Tottenham full backs Kieran Trippier and Ben Davies have struggled this season.
Tottenham Hotspur suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Manchester United on Sunday afternoon, with the major blow coming as Harry Kane will be out for two months.
Spurs were hit as Marcus Rashford scored the only goal of the game, profiting from a poor Kieran Trippier pass to score on the break.
The result really killed off any lingering talk of Spurs challenging for top spot, and boss Mauricio Pochettino needs to take an honest look at some of his players and realise they need to be replaced.
Trippier is one of them, as is the full back on the opposite flank, Ben Davies. The pair receive huge criticism from Spurs fans on Twitter, and it’s mostly warranted.
Trippier hasn’t kicked on since starring for England at the World Cup over the summer, and whilst he is a threat from crosses and set pieces, other areas of his game are lacking.
He can struggling defensively in a back four, his passing has been poor of late, and he isn’t the greatest athlete either. Meanwhile, Davies offers little going forward and may be better off as a centre back in the future.
One of the things Spurs lack compared to their 2016-17 team is pace at full back. Teams found it hard to cope with Danny Rose and Kyle Walker flying forward from full back roles, but Spurs have lost that with Rose not the player he was, and Walker gone.
Moving forward, Spurs do need to find options more like Rose and Walker to bring that fear back down the flanks. Alex Telles, Ferland Mendy or even Ryan Sessegnon would make sense as targets on the left, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Ricardo Pereira fitting the bill on the right.
It may seem harsh, but neither Trippier or Davies are impressing this season, and having one witnessed Spurs with the most feared full back combination in the Premier League, Pochettino should work to get back to that, rather than have his full backs targeted like United did on Sunday.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
