Welcome back to F***, Marry, Kill: Tottenham Hotspur squad deconstruction.
Today, I’m going to work through Spurs’ defensive foundations: the center backs. It’s been a huge area of concern this season, so we will take an in-depth look at... well, the depth as Spurs look to build to next season.
As said in my goalkeepers piece here, for each of these footballers, we’ll give you our thoughts as to why they should stay (Keep), head out on loan (Loan), or go (Sell - either via an actual sale, or conclusion of their contract); though there may also be a bacon sandwich that pops up here and there also. Spoiler alert: there will be one today!
Editor’s note: this series and a couple of the pieces in it were nearly completed at time of writing, so we will still cover players whose future has already been confirmed (i.e. released players)
Cristian Romero - Keep
Spurs may not have much of choice with this one if Cuti decides to force his way to the Iberian peninsula... but they should be doing everything in their power to keep the World Cup winner in London. Though he had some struggles this season (and there are definitely some concerns around his fitness), the reality is not only is Spurs’ defense worse without him, but their attack is also much worse, such is his quality on the ball. It’s a key part of his game that often goes unnoticed but would be incredibly difficult to replace.
One person in the masthead chat suggested an enticing deal to keep him a bit longer (with his contract up now in 2 years, so getting to the spicy end): a one-year extension with a little pay bump, but incorporating a release clause of around £50 million if Spurs miss out on Champions League. Not the worst idea.
Micky van de Ven - Keep
Do I really need to write a paragraph on why Spurs should keep the fastest player in the Premier League? And that’s without even looking at the stats with and without Micky.
Kevin Danso - Keep - confirmed*
*Unless Spurs decide to do some weird financial jiggery pokery and sell him for a profit
A really solid all-round defender, and an example of some very smart January business by the club. He was huge when he came on in the Europa League final, and while not quite having the pace of Micky or ball skills of Cuti, he offers a calm presence, is assured in possession, and is an excellent backup who will push the two starters to keep their standards high.
Radu Dragusin - Sell
Radu is still young. He’s also just utterly lacking the skills to play modern, attacking football. It’s really a scouting failure at its core, and the question is whether he will have recovered from his ACL injury enough to test the market. Though he has some good defensive skills, he’s just not a fit, and I think I’m ready to move on.
Ben Davies - Bacon Sandwich
The longest-tenured member of this iteration of Spurs. He has been a faithful servant to the club, and largely dependable when called upon; but his ageing really began to show this season and he can no longer be trusted as the chief backup at either fullback or left-sided center back. His contract is also up, with the club holding an option for an extra year (but not publicizing any execution of said clause).
In this scenario, as thanks for his service, I’m actually happy to see whatever scenario works best for Ben, as I mentioned in my season-ending departures piece: Davies to test the market as a free agent, and if he can’t find himself a deal that works for him have the club hand him an extra year to act as break-glass-in-case-of-emergency depth and work on his training badges.
Ashley Phillips - Loan
I very nearly wrote Sell on this one, but last minute I refrained after reviewing both Phillips’ age and his contract situation. What I have seen from Phillips (and the smoke from the Spurs beat reporters) is that Phillips is a pretty athletically gifted defender (you have to be starting in the Championship at 19) who is extremely limited technically on the ball. Basically, he’s Radu 2.0, and as such he probably doesn’t have much of a future at a club of Spurs’ stature (plus he’s never going to qualify as club-trained as he came to the club too old).
He’s a full 3-and-a-bit years younger than Radu, though, and he has three years left on his contract - so if Spurs want to extract maximum value, they might want to give him another season out at a club who doesn’t play struggleball (aka not Stoke City) and potentially see if there is something there. The other option is the club keep him as emergency cover if Davies heads away, but I think that’s unlikely as it’s only going to hinder Phillips’ development.
Alfie Dorrington - Loan
Arguably the more talented of Spurs’ academy center back graduates, Alfie #2 (c’mon guys, Devine is the OG) has seen his development hampered by injury, missing a huge amount of the 23/24 season, and the beginning of the 24/25 campaign following surgery on his hamstring. He finally got back onto the pitch for the U21’s in late September, before heading on loan to Aberdeen in the Scottish league where he worked his way into a starting berth. Alfie #2 really just needs minutes at this point, so a loan is a no-brainer.
Luka Vuskovic - Loan
It’s possible the Croatian defender may be ready to contribute immediately at Spurs, but it’s unlikely. Signing for Spurs in late 2023 as one for the future, he spent 24/25 at Westerlo in the Belgian Pro League where he was their third top scorer... strange for a center back! That’s because Vuskovic is an absolute specimen, physically. The guy is a giant and just dominates opposition players - but he’s not slow either!
Spurs will get a look at him in preseason and then will likely send him out on loan. There are two schools of thought as to the approach here. He could head to the Championship, which is often a good proving ground for young players, but that thinking is usually accompanied by the need for youth to physically develop, not something Vuskovic needs; in which case, he could head to the continent to a more skilled team (as Westerlo were very much a “lump it forward” side). A loan in England, however, could help him acclimate to life in London.
That’s it for Spurs’ center backs. In some ways, a reasonably settled lineup, though a lot depends on the Cristian Romero transfer saga this summer. The obvious need is left-sided defensive cover, i.e. a backup for Micky van de Ven, ideally one who can also cover left back... but more on that in the next piece, where we look at the fullbacks.