By Rachel Cohen
On Thursday we heard that Eveliina Summanen has signed a new contract keeping her at Spurs until June 2026. While this news doesn’t have the razzle dazzle of Beth England’s record-breaking move last January, there are good reasons for Spurs fans to celebrate.
1. Eveliina coming into her prime at Spurs
Eveliina Summanen has been one of Spurs’ most consistent players. After joining the club in January 2022, age 23, she quickly settled in, seeing increasing minutes over the closing stages of that season as a squad depleted by injury fought to retain their WSL fifth place finish. Summanen then had a difficult summer at the Euros. Finland were in the ‘group of death’ alongside Denmark, Spain and Germany and lost three of three.
But she bounced back. And if 22/23 was a poor season for Spurs Summanen was a bright spot. She finished the season with three goals and three assists; only Beth England had more goal contributions. Game analysis showed Summanen was covering more distance than any other player and making crucial interventions at both ends. Meanwhile she continued to play an important role for her national team, developing the knack of scoring from direct free kicks. For those of us watching there were glimpses of a player with real potential, but her progress at Spurs was stymied by being played across multiple positions in an unsettled and struggling lineup.
This season that has changed. New manager, Robert Vilahamn, has introduced a clear system and style of play, one that Summanen summed up as incorporating “clear instructions, but a little bit of freedom.” And Summanen has flourished. Her central midfield role, alongside Olga Ahtinen has seen her increasingly dictating play, something reflected in greater time on the ball. For instance, whereas last season Summanen completed an average of 30 passes per 90 minutes. So far this season this is at 56 passes per 90. One part of that has been an improvement in accuracy, with her pass completion jumping from 70 to 84 percent season-on-season. This level of improvement is credit to Vilahamn’s system and consistent approach but it also is about a player with the ability and intelligence to adapt and develop. Where that development goes next remains to be seen, but it will be exciting to watch.
2. More Finnish Double Pivot
This contract extension also means at least two more years of Summanen playing alongside her compatriot Olga Ahtinen at Spurs (at least assuming Ahtinen’s MCL injury is not worse than expected).
When a partnership works well it all looks so easy. And from the first glimpses we got of the Ahtinen-Summanen double pivot (during the away game at Chelsea), it was clear that this was working. Given that Spurs struggled in defensive midfield throughout last season the ease with which this pairing clicked was all the more welcome.
Summanen has talked about how nice it is to be able to play with someone who speaks the same language, literally. But the two Finns also seem to speak the same footballing language; seamlessly complementing for one another, taking turns to sit back or push forward. Already this season both have found the back of the net and provided an assist. Similarly, both have dug in in defence. And while Ahtinen is the more obviously refined and Summanen has the bigger engine, this characterisation is too simplistic, with both delivering guts and delicate touches as needed – increasingly as part of the one-touch football Vilahamn has brought to Spurs.
3. What it says about Spurs
Signing a player who has been doing well to a two and a half year contract, and wrapping this all up well before Christmas (and before speculation about her leaving kicks in) is both a no-brainer but also a sign of Spurs getting better at player and squad management – as well as identifying, developing and retaining talent.
That is because, while Summanen’s contract extension seems unremarkable, with short-term contracts the norm and decisions often waiting until the final weeks of the season, it has not been the norm. Indeed, as a middling team, Spurs have typically had a revolving door in terms of players and a squad disproportionately made up of young players, players let go by bigger clubs, ‘big’ players past their prime and seeking minutes, and longstanding WSL stalwarts.
Summanen’s time at the club stands in contrast to those patterns. She arrived as a young (but not youth) player unheralded and from another league. She has developed – and improved – while at Spurs. And the club have now nailed down her services as she enters her prime footballing years (typically understood as stretching from about 25 to 28).
A part of this is that she is a player that the manager is keen to retain. Talking about her renewal Vilahamn noted that ‘for me to create this relationship and start building this team around her. It’s important. And now I know she’s going to be here for a few years, for Tottenham and for me it’s a really good thing.” Again, while this might be an everyday occurrence in the men’s game or in larger women’s teams, the idea of building a team and doing that around a player or core group of players that are already achieving within the system is novel for Spurs Women and signal growing stability and a club (and manager) with a coherent plan.
Pre-season I suggested Eveliina Summanen might become a dominant midfield force. At that point it was as much in hope as expectation, but with her start to the season, a new contract, and manager, Robert Vilahamn’ s suggestion that she might become the best 6 in the league, maybe it’s time that we all become Eveliina-believers.
If you have thoughts on this article please use the comment section below, or contact Rachel on twitter at @SpursWomenBlog
Spurs Women Blog 