The New York Times

The last time most Tottenham fans saw Ange Postecoglou was on the evening of May 25, after the 4-1 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion which concluded Spurs’ season. Postecoglou and his family stayed on the pitch long after the final whistle, along with almost the whole squad and their families and friends, as everyone paraded the Europa League trophy and basked in the applause coming from the South Stand.

Postecoglou eventually walked down the tunnel to complete his post-match media duties. He wearily sat down to give his 60th post-match press conference of an exhausting campaign, having to field questions about whether, despite Bilbao, despite everything, he knew whether he would be back again next season.

But for one Tottenham supporter, it did not end there.

When lifelong fan Jeremy Conrad went on holiday to Greece the next day, he was surprised to see the Postecoglous staying at the same hotel, on the Athens Riviera, near the Temple of Poseidon. He eventually summoned up the courage to talk to Postecoglou and thanked him for everything that he had done for the club.

On the last night of his trip, Conrad had a bottle of wine sent to their villa, along with a letter he wrote on behalf of all of his Tottenham-supporting friends.

“Wednesday 21st May will forever be etched in our collective psyche,” it reads. “It’s made us smile wider, walk taller and laugh louder. You have orchestrated a generational shift in how we feel about our club and how others view us. Most importantly you have helped reinstate an immense feeling of pride and connection in the team that we love. You never stopped believing, you fought hard to defend and elevate the reputation of our club and we are eternally grateful.”

The next morning, Conrad was having breakfast when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Postecoglou, thanking him not just for the wine but for the letter, which meant so much to him. And he had a gift in return: a Tottenham home shirt. Postecoglou had signed it himself: ‘To Jez. Ange. COYS!”

Conrad had to try to contain his emotions.

A week after that exchange, and just 16 days after Bilbao, Postecoglou has been dismissed as Tottenham manager. He had one year left on the initial three-year contract (with a fourth as an option) that he signed in June 2023.

The club’s statement said: “We are extremely grateful to Ange for his commitment and contribution during his two years at the club. Ange will always be remembered as only the third manager in our history to deliver a European trophy, alongside legendary figures Bill Nicholson and Keith Burkinshaw.

“However, the board has unanimously concluded that it is in the best interests of the club for a change to take place.”

It marks the end of one of the most dramatic, divisive spells of recent years. An era in which Spurs lost league games at a rate unprecedented in the club’s history, and lifted their biggest trophy for more than 30 years. An era when the team became synonymous with a certain style of play, and then won a trophy by doing the exact opposite of that. An era in which Spurs lost to some of the weakest teams in the Premier League, while winning the biggest games of them all.

The rolling xG chart below shows the initial improvement under Postecoglou, but then a pretty sharp decline in both attacking output and defensive solidity about a third of the way through last season.

Following Tottenham has always meant accepting variance between highs and lows. But the season just ended has taken their fans through higher highs and lower lows than anyone could ever have expected. At times, it felt disorienting and confusing, as those supporters were forced to ask themselves: is the team in front of me good or bad? Is the manager? Which of these two versions of Spurs — ignominy most weekends, glory in midweek — is the real one?

For months, it had been widely accepted that Postecoglou would go at the end of his second season. That had been the plan inside the club, and Postecoglou’s expectation too. But many Tottenham fans who had turned against him in recent months, because of the league defeats, because of his spats with supporters, had been won back over by Bilbao. On that night when Spurs made history, it felt as if Postecoglou had proven that the optimistic story was true. And when hundreds of thousands lined the streets of north London for the trophy parade, and sang Postecoglou’s name, it looked impossible that this might be the end of his tenure.

So after the dizzying highs of late May, chairman Daniel Levy gave himself some more time to reconsider this huge decision. Rather than dismissing Postecoglou immediately after that season finale against Brighton, Levy gave himself an extra week to think about it, and went on a holiday of his own. He had to decide whether he wanted a third go on this particular rollercoaster.

