Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has called on the club to sign a new centre back in January despite praising Ben Davies.
Tottenham are back in action again on Friday night, travelling to take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Spurs beat Newcastle United 4-1 on Sunday, ending a five-game winless run in style.
Tottenham now need to back it up with a performance and a result against a struggling Forest side, whose manager Steve Cooper is under big pressure.
Ange Postecoglou praises Ben Davies but urges Tottenham to sign a defender
Tottenham still aren’t at their strongest due to injuries – including a big one to Micky van de Ven .
The Dutchman isn’t expected back until early 2024 and Tottenham are left with few options to partner Cristian Romero at the back.
Ange Postecoglou is currently going with Ben Davies, a player we know more as being a left back than a centre back.
Davies has played as a left-sided defender in a back three but rarely as a centre back in a four-man defence.
The Welshman is needed right now though and Postecoglou has moved to praise him.
Postecoglou has told Football London that he thinks Davies has been ‘outstanding’ and is doing ‘remarkably well’ in an unfamiliar role.
Postecoglou added that Davies is ‘great at taking on information’ – but still wants Tottenham to sign a new defender in January.
The Spurs boss feels a new centre back is a ‘need’ for Tottenham, suggesting that he is left worrying that another injury will pop up and leave him short again.
“I thought Ben Davies was outstanding. He’s getting a run of games. We’ve got to be mindful he’s not a centre-back and he’s growing into that role,” said Postecoglou. “Ben is still adapting to it. He’s done remarkably well. Centre-back is still a position, especially in our structure, where you need outstanding attributes and we’ve been very fortunate to have him that he’s been able to adapt there. He’s great at taking on information. He’s been helped by having Romero back and Vic has taken on a leadership role back there as well.”
“We need to sign another centre-back though because at the moment we’re on tenterhooks in case something else happens there,” he added.
Who could Tottenham sign at centre back?
We can’t imagine that Tottenham will really splash the cash on another defender after spending on Micky van de Ven over the summer.
Links to Marc Guehi and Jarrad Branthwaite just don’t add up for that reason.
We think Tottenham are more likely to pounce for a homegrown defender who won’t break the bank.
Bournemouth’s Lloyd Kelly has been a target but The Telegraph claimed in November that Spurs are prepared to abandon that pursuit because of his injury problems.
Reports last week added that Tottenham remain keen on Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo after eyeing him over the summer.
Both Kelly and Adarabioyo are out of contract in the summer, meaning Tottenham may fancy cut-price deals for one of the pair.
Those moves make more sense for Tottenham than spending a big fee on somebody to be back up to Romero and Van de Ven.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
