Tottenham Hotspur have trimmed their squad rather substantially this summer, and have a few new faces to fit into the bigger picture, too. So, with squad registration rules across various competitions to contend with, how does Ange Postecoglou manage his roster this year?
Premier League rules are simple
A report from Football.London addresses the potential problems Postecoglou faces when deciding his squad for the forthcoming campaign. Luckily, he doesn’t have too much to worry about when it comes to the Premier League’s rules.
Essentially, Premier League clubs must register a 25-man squad for the new season. Of that 25, a maximum of 17 players can be non-homegrown, while a minimum of eight players must be homegrown (trained with an FA club for a period of 36 months before his 21st birthday).
Spurs have no issues here. Thanks to various sales and loans out of the club this summer, Postecoglou currently has 16 non-homegrown players in his squad, and that number could be reduced further if Sergio Reguilon and Giovani Lo Celso leave in the near future.
With the signing of Dominic Solanke, Tottenham now have nine homegrown players over the age of 21, thus Postecoglou has a perfectly balanced squad at the moment.
What’s also handy is that players under the age of 21 (born after January 1, 2003) do not need to be registered but can still participate in the league.
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So, as it stands, this is what Postecoglou’s squad could look like…
Non-homegrown players: Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Sergio Reguilon, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Sarr, Yves Bissouma, Giovani Lo Celso, Manor Solomon, Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son Heung-min, Timo Werner
Homegrown players: Fraser Forster, Brandon Austin, Alfie Whiteman, Djed Spence, Ben Davies, Oliver Skipp, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Dominic Solanke
Under-21s players: Alfie Dorrington, Ashley Phillips, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Jamie Donley, Alfie Devine, Will Lankshear
Europa League complicates matters
Things are far more complex when it comes to European football, so Spurs need to consider a few things for their Europa League squad.
First of all, Under-21 players form a B list, but to be on that list they must have been with the club for a minimum of two years. This means Archie Gray, Ashley Phillips, and Lucas Bergvall do not count and would have to be registered in the A list.
The A list also has different rules when it comes to homegrown players, with two different categories: club-trained players, and general homegrown players (who were trained by an FA club for three years).
Clubs must submit a 25-man squad, including at least two goalkeepers, by September 3. Of that squad, eight players must be homegrown, and at least four of them must be club-trained. If this cannot be achieved, the squad must be reduced accordingly.
As it stands, Tottenham only have Brandon Austin, Alfie Whiteman, and Oliver Skipp as club-trained players over the age of 21 — one short of the required four.
To fix this, Postecoglou has three options: promote someone like Jamie Donley or Alfie Devine to the A list, sign a player who would count as club-trained (for example, Marcus Edwards or Kyle Walker-Peters), or register a squad of 24 players instead.
Assuming we go for the 24-man squad, that leaves Postecoglou with 21 non-homegrown players to fit into 17 spaces. Lo Celso and Reguilon may ease that strain by moving on, as could Manor Solomon. Ashley Phillips could still go out on loan, too, and Fraser Forster may well be sacrificed for the European squad.
This is all ignoring the fact that new signings are expected before the registration deadline. But, here’s what the squad could look like, with space for one more signing…
European non-locally trained players/A list: Guglielmo Vicario, Pedro Porro, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Sarr, Archie Gray*, Lucas Bergvall, Yves Bissouma, Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son Heung-min, Timo Werner, Dominic Solanke*
Association-trained players: Ben Davies, Djed Spence, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson
Club-trained players: Brandon Austin, Alfie Whiteman, Oliver Skipp
*Both Gray and Solanke would register in the A list to avoid exceeding the maximum allocation of four Association-trained players.
Spurs Web Opinion
This is a really tricky one, but it’s something I’m sure the club has considered and will be planning for. I would get rid of Lo Celso, Reguilon, and Solomon, and either loan out or tell Ashley Phillips he isn’t in the European squad. I’d also leave Forster out and let him be our deputy in the Premier League instead.