Archie Gray and the 5 Tottenham players who must remain in Igor Tudor's boat

Tottenham face a crunch set of nine games in the Premier League which will decide their future and some players just have to be involved

Tottenham's Premier League future hangs in the balance and they will need their players to step up but who should Igor Tudor turn to?

Spurs are sitting precariously in 16th place in the table, just a point above the drop zone with Nottingham Forest and West Ham breathing down their necks. Tudor takes his team to Anfield next weekend after Tuesday night's Champions League game in Madrid, while West Ham host Manchester City and Forest welcome Fulham, who beat Spurs and lost to the Hammers in back-to-back matches at Craven Cottage.

Tudor, if he keeps his job with an upturn in results, will need to turn to certain Spurs players who will give him everything and have the quality to get the north London club out of their dangerous situation. The Croatian made a boat analogy in midweek after the defeat to Crystal Palace about what needs to happen with his players.

"I will tell you now maybe it will sound strange but I believe more after this game than I believed before," he said. "I saw something. I need to choose the right guys because the boat is going in the direction that I want to go and needs to go and who is in the boat can stay.

"Otherwise they can leave the boat. So when the other players will come back and choosing the right [players] I’m sure we will have a good team and the victories will come back. It’s not easy to accept the moment where we are now but it is how it is."

Here are five players who we reckon need to remain in the boat in order for Tottenham to grab the points they need.

Archie Gray

It's seems crazy to have a 19-year-old on a list of players who will be crucial to a relegation fight, but Archie Gray has been one of Spurs' leading lights in the recent dark times. Only Bournemouth’s Junior Kroupi has more goal involvements as a teenager in the Premier League this season than Gray's four. The Tottenham youngster has been mostly playing in defence as well in recent times.

It's more than that though. The former Leeds teenager knows how to scrap, has got the energy and the quality to make things happen, as shown by his assist for Dominic Solanke on Thursday night against Crystal Palace.

Xavi Simons said in a recent interview that Gray was the best player in Spurs training, had been the player who has surprised him the most since arriving and that he will become a top midfielder.

Of course the youngster is going to get exposed if played out of position as a left-back and he will make the odd mistake because he's so young, but Tottenham need to get him in the centre of the pitch. He will always looks to drive them on and never give up, qualities they desperately need right now in a squad that doesn't always look that bothered.

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Cristian Romero

This one is pretty simple. The Tottenham captain needs to play and he needs to be available. Cristian Romero is Spurs' best player and he will bring the aggression required for the upcoming fight. He's also a key attacking player with 10 goal involvements in his 28 matches this season.

The World Cup winner has a debt to repay his team-mates as he returns from his fourth suspension of the season. A fifth looms, bringing with it a two-game suspension if he gets two more bookings in his next three Premier League matches before his eight previous ones are wiped out.

That just cannot happen for Romero is too important to this team to miss any more matches this season.

Mathys Tel

It's a similar case for Mathys Tel as it is with Gray, in that he's raw but brings more than so many others.. Tel made only his seventh Premier League start of the season in the defeat in midweek.

The 20-year-old just brings an unpredictability to Spurs' attacking play which they don't have otherwise and he also delivers good corners and set pieces.

The Frenchman is very raw and can make odd decisions on the ball on occasions, as he did in the build-up to Palace's second goal on Thursday, but he creates more going forward than most of the other fit Spurs attackers put together.

Tel has made an impact whenever he's played and he's earned more game time in the weeks ahead.

Richarlison

Spurs need to get the Brazilian fit enough to play 90 minutes and last games because Richarlison is a battler with experience of getting teams out of relegation trouble.

He's also Tottenham's top scorer with nine goals and a tally of 12 goal involvements in all across 34 matches, the only player to have more than Romero's 10.

Richarlison will also want to prove that he should be Brazil's main man at the World Cup this summer so there's plenty to drive him on in the weeks ahead.

A key returnee

It's certainly no secret that Spurs need some of their big injured players back. There are so many players who would be starting matches week in, week out currently sat in the treatment room.

There's Destiny Udogie, who provides real width and a natural left-footer at left-back but the Italian just can't get a run of games together. He did towards the end of last season and was pivotal in the Europa League run. Spurs need a similar run of appearances out of him.

Lucas Bergvall is edging closer to a return from his ankle problem and will bring youthful energy and skill to the midfield while Rodrigo Bentancur will bring calmness on the ball when he returns from his hamstring injury next month.

Then there are the big three creators who Spurs have missed desperately to take some of the pressure of Xavi as he continues to adapt to a new league and style.

Mohammed Kudus had 10 goal involvements before his injury in January and the summer sign would be a huge addition back into the team. The Ghana international was due to return after the upcoming international break.

Then there are Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, who will need time to get sharp when they eventually return to first team training from their different long term knee injures. If Spurs can get one or both of them back and sharp for the final flurry of games then that could transform their attack just in time.