He concluded, even after the greatest ride of his tenure, that he still wanted to get off.

If you want an answer as to why Levy has decided to dispense with the manager who brought that trophy and those crowds back to the club, you do not have to look too far.

A glance at the 2024-25 Premier League’s final table reveals it to have been a truly awful league campaign, one of the worst in Spurs’ history. Seventeenth is their worst league finish since 1977, when they were last relegated. A total of 22 league defeats is their joint-most ever, and their most ever in a 38-game league season. The loss rate of 57.9 per cent was their worst ever. We could go on.

One way of measuring Tottenham’s decline is by looking at their Elo rating — a measure of team strength that allocates points for every result, weighted by the quality of opposition faced. It shows their improvement under Mauricio Pochettino, the gradual decline under his successors (plus a little bump under Antonio Conte) and then a pretty sharp dip in Postecoglou’s two years.

It goes without saying that finishing so low in the Premier League — four points behind Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United, five below West Ham United — is a dent in the club’s prestige and finances. Since the appointment of Martin Jol in 2004, the moment when the ENIC ownership era truly kicked off, Spurs had only finished outside the top 10 once, when they came 11th in 2007-08 — the season Jol was sacked in the October for Juande Ramos.

One of the selling points of Tottenham was that they seemed to have a much higher floor than most of their rivals. But last season they found a way to plummet through that. Given the financial value of a good league finish — each league position equates to roughly £3million ($4.1m) prize money — the cost of their failures is obvious. The Athletic has estimated that Spurs will receive £130.4m for finishing 17th. Fifth place, which they achieved a year ago in Postecoglou’s debut season, would be worth £166.6m.

That in itself could be taken as justification for making a change.

Just think back to the league situations when previous managers were dismissed. Tottenham were fourth when Antonio Conte was sacked in 2023, ninth when Nuno Espirito Santo left in 2021, seventh when they fired Jose Mourinho earlier that year, 14th when Pochettino was dismissed in 2019. The difference this time was that Postecoglou was never going to be dismissed during the season. Spurs had finished two of the previous four campaigns with interim managers in charge. It is not a good look. And the policy of sticking with Postecoglou through to the end of the season was emphatically vindicated by Bilbao.

So what caused such a disastrous league season?

Postecoglou has never hidden from the reality of the league table but has asked for it to be judged in context. The key plank of which is the devastating injury crisis Spurs suffered. They lost almost a whole team to various ailments over the middle part of the season. Most damagingly, they were without centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, their two best and most important players, for the best part of four months. Romero with foot and then thigh injuries. Van de Ven with two separate hamstring issues. These are the two players who held the team together, and for whom there were no adequate replacements. Postecoglou also lost Guglielmo Vicario for three months with a fractured ankle, at a point when Spurs had no elite backup goalkeeper. He finished the season with both creative midfielders, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison, out with knee problems.

We could list every single injury Tottenham suffered here but it would take all day; instead, take a look at the graphic below that shows the squad’s share of minutes in the Premier League last season. Only Pedro Porro played more than 75 per cent of the available minutes.

You might argue that Postecoglou was incredibly unfortunate to have lost all these players on his watch. But muscle injuries are not entirely random. Postecoglou himself said in December that he “never thinks it’s just bad luck”. And over the course of the season, senior figures at the club started to wonder whether the management of the players was partly responsible for the spate of muscle injuries. In January, The Athletic reported in detail about the issues with the club’s medical department and the decisions to bring back both Romero and Van de Ven for the Chelsea game on December 8. Both players went down with new injuries during that match. Postecoglou, it should be remembered, never shied away from ultimate responsibility on this.

“Every decision that is made is on me,” he said on January 25. “If you’re looking for a head on a stick, take mine.”

Some will find the explanation of last season’s struggles in ‘Angeball’ itself, Postecoglou’s high-risk, high-reward football.

