Oliver Skipp in line for fresh Tottenham chance to prove he represents the future for Ange Postecoglou
The one benefit Ange Postecoglou’s constant selection issues have to offer is the ability for each player in his Tottenham team to have a chance to prove themselves.
Postecoglou has had to come up with inventive ways to keep Spurs competitive ever since his players began sitting out games due to injury and suspensions.
Since first-choice duo Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven went off against Chelsea on November 6 – the former red carded, the latter injured – the Australian has employed four substitute center-backs. Of them, left-back Ben Davies has proven to be a dependable backup.
With each game, Davies is improving to the point where one could honestly question whether he has played out of position for the majority of his career.
OLIVER SKIPP SCORED TWICE AGAINST BARCELONA IN A PRE-SEASON FRIENDLY
Following the loss of midfielder James Maddison to an ankle injury, also against Chelsea, Postecoglou has also tried a number of different ways to infuse energy into his team. While Dejan Kulusevski is doing admirably at the center, Giovani Lo Celso has emerged as a vital squad member, scoring in back-to-back games.
Now that Yves Bissouma is out for the next four games before Senegal’s Pape Matar Sarr and Mali’s Ibrahim Boubacar go for the Africa Cup of Nations in January, Postecoglou’s focus is on the center of midfield. Rodrigo Bentancur won’t be returning until February, and Madison isn’t anticipated to return until sometime in the New Year.
Oliver Skipp, please step forward.
The former England Under-21 international has started just two games under Postecoglou: the 2-2 draw at Brentford on the opening day of the season and the flat Carabao Cup third-round defeat to Fulham in the same month.
He has made a further 11 appearances from the bench, including an hour at Nottingham Forest on Friday night as a first-half concussion substitute for Brennan Johnson.
It has been a difficult two years for Skipp. He was a valued player for Antonio Conte in the first few months of the Italian’s tenure, but was sidelined from January 2022 with a long-term pelvic problem and, by the time he was fit again, Spurs had signed Bentancur and Bissouma, and Sarr had returned from loan.
