Ange Postecoglou doesn’t expect Tottenham Hotspur to make any more incoming signings on transfer deadline day, but stated that he feels that the club has fully backed him in the window this summer.
Speaking in a press conference ahead of Sunday’s match at Newcastle, Big Ange didn’t rule out that Spurs could make an opportunistic buy if the right player came available, but said he feels like he has been supported well in the transfer market by the club, and that Spurs’ approach this summer has been about getting younger and hungrier.
“Yeah. Yeah [I’ve felt backed].
“Well, [targeting younger players] was definitely part of my plan because I think when you’re trying to build or rebuild a team, you’ve got to…look, all managers hope they’re there for the long-term, but the reality is that you don’t know how long you’ll be there, but I’ve always tried to build teams that will last over a cycle which is, you know, three, four, five years.
“It’s just a natural consequence of that. You’re looking at a younger demographic, a team that will grow, that will improve, that will adapt to the challenges ahead. So, like I said, when I got here it was a team that, even from a demographic point point of view, looked like it was at the end of a cycle.
“A lot of players who had had great careers but were either ready to move on or getting to the end of it. So that combination with a different approach for me, it was definitely part of it to go younger.”
That’s good to hear, but it’s certainly not the approach most Spurs fans were expecting in this summer’s window. That said, it’s been a super weird one — a lot of big clubs have been hamstrung by PSR issues and (Chelsea excepted) there really haven’t been many clubs making a bunch of moves. The market itself has also been strangely muted, with not a lot of big name players switching clubs; Spurs did make a club-record signing to bring in Dominic Solanke, but you can hardly call him a big name (apologies, Dom).
That said, the club is still planning on a few outgoings, including Giovani Lo Celso and Sergio Reguilon, whom Big Ange said were “exploring their options.” There may also be some youth loans, including Alfie Devine, who has interest from the Championship and from a few clubs abroad.
One of the big remaining concerns is in defense, with the club a little thin at left back and left central defender. But Ange didn’t seem concerned, and says the club is in a better position now than it was a year ago, and especially in the future with Ash Phillips and Luka Vuskovic potentially coming through next season.
“I don’t think we’re in the same position. I think Radu is a different proposition for us, and certainly with Archie coming into the group and and Djed probably not being in the plans initially, but now in I think we’re in a much different position than we were last year.
“We’ve got Ben Davies as well, obviously, who can play at centre back or at left back. But again, I mean, that’s the discipline of it. Yeah, we can go out and sign another centre back, but if the right player’s not there, I’m not going to do it. It’s as simple as that. I’m not, I never have, I never will.
“For me, it’s about getting the right people in and there wasn’t an opportunity for us to bring in someone who I thought was going to add to our group, so we don’t do it. We’ve got Ashley Phillips, we’ve got young Luka Vuskovic available next year. Two young centre-backs.
“I don’t want to block their pathway by doing something now. It might look from the outside, like we’ve got another player, but if that player is not going to be suitable to what we’re doing and not going fit in, why would I bring them in and potentially block the path for somebody else?”
And what happens if Giovani Lo Celso and Sergio Reguilon, both strongly linked with a departure from the club before the window shuts today, don’t get their moves? Will they be integrated back into the first team plans?
“No, they don’t have to get integrated back to the squad. It’s their decisions. It’s pretty clear where they sit in terms of where we are as a squad and where we are as a team, but, you know, I’ve never been one to force people out. They’ve got decisions about their own careers and what they want to do, and if they’re still here, they’re still here. We’ll work around that scenario, but it certainly won’t affect the way we work in the first team.”
Tottenham kick off against Newcastle at St. James’ Park on Sunday at 8:30 a.m. ET / 1:30 p.m. BST.