This explains why Spurs still scored 64 league goals — as many as fourth-placed Chelsea — finishing with a goal difference of only -1. They only won 11 league games (the last time they won fewer than that was 1934-35), though some of those were emphatic: 4-0 at Manchester City, 4-1 at home to both Aston Villa and West Ham. They even lost at home to relegation-bound duo Ipswich Town and Leicester City.

When Spurs were truly on it, playing at their intense physical peak, they were impossible to live with. They put up some huge running numbers — 119.8km in a 3-0 win away to Manchester United, 117.7km in that 4-0 at City — some of the highest figures all season. But at times it felt like a house of cards, where one part out of place could collapse the whole structure. Especially when key players were missing and their replacements were unable to replicate their work.

Rival managers sensed a vulnerability in Spurs. “You can see what their ideas are very clearly,” said a coach at a rival Premier League club, who wished to remain anonymous to protect relationships. “They play with a lot of players in their front line, they’re good at the high press, where they score a lot of goals. But when their full-backs are both up, leaving big spaces down the sides, you can kill them.”

There is no doubt that Tottenham looked utterly lost on the pitch at times. There was exasperation internally that they kept making the same mistakes, conceding the same goals. There were far too many times when they would lose possession and find themselves defending three-v-two or four-v-three on the counter-attack, even when they had been well set. Opponents would come away shocked by how Spurs had no solutions to their pressing and just tried the same thing all game. So was it the style, the poor quality backup players, or both?

But criticisms of Postecoglou’s style of play have to take into account that ‘Angeball’ has barely existed since halfway through the season. Spurs continued to try to play aggressive, proactive football even when the injuries started to bite, but after the 6-3 home defeat against Liverpool on December 22, it was never really seen again. Without the players required to play that way, they shifted towards a more generic approach: defending deeper, pressing less, more conventional full-backs.

Postecoglou would grow visibly frustrated whenever he was asked whether he had abandoned his principles, explaining the physical impossibility of playing dynamic football with exhausted players. And his pivot to pragmatism, initially forced by circumstance, became Spurs’ secret weapon on their way to Europa League glory.

All debates about Postecoglou and his work at Spurs come back to Bilbao. The debate among the fans — and ultimately for Levy — is to what extent winning the Europa League pays off the failures in the league. Are those 22 league defeats effectively wiped away by that trophy? Or does the Premier League form point to a truth about Postecoglou’s Tottenham that cannot be obscured by the shine of silverware?

Take, for example, the league form in the last few months of the season. In Spurs’ final 12 league games — after a 4-1 win at Ipswich that effectively sealed safety — they took just five points. Their only league win was against Southampton, who finished bottom with only 12 points.

But is that a true indication of Spurs’ level?

Postecoglou was very clear in Bilbao that he had prioritised the Europa League since the end of January. Key players — not least Romero and Van de Ven — were protected to keep them fresh for European matches. That was a strategic choice by Postecoglou, one that was eventually vindicated in Bilbao. But if he had allocated resources differently, there might not have been that trophy parade, but there might not have been those 22 league defeats either.

Or look at the relationship between Postecoglou and the crowd, particularly those fans who attend away games. There was an incident at Bournemouth on December 5, where Spurs lost 1-0 and the travelling supporters let him know exactly how they felt about the performance. The crowd steadily turned against Postecoglou over the course of the season, and the team were booed off more loudly with every home defeat.

Things came to a head at Stamford Bridge on April 3. Postecoglou’s decision to take Lucas Bergvall off for Pape Matar Sarr was booed by the away end, who sang, “You don’t know what you’re doing!”. When Sarr then thumped in an apparent equaliser, Postecoglou cupped his ear to the Spurs fans and waved at them. The goal was disallowed anyway. For many supporters, this was a breaking point. And it left senior figures at the club worrying whether the relationship between Postecoglou and the crowd was now broken beyond repair.

