A little over a year after rejecting a move to Queens Park Rangers, Michael Dawson has been handed a new three-year contract at Tottenham Hotspur.
The 29-year-old looked to be on his way out of White Hart Lane during the summer transfer window of 2012, when former Spurs manager Harry Redknapp succeeded with an offer of £9million for his signature. However, rather than make the move across the capital, he decided to stay and prove his worth to new coach Andre Villas-Boas.
Dawson went on to play 27 times in the Premier League last season as Tottenham narrowly missed out on a place in the UEFA Champions League, and he has started every game so far this term. His performances have certainly won him a new admirer in his Portuguese boss, who has now handed the defender a new deal to keep him at the club since 2016.
The centre-half began his career with Nottingham Forest, where he quickly earned a reputation as one of the best talents in the country. In 2005 Spurs paid £3.5million for the then-21-year-old, who has gone on to play almost 300 times for the Londoners. Having made 13 appearances for the Under-21 side from 2003 to 2005, he has also progressed to the full England side, although he only has four caps to his name.
Dawson is sure to play a key role for Tottenham as they look to finish in the top four this season or, whisper it quietly, even challenge for what would be a first league title since 1961. Whilst many expect them to fall short of the latter, their captain is of the opinion that Villas-Boas has assembled the best squad he has ever been part of.
“I’ve been very fortunate in the eight and a half years I’ve had here to play with some top players, world-class players, but I think at this moment in time, the depth and the quality we’ve got certainly has to be the best,” Dawson said in The Guardian last week. “You look at the squad and, like the manager says, he’s got two players in each position. Everyone is fighting to play in the Premier League and everyone can do that.”
