View: Tottenham star Ben Davies should return to his natural left-back position
Ben Davies has been an incredibly versatile player for Tottenham during his near-decade-long stay in North London.
Davies was signed by Spurs from Swansea in the summer of 2014 as Mauricio Pochettino’s first official signing and has since played under plenty of managers with the club.
Pochettino was his first, and arguably most successful boss, and the Welshman would go on to play under the likes of Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, Ryan Mason and even Cristian Stellini.
Although not the most spectacular of players, and not someone who would often steal the headlines, the 30-year-old has been a reliable servant for Tottenham and always gives his all when pulling on the club’s colours.
Most importantly, he has been played in different ways by different managers and his versatility is a key factor which has helped him stay such an important part of the squad for so many years.
Under Pochettino he was predominantly used as a left-back, his natural position where he has played 284 times throughout his career, but under Mourinho and Conte he began to feature more frequently as a centre-back, often on the left-hand side of a back three.
And he has displayed qualities throughout his time at the heart of defence that his new Australian boss would appreciate. The 57-year-old likes his teams to press high and squeeze their opposition, meaning he requires central defenders who are comfortable playing further up the field, which the stats suggest Davies certainly is.
As per fbref, last season the Wales international was in the top 16 per cent of centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues for tackles made in the attacking third (0.13 per 90), and the top 28 per cent for tackles made in the middle third (0.60 per 90).
More impressively, however, were his statistics in possession. Davies was in the top four per cent of European centre-backs for touches made in the attacking third (8.53 per 90) and the top six per cent for progressive carries (1.58 per 90). He also found himself in the top seven per cent for carries into the final third (1.28 per 90) and once again in the top four per cent for carries into the penalty area (0.13 per 90).
His most impressive metric was the 2.59 progressive passes he received per match which placed him in the top one per cent of his positional peers across Europe in regard to this particular statistic.
Although, while Davies clearly does possess the qualities to do these things, there remain question marks over whether or not he would be able to do this while playing in a back-four as opposed to a back-five, which offers far more protection.
In Conte’s system, Davies was required to move forward from the left side of defence while being offered the protection of a central centre-back, doing this in a back-four is a completely different story and one he might not be suited to.
Under the guidance of his new manager, the former Swansea man might be better off returning to his natural position of left-back, the position he played in under his previous Argentine manager, who Postecoglou will play a more similar style of football to compared to his Italian predecessors.
As well as this, Postecoglou prefers a more defensive full-back to play on the left flank while his right-back offers a greater attacking threat, and Davies by trade is a more defensive rather than offensive full-back, which makes his switch back to his original role even more logical.
The former Celtic boss himself has even commented on Davies’ future at the club and his plans for the player during a press conference, as reported by Football London (25 July).
“I think Ben has all the attributes I look for in a full-back, particularly the way we play,” Postecoglou said.
“I’m just trying to get game time into him now, but my inclination is that he will be a very very good left-back for us.”
In the 2018/19 Premier League season, one of the last campaigns Davies played as a left-back consistently, he was one of the Premier League’s best defensive full-backs. He was in the top one per cent compared to his positional peers that season for the number of dribblers he tackled (1.85 per 90) and the top seven per cent for the number of tackles he made in his defensive third (1.90 per 90).
On top of this, he was in the top 20 per cent for the number of shots he blocked (0.49 per 90) and the top 13 per cent for the number of tackles he made overall, in all areas of the pitch (2.73 per 90).
Therefore a return to left-back makes so much sense for the Spurs veteran and he might rediscover some of his best form in that position as he enters the later part of his career. Whether or not it is as a starter, he can certainly provide cover on that side of the pitch and help Postecoglou get off to a quick start to life in North London.
In other Tottenham news, the stars of Spurs’ Women’s side are one step closer to learning their fate in Group A at the World Cup.