But then Bilbao happened and, for many fans, that relationship was not only fixed but stronger than it had ever been.

Postecoglou was roared on by the crowd as he gave his speech at the trophy parade, talking up a third season that will remain as a promise rather than a reality. He was originally appointed in part to be the public figurehead of the club, someone everyone could rally behind. To watch him at that parade was to realise he had achieved exactly that. Equally, there are still plenty of fans who will agree with Spurs’ decision and think that this is the right moment to make a change. But it is far from being the majority position that it was only a few months ago.

This is why Postecoglou’s is the strangest Tottenham dismissal of recent years. He did not leave when the fans had turned on him, but when many had turned back in his favour. And while most of his predecessors went when the players had grown thoroughly sick of them, and the mood turned fully toxic, he commanded a remarkable loyalty from the squad through the difficult spells and right to the end.

Postecoglou always had a distinctive approach to man-management. He kept his distance from people, happy to let his assistants take training, not engaging in small talk or chit-chat. Some sources marvelled at how removed he was, calling him a “lone wolf” or an “angry bear”, scowling around, face often obscured by a snood. Some players were left hoping for an arm around the shoulder, or simply left wondering where exactly they stood with him. Others liked how Postecoglou was the same with everyone, no favourites, and none of the emotional ups and downs that defined the Conte era.

There was logic to this distance. Firstly, to give Postecoglou the space to make rational decisions. Secondly, to allow him to pour everything into his scheduled pre-match meetings, bringing as much energy and emotion as possible, trying to leverage that sense of aura he built up through the week. Listening to players talk about Postecoglou in the last few weeks, how he motivated them for their Europa League campaign, it was clear how integral that approach was to their ultimate triumph.

Postecoglou would remind his team of the photos of victorious Spurs teams of the past at the training ground and tell them to “get on that wall”. He had the players’ families record messages for them before that final. When he brought Yves Bissouma back from the cold for the last three games of the campaign, he got a performance level nobody had ever seen from him. Only Postecoglou could have won the Europa League like this.

The real question since then has not been whether Postecoglou deserved to keep his job because of the trophy. But whether the whole evidence of his two years in it — one good league season, one awful one, one trophy — suggested that he was the right man for season three or not.

Many will argue that the tactical pragmatism and big-game motivation that led to Bilbao could be taken into next season. And that the 22 league defeats are entirely explicable by injuries and priorities. With a fully-fit team next year — and some additions in the transfer market — Tottenham would click back into being a good team again and stay there. You can call this the optimistic view of Postecoglou’s third-season prospects.

The other side of the argument is that he had two full league seasons in charge. Across those, Spurs only took 104 points. They lost more league games (34) than they won (31). Their form since the infamous 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in November 2023 has been awful. They only earned 78 points from their 66 matches. If you exclude the six relegated teams, it is the third-worst record in the top flight during that time after Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

There is plenty of context for why: the changes to the style Postecoglou implemented, the departure of Harry Kane, the decline of Son Heung-min, the injuries, the thinness of the squad, the preference for youth over experienced recruitment in summer 2024 (No Conor Gallagher, no Jacob Ramsey, no Pedro Neto — all players the manager liked).

Ultimately, you have to balance that context against the evidence of the two years and ask yourself whether Postecoglou would lead Spurs to a stronger league season next time, when they will have to radically improve domestically while managing a Champions League campaign too.

Many of the fans would say Postecoglou is right, “season three is better than season two”. Some would say it is time to let someone else try. But the only one who had to decide whether or not to buy another ticket, to take the risk, was Levy.

And he eventually chose to get off.

Tottenham declined to comment on specific points raised in the piece when contacted by The Athletic.

(Additional contributors: Jay Harris, Thom Harris, Mark Carey)

(Illustration: Eamonn Dalton / The Athletic; Crystal Pix/MB Media, Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur have parted company with head coach Ange Postecoglou despite him winning the club’s first trophy for 17 years.

