Jamie O’Hara has labelled Antonio Conte’s decision to start Japhet Tanganga at right centre-back as ‘crazy’.
Tottenham would have been hoping to build on their recent momentum heading into the clash against Leicester but they were brought crashing down to earth by the Foxes.
The Lilywhites conceded four after taking the lead in the game, with their defensive shortcomings once again costing them.
With Cristian Romero suspended after his red card against Manchester City, Conte decided to start Tanganga at right centre-back over Davinson Sanchez.
The selection decision did not work, with the Spurs academy graduate enduring a difficult afternoon before coming off in the 76th minute.
Tanganga was heavily linked with a move away from Tottenham during the January window, with Inter Milan thought to have shown interest in signing him on loan (The Times).
Based on O’Hara’s assessment, the defender should have been let go, with the pundit insisting that the 23-year-old is not good enough to play at centre-back.
The former Spurs midfielder told talkSPORT following Spurs’ 4-1 loss: “They’re not good enough. Tanganga isn’t good enough. He’s not been good enough for two seasons. He wasn’t good enough at full-back and you’re playing him on the right side of a three. It’s crazy.”
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I have always felt that Tanganga is best suited to playing as a centre-back in a back three rather than as a full-back or a centre-back in a back four.
It would be unfair to judge the 23-year-old too harshly, given that he has hardly had any game time at all this season. So, it is only natural that he looked rusty.