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Postecoglou teases major tactical shake-up with ‘versatile player’ ahead of Tottenham’s visit to Ferencvaros

Tottenham Hotspur travel to Budapest to face Ferencvaros in their second Europa League clash following a comprehensive victory over Qarabag FK in their opener game.

Despite Radu Dragusin receiving an early red card for a hapless last-man tackle against Qarabag, Tottenham won through goals from Brennan Johnson, Pape Matar Sarr and Dominic Solanke.

Manager Ange Postecoglou has several concerns ahead of the game, especially in defence, which could force him to rotate his team.

Dragusin is suspended thanks to the needless red card. Cristian Romero could be back in the starting line-up after missing the Qarabag game through suspension.

However, with Micky Van de Ven desperately needing a break, Postecoglou admitted he could spring a surprise at centre-back.

“No, I think Archie (Gray) can play centre-back,” the Australian manager said (via football.london) when asked if he planned to repeat his pre-season experiment, where he played the midfielder in central defence.

“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 (Udogie) out, we’ll definitely need him at the back.


“We’ve got a couple of different options about where we use him, but I’d be comfortable using him in any of those areas.”

A strong performance against Ferencvaros could open doors for Gray and establish him as a dependable asset for Tottenham.

If he can prove himself capable of holding down the centre-back role, it will give Postecoglou more tactical flexibility and Gray another possible route into the first team.

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