Tottenham are Women's FA Cup finalists for the first time - and they've not even seen the best of Lionesses star Bethany England yet

How do you replace someone with a goal-per-game record? That was the biggest question Vilahamn needed to answer when he came into this role in the summer. It was never going to be straightforward, as England has experience and quality that is difficult to find, the type that cost Spurs a record fee exchanged between two WSL sides when she arrived from Chelsea in January 2023.

The Swede went about his transfer business well, adding to an already promising supporting cast for whoever would lead the line when he signed Grace Clinton on loan from Manchester United. But the identity of that No.9 remained up in the air – until deadline day. After Tottenham failed to score once in pre-season, while largely trialling Jessica Naz as a centre-forward, Vilahamn worked to bring in Martha Thomas from United, a decision that would pay dividends.

Thomas arrived off the back of two difficult years in the north west, in which she failed to displace Alessia Russo in the starting XI on a consistent basis. The Scotland international started just one WSL match and scored only one goal in the competition in her second and final season with the club, so she was going to need to step up to help Spurs fill that England-shaped hole in the forward line – but she would surely be motivated to show what she could do.

And so it proved. Thomas scored six goals in her first four league games for Spurs, helping them to pick up nine points from an available 12. “If you look at the 10 WSL games so far, I don’t think another player in this league has been as good consistently in every game, in different ways, not just scoring goals,” Vilahamn said in December. “Her impact in this team has been massive.”

There was every reason to be excited when England returned to the fold just before Christmas, then. “I’m quite flexible in my way to find new roles for players, so I’m quite sure that I’m going to find a way for them to play at the same time,” Vilahamn said in the weeks prior. “Good players can play together, and I can make sure it fits the way I want to play, so I’m kind of just waiting for that moment to play them both.”

However, it’s been tricky to get both England and Thomas out there at the same time. England understandably took some time to return to full fitness after hip surgery which “should have been an hour-and-a-half, but it took over three hours due to the extent of the tear,” she told the Evening Standard earlier this season. Thomas has struggled with some injuries in the second half of this season too, meaning they’ve only started together on seven occasions. “I don't think they have played together when both of them are 100 percent fit,” Vilahamn even went as far as saying in April.

While that’s frustrating, it also brings promise for the future. Spurs have had quite a season and they have picked up some really impressive results, upsetting Manchester City on their way to this FA Cup final while also securing an historic first win over north London rivals Arsenal in the league. And yet, there is so much more potential to unlock.

That’s especially true of the partnership between Thomas and England, which could blossom into the type that is difficult for any defence to contain. “We're looking forward to it,” Thomas said earlier this month. “I think we've shown glimpses of us playing together and being successful. Her experience alone and her qualities that she brings to a team, anyone would be lucky to have them, so to play alongside her is brilliant.”

“I think they are so clever so they can work together with other players as well, especially how they are as players and as leaders, because they are basically two of the strongest leaders in the squad,” Vilahamn added. “I'm looking forward to continuing to work with them and going into detail on how we can have the best benefit of them. Even if they haven't worked best when they played a few games before, there's a lot of reasons for that. That doesn't mean that they cannot play together.”

That doesn’t necessarily have to be in a front two, either. One of the things that has made Spurs’ development this season so exciting is how Vilahamn has asked his forward players to operate in different roles and interchange fluidly as they do so. It’s an approach that seems to suit the talents of players like Naz, Clinton, Norway international Celin Bizet and January arrival Matilda Vinberg, while also increasing the goal-threat of all of them, plus Thomas and England, because of the confusion such movement can give any defence.

“I think it's brilliant and I think it's something that is maybe not used enough in football,” Thomas said. “Players have such different attributes and different styles. I think most people will probably say that me, Beth and Jess are different in the way that we play. All it does is give teams headaches about who's going to play where and then even on the pitch, if you've set up in the No.9, knowing that if you drop back into the No.10, they can just go No.9, having that fluidity has been brilliant. It's allowed us to have that flexibility going forward and give teams headaches about knowing where players are going to play, and maybe it helps us in the sense that they'll feel a bit less prepared.”

Everything is still a work in progress, but it is certainly a work in progress that is going well. In the WSL, Spurs are currently 14 points better off than they were at this stage last season and, on Sunday, they could win a first major trophy on the women’s side. It’s a reward for showing some patience in Vilahamn, whose methods came into question following a 7-0 defeat to Man City in November, and the players deserve praise for buying into his ideas and growing from that tough loss.

“I think the squad now is very good together,” the coach said recently. “You can tell that they are competing, they are finding the structure, they are very much connected to how we want to play. I think we still need to be even more consistent in the way we play to keep the ball and make sure we can create even more chances. I still think we are improving the way we press, how to make sure we use the players, but I also feel like we are getting stronger, we dictate the games more and more, we are winning games right now, which is very good, to win games in different ways.”

It’s certainly exciting to think where this team can go when they make those improvements. The players have bought into what Vilahamn wants to do, his signings so far have been successful and this squad will only suit his style more once he has time to add to it. It’s clear that he sees himself being in north London for a while, too. He wants to grow with the team and stick with this project.

To be in an FA Cup final already might be earlier than he – or anyone – predicted, and to lift a first major title would indeed be ahead of schedule. To do it all without really having unleashed England’s goal-scoring prowess would be a real nod to how he has built the whole team up, too.

Last season, if England didn’t score, Spurs didn’t win. This term, that reliance on her goals has eased. When Vilahamn does see the best of her again in this attack, it could be a real catalyst in helping to take further steps forward. It’s at least one reason why it really does feel like something special is brewing in the white corner of north London.