Conte raves about ‘reliable’ Spurs star who is having a ‘fantastic season’

Antonio Conte has lavished praise on Ben Davies, claiming the Welshman has been extremely reliable since he arrived at the club.

Davies struggled to get much of a look in under Nuno Espirito Santo at the start of the campaign, with the Portuguese preferring Sergio Reguilon over the Welshman at left-back.

However, with Conte shifting to a back three, the former Swansea man has been a mainstay in the Tottenham backline and has demonstrated that he has all the attributes to thrive in the left centre-back role.

Davies found the back of the net with a well-directed header in Spurs’ 5-1 win over Newcastle United on Sunday, which was his first goal in the Premier League since September 2017 (BBC MOTD).

Conte admitted that the 28-year-old deserved the goal for the work he has been putting in.

The Spurs boss told the club’s official website: “Ben is playing a fantastic season, in my opinion. He’s a reliable player, he scored an important goal for us and I think he deserved to score this goal.

“Ben is playing in an important way with us, as a central defender and he’s showing that he’s a really good player.”

Conte is set to be boosted by the return of Ryan Sessegnon and Sergio Reguilon for the trip to Villa Park (Evening Standard).

The Spurs boss admitted that it was welcome news and expressed his delight at how every player in the squad is taking the opportunities that are presented to them.

When asked about Reguilon’s and Sessegnon’s return, he said: “For us, it’s very important to have two good options on the bench. For sure, Sergio has recovered now from his injury and it’s the same for Ryan Sessegnon – two important players for us.

“I think in the last game, Matthew (Doherty) and Emerson played a good game, and it’s good because we have the possibility on the bench of the two to change the game and also to have fresh players, to give energy.

“Especially in this last part of the season, where we have eight games to play, it’s very important to have the possibility to make rotation, but at the same time when you decide the starting XI, to have on the bench the possibility of important players to come in and give you the chance to change the game or to improve the game.

“It was shown in the last game with Harry Winks, with Steven Bergwijn, with Lucas Moura, and I am very happy to see my players come in and play this way.”

Spurs Web Opinion

The squad looks much stronger now than it did a couple of months ago, with all the players seemingly understanding the system and their roles better. The fact that we have not missed Oliver Skipp much, despite the 21-year-old being our best player until January, shows how far the team has come.

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