Ben Davies may have just weeks to save Tottenham career, he must step up in Micky van de Ven absence
Ben Davies now faces the most critical spell of his Tottenham career and his recent display for Wales left a lot for Ange Postecoglou to desire with Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven out of action.
Van de Ven, 22, went off injured in the first half of Spurs’ 4-1 defeat to Chelsea on 6 November before missing the loss against Wolves on Saturday 11 November.
It was initially feared that the Netherlands centre-back will be sidelined for a lengthy period but Spurs’ Instagram has uploaded footage (14 November) of the summer signing in the gym and working on his recovery. However, Sunday’s game against Aston Villa (26 November) may well be too soon for him.
Tottenham were also without Romero and Destiny Udogie due to suspension against Wolves, meaning Postecoglou lost three of his four starting defences for the trip to Molineux.
Romero won’t be back until the start of December but Udogie’s ban has been served so he may return to the fold against the Villans.
Those suspensions and injuries revealed the bareness and vulnerability of the Spurs squad, as three Under-21 players were called up in order to fill spots on the bench, and gave an opportunity for senior stars Eric Dier and Davies to impress the Australian coach.
Both players had become bit-part and forgotten commodities in Postecoglou’s squad before then, especially in Dier’s case and could have little room for complaints after Tottenham’s diabolical defensive record in the 2022/23 campaign – conceding a whopping 63 goals.
For Davies, the Welshman may feel he is in last-chance territory now and with van de Ven still in recovery, it’s certainly his chance to prove to Postecoglou that he deserves a prolonged stay, with his contract up in 2025 (Transfermarkt).
And he barely put a foot wrong despite the Wolves defeat. As per Sofascore, the Wales international made three clearances, blocked five shots, and made two interceptions and three tackles, as Spurs spent the majority of the contest on the back foot.
He won all five of his ground duels and one of his two aerial duels and could do little about either of the goals his side conceded. On the few occasions in which Tottenham did look to get forward, he proved he was more than capable of holding his own.
Davies completed 94 per cent of his passes, and played five long balls forward, with four of those being accurate, while also registering one of only six Tottenham shots overall.
It was an impressive individual display despite his lack of starts in a Spurs shirt and the 30-year-old certainly entered the international break with Wales in great confidence.
However, Davies again showed why Tottenham fans aren’t convinced with an inept display at the heart of the defence against Turkey on Tuesday (21 November).
As per SofaScore, the Spurs defender was handed the second-worst average rating of any player on the pitch at the Principality Stadium, winning just 40 per cent of his total duels (4/10), losing possession 11 times and committing three fouls.
Davies, however, completed 78 per cent of his passes and registered a key pass but was at fault for Turkey’s critical equaliser where he found himself in no man’s land, bundling over Turkish talent Kenan Yildiz to give away a penalty which was comfortably converted.
The decision to award the penalty may well have brought some jeers and boos from the home crowd, along with manager Rob Page’s protestations. But it was an instance in which Davies failed to exert his authority at a crucial moment for Wales.
The incident certainly showed Davies’ lack of match practice and quality at left centre-back when he should have been more aware of his surroundings and positioning before the ball arrived in his defensive zone and it is a crucial reason why Spurs fans and Postecoglou are anxious to have him start matches.
Such a display will certainly be punished again versus Tottenham on Sunday and could well lead to Postecoglou making the brutal decision to sell him in January, with the transfer window just weeks away.
If Davies is to have any chance of staking a small claim at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, incidents such as Tuesday must be cut out from his game.
In other Tottenham news, one bit-part international star may well be handed a lifeline in the starting XI from Postecoglou after a recent injury blow.