Tottenham Hotspur saw their top-four hopes suffer a real setback following the defeat away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday afternoon, with the Lilywhites slipping to a 1-0 defeat courtesy of a late strike from one-time target, Adama Traore.
The visitors were ultimately made to pay for their defensive woes at Molineux, with manager Antonio Conte – who was watching from afar amid his recent layoff – likely to have been particularly displeased with the display of centre-back, Clement Lenglet.
The on-loan Barcelona man – who started ahead of Eric Dier in the centre of the back three at the weekend – appeared to struggle to deal with the pressure from Julen Lopetegui’s side, with 90min’s Sean Walsh writing that the Frenchman was ‘spun like a washing machine a bit when the going got tough.’
As reporter George Sessions noted, the 27-year-old had almost gifted the hosts the chance to take the lead prior to Traore’s winner after playing a “poor pass” which was intercepted by Joao Moutinho, having then been ‘too slow’ in attempting to thwart Matheus Cunha from having an attempt on goal – as per football.london’s Alasdair Gold.
It is seemingly not the first time that the 6 foot 1 brute has come under fire this season after previously making an “awful mistake” – according to pundit Jim Beglin – in the 4-2 defeat to Manchester City, as Riyad Mahrez sealed the win at the death.
With Lenglet part of a collective backline that has hardly covered itself in glory this season after shipping 36 league goals – the eighth most in the division – it could be time that Conte seeks to shuffle his pack by promoting a deserving figure from the club’s academy ranks instead, in order to take the place of the one-time Sevilla man.
Who can replace Lenglet at Spurs?
A potential dream candidate to take on the role could seemingly be that of teenage wonderkid, Charlie Sayers, with the 18-year-old starlet a natural replacement for Lenglet as he is comfortable in a left-sided centre-back berth – or at full-back.
The promising Englishman has been making “rapid progress” at N17 since his arrival from Southend United back in December 2021 – in the words of Spurs insider John Wenham – having even been part of the club’s pre-season tour to South Korea during the summer.
While the youngster is still waiting for his first taste of life at senior level for Tottenham, the defender has previously featured in the first-team at his former employers after making six appearances in all competitions, with then-boss Phil Brown stating at the time:
“I think Charlie Sayers has been outstanding and you have to say he has a career ahead of him, there’s no doubt about it. He’s got two games under his belt now but is he going to make mistakes as a 17-year-old boy? Absolutely.”
Arguably regarded as “probably the best academy defender at the club” – according to Wenham – the Southend-born ace has caught the eye so far this term at youth level with three goal involvements in just nine appearances across all fronts.
Hailed by Wenham as “more likely one of the ones who will make it at Tottenham”, Sayers appears destined to be a big star in the game, hence the need to gradually begin to ease him into first-team action sooner rather than later.
It may be something of a risk for Conte to trust such a precocious talent, although the recent defeats to both Sheffield United and Wolves have showcased that ruthless changes may be needed in the backline as a matter of urgency.
