Tottenham feel Djed Spence knock-on as Ange Postecoglou turns to Archie Gray to solve Ferencvaros headache | OneFootball

Gray set for auxiliary role in Europa League clash with Postecoglou facing problem at least partly of his own making

It is still early days in the Europa League - far too early to bother looking at the 36-team table - but already Ange Postecoglou is facing a selection headache in Europe, at least partly of his own making.

The problem for Postecoglou is that centre-half Micky van de Ven could do with a rest ahead of Sunday's visit to Brighton after starting all three games last week, and Ben Davies cannot deputise for both the Dutchman and Udogie at left-back.

Djed Spence replaced Udogie at half-time at Old Trafford - and was bright - but neither he nor Sergio Reguilon, another left-back, have been included in Postecoglou's Europa League squad, limiting the head coach's options.

“Archie can play centre-back,” Postecoglou said in Hungary before the game. “He's obviously played full-back, played midfield, played probably left-back. He's a pretty versatile player and that's one of the reasons we were really excited to bring him to the club.

“He takes in information well and with Radu being suspended and Destiny out, we'll definitely need him at the back.

Postecoglou had to omit two senior players from his Europa League squad list due to UEFA regulations, leaving the Australian with a tough call.

Reguilon was a no-brainer. The Spanish defender, who is out of contract in the summer, is not part of Postecoglou's plans and Spurs had still hoped to offload him to Turkey or Saudi Arabia when they submitted their European squad. He has travelled to Hungary, effectively to make up the numbers in training.

Archie Gray could be used as a centre-back in Hungary

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Spence was, presumably, an altogether harder decision for Postecoglou given his surprising renaissance since returning from a loan at Genoa, and it is safe to assume he would be in contention for a first competitive Spurs start against Ferencvaros if he was available.

As it is, the 24-year-old is among the players to remain in London, presumably to prepare for him for the possibility of starting at Brighton.

Postecoglou might, instead, have left out goalkeeper Fraser Forster and relied upon inexperienced academy graduates Brandon Austin and Alfie Whiteman - who had to be included in the squad because they are 'club-trained' - as understudied to Guglielmo Vicario, who started against Qarabag.

Forster is in contention to play in Hungary, with Postecoglou mindful of the need to keep him sharp, but having another defender available would have felt more beneficial for Spurs, at least in this match.

With eight games in total in the revamped 'league phase' of the Europa League, there may come a point where Spurs are thankful to have Forster available, even if you wonder if the 36-year-old is still a significant upgrade on Austin.

Ultimately, Postecoglou can reason that he was left in an unenviable position due to the makeup of his developing squad, which is still a long way from being the finished, and that there was no right or wrong answer over who to include and who to leave out.

You wonder, though, if Spurs may come to miss Spence more than they realised.