Jamie Carragher has claimed on Sky Sports that Ben Davies is facing a major battle to hang on to his regular Tottenham place from revitalised Danny Rose.
The Liverpool legend and high-profile pundit was hugely impressed by Rose’s performance for England in their 1-0 friendly win over Switzerland at the King Power Stadium on Tuesday night.
The Tottenham left-back has played second fiddle to Davies, 25, since returning from a knee injury 11 months ago but Carragher believes Mauricio Pochettino might soon change his mind on the pecking order.
“I think it’s about time we saw the real Danny Rose,” Carragher told Sky Sports’ live coverage of the match shortly after it finished. “He had pace, power and energy and, to be honest, you’d never think he’d lose his place to Ben Davies.
“But Pochettino might be watching that thinking that Ben Davies might have a problem now, if he continues that form.”
OPINION
It would be quite a turnaround for Rose if he was reinstated as the first choice left-back after coming so close to leaving the club during the summer. By his own account, the defender thought long and hard about the exit, and only held back from leaving after extensive talks with manager Pochettino. Davies has started three of Spurs’ four Premier League matches this season after being the first choice for most of the last 20 months, half of which Rose missed due to injury. When both are fit and firing, Rose is the superior and more dynamic player. He is quicker and more of a threat on the overlap, even though Davies is marginally more solid in defence. Spurs fans tore Davies to shreds for his performance against Watford before the international break, and it is unlikely Pochettino would have been too impressed either. The manager has a major selection dilemma on who to choose for the left-sided defender role against Liverpool.