Tottenham Hotspur 'add Everton's Jarrad Branthwaite to centre-back shortlist'
The Lilywhites were plunged into a defensive crisis prior to the international break, as first-choice pairing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven both had to leave the field against Chelsea.
Romero was made to take the walk of shame for a crunching tackle on Enzo Fernandez, incurring a three-game ban in the process, before Van de Ven sustained a serious hamstring problem, which will rule him out until 2024.
With Davinson Sanchez being sold to Galatasaray in the summer, as well as Joe Rodon and Japhet Tanganga's loan exits to Leeds United and Augsburg respectively, Ange Postecoglou had no choice but to deploy Eric Dier and Ben Davies in the heart of defence against Wolverhampton Wanderers two weekends ago.
The duo initially justified their selections against a wasteful Wolves, but Spurs let a one-goal lead slip in added time en route to a 2-1 defeat, demoting them to fourth place in the Premier League table in the process.
Romero still has another two games of his ban to serve, meaning that Dier and Davies will again be required to fill in against Champions League-chasing Aston Villa and treble winners Manchester City over the next couple of weeks, unless 18-year-old Ashley Phillips is fast-tracked into the first team.
However, Dier will enter the final six months of his contract in the January transfer window, and while a mid-season transfer is off the cards given Spurs' defensive crisis, the Englishman is widely expected to leave as a free agent when his deal expires.
Defensive reinforcements will therefore be priority number one in January, and Spurs have been linked with the likes
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