• Defender not selected to play in African Cup of Nations
• Harry Redknapp had been concerned about centre-back cover

Tottenham Hotspur’s defensive concerns for January have been eased considerably after Sébastien Bassong was not included in Paul Le Guen’s Cameroon squad for next month’s African Cup of Nations.

Bassong, an £8m signing from Newcastle last summer, had been expected to feature in the 23-man party for the tournament in Angola, which begins on 10 January, only for Le Guen to overlook the 23-year-old centre-half. His club-mate Benoît Assou-Ekotto is one of four England-based Cameroon players included though, while Spurs boast cover at left-back in the Wales international Gareth Bale, their resources had appeared rather stretched in the centre of their defence.

Both Ledley King and Jonathan Woodgate have endured stop-start seasons to date with injuries limiting their impact, meaning Bassong – bought arguably as cover following Newcastle’s relegation to the Championship – has started 16 Premier League games to date having scored on his debut in the opening day victory over Liverpool. Indeed, Bassong and the impressive Michael Dawson have established themselves as the first-choice pairing in recent weeks.

Harry Redknapp, the Spurs manager, had hoped to recruit a centre-back during the midwinter window, with West Ham’s Matthew Upson his principal target, though he will need to offload players – most likely David Bentley or Roman Pavlyuchenko – to generate the necessary funds.

Tottenham HotspurAfrican Nations CupDominic Fifieldguardian.co.uk