Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has insisted he is a great admirer of Ben Davies and the qualities he brings to the Spurs side as a natural left-back, with Japhet Tanganga and Ryan Sessgenon players who have had to adapt to fill the role.
Davies has been out of action since November after picking up an ankle injury, though he has now returned to training with the first-team.
In his absence summer signing Sessegnon and academy recruit Tanganga have performed the role of left-back, though the manager believes that neither are naturally equipped to perform that role.
With Davies returning to the first-team fold now, Mourinho, who is a big fan of the player, insists that the Wales international will be getting minutes but will not be ready to play a number of games in a row yet.
“In this moment he’s back but he’s not back ready to play one, two, three matches in a row", Mourinho said at a press conference.
"He’s not in the top of his condition. He’s not injured. He’s training with the team. He can play at least minutes and of course is a player we like very much. He’s a natural left-back", Mourinho continued, before admitting Tanganga and Sessegnon have been out of their comfort zone at left-back.
"He’s not an adaptation like Tanganga, not an adaptation like Sessegnon who is much more of a winger than a left-back.
“The time he was out was a great opportunity for others to play. For Tanganga it was, in the end, the opportunity of a lifetime, he has played already six or seven full matches with the first team.
"For Ryan it was the acceleration of a process. He has played more matches than normally he would do."
Mourinho opted to let left-back Danny Rose depart for Newcastle United in the January transfer window and the Portuguese will be crossing his fingers for Davies to remain fit for a sustained period.
