Villas-Boas full of praise for Tottenham defender

Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen was the hero against Swansea City, and Spurs coach André Villas-Boas praised the Belgian afterwards for his flexibility.

The former-Ajax defender scored the winner against the Welsh side with a 75th minute strike.

It was the first official goal in the Premier League for Vertonghen, who arrived at Tottenham after a £12 million transfer from the Eredivisie champions last summer. And coach André Villas-Boas revealed after the match that he is very happy with the performances of the Belgian since his arrival.

"Jan has added a lot to our squad and we can count on him in the future to be a stalwart at this club", The Sun quoted the Portugese coach. Villas-Boas was also happy with the flexibility offered by the defender, who can operate across the back line.

"We are happy with what he has been doing at the left-back and centre-back," continued Villas-Boas.

Vertonghen has already scored for Spurs, having found the net at Old Trafford during the 3-2 victory over Manchester United, but the FA later decided it was an own-goal by Jonny Evans, and took the strike off the Tottenham centre-back.

"It was an beautiful finish. He scored a lot of goals for Ajax from dead-balls," added Villas-Boas.

Tottenham jumped back into the top four of the Premier League after their 1-0 victory over Swansea, and up next for Villas-Boas's side is Stoke at White Hart Lane. Spurs then travel to Aston Villa on Boxing day, before facing Sunderland three days later at the Stadium of Light.