‘On tenterhooks’ – Postecoglou praises defender but insists Spurs need to sign another

Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s game against Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has been singing the praises of Ben Davies for his recent performances, but insists the club still needs to sign a new centre-back.

The central defensive pairing of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven had seemingly gone a long way to fixing Tottenham’s defensive issues from last season.

The two players forged a brilliant partnership for the first ten games of this campaign, but that came to an end when van de Ven picked up a hamstring injury in the defeat to Chelsea last month.

It has been up to Ben Davies to step in and fill that hole. And, as he has done so often over the last decade for the Lilywhites, the Welshman has proven himself a dependable and effective member of the squad over the last few games.

Postecoglou wants a new centre-back

Still, Ange Postecoglou is under no illusions that his Spurs side would be able to survive another injury scare and calls for the recruitment of a new centre-back in the January transfer window.

In his latest press conference (via Football.London), he said: “I thought Ben Davies was outstanding. He’s getting a run of games. We’ve got to be mindful he’s not a centre-back and he’s growing into that role.

“Ben is still adapting to it. He’s done remarkably well. Centre-back is still a position, especially in our structure, where you need outstanding attributes and we’ve been very fortunate to have him that he’s been able to adapt there. He’s great at taking on information.

“He’s been helped by having Romero back and Vic has taken on a leadership role back there as well. We need to sign another centre-back though because at the moment we’re on tenterhooks in case something else happens there.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Ben Davies is always going to do a good job for Spurs, but the club needs another top-quality centre-half to really push us forward and to prevent an injury crisis crippling the side’s momentum.