When Tottenham permitted Davinson Sanchez to join Galatasaray in September, they were taking an almighty gamble on squad depth in defence — which backfired horribly in Monday’s 4-1 defeat to Chelsea.
Micky van de Ven suffered a serious-looking hamstring injury and is expected to face a lengthy spell on the sidelines, while his centre-half partner Cristian Romero will miss the next three games, against Wolves (A), Aston Villa (H) and Manchester City (A), after being shown a straight red card.
Destiny Udogie is also suspended for Saturday’s trip to Molineux after his sending-off against the Blues, leaving Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou short of defensive options.
Overnight, Eric Dier has gone from outcast to lynchpin, and will surely be back at the heart of Spurs’s defence for the foreseeable future after his impressive display from the bench against Chelsea.
Tottenham will target a new left-sided centre-back in January, but what are Postecoglou’s options for a partner for Dier for at least the next three games?
Use Emerson or Davies
Perhaps the safest option for the next three games is to partner Dier with either Emerson Royal or Ben Davies, both full-backs who have played centrally before (although one will be needed at left-back on Saturday to cover for Udogie).
Both are solid defenders, although playing either of them alongside Dier would leave Spurs short of the technical quality and pace to execute Postecoglou’s game plan effectively. The prospect of Dier with Emerson or Davies in an ultra-high line and playing out from the back is concerning.
Blood Ashley Phillips
Phillips’ only minutes this season have come for Spurs’s development side, but he trains with the first team full-time and Postecoglou said last month that he would not be afraid to use the 18-year-old centre-half.
“That’s why we signed him, we think he’s got some great potential,” the Australian said. “If we need to use him, we will.”
Phillips, who joined Spurs from Blackburn in the summer, is an England youth international who is quick and good on the ball, but he only has 14 senior appearances for Rovers to his name.
Throwing him straight in at Wolves would be a baptism of fire, although Postecoglou has already shown he is prepared to trust youth.
Convert a midfielder
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg visibly relished the backs-to-the-wall battle against Chelsea and impressed as an auxiliary centre-half when Spurs went down to nine men.
The Dane has some of the qualities needed to be one of Postecoglou’s ball-playing centre-halves, and is experienced and smart enough to adapt to a new role.
With Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, Giovani Lo Celso and fit-again Rodrigo Bentancur all available, Postecoglou can afford to push Hojbjerg (or another midfielder) into the back four for a spell.
Play a back three
Mention of a back-three brings back grim memories of last season’s dour football under Antonio Conte, but Postecoglou has played the system before, briefly, in his time in charge of Australia.
Switching to a back-three would make Emerson and Davies more comfortable, but seems the least likely of the boss’s options, given the disruption it could cause the team and Postecoglou’s unwillingness to deviate from his principles.
