ange Postecoglou
Ange Postecoglou has explained how transfers at Tottenham will work with him in charge and that they won’t be “out there tomorrow looking for a number nine to replace Harry Kane”. Spurs begin a new era on Sunday with their trip to Brentford as they kick off a Premier League season without Harry Kane, who left for Bayern Munich on Saturday in a deal worth £100million, potentially rising to £120million with add-ons. On the same day Postecoglou named his new captain in the shape of Son Heung-min with James Maddison and Cristian Romero as vice-captains.
Now Tottenham must continue to shape a new look side to fit Postecoglou, but don’t dare suggest that the head coach now has £100million burning a hole in his pocket in a summer transfer window when everyone will see the north London club coming.
Ange Postecoglou said: “Money burning in my pocket? I don’t have any money burning in my pocket. My wife does a good job of making sure it doesn’t go there. That’s harsh on my wife…. she deserves it. To spend it I mean, I’m getting myself into a hole here! The market is the market and it’s always been the market. It doesn’t mean that that’s always the level you need to pitch at. I get it that obviously, particularly when you look at this summer, some of the transfer business going round is pretty wild in terms of the money that is going round. But I still think there’s value there if you get the right players and you don’t need to always spend at that top end. It’s about getting the right fit for your football club. I think Madders is a great example. We haven’t had to spend over the top and we’ve got a player who I think is going to fit perfectly into what we want to do. So from that perspective there’s always going to be these top end transfers but that doesn’t mean that’s the only way and doesn’t mean that’s the most important business you need to do.”
With such a bloated squad, Postecoglou believes that the priority right now has to be getting players out of the door before bringing more in.
Ange Postecoglou said: “Part of the process is that we’ve got a big squad at the moment. We just can’t keep bringing players in, we need to move some players out. That’s where our focus is right now,” he said. “Over the next three weeks what we don’t want to do is have it all happen really late in the window which means we’re caught short in any areas. It’s got to work that way. We can’t just keep accumulating players. We’ve got a massive squad as it is at the moment and we need to work on that.”
Postecoglou has already and will continue to play a key part in shaping his own squad at Tottenham as he knows better than anyone exactly what kind of players fit his very specific style of football.
Ange Postecoglou said: “I’ve done that wherever I’ve been. I guess because I know how my team is going to play it makes it easier for me to identify the right players. The reality is there are so many good footballers out there and sometimes the difference between them is very, very small in terms of what they can bring. But I need to picture them in my team. Do they have the characteristics that I’ll need for them to play the kind of football I want because obviously the way we set up is different to other clubs and what we ask of players in certain positions is different maybe to what they have been doing. So I have a real clarity when we’re looking to bring in a player and what we require. With the players we’ve brought in that’s what we’ve tried to veer towards. The scouting departments and people involved have brought players to me that I know are going to fit into my system.”
With Kane now in the Bundesliga and Postecoglou having earlier in his press conference been asked about giving a shopping list to chairman Daniel Levy, the shopping theme was continued when the Spurs head coach was asked whether he will need to shop at a designer store like Gucci to find a replacement for the England captain or whether he will need to shop elsewhere. Postecoglou has previously praised both Richarlison and Son, saying the latter can play centrally for him, and now he suggested that Tottenham may not look to bring in a number nine type this summer and instead focus their transfer attention elsewhere.
Ange Postecoglou said: “I’ve opened up a real Pandora’s box here [with the shopping analogies] because I’ve got no idea! You say Gucci and I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about. Again I’ll bring my wife into it. She tells me those kind of things are one-offs and usually you get a fake replica if you’re trying to get the same one. With Harry nothing has changed today for us. It’s not like he’s gone and we’ve now got to go and replace Harry. We’ve known this for a while but the business we’ve done so far has been in anticipation of Harry going. So we’re not going to be out there tomorrow looking for a number nine to replace Harry. That’s not the strategy that’s already in place. What we’re looking to do is make sure we have a stronger team, a stronger squad to play the football we want and develop over the next period of time. Over the next three weeks the priority is to trim the squad down and see where we’re at and then fill the gaps where we need to fill the gaps.”
This weekend will bring Postecoglou’s Premier League debut in the dugout and the only downside to his new job is that he has to give up one annual tradition with his long-time friends.
Ange Postecoglou said: “I’ve got a few friends coming to the match. It’s fair to say I’ve been inundated for tickets but it’s great because they’ve been along for the journey. We all had those dreams and we’re all living it together because for me they’re just part of it as well because I wouldn’t be sitting here today without them. They’re all going to be here and for the first time in I reckon 20 years I’ve had to pull out of our fantasy Premier League group as well which I’m gutted about and if they try to grill me for information they’re getting nothing out of me. I don’t need to play now because I am a Premier League manager. There you go, it’s not a fantasy any more!”
So did Postecoglou ever win his fantasy football league?
The reply came with a big grin: “Always, always.”
