Report: Ange Postecoglou’s plan for his Spurs centre-backs next season
Ange Postecoglou will expect all four of his central defensive options to compete for their fair share of minutes in the 2024/25 campaign, while the club may only sign one full-back this summer.
Tottenham had a pretty clear first-choice back four last season, with Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Destiny Udogie dominating the share of the gametime across the squad.
It’s a formidable backline on its day, but competition for places is key in any team that wants to challenge at the very top.
The acquisition of Radu Dragusin in January added serious depth to Tottenham’s central defensive area, but the Romanian had to be patient when it came to getting minutes in Postecoglou‘s squad.
Meanwhile, Emerson Royal and Ben Davies offered reliable and flexible cover across a range of positions last season, but their futures are unclear.
Spurs defence could look different this season
The latest on the defensive roster at Spurs comes from Football.London, and it sounds like Postecoglou will want to encourage friendly competition for places among his squad in the coming season.
Apparently, Postecoglou’s “strong central defensive trio” could become a quartet, with the manager keen to bring in one more option in the middle of the defence this summer.
There is a “decision to be made” on Ashley Phillips for the upcoming campaign, with a loan move likely, while fellow youngster Alfie Dorrington is currently recovering from surgery.
Whoever that quartet may be this season, Postecoglou will reportedly expect everyone to “battle it out for minutes across all competitions” but this is not thought to see any new signings coming up against a “blocked path” to the first-team.
With competition for places, it is expected that any new defender would be someone “looking to take a step into the Premier League or to a bigger club,” who would prioritise development over consistent game time.
Meanwhile, with Micky van de Ven and Ben Davies both adept at left-back, Postecoglou may only look to sign one full-back, a replacement for Emerson Royal, who is expected to depart this summer leaving a space at right-back.
Spurs Web Opinion
This all sounds about right, to be honest. Ideally, I would like us to sign a new left-back and a new right-back, but if Davies is going to cover on the left we should cope until next summer.
As for centre-half, I have been wary of the competition for places, which is obviously a good thing in many ways, but we don’t want unhappy players going to waste either.
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