Report: Another Tottenham defender suffers injury on international duty
Ashley Phillips sustained an injury on Tuesday while playing for England’s Under-19s, according to John Wenham, who frequently breaks news on Tottenham’s young players on his social media account, Lilywhite Rose.
A plethora of ailments are currently plaguing Ange Postecoglou; Richard Leonardison, James Maddison, and Micky Van de Ven are among those on the treatment table among Ryan Sessegnon, Ivan Perisic, and Mannor Solomon.
Desity Udogie is also questionable for the encounter versus Villa due to a hamstring injury (The Athletic), and Cristian Romero is out for two more games due to suspension.
As a result, Postecoglou was compelled to start Ben Davies and Eric Dier as his centre back combination, leaving him down to the bare bones in defence.
When Tottenham played at Molineux Stadium, their lack of pace in the back left them vulnerable at times. This could mean that the Australian will use an academy player when they play Aston Villa.
Ashley Phillips picks up injury on England duty
Though Lilywhite Rose reports that Phillips, 18, left the game due to an injury during England Under-19’s match against Mexico, Postecoglou may have to postpone his plans if he had intended to start the player on Sunday.
#thfc Ash Phillips has just left the England U19 match vs Mexico with an injury 😤😤😤😤 pic.twitter.com/Ocb5IlCkru
— Lilywhite Rose (@Lilywhite_Rose) November 21, 2023
Hopefully, Phillips’ injury was not too significant and he was removed from the game as a precaution. Postecoglou needs the teenager as a bench option despite the fact that it was unlikely he would start against Villa because of the injuries and suspensions he is currently dealing with.
In a similar vein:
Tottenham board green-light exit for “top player”, he’s “free to leave” for good – journalist
Player “free to leave” after Tottenham board green-light exit
His fate has been decisively decided.
Executives at Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly in favour of a player leaving the team permanently, and a decision has already been taken.
Spurs exit candidates for 2024
Yves Bissouma and Pape Matar Sarr, who were both mostly neglected by former manager Antonio Conte last season, are two players whose careers have been significantly reshaped by Ange Postecoglou’s arrival at Spurs.
Nonetheless, following the Australian’s June appointment from Celtic, a number of Tottenham players have witnessed a sharp decline in their careers. Due to Spurs’ current suspension and injury crisis, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, who started 35 Premier League games under Conte last season, has mostly been kept off the field and has only just started to establish himself as a regular in the starting lineup.
Long-serving defender Eric Dier is similarly inexperienced, having only played his first 23/24 league minutes in the 4-1 loss to Chelsea almost two weeks ago. Like Hojbjerg, Dier’s contract expires at the end of the current campaign, and there are rumours that he may depart Spurs as early as January.
The issue of Tottenham’s excess players who are currently on loan at other teams also has to be addressed.After an outstanding debut season at Leeds, Joe Rodon may be sold by Spurs the following year, and the Lilywhites may want for as much as £20 million to sign him.
It is uncertain what the future holds for defensive trio Sergio Reguilon, Japhet Tanganga and Djed Spence, who are all also gone on temporary stays, but an update has come to light on high-earning flop Tanguy Ndombele.
Spurs green-light Ndombele exit
With only seven appearances in the Super Lig and Champions League this season, the Frenchman—who is struggling at his loanee club Galatasaray—has only played 123 minutes of football. (Transfermarkt transfers by Tanguy Ndombele)
Journalist Paul Brown claims that Spurs will now want to split ways with Ndombele permanently in 2024. Ndombele was signed by Tottenham for approximately £53.8 million, a club record cost at the time. However, things haven’t gone quite as planned since. He stated :
“Never say never and Ange Postecoglou is not the kind of manager who likes to freeze people out, but Tanguy Ndombele has had so many chances under so many managers and never been able to produce what he’s capable of, that I think Spurs are only too willing to wash their hands of him, really. I think a decision has been made at the board level that he’s free to leave and they will take as much as they can get for him, frankly. So I think it’s unlikely on that basis that he ever plays for Tottenham again.”
Before deciding to transfer to N17 in 2019, the Frenchman was a sensation at Lyon; Man City manager Pep Guardiola even described him as “amazingly calm” while he was in control (Liverpool Echo).
| Tanguy Ndombele’s strengths |
|---|
| Through balls |
| Passing |
| Dribbling |
“Lyon are one of the best teams we’ve played against,” said Guardiola in 2018 after a Champions League encounter with the Ligue 1 side.
“Ndombele is incredibly calm, and Aouar is amazing.”
Declan Rice, an Arsenal player, called Ndombele a “top player” only a year ago, but despite numerous failed loan stints and opportunities under various Spurs managers, his faltering career hasn’t been able to pick back up.