On April 6th, The Athletic broke the news that Tottenham Hotspur were planning to prioritise a new, left-sided centre-half during the upcoming transfer window.
So, coincidence or not, Ben Davies could hardly have picked a better time to produce the finest string of performances of his entire Spurs career.
If you factor in that impeccable defensive display during Wales’ nerve-shredding World Cup play-off victory over Ukraine, you could argue that this is the best Davies has ever played, for club or for country.
“Whether it was (Ryan) Sessegnon, whether it was (Eric) Dier who was superb, (Christian) Romero, Emerson Royal, Ben Davies who I thought was Man of the Match, there was just no way through,” Alan Shearer told Match of the Day after the Welshman marshalled a Spurs backline that batted away everything Liverpool had to throw at them during last month’s 1-1 draw at Anfield.
“I mentioned Davies there. (He) sort of epitomised everything. Magnificent.”
Ben Davies out, Alessandro Bastoni in at Tottenham?
As Tottenham secured Champions League football at Arsenal’s expense, much of the credit went to January signings Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur, the enduring brilliance of Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son.
But do not underestimate the extent to which Conte has improved the other, less-heralded members of a squad he dragged off the canvas following a knockout blow that saw Nuno Espirito Santo counted out in round one.
Matt Doherty and Emerson have looked, at times, like wing-backs worthy of a Conte team. Few would have seen that coming. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, meanwhile, was back to his Mourinho-era best. And the fact that many were clamouring for Eric Dier’s return to England duty told it’s own story; A remarkable redemption arc that not even his most staunch supporters anticipated.
Davies, however, is perhaps the most ‘improved’ player of the Conte reign so far. A man transformed from a willing but limited left-back to one of the league’s most reliable defenders, taking to a more central role in the Italian’s three-man defence like the proverbial duck to water.
But Tottenham, under Conte and Fabio Paratici, are striving to turn ‘good’ into ‘great’.
Out went Davinson Sanchez, in came Cristian Romero. Lucas Moura for Dejan Kulusevski. Tanguy Ndombele for Rodrigo Bentancur.
Tottenham in talks with Alessandro Bastoni.
And Tottenham’s high-profile pursuit of a left-sided centre-half has led them, once again, to Pau Torres. Villarreal’s much-admired Spain international stalwart.
According to La Repubblica, talks are underway with Conte’s former employers Inter Milan for Alessandro Bastoni; One of the most cultured, technically-gifted ball-playing defenders in the game. Bastoni, aged just 23, could be a snip even at £50 million, and a back three of Romero, Dier and Bastoni would – on paper – be amongst the very best in the Premier League. He’s younger than Davies, a better ball-carrier too. According to FC Inter News, Conte is ‘crazy’ about a player he worked with during Inter’s 2021 Serie A title-winning campaign.
Now, Spurs’ 29-year-old Welshman can certainly consider himself unfortunate if Conte green-lights the arrival of a £50 million defensive superstar-in-waiting to take his place. Davies could hardly have done any more after all. But if Spurs are to hang up their bridesmaid’s outfit at last, there can be no room for sentiment.
And, in Conte, Tottenham have one of football’s most ruthless operators pulling the strings. Ben Davies is a fine player for a fourth-placed side. But not one hoping to fight for the game’s biggest prizes.
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