A position that looked very settled at Spurs is now becoming rather less clear.
Tottenham have a great deal of depth at right-back, with the England international Kyle Walker having last season been ably deputised by Kieran Trippier. Elsewhere, DeAndre Yedlin was learning the Premier League ropes at Sunderland, while the teenager Kyle Walker-Peters continued to impress with the U21 side.
Walker’s place is stronger than ever, having showed real consistency last season for both club and country, but the question of who will provide competition and cover is a more difficult one.
Both the 25-year old Trippier and the 23-year old Yedlin look capable of the role, but only one can do the job. At the end of last season it looked likely that Yedlin could move back to Sunderland, either on a permanent deal or another loan, but Sam Allardyce’s departure seems to have ended that speculation.
Indeed, it is Trippier who has been linked with a move in recent days, with Southampton said to be interested in the player. Yedlin looked effective during the games in Australia last week, even though he was played out of position at left-back, while Trippier was culpable for one of Juventus’ goal in last Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat.
Trippier’s quality of crosses provides an alternative to Walker, while Yedlin is a more like-for-like replacement and is one of the very few players at Spurs who has a similar amount of pace.
So which one would you like to see in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad next season and which one should be let go? The squad has an embarrassment of riches at right-back and it looks one of them needs to leave to develop elsewhere.
This is a great talking point and one I am a little stuck with. If push came to shove I think Trippier for me just edges it but Yedlin although still unproven in our team showed a glimpse of versatility against AM playing 60minutes as a LB. Trippier without a doubt has a better cross but is sluggish (by no means slow) in comparison to Yedlin. 2years age difference is not much in footballing terms but homegrown means a lot more these days.
I never understood, nor do I to this day, the importance of having homegrown players, what difference does it make if both North Americans (such as myself) speak English almost as well as the people of the UK?
I never understood, to this day, the importance of having homegrown players, what difference does it make if North Americans (such as myself) speak English almost as well as the people of the UK?
It’s not about US nationality, there are FA rules that have to be followed about the amount of ‘home grown’ players that every club must have in their squad – which is what makes good ones so valuable. It’s just not possible to have an entire squad of overseas players
Oh, thanks for clearing that up for me
Well said frank.
I’d prefer Yedlin any day. More often than not when Trippier gets the ball he looks so uncomfortable and unsure what to do with it especially in the defensive half of the field. He has a serious lack of confidence at times. Very worrying. Was poor against Juventus. Had 2 or 3 decent games last year. But more often than not looked out of his depth and panicky
The problem with Trippier that he scare to take risks, he is a good potential, but he must use it !