Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has heaped praise on the growth one player has shown this season.
Spurs have found themselves in a really difficult situation, haven’t they?
Postecoglou’s men have lost three games on the bounce in the Premier League, and they are now seven points behind Aston Villa – albeit Spurs have a game in hand.
Tottenham are now unlikely to qualify for next season’s Champions League, but there are still a lot of positives to take from this season.
Postecoglou is delighted with many of his players, and he has now hailed the growth shown by one of them over the last few months.
Ange Postecoglou shares what has impressed him about Tottenham’s Cristian Romero
Cristian Romero is a fan favourite at Tottenham Hotspur.
The Argentine joined Spurs from Atalanta, initially on a loan deal which was later made permanent for £42.5 million (Daily Mail).
Romero showed his quality as a defender very early on in his Tottenham career. He is always up for a challenge, gives his all on the pitch and Spurs fans absolutely love him for that.
However, like any other player, Romero does have his flaws.
The Argentine has a reputation for being reckless. He has had his fair share of red cards already in a Tottenham shirt, and he has even been called a liability for that in the past.
This season, apart from his sending-off against Chelsea, Romero’s discipline has been much better than it previously was.
He has shown real growth – not just in that department, but as a leader as well after he was made the vice-captain of the club.
Ange Postecoglou showered praise on Romero in his press conference this week and claimed that he has been ‘unbelievable’ this season.
While speaking about success, he said, as per Football London: “Development of our players, because I still think some of them have enormous potential in this group.
“Some of them are in their first year in the Premier League. This period has been great for them because they have to fight through and understand what it looks like when things aren’t going well.
“Micky van de Ven, [Guglielmo] Vicario, Destiny [Udogie]… even [Cristian] Romero, the way he’s grown through the toughest period we’ve had. He’s been unbelievable.
“That’s a great sign for me. Because down the line we’re going to have more tough times for more significant things, and he’s going to be there, so I think it’s great for them.”
Tottenham’s defensive record this season is worrying
Tottenham Hotspur, on paper, have four really good defenders.
Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Pedro Porro are all individually outstanding, and you’d think Tottenham’s backline is really solid as a result.
However, Spurs have conceded 54 goals in 34 games in the Premier League this season – no other team in the current top six have let more in.
A part of that is because Tottenham go all out in attack at times, leaving the defenders exposed to quick counter-attacks. We’ve seen that on multiple occasions this season.
To add to that, Spurs’ defending in set-pieces has been shocking.
Ange Postecoglou needs to address his defence as quickly as possible if he wants to take his side to the next level.