Tottenham Hotspur intend to trigger the option in Ben Davies’ contract, keeping the Wales defender at the club for next season.
Davies’ contract expires at the end of this season, his 11th at the club, but Tottenham plan to retain him for 2025-26 too.
Davies, 31, is the longest-serving member of the Tottenham squad, having joined from Swansea City in the summer of 2014 when Mauricio Pochettino took over.
Ange Postecoglou, the fifth permanent Spurs manager Davies has played for, has started Davies six times so far this season.
He has filled in for Destiny Udogie at left-back and more recently moved to centre-back to cover for the injured Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero.
Davies signed a three-year deal in the summer of 2022 when Antonio Conte was manager.
Like his close friend and Spurs captain Son Heung-min, Davies’ contract expires at the end of this season.
In both cases, Tottenham intend to trigger the option that will keep the veteran players at Spurs for next season too.
“Davies is highly rated by Postecoglou and everyone at Spurs”
Even though Davies is no longer an automatic first-choice player at Tottenham, it is clear how highly is rated by Postecoglou and everyone at the club.
He does not have the physical power of Destiny Udogie but is very capable of filling in at left-back when required. And when brought in to centre-back recently he has been immaculate.
He was excellent at the Etihad Stadium last Saturday alongside Radu Dragusin, as they shut out City and put Spurs on track for one of the club’s greatest-ever victories.
When Spurs beat City in the League Cup last month, Davies had to come on for Cristian Romero in the second half and helped them see out the win.
What is so telling about Davies is that he tries to defend as Postecoglou would want him to: high up the pitch, aggressively trying to win the ball back.
When Spurs beat Villa on 3 November, the crucial goal that put them 2-1 ahead came when Davies aggressively stole the ball from Ollie Watkins, setting up an attack that ended up in Dominic Solanke scoring.
He is a loyal and adaptable player who tries to carry out the manager’s instructions to the letter, just as he has been for different Spurs managers for over 10 years now.
Davies is the longest-serving Spurs player left, having joined in the summer of 2014 when Pochettino took over. That makes him and Son the last links left with that era and makes their experience especially important at the club today. At the start of this season, Postecoglou talked about how vital that was for the new generation of Spurs players.
“They [Davies and Son] are both great guys, they understand what the football club is about,” he said. “It’s great when you have 18-year-olds walking into a dressing room and probably two of the first people who will go and greet them are Sonny and Ben.
“They are outstanding people apart from being fantastic footballers. I think it is great and only right they get heralded for not just their longevity, but the service they have provided.”
Now Son and Davies are both set to continue that service into next year as well.
(Ahmad Mora/Getty Images)
