Tottenham defender Matt Doherty may have forced his way into Antonio Conte's plans for next season after his recent impressive performances, according to insider Dean Jones.

Doherty has struggled to find consistent form since joining from Wolves in 2020, but he is arguably enjoying his best spell in north London right now.

How has Doherty fared at Tottenham?

In his maiden season at Spurs, Doherty started off as the club's first-choice right-back under Jose Mourinho, but the Portuguese coach appeared to lose faith in him.

This led to the 25-cap international only playing 17 times in the Premier League in 2020/21.

He looked to be out of favour in the first part of the 2021/22 season as well, as he failed to start a single top-flight match before Christmas.

However, he has turned his fortunes around recently, scoring two goals and providing three assists in his last six league appearances.

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What has Jones said about Doherty?

It has previously looked like Doherty's Tottenham career would never take off, but he has finally started to show why Spurs paid £15m for him while Mourinho was still at the club.

Jones now feels Conte will be considering using him in his team next season rather than bringing in someone to replace him.

Speaking about Doherty, Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “I think he’s given Conte something to think about. And I certainly think he’s helped himself stay in the picture at Tottenham.”

Should Doherty be Tottenham's first-choice wing-back next season?

Having largely played as a full-back under Mourinho, Doherty has looked far more comfortable when used higher up the pitch as a wing-back with Conte at the helm.

When Tottenham were being linked with Adama Traore in January, it seemed that Doherty's time at Spurs may be coming to an end.

The £65,000-a-week defender has got his career back on track in the last couple of months, though, and proven some of his doubters wrong.

At the moment, Tottenham currently have Doherty and Emerson Royal as their two options to cover the right wing-back role. Despite Doherty's upturn in form, this still looks like a position that can be strengthened in the summer transfer window.

Therefore, Doherty may have to settle for being a player that offers cover, but he has shown that he is more than capable of doing this with his performances in recent weeks.