Tottenham Hotspur defender William Gallas is set to leave the club as manager Andre Villas-Boas feels the need to prune his bloated squad. 

Spurs have five central defenders in the side and the Portuguese wants to cut the number to four by the turn of next season. In that case, the axe could fall on Gallas, who turns 36 in August albeit the Frenchman believes he has two more good years left in him to play at the highest level.

William Gallas set to leave WHL at the end of the season

Villas-Boas had reservations about Michael Dawson and even told the player to find another club in the summer but changed his mind after Younès Kaboul got injured for a lengthy period of time. Dawson has put in tremendous performances week in week out and forced his manager to change the opinions about him.

The former Porto manager has acknowledged the role his skipper played and feels “extreme grateful” that the defender chose to stay put in the end. The Spurs boss said, as quoted in the Guardian:

“My squads in the past are built on four central defenders. We decided to go with five this season because of a setback to Younès Kaboul.

“William has been a massive player for us this season … he’s a player we trust a lot. Whatever we decide regarding his future, we’ll have to wait and see, but we are aware of what a presence he’s been for us this season.”

Gallas who has only few months left on his contract is expected to start Thursday night’s Europa League tie against Lyon. The central defender has featured in exactly half of Spurs’ games this season and is ready to wait till the summer for a decision.

The former Arsenal defender has played a pivotal role in motivating the young players at the club and feels the squad now has the right mentality to approach any game. Though he would welcome any invitations to stay at White Hart Lane it seems like this could be his final few months at the North London club.