OPINION
This hasn’t been the finest start to the season for Tottenham left back Ben Davies, or for any Spurs full back to be honest.
However, the Wales international may have found a new niche for himself after a couple of excellent performances at centre back in recent weeks.
The heart of the defence isn’t an unfamiliar place for the former Swansea City man to be, he has performed there many times for his country, but usually as part of a three man central defensive unit.
In Tottenham’s 2-0 Carabao Cup quarter final victory over Arsenal on Wednesday night he proved he could excel as a centre half in a traditional four man backline.
The 25-year-old, on a reported £60,000-per-week at the club [Source: Spotrac], made one dodgy clearance, but apart from that he was solid from start to finish against the Gunners. Playing alongside Toby Alderweireld, the Welshman showed that he could potentially replace the Belgian in the future.
The former Atletico Madrid man has long been linked with a move away from North London and, if he does eventually depart, manager Mauricio Pochettino may discover that he has a more than capable replacement in-house.
It’s easy to think that Davies is older than he is because he’s been around for so long, but he is still a baby in terms of his footballing development. Over the coming years he can be moulded from a marauding full back into an assured centre half by Pochettino.
He has looked extremely comfortable in the centre of defence in recent weeks for Spurs and it’s no stretch to think that he could be employed there more often in the future.
As alluded to earlier, he hasn’t exactly pulled up any trees at full back this campaign. It’s been a rocky start on the left hand side for Davies, and perhaps a move in-field might see him produce more consistent performances.
Whether he makes the switch right away or not, Davies may well have given us a glimpse into his Tottenham future in the last couple of games – and it certainly looks bright.