Cameron Carter-Vickers isn’t ready for Tottenham
A quality loan to the Championship was very valuable for Cameron Carter-Vickers this season, but he’s got work to do if he’s going to make the first team at Tottenham. The solid centre back needs a lower level Premier League loan next year to help him bridge the gap to Spurs.
In all fairness, it’s very possible Carter-Vickers isn’t quite good enough to impact Mauricio Pochettino’s first team. He played well for both Ipswich Town and Sheffield United this year in England’s second division, but he was far from dominant. That’s understandable for the 20-year-old defender, but other Spurs prospects have done more with the same opportunity.
The good news is that Carter-Vickers already seems to understand that another loan move might be in his best interest. He’s even open to returning to Ipswich Town if that’s what Pochettino believes will be best for the youngster. In my mind, both Carter-Vickers and Pochettino need to set their sights just a little bit higher.
There’s no reason Carter-Vickers can’t secure a loan to a lower level Premier League team next year. Spurs will need to make sure they select a club that is willing to provide him regular playing time and plays a decent brand of football. One of the newly promoted clubs might be the perfect destination for the American international.
Playing in England’s top flight is the only real way Tottenham are going to learn if he’s good enough to hack it or not. Sure, they’ll give him some opportunities with the first team in the summer, but those are just glorified exhibitions. The true test will be to see how Carter-Vickers can cope with constant battles with Premier League quality attackers. Putting him in that sort of fire would surely cause Carter-Vickers to either sink or swim.
My guess is that he’ll sink due to his lack of size. He reads the game very well, but his lack of height is a real issue for a centre back who isn’t a great player on the ball. Unless he develops skills like say, Nicolas Otamendi, he may top out as a Championship level defender.
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I’ve been wrong before though and that’s why Spurs need to work hard to get Carter-Vickers the right loan. Leaving him on the Pochettino’s bench all year isn’t going to help his development. If Carter-Vickers is going to make a real impact at Tottenham, he needs to play somewhere else in the Premier League first.