Why spending this season on loan at Swansea City could work wonders for Cameron Carter-Vickers
Tottenham Hotspur‘s young defender Cameron Carter-Vickers recently completed a move to Championship side Swansea City on a season-long loan.
The centre-back had impressed for the Londoners in pre-season, particularly against Barcelona and AS Roma in the International Champions Cup. In fact, he seemed ready for a place in the first-team squad.
But the problem for Carter-Vickers was the World Cup stars’ returns. Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld, and Davinson Sanchez are the senior centre-backs in the team.
Mauricio Pochettino also has Argentina U20 international Juan Foyth as the 4th choice centre-back. Although Foyth didn’t start in the Premier League last season, he started 5 games in Spurs’ FA Cup run to the semi-finals. In addition, he also played the last group stage game in the Champions League.
Last season, Carter-Vickers was out on loan first at Sheffield United and then at Ipswich Town. He made a total of 34 appearances, successfully completing 30 tackles, 173 clearances and 54 interceptions in the process. But most importantly, the youngster got the playing time he deserves for his development. At 20 years of age, he has a lot to learn.
To put matters into perspective, he made 2 errors with Ipswich Town last season which directly resulted in a goal. Hence, it is important for him to continue playing regularly as it will help him make mistakes and also learn from them.
To that end, moving to Swansea temporarily may prove to be a perfect match for Carter-Vickers. After getting relegated last season, the Welsh club were picked over by the vultures. Senior centre-backs like Alfie Mawson and Federico Fernandez left the club and this is where Carter-Vickers could play a key role.
Away from the limelight of the Premier League, the American should start games week in week out, clocking regular minutes on the field. He has a whole season at the Liberty stadium to work hard and impress Pochettino and the coaching staff.
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Since Jan Vertonghen is already 31 years of age, there is no reason why Carter-Vickers can’t be a first-team regular at Spurs in the near future. He must take inspiration from the club’s star man Harry Kane, who went on loan to several Championship clubs in his younger days and returned as a world-class talent. The stage is set and the ball is in Carter-Vickers’ court now.
