Ange Postecoglou now has another undroppable in his Tottenham XI following the Lilywhites’ first eight games of the 2023/24 Premier League season
The lack of cup football in the first half of the 2023/24 season has allowed Ange Postecoglou to name his strongest Tottenham XI week in, week out. Whereas in previous years the Lilywhites either competing in European competition or the Carabao Cup in midweek would maybe see them tweak the team at times, Postecoglou hasn’t had that issue yet due to Spurs’ clear schedule.
The 58-year-old undoubtedly has his preferred Tottenham team in mind, as can be seen from his selections since the opening day of the league season at Brentford. In Tottenham’s first four league fixtures of the campaign, it became clear to see that Postecoglou had seven undroppables in his side and four places were still there for the taking
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Following Tottenham’s latest batch of games prior to October’s international break, the head coach now has another undroppable to add to his list. Pedro Porro is the player in question after an excellent start to the 2023/24 term at right-back.
Signed as a right wing-back to play in Antonio Conte’s system, Porro has had to change his game slightly under Postecoglou as he is playing deeper but that still hasn’t stopped him having an impact in the final third. Amid some concerns over his defensive play after struggling in the defeats at Newcastle United and Liverpool last season and also having a couple of wobbles in pre-season, the Spaniard has since proved that he is more than capable at the back. He did just that in the 2-0 win over Manchester United in August after coming into the team after initially taking his place on the bench on the opening weekend
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Porro hasn’t looked back since earning a starting role and has gone from strength to strength in that period to earn plenty of plaudits. Facing two of the Premier League’s best teams in Arsenal and Liverpool over the past month, Porro demonstrated his defensive qualities after limiting Gabriel Jesus and Luiz Diaz to very little during his time on the pitch.
The player is full of confidence at present, with his delightful turn on Andy Robertson’s in the late 2-1 victory over the Reds an example of that. Following the win against Jurgen Klopp’s men, with Porro swinging in the decisive ball that Joel Matip put through his own net in the dying seconds of the contest, Postecoglou hailed his right-back when speaking to SPURSPLAY
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“Pedro has been super,” said Postecoglou. “He didn’t start the first game but right from pre-season he’s really adapted. Obviously, with our full-backs we’re asking for a different type of role to what they’re used to but I think he and Destiny [Udogie] have adapted really well to it.
“They’re trying to learn, they’re trying to understand it. I think it suits him in many respects because he’s such a good footballer. Technically he’s a very good footballer and he’s also a great athlete. You could see today. We needed both he and Destiny to be at it today, along with Micky [van de Ven] because when you see the speed they have up front with the transition we were going to need our guys to be really on it defensively.
“That’s the area he’s working really hard at, particularly Matt Wells and the whole back four, all the defenders have been working really hard with Matty Wells just on their defensive principles and I think you’re seeing the fruits of their labour.”
Playing his part last time out in the 1-0 win at Luton Town, Porro could perhaps count himself unlucky not to have been included as part of the senior Spain squad for their Euro 2024 qualifiers against Scotland and Norway. Maintain his recent form over the coming months, though, and he may put himself in a very good position to be included in November’s games and potentially even La Roja’s final Euro 2024 squad come June.
After delivering three good performances against Manchester United, Bournemouth and Burnley prior to September’s international break to put himself in the driving seat for the right-back spot under Postecoglou having previously missed out on the opening day at Brentford, Porro has made it his own position in the last four matches with some outstanding performances. As a result, Emerson Royal just can’t get a look-in as Porro has become one of Postecoglou’s Tottenham undroppables.