Alfie Dorrington could make senior Tottenham debut v Manchester United as Ashley Phillips heads out on loan
Ange Postecoglou could soon be forced to call upon 18-year-old Alfie Dorrington as the Australian’s list of defensive options gets shorter and shorter at Tottenham.
Despite injuries to numerous first-team stars, most notably in the defensive department, Tottenham seemed more than happy to let go of Ashley Phillips.
As revealed via the club’s official X page (8 January), the former Blackburn Rovers man has returned to the Championship, joining up with Plymouth Argyle on loan for the remainder of the 2023/24 campaign.
It is a smart move for the 18-year-old, who will hopefully secure some much-needed first-team football ahead of his return to Hotspur Way in the summer.
However, it certainly seems like an odd move from a squad depth point of view. Although Phillips has not yet made his senior debut for Spurs, he has featured seven times on the bench in the Premier League this season, always on hand in case he was needed.
With Phillips no longer at the club, and Ben Davies’ status unclear after Postecoglou confirmed the Welshman had injured his hamstring during the 1-0 FA Cup victory over Burnley (Alasdair Gold, 5 January), Spurs could all of a sudden find themselves without two centre-backs who featured in their most recent matchday squad.
Micky van de Ven’s return to the bench against Burnley means he will likely start against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday 14 January, but in the situation where a defensive substitute is needed, Postecoglou finds himself very short and might need to call upon Under-21 star Dorrington.
Dorrington has been a key player in Spurs’ Premier League 2 campaign this year, starting all nine matches, and helping his side keep five clean sheets across those matches. His bright form has been rewarded with a consistent place in the first-team squad, being named on the bench in Spurs’ past 10 consecutive games.
Postecoglou has not yet had to call on Dorrington, although might have no choice against Manchester United.
Van de Ven has only just returned from a long layoff and will likely need to have his minutes managed. In the likely event that the 22-year-old is taken off against United, Postecoglou might find that Dorrington is the only available centre-back option he has to turn toward.
Old Trafford is certainly not the most relaxing environment to make your competitive debut in, and Dorrington could find himself being required to rise to quite an occasion this weekend.
In other Tottenham news, one 91% ace is in line to return from injury when Spurs host Manchester City in the FA Cup later this month.