Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has heaped praise on defender Ben Davies whilst hinting he will play at left back.
Ben Davies will be a ‘very very good’ left back for Tottenham Hotspur once again according to Ange Postecoglou.
Postecoglou has been speaking to Football London ahead of today’s friendly against Lion City Sailors.
The Australian was asked about where he plans to play Davies this season.
Davies joined Spurs as a left back in 2014 but was mostly deployed as a left-sided centre back in Antonio Conte’s back three last season.
We did see Davies at left wing back at times last season, but Postecoglou had other ideas on Sunday.
Postecoglou had selected Davies to play as a centre back in a four-man defence against Leicester City on Sunday.
We haven’t really seen much of Davies in that exact role but the friendly against Leicester was postponed.
Postecoglou has now been asked whether he sees Davies as a left back or centre back and initially suggested not to read too much into where he plays in pre-season.
Postecoglou did though add that his initial thought is that Davies will be a ‘very very good’ left back in his new 4-3-3 system at Tottenham.
“Again don’t read too much into where he’s playing,” said Postecoglou. “I think Ben has all the attributes I look for in a full back, particularly the way we play. At the moment he’s doing a very good job at centre-back, and apart from Japh pretty much all the other centre-backs came in late.”
“So we’re juggling a few things there and looking to bring in at least one. So from that perspective I’m just trying to get game time into him now, but my inclination is that he will be a very very good left-back for us,” he added.
Ben Davies could be vital for Destiny Udogie at Tottenham Hotspur
This would be a return to his old position for Davies, who has previously played plenty of games as a left back in a four-man defence.
Antonio Conte changed his role but Postecoglou is now seemingly keen to get him back in his natural position.
Davies is an experienced Premier League performer, racking up nearly 300 top-flight appearances across spells with Tottenham and Swansea City.
That’s vital for Postecoglou, who will be looking for the 30-year-old to be a great role model for Destiny Udogie.
Udogie mostly played as a wing back for Udinese and he would be a very attack-minded option if he plays in a back four.
Having the presence and experience of Davies will be very helpful for Udogie as he looks to learn more about playing in a back four.
We may see Davies start the season as Tottenham’s left back with youngster Udogie spending some time learning from the Welshman in the hope of becoming a more rounded player.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