The 59-year-old leaves the north London club despite having won the Europa League with victory over Manchester United in the final in Bilbao.

However, the side ended the season 17th in the Premier League with the club’s worst points tally and finish in the Premier League era. The season concluded with them just 13 points above the relegation zone and 28 points off the top five.

A decision on a replacement is anticipated next week with Thomas Frank, the Brentford head coach, the leading contender. There is yet to be contact made with the west London club.

Though victorious in Europe, Postecoglou saw his side exit both domestic cup competitions in the same week after a 4-0 defeat against Liverpool in the second leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final on February 6 and 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round three days later. Spurs required extra time to progress past National League side Tamworth in the FA Cup third round in January.

Tottenham won only 11 league games all season and endured a pair of six-game winless runs over April and May, and December and January. Their total of 22 losses are the most of any team not to be relegated in the Premier League era.

Postecoglou had to contend with an extensive injury list, with Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson, Yves Bissouma, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall, Dejan Kulusevski, Guglielmo Vicario, Richarlison, James Maddison, Radu Dragusin and Wilson Odobert all missing periods.

A club statement on Friday evening read: “Following a review of performances and after significant reflection, the club can announce that Ange Postecoglou has been relieved of his duties.”

“We are extremely grateful to Ange for his commitment and contribution during his two years at the club,” the club added. “Ange will always be remembered as only the third manager in our history to deliver a European trophy, alongside legendary figures Bill Nicholson and Keith Burkinshaw.

“However, the board has unanimously concluded that it is in the best interests of the Club for a change to take place. Following a positive start in the 2023-24 Premier League (PL) season, we recorded 78 points from the last 66 PL games. This culminated in our worst-ever PL finish last season. At times there were extenuating circumstances — injuries and then a decision to prioritise our European campaign. Whilst winning the Europa League this season ranks as one of the club’s greatest moments, we cannot base our decision on emotions aligned to this triumph.

“It is crucial that we are able to compete on multiple fronts and believe a change of approach will give us the strongest chance for the coming season and beyond. This has been one of the toughest decisions we have had to make and is not a decision that we have taken lightly, nor one we have rushed to conclude. We have made what we believe is the right decision to give us the best chance of success going forward, not the easy decision.

“We have a talented, young squad and Ange has given us a great platform to build upon. We should like to express our gratitude to him. We wish him well for the future — he will always be welcome back at our home.”

“When I reflect on my time as manager of Tottenham Hotspur, my overriding emotion is one of pride,” Postecoglou said in a statement published by his representatives.

“The opportunity to lead one of England’s historic football clubs and bring back the glory it deserves will live with me for a lifetime. Sharing that experience with all those who truly love this club and seeing the impact it had on them is something I will never forget.

“That night in Bilbao was the culmination of two years of hard work, dedication and unwavering belief in a dream. There were many challenges to overcome and plenty of noise that comes with trying to accomplish what many said was not possible.

“I sincerely want to thank those who are the lifeblood of the club, the supporters. I know there were some difficult times but I always felt that they wanted me to succeed and that gave me all the motivation I needed to push on. It’s important to acknowledge the hard-working people at Spurs who gave me encouragement on a daily basis.”

Postecoglou joined Spurs from Celtic in July 2023, signing a four-year contract.

The Australian enjoyed a fast start with eight wins from his opening 10 league games in charge including victories over Manchester United and Liverpool. He was named Premier League manager of the month for each of the first three months of the season, a first for a new manager in the competition.

Tottenham ultimately finished fifth, outside of the Champions League qualification places but enough for a Europa League spot, while there were cup exits at the hands of Fulham, on penalties in the Carabao Cup, and Manchester City, in the FA Cup fourth round.

Postecoglou won five major trophies during his two-year stay in Glasgow, including back-to-back Scottish Premiership titles. He was born in Greece but grew up in Australia and went on to manage the Socceroos for four years following stints in charge at Melbourne Victory and Brisbane Roar.

