Tottenham Hotspur head coach, Jose Mourinho, has now revealed that his initial plans when he joined the club were to build the shape around Ben Davies.
Davies may seem an unlikely figure for many as a person to build a team around, but the Welshman has experience as a left-back, a centre-back, and everything in-between.
Mourinho was keen on Davies playing as a left-back in defence and a central defender in attack, giving Aurier the license to go forward on the other side.
This is what the Special One ended up developing with Jan Vertonghen instead, but with limited success due to the lack of pace from the Belgian.
Davies has been out injured since Mourinho’s first game in charge, with derailed the coach’s plans, as he claims he was not able to develop the team in the way he had thought. Perhaps the return of the left-back could be a turning point for Spurs this season.
Charlie Eccleshare reports that Mourinho said:
Asked Jose about his switch between three and four at the back. He said:
“Look, if you want to know what I wanted to do here, you look to my first game – against West Ham. That’s the way I thought I was going to develop the team. Defend with a back four, attack with a back three
— Charlie Eccleshare (@CDEccleshare) January 13, 2020
“That was the first day of unlucky, goodbye Ben Davies.”
Who would have though Ben Davies would have been Mourinho’s MVP?
— Charlie Eccleshare (@CDEccleshare) January 13, 2020