And whilst Mauricio Pochettino possesses a squad of regularly performing individuals, there are some that are struggling to be as impactful as the Argentinian would want them to be.

With that in mind, here are 3 flops Pochettino needs to improve during the international break…

Fernando Llorente

Fernando Llorente is hardly a flop yet but into November he is still to score his first goal for the club. He has only been afforded sixty-five minutes of Premier League action and is unlikely to usurp Harry Kane as the leading forward in the Spurs’ lineup.

However, in the minimal opportunities he’s given he needs to be more impactful in order to apply greater pressure to Kane. Pochettino showed faith in the Spanish striker by selecting him to start in the Santiago Bernabeu as he helped secure a respectable 1-1 draw.

The game saw Kane and Llorente dovetail quite well as a striking partnership and is an option for Pochettino in the future, although the former Swansea marksman really needs to get off the mark in a white shirt.

Moussa Sissoko

After a mediocre first campaign at White Hart Lane, Moussa Sissoko is finally beginning to show he can be a useful asset for Tottenham with a few impressive displays.

In the narrow 1-0 success against Palace that was a rather dour affair, the Frenchman’s powerful performance in the middle of the park was encouraging.

In truth, his quality has never been in question as his form for France at Euro 2016 provided an indication of the levels he was capable of reaching and perhaps it was simply a matter of his application in games.

That is improving now and he needs to not lose focus over the course of the international break in order to return with the potential to be a real key figure in Spurs’ pursuit of trophies this campaign.

Georges-Kevin N’Koudou

One player who has been forgotten around the Wembley stands is Georges-Kevin N’Koudou. The diminutive winger joined from Marseille in August 2016 and proceeded to record just forty-six minutes of Premier League game time last term as he failed to convince Pochettino of his quality.

He finished 30th on UEFA’s Best Player in Europe poll as a result of his performances in Ligue 1 during the 2015/16 season so he clearly has the ability to make an impact in England but he has struggled with the physicality since switching nations.

He remains at the club, however, so there is still a chance for him find a space in Pochettino’s squad with the Argentinian needing a pool of individuals to pick from as Tottenham compete on multiple fronts.