AVB praises Assou-Ekotto and says a new left-back is not on his summer shopping list.
Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas says Benoit Assou-Ekotto is an “extremely important” player and has insisted he has no plans to sign a new left-back this summer.
Spurs have been linked with a move for Southampton’s 17-year-old starlet Luke Shaw, after a season in which Villas-Boas has struggled to find consistency at left-back.
Assou-Ekotto started the first three Premier League matches of the season, and scored against West Brom, before being ruled out for four months with a knee complaint.
In the Cameroonian’s absence, Villas-Boas deployed centre-half Jan Vertonghen and the right-footed Kyle Naughton at left-back and continued to rotate the trio after Assou-Ekotto’s return from injury in January, with the former Lens man starting 15 of Spurs’ final 25 matches.
Earlier this month, the Portuguese praised Shaw, describing the Saints youngster as an “absolutely unbelievable” player.
But the 35-year-old has spoken in similarly glowing terms about Assou-Ekotto.
“We finally have Benoit back so, apart from the fluid that he has on the knee, he was involved in all of the fixtures since he got back,” Villas-Boas told the Tottenham Journal.
“He’s an extremely important player for us. We have Danny Rose coming back and Zeki Fryers so we have to make the best decision [for next season].”
