The curious case of Matilda Vinberg
It's safe to say that Matilda Vinberg (affectionately referred to by fans and players as "Tilly") has had an up and down 2 and a half years since she signed for Spurs in January 2024. There was a decent amount of hype around her arrival as one of Sweden's brightest youngsters at the time, and Spurs seemingly managed to convince her to sign amidst reported interest from that season's league runners up Manchester City. Since she's been a Spurs player, she hasn't really been able to have a nailed on spot in the front line and, with her contract running out at the end of the season, I'm curious to see whether she will stay on as a Spurs player.
Spurs' former manager, and fellow Swede, Robert Vilahamn brought her to Spurs during the January 2024 window. Her signing was helped in part due to them sharing the same management agency, but also the pathway to a starting spot in the Spurs front line was seen as more achievable compared to competing with City's wingers in England internationals, Lauren Hemp and Chloe Kelly.
In her first half season her playing time was limited to 11 league appearances with only 4 of those appearances being as a starter. The season after, and her first full season for Spurs, in 24/25 she wasn't able to fully break into the starting xi as she started in less than half of her league appearances as she started 8 games and came on in 10 games as a substitute. Her goal and assist output hasn't been elite as yet which is somewhat expected given her spotty minutes before this current season but she has now registered a goal and 2 assists in the league in 25/26 which is currently her best return for Spurs.
Football of course isn't just about the numbers of course and Vinberg does bring value to this team. Stylistically she suits Spurs' approach of wanting technical players that are creative passers and can carry the ball in wide and central areas. As mentioned earlier she can play multiple positions in that attacking midfield line, and I think she even has the profile to get minutes at the 10 slot as an occasional alternative to Olivia Holdt due to her potential as a ball-carrier. This positional versatility is a big plus due to managers in the modern game needing players that can fill multiple roles within a team and, as you can see by her heatmaps since she has been at Spurs, she has popped up almost everywhere on the pitch to take the ball.
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| Vinberg's half season 23/24 heatmap |
Typically she can play on either wing but has been used more on the left of a 4231 or a 442. Spurs' attacking midfield line have had quite fluid roles at times as well, as the wide players have swapped flanks mid-game, and they've clustered over to one flank to try to create an offensive overload on that flank. In terms of profile balance she does mesh quite well with Olivia Holdt and Signe Gaupset who occupy central areas and want to attack the oppositions back line and push Spurs into attacking areas.
Vinberg often looks to get on the ball in the half-space channels and very often she ends up playing with her back to goal where she will either try to roll her opponent or lay the ball off for a nearby teammate. Her back to goal play is something that I think she will look to improve as she can easily get crowded out by opposition players which cuts off her potential passing options, and she generally looks more comfortable when she's able to get on the ball facing forward with space ahead of her where she can look to open gaps in the opposition lines.
Her profile contrasts against her teammates that she's competing with for the starting winger minutes in Lenna Gunning-Williams, Julie Blakstad, Matilda Nilden & Araya Dennis (Dennis is more of a utility player that can play further back or as a striker) who are more direct wingers that look to play wider than Vinberg. She profiles more similarly to Maika Hamano in the sense that Hamano also doesn't have quite the same emphasis on pace in her game and can create in half-space channels and in wider areas.
The 23 year-old has shown promise of being able to be a threat as a ball-carrier with her completing 1.7 carries per 90 at a 45% success rate, but where her real talent lies is in her crossing and her ball-striking. Her cross completion numbers are quite good at 0.99 per 90 with a 37% success rate, but her actual technique on her stronger left foot allows her to get real power and accuracy on her balls into the box from set pieces and in open play. She does have Beth England and Cathinka Tandberg to aim for who are both good in the air and physical players but crossing isn't currently an area that Spurs make the most use of as they average 4 completed crosses per 90 which is the 6th highest in the league so they're about league average.
One problem holding her back is her over-reliance on her left foot. I will admit that I do value players who are elite on both feet in terms of shooting, ball-carrying and passing higher than other players but it's a tool that can allow players that extra edge of unpredictability, especially in isolation moments. It's not to say that she can't use her unfavoured right foot at all, as she can pass with it to a decent level, but very often her first thought seems to be how she can get the ball onto her left foot in moments where she's either about to shoot or pass off to a teammate in the final 3rd. This also limits her when she's the starting right-winger as she can't make the best use of that byline when she's in the final 3rd due to her reliance on cutting onto her left foot.
She has shown glimpses of being a good presser when the opposition has the ball deep in their own half to pressure them into having less time on the ball but her positional discipline and her tracking back are areas that also could use some work, as Spurs in general (not to point the blame solely at her) are not great at defending in transition.
Overall I think Spurs should extend her contract in the near future rather than lose her as a free agent in the summer. This season she has been shown more faith by Martin Ho as she's finally cracked the 1000 league minutes mark which is higher than in either of her previous 2 seasons. Her renewal may not be seen as a priority over club captain Beth England, whose contract also expires this summer, or Olivia Holdt whose contract runs until the summer of 2027 but is seen as one of the league's best number 10's. There is also a chance that Spurs try to make Maika Hamano's loan move permanent from Chelsea which could impact Vinberg's prospect of being a starter, but that seems unlikely as the Blues seem set for something of a squad overhaul, and Hamano has a long term contract until 2029, so the Japanese starlet is probably not coming back to Spurs.
The end of the current season also represents a really good chance for Vinberg to up her goal contribution numbers to continue to show how she's improved since her arrival in 2024. The difficulty of the end of the season also gives her the opportunity to prove that she can be important in big games as Spurs have to face Arsenal, Manchester United, London City Lionesses and Brighton in the league, as well as facing Chelsea in the FA Cup semi final.
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