Former Aston Villa and Middlesborough central defender Ugo Ehiogu has been officially named as the new Tottenham U21 coach.

“We are delighted to announce the appointment of Ugo Ehiogu as coach of our Under-21 side,” a press statement by the White Hart Lane club revealed.

The coach who was well respected during his playing days will be responsible for marshalling some of Tottenham's best talents towards the first team from this season onwards.

Ehiogu has been working at the Spurs academy on a part-time basis and will be assisted by Matthew Wells who steps up from coaching the Under 15s.

The ex-England international is a candidate who has been quietly subsuming himself into the environment which he has now received a key post in for a decent length of time now, and will thus be able to hit the ground running with his colleagues and new charges.

The 41-year-old was a member of the England U20s staff as a coach observer under Peter Taylor at last summer’s FIFA U20 World Cup in Turkey as part of his studies for the UEFA A Licence.

Speaking at the time, Ehiogu said: "I’ve done a couple of coaching prep courses and I’m on my A Licence.”

"So I’m fortunate that I’ve been able to get some experience and regular work with Spurs, but there’s a massive amount of knowledge to pick up and use."

The tough tackling Ehiogu won four England caps during a career which took in spells with West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough, Rangers and Sheffield United.