Tottenham’s two senior left-back options are doubts for the upcoming Chelsea fixture, but Roberto De Zerbi still has three alternatives to consider ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge.

Tottenham’s first-choice left-back, Destiny Udogie, has started only twice in the Premier League this season because of persistent fitness issues. Unfortunately, that has been the story throughout his three-and-a-half years in North London.

One of those starts came against Manchester United two weeks ago, when the Italian was one of Spurs’ better performers. However, he apparently picked up a knee problem during that game and was subsequently left out of the squad for the 3-1 win over Coventry City.

De Zerbi appeared to hint that his absence was rather just precautionary, saying: “Destiny Udogie played 70 minutes (against United) and suffered a problem of (the) knee, and we didn’t take a risk alongside the medical staff.”

Summer arrival Andy Robertson had to fill in against Coventry, as he has done for much of the season. Unfortunately, the Scottish international also picked up a hamstring problem and was replaced in the 70th minute.

De Zerbi insisted that Robertson, alongside the two other players who limped off – Tosin Adarabioyo and Omar Marmoush – had not suffered anything serious. “I think there are no injuries, nothing important,” he said.

We are still waiting for an update on both left-backs, so in the meantime, let’s look at how De Zerbi could make things work at Stamford Bridge without two of his primary options.

Micky Van de Ven could return to left-back, but there is a catch

Micky Van de Ven is no stranger to the left-back position. He is actually the first choice in that position for the Netherlands, where the abundance of options at centre-back means a player of his quality cannot simply be left out of the starting XI. Instead, he has more often than not, been used on the left.

The Dutchman also played there during his time at Wolfsburg and on several occasions in his first season at Tottenham under Ange Postecoglou – examples being the 2-0 defeat to Manchester City and the 3-0 win over Sheffield United in May 2024.

More recently, he filled in at left-back during the 1-1 draw against Man United, replacing Udogie in the 74th minute.

Van de Ven can certainly do a job there. He is an excellent one-v-one defender with supreme recovery pace, and opposition wingers will think twice before trying to take him on directly. However, he lacks the technical quality, tight-space dribbling, crossing ability and chance creation in the final third expected of a modern Premier League full-back.

Is that a compromise De Zerbi would be willing to make at Stamford Bridge, where Tottenham have not won in more than eight years?

Not really. Van de Ven attracted criticism in the Netherlands during the recently concluded international break – more specifically from Dutch journalist Valentin Driessen, who urged head coach Xavi Hernandez to drop the defender after three consecutive poor performances in their UEFA Nations League campaign and select a proper left-back instead.

He added: “I’d rather have a player like that (Ian Maatsen) than Van de Ven. Yes, he’s fast, but if you field someone solely to recover from errors, I think you’re missing the point; it’s also about whether someone is comfortable on the ball.”

That is a point Driessen has been making for some time. In September last year, he said: “Van de Ven has a lot of energy, speed, and strength. He can run really fast to the byline, and then he doesn’t know what to do. That’s a problem.”

De Zerbi would surely know that Van de Ven at left-back and Van de Ven at centre-back are two very different propositions. Against a Chelsea attack that has scored 17 goals in seven games this season, there is little doubt the Dutchman would be preferred in the latter position.

So, who else could step in?

Archie Gray and Ben Davies are also options for Roberto De Zerbi

Ben Davies looks like the sensible alternative. The Welshman has just (unexpectedly) scored a superb outside-the-box trivela against Coventry – his second goal of the season – and he remains one of those reliable players a manager can always turn to.

However, the 33-year-old would have his work cut out against the pace and athleticism of Pedro Neto, who is likely to operate on Chelsea’s right wing. Keep in mind, the Portugese winger is fresh off a brace vs Everton and a man-of-the-match performance.

That leaves Archie Gray as De Zerbi’s third option. A teenaged Gray filled in at left-back a few times under Postecoglou when Tottenham were hit by injury crises during the 23/24 and 24/25 campaigns. And the youngster always did his best. It is no surprise that he has since become a vice-captain at the club.

However, Gray has not played at left-back for some time, having featured primarily on the opposite side of the defence – right-back – including this season.

Pedro Porro has missed Tottenham’s last two fixtures through injury and is a ‘maybe’ for the Chelsea game, meaning Gray could be needed at right-back first if the Spaniard is not fully fit.

There is another possible solution, though. De Zerbi could use Jan Paul Van Hecke at right-back, as he did against Coventry, allowing Gray to move across to the left.

That is what we think will be the most likely outcome if both Udogie and Robertson are ultimately ruled out of the Chelsea game.