Tottenham’s options in central defence have been severely depleted due to injury problems
Tottenham Hotspur stretched their winless run to five games as they drew 1-1 with Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The North London side arrived at the Ibrox under pressure, having squandered a two-goal lead against Chelsea last weekend to lose 4-3, but struggled once again to produce a desirable performance and convert that into all three points.
Ange Postecoglou flew to Scotland with a depleted squad in midweek, with Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Ben Davies all sidelined due to injuries. Mikey Moore has been out for over a month as well with a bad virus.
Romero and Van de Ven had only returned from their injuries against Chelsea, but luck continued to be not a good friend of Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham as the centre-back duo were forced off the pitch in each half with fresh problems. Before that game, Davies sustained a hamstring injury in the 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth.
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As a result, teenager Archie Gray was forced to start alongside Radu Dragusin in central defence against Rangers. Gray has played at right-back, left-back, midfield, and centre-back now, demonstrating his versatility.
Facing the media on Friday ahead of the trip to Southampton in the Premier League, Ange Postecoglou was asked whether the club should have signed a central defender in the past summer transfer window and if there are plans to address the weak area of the squad in January. The Tottenham boss responded (h/t Football London).
“Look, I could have had six centre-backs but name me one club that has six centre-backs and has enough depth. It is impossible. I know people say you should have signed one. But how many centre-backs can I have? The reality of it is if all of them are fit and three aren’t going to play and you just have them on your roster. Every club goes into a season with three or maybe four centre-back which we did this year and unfortunately for us three of those four are injured.
“I’ve seen clubs lose one centre-back and people call it an injury-crisis and it is because your centre-back pairing is crucial. In the top teams, your pairing is a constant and teams that don’t have those constants you really struggle even when you miss one.
“We are missing three. Of course, it is going to affect us and our ability to play the way we want to. You can’t have six centre-backs in a Premier League squad of 25.”
Tottenham have endured a lot of injury problems in defence this season. Romero and Van de Ven have had their fair share of issues, and the duo are now out for the foreseeable future with no fixed timeline for their return. Davies is also out with a hamstring problem, meaning Big Ange is down to the bare bones.
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Given the relentless fixture schedule, it will be extremely difficult for young Gray and Dragusin to cover all the games. The Spurs gaffer will have to be innovative and negotiate this testing period, with no real backup to Gray and Dragusin left other than academy kid Alfie Dorrington.
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As per reports, Spurs have extensively scouted RC Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov this season. With Lens having placed a paltry €15m-20m price tag on the Uzbek’s head, we must be all over Khusanov’s signature in January.
