Tottenham News: Gary Neville highlights major flaw in the squad under Jose Mourinho
In the latest news reported by Football.london, former Manchester United Gary Neville has shed light on a fundamental flaw in the Tottenham squad under Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho took over the reins at Tottenham Hotspur in November 2019 following the mid-season sacking of Mauricio Pochettino. Under the Portuguese, Spurs have seen the heady highs of topping the Premier League table and the dismal lows of crashing out of the Europa League this past weekend.
A strong feature of any Mourinho team, throughout his managerial career, is a strong, established centre-back pairing that provides a solid base for the rest of the team to build upon. At Chelsea, he had John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho, at Real Madrid, he had Sergio Ramos, Pepe/Raphael Varane.
But that is something that has been lacking in his time at Tottenham Hotspur, explained Gary Neville while on commentary duties during Spurs’ 2-0 win over Aston Villa.
“You think about Jose Mourinho’s teams, they always have dominant defences. He hasn’t got one here.
“The biggest problem in football is if you’re changing your goalkeeper regularly. And the next problem is if you haven’t got a frequent centre-back partnership. Jose hasn’t got that.”
Last season saw Mourinho rely on the experience of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen in most games. Following the latter’s exit, Eric Dier became a permanent fixture alongside Alderweireld in defence.
However, poor form has seen Dier drop out of late with Davinson Sanchez being preferred. On Sunday, the Colombian paired up alongside summer signing Joe Rodon – Mourinho’s fifth different cenre-back partnership of the season. (h/t Football.london)
More Tottenham Hotspur News
- Daniel Levy has taken a stance on Harry Kane wanting Tottenham exit
- Juventus willing to sell Tottenham target Paulo Dybala due to their pursuit of Paul Pogba
- Sevilla eyeing Tottenham defender Davinson Sanchez as Jules Kounde replacement
It is a strong indicator as to Mourinho hasn’t found a settled defensive combination despite being at the club for almost 18 months now. So, it will be interesting to see if the Portuguese goes after a new central defender in the summer transfer window – provided he is still the manager.
