Tottenham suffered an injury crisis at the back last season, which derailed their campaign, but are set to avoid a repeat.
Centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero were often injured, and a lack of depth saw Archie Gray and Ben Davies fill in, with disastrous results.
Tottenham have been eager to strengthen the depth at the back as a result, with lessons clearly learned from last season, and there are now plenty of new faces.
Kevin Danso, Luka Vuskovic and Kota Takai will add additional depth at centre-back, but this now means that one promising talent is almost certain to depart permanently.
Ashley Phillips rejoins Stoke City on loan
Young defender Ashley Phillips was a standout performer during a loan spell at Stoke in the Championship last season and is a promising talent for the future.
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The 20-year-old made 39 appearances for the Potters and was one of their best players throughout the campaign.
It was reported at the start of the summer that Thomas Frank was keen on giving Phillips a chance, but his stance has now changed, with the centre-back rejoining Stoke on another loan.
While there is no option to buy in his loan deal, Phillips’ move back to the Championship indicates that he has no future at Tottenham, especially with the increased competition at centre-back.
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Phillips is likely to leave Tottenham next year
Even if Phillips performs well again in the Championship, he will return to Spurs as the potential sixth-choice centre-back next year and will need to keep playing regularly.
More loan spells will only devalue the player, whose contract runs until 2028, and next year, he will have two years left and no chance of regular action.
Tottenham’s recruitment of Takai, and the decisions to keep Danso and Vuskovic have all meant there is no room for Phillips even in the long term, but the hope will be that he can leave for a substantial fee if he impresses again next season.
Vuskovic, in particular, is an outstanding young prospect, but his presence has meant that Phillips will likely be sacrificed.