Tottenham Hotspur’s Champions League defeat to AC Milan on Tuesday evening once again illustrated the growing concern over the club’s defensive ranks, with it seemingly coming as no surprise that the Lilywhites are said to be targetting two new centre-back additions this summer.

World Cup-winning brute Cristian Romero epitomised the backline’s recent woes having endured a “tough night” in San Siro, as per football.london’s Alasdair Gold, with manager Antonio Conte likely to be ruing the lack of quality depth at his disposal.

There may well also be frustration that one of the club’s former assets is now shining elsewhere, with chairman Daniel Levy potentially regretting his decision to allow Cameron Carter-Vickers to join Celtic on a permanent deal last summer, such has been the USA international’s impact at Parkhead to date.

How is Carter-Vickers getting on at Celtic?

The Southend-born titan was rarely afforded a chance to impress during his lengthy spell with the north London outfit, having made just five senior appearances for the club prior to joining the Hoops back in the summer of 2021 on an initial loan deal – the seventh temporary move of his career while on the books at N17.

Despite never pulling up any trees at Tottenham, Carter-Vickers subsequently went on to play a key role in the Old Firm outfit’s title triumph last season, forming an “immense” partnership with Sweden international, Carl Starfelt, at the heart of the defence, as per pundit Chris Sutton.

Those standout displays – which saw the 6 foot 1 rock rack up 17 clean sheets in 33 Scottish Premiership appearances – earned him a place in the SPFA Team of the Year, having been lauded as the “best player in Scotland last season” by the aforementioned Sutton (BT Sport, 05/10/2022, 19:41).

That stellar form unsurprisingly saw the Glasgow side move to quickly exercise their £6m buy-option to make the move permanent – despite Premier League interest in the defender – with that fee now appearing something of a bargain as far as Ange Postecoglou’s side are concerned.

The one-time AFC Bournemouth loanee has again been a colossal presence as part of the Bhoys’ rampant title defence this time around, keeping 11 clean sheets and winning 75% of his aerial duels per game from his 22 top-flight appearances, while also showcasing his composure in possession as he an average pass accuracy rate of 92%.

That remarkable consistency has earned Carter-Vickers an average match rating of 7.15, as per Sofascore, this season, with that record only bettered by Harry Kane, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Rodrigo Bentancur in Conte’s squad this term in the league.

Such “excellent” displays – as per Football Scotland’s Mark Hendry – have sparked comparisons to Liverpool sensation, Virgil van Dijk, with Northern Ireland international Ryan McLaughlin having stated earlier in that campaign that “Carter-Vickers is the best centre-half I’ve seen at Celtic since Van Dijk.”

Now something of a leader in Postecoglou’s squad – having taken on the captain’s armband in the absence of Callum McGregor earlier this season – the 12-cap monster has enjoyed a remarkable rise since his move to Scotland, having perhaps proved any doubters wrong at his former employers.

As Spurs now appear set to splash the cash to strengthen their backline come the end of the season, given that Conte’s current inconsistent options do not appear to be up to his standard, it does appear something of a blunder that Levy allowed Carter-Vickers to depart, particularly for such a minimal fee.