The decision on Postecoglou’s future comes amid a series of changes at executive level for Spurs; long-serving executive director Donna-Maria Cullen announced on Monday that she was stepping down, while Vinai Venkatesham was announced as the club’s new CEO in April.

How will Postecoglou be remembered at Spurs?

Analysis by Jay Harris

Postecoglou joined Spurs in June 2023 and the squad was completely transformed during his first year in charge. The club’s all-time top goalscorer Harry Kane left to join Bayern Munich while they spent over £125million on Brennan Johnson, Micky van de Ven, James Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario.

Spurs were at the top of the table after winning eight of his first 10 games in charge but they never recovered from an infamous 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in November 2023. Since that result, Spurs lost 34 out of 66 league games and only earned 78 points. It is the third worst-record in the division if you exclude the six relegated sides.

Spurs finished fifth in Postecoglou’s first season and broke their club-record in the summer of 2024 to sign Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth for £65m. However, a crippling injury crisis disrupted their domestic form and they lost 22 times and finished 17th in his second year.

Postecoglou focused all of his efforts on winning a cup competition and they reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup before they were eliminated by Liverpool.

The Australian will always be remembered by Tottenham supporters though for winning their first piece of silverware in 17 years with the Europa League. The 59-year-old coached a disciplined performance to beat Manchester United 1-0 in Bilbao but it was not enough to save his job.

What would Frank bring to Spurs?

Tottenham’s transfer policy has changed since Johan Lange became their sporting director in November 2023 and now they mainly focus on signing players under the age of 23, including Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert.

Frank has an excellent track record of developing talent, including Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo, which can be traced back to his time in charge of Denmark’s youth-sides so he would be a great fit for this young Spurs squad.

Lange and Frank have previously worked together at Danish side Lygnby which will help. When Lange was Aston Villa’s sporting director, he considered hiring Frank to replace Steven Gerrard before Unai Emery was appointed.

Frank prefers to use a 4-3-3 formation but is more flexible than Postecoglou. During Brentford’s first two seasons in the Premier League, he regularly used a 3-5-2 formation against better-quality opposition and used long balls and set-pieces to good effect.

Brentford have evolved and now mainly play out from the back and press opponents high up the pitch. A switch to a 4-2-3-1 system this season to extract the best out of attacking midfielder Mikkel Damsgaard highlights how he is more than willing to make subtle tweaks to his principles for the benefit of the team.

One of the biggest challenges for Frank would be adjusting to European competition. He reached the preliminary rounds of the Europa League with Brondby but not the main stage of the competition so it would be a steep learning curve jumping straight into the Champions League.

(Top photo: Adam Davy/PA Images via Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur are stuck in a state of paralysis… and it is entirely their own fault.

While their rivals have acted swiftly in the early days of the summer transfer market, Tottenham have still not even decided who will be their head coach/manager next season. Two weeks after they lifted their first trophy in 17 years after beating Manchester United in the Europa League final, Ange Postecoglou has no idea if he will be around for a third campaign in charge.

The Athletic reported in March that there were serious doubts about Postecoglou’s long-term future and that Spurs had identified Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola, Brentford head coach Thomas Frank and Fulham’s Marco Silva as potential replacements. Tottenham lost 22 of ther 38 Premier League games last season and finished 17th, above only the three relegated sides, as they struggled to cope with a crippling injury crisis.

Victory in that Europa League final changed everything, though, and united the fanbase. All of the players have spoken warmly about their bond with Postecoglou and how he kept them motivated last season when everybody else doubted their ability to win. For many people associated with Spurs, their domestic form during that campaign is completely irrelevant now.

When visitors Brighton & Hove Albion scored their final goal in a 4-1 win on the last weekend of the top-flight season, four days after that triumph in Bilbao, the entire crowd stood and started singing When The Spurs Go Marching In. That powerful emotional connection will be damaged if the club now cut ties with Postecoglou.

