As Spurs and West Ham go head to head, losing their stars looks a blessing in disguise

TOTTENHAM'S puritanical Ange Postecoglou and West Ham's pragmatic David Moyes, who lock horns in north London tomorrow night, could scarcely have more contrasting philosophies on the game, but they faced the same conundrum going into this season: how to recover from the loss of your club's best player? Spurs reluctantly allowed all-time leading scorer Harry Kane to join Bayern Munich in the summer, while West Ham sold captain Declan Rice to rivals Arsenal.

- Dan Kilpatrick

The England internationals had both refused to sign new contracts, giving the clubs time to prepare for their departures and arguably little choice in the final call.

Still, Spurs and West Ham have dealt remarkably well with the loss of their team's talisman and beating heart, and they meet in N17 both enjoying a revival.

Spurs have been transformed by Postecoglou (even if they have won the same number of games, eight from 14, as this stage of last season) and feel unrecognisable from the side which sucked the life out of so many matches under Antonio Conte.

The Hammers, meanwhile, are still seeking consistency but are back in mid-table after an alarming flirt with relegation and cautiously eyeing another top-seven finish and run in Europe.

To both clubs' credit, Kane and Rice, while unforgettable in their respective ends, already feel like distant memories and successful parts of a previous era.