Danny Higginbotham suggests questions will be asked if Pochettino makes same decision

Tottenham Hotspur kicked off their Premier League campaign last weekend with a hard fought victory against newcomers Aston Villa.

When the team news was announced prior to the game, many fans were left wondering about the whereabouts of Jan Vertonghen.

The Belgian had been somewhat of a mainstay at the heart of the Spurs defence over the past few years but found himself completely left out of the match day squad.

Sky Sports pundit Danny Higginbotham admitted that Mauricio Pochettino’s decision left him surprised.

With a trip to Manchester City awaiting Tottenham tomorrow afternoon, Higginbotham suggested that it could further raise concerns if the boss decides once again to snub Vertonghen at the Etihad.

The former Stoke player described Vertonghen’s central defensive partnership with Toby Alderweireld as arguably the best in the Premier League.

Pochettino instead decided to start with Davinson Sanchez alongside Alderweireld for the visit of Villa to the new Spurs stadium.

Speaking to Match Centre on Sky Sports News (15/08/2019 at 10:30 am), Higginbotham said: “It was a big surprise,”

“I think Pochettino was asked about it afterwards and he just talked about using the squad and what have you.

“But, for me, there isn’t much of a better partnership in the Premier League than Alderweireld and Vertonghen. So, I think what we have to do now is look at the Manchester City game and say, ‘right, if it’s once against Alderweireld and Sanchez’ then there are questions to be asked.

“This is arguably Tottenham’s biggest test coming up and that’s where you want your best team as much as possible. It will be good to see the teamsheet when it comes in and then we can evaluate it from there.”

Opinion

If we are to stand a chance against City, we need our best players and Vertonghen falls into that category. If he is once again completely left out, Spurs fans should be concerned.

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