The Australian, 59, is currently on holiday with his family in Greece, hoping to be allowed to continue the four-year contract he signed when appointed in summer 2023. For all of Postecoglou’s flaws, he inherited a declining Son Heung-min, revolutionised Spurs’ playing style, lowered the squad’s age, coped without the recently-sold Harry Kane and has returned the club to the Champions League.

The problem is Tottenham’s form since the infamous 4-1 defeat to Chelsea in November 2023 has been awful. They have lost 34 out of 66 matches and earned 78 points. If you exclude the six relegated teams across the past two seasons, that is the third-worst record in the division during that time, ahead of only Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

This situation has dragged on for too long.

Chairman Daniel Levy was on holiday too last week, and while it is understandable that Tottenham’s senior figures wanted to process their emotions following their Europa League success, they should have come to a much quicker conclusion.

Maybe Spurs are trying to avoid a repeat of what happened when they sacked Jose Mourinho in the April of the 2020-21 campaign. Mourinho left a couple of days before the Carabao Cup final, which they lost to Manchester City under interim replacement Ryan Mason.

The club then spent the next 10 weeks assessing different candidates, including Erik ten Hag, Paulo Fonseca, Hansi Flick, their former manager Mauricio Pochettino and future head coach Antonio Conte, before they appointed Nuno Espirito Santo on June 30. Nuno lasted only four months before he was replaced with Conte. In March 2023, Conte was out the door. Arne Slot, then at Dutch club Feyenoord and now a debut-season title winner with Liverpool, turned them down before they eventually appointed Scottish champions Celtic’s manager Postecoglou.

Could it be that Spurs want to have the next man lined up before they put Postecoglou out of his misery? Or are they assessing their head coach’s qualities and determining whether it would actually be better to keep him around?

If Postecoglou does stay, the torrent of speculation over the past couple of weeks could undermine his position. Ten Hag found himself in a similar situation last summer after winning the FA Cup with Manchester United. Ahead of that final, the Dutchman had seemed destined to leave. United’s senior figures then apparently changed their minds, only to sack him in October. The worst thing Spurs could do is make this decision based on their current feelings, then regret it in a few months.

This delay will be negatively impacting their transfer business, too. United have signed Matheus Cunha, Chelsea agreed a deal with Ipswich Town for Liam Delap and Liverpool brought in Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen. Spurs were interested in Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo but he prefers a move to Old Trafford despite United’s own dismal season.

Why would anybody move to Tottenham right now when there is so much uncertainty? If Postecoglou is eventually retained, they have wasted valuable time in terms of identifying and working on potential signings who can improve the squad. If a new head coach takes over, he might like and need completely different players.

Spurs signed Mathys Tel on loan with an option to buy from Bayern Munich in the winter window. The young striker struggled to impress in his first few months but showed flashes of his potential. Why would Tel commit his future to Tottenham when he has no idea if Postecoglou, the man who convinced him to join, will be there next season?

The same applies to other members of the squad. Son, Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur will all be in the final 12 months of their contracts within weeks. Cristian Romero has two years left on his but has publicly talked about the possibility of moving to Spain’s La Liga. These players need to know what direction the club are heading in and who will be leading the way.

It is the opposite approach to Real Madrid. The Spanish giants made it clear to targets Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dean Huijsen during negotiations that Xabi Alonso would be replacing the departing Carlo Ancelotti.

The longer Spurs take to come to a conclusion on this, the more damage they could inflict on their 2025-26 season.

Their pre-season schedule has them facing Arsenal in Hong Kong on July 31, then Newcastle United in South Korea before travelling to Germany for a friendly with Bayern. They then have the small matter of the UEFA Super Cup against Champions League winners Paris Saint-Germain in Udine, Italy on August 13. These games might seem far off today, but Postecoglou, or his replacement, will need as much time as possible to prepare for them and implement his vision for a challenging campaign ahead.

Postecoglou changes his backroom staff at every job to keep things fresh, but most managers and head coaches are the complete opposite. Any potential replacement would probably want at least one of his assistants to join him in north London, which might drag out the situation for a little bit longer.

Whether you believe in Postecoglou’s philosophy or not, everybody can agree that he has been placed in an unfair situation.

As he tries to relax with his family in the Greek sunshine, he is still patiently waiting for the phone call which will reveal his fate.

(Top photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

With reshuffling in the boardroom, and possibly in the dugout, it may be that transfers are not yet at the forefront of the minds of the power brokers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

That will need to change soon, given that Tottenham’s 2024-25 season ended not just with a first trophy in 17 years, but also a worst league campaign since their most recent relegation in 1977. This is a squad that clearly needs bolstering and, as head coach Ange Postecoglou has said himself, could also do with an injection of top-level experience.

The Athletic looks ahead to what may happen in their corner of north London this summer…

Who will make the key decisions during this window?

Johan Lange has overseen recruitment since becoming Tottenham’s technical director in November 2023. He receives support from chief scout Rob Mackenzie and head of football insights and strategy Frederik Leth, with Postecoglou and chairman Daniel Levy providing their input when required. Lange’s arrival prompted massive change within the recruitment department. Lots of long-serving scouts left as the club pivoted to a data-centric operation.

Over the last two years, they have been heavily focused on signing players under the age of 23. Goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky is the prime example of their new approach. Not many Premier League observers had heard of the Czech Republic Under-21 international when he joined from Slavia Prague in January for €16million (£13.5m), but he immediately impressed on his debut against Liverpool in the first leg of a Carabao Cup semi-final. Kinsky is young (he turned 22 in March) and scored extremely well on their data metrics.

Lange does not crave the limelight in the same way as Fabio Paratici, Tottenham’s former managing director of football. The signing of Wilson Odobert last August exemplifies Lange’s low-key style. That deal with Burnley was done swiftly and discreetly, with very little coverage in the media before it was officially announced by Spurs.

What positions will they be looking at in the summer window?

The lack of depth in Tottenham’s squad was brutally exposed last season as they struggled to deal with the demands of playing regularly in the Europa League, suffering a major injury crisis. The Champions League will be a significantly greater challenge come September, and they need quality reinforcements for it. Postecoglou explicitly mentioned this after their defeat to Brighton on the final day of the season, when he spoke about needing players “who are going to be comfortable at that (Champions League) level, not players who are stepping up to that level.”

Spurs desperately need a centre-forward capable of easing the pressure on £65million club-record signing Dominic Solanke. Backup striker Richarlison only made 15 appearances in 2024-25, for a grand total of 500 minutes, because of calf and hamstring injuries.

Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma are not perfect fits for the holding midfield role and both only have a year left on their contracts. Spurs need to consider whether it is worth keeping them or finding an upgrade.

Brennan Johnson was their top scorer in the Premier League with 11 goals but can be guilty of fading in and out of games. Maybe the Wales international would benefit from added competition on the right wing. Dejan Kulusevski can provide cover for Johnson but his performances up until January made it clear he belongs in a central attacking midfield role.

What is the manager’s priority?

This is the multi-million pound question.

At the time of writing, there is still a lack of clarity over Postecoglou’s future. Everybody is in a state of limbo as we wait to see what will happen to the man who guided Spurs to their first trophy in 17 years. If winning that Europa League final helps keep Postecoglou in the job, then expect him to focus on recruiting experience for his third Tottenham season.

Spurs over-relied on a core group of young players in the campaign just ended, including Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, who will need more help in the future. If Levy decides to sack Postecoglou, his replacement will surely want signings who suit his preferred style of play.

It is not an ideal situation to have this much uncertainty heading into a transfer window. Prospective targets will wait to see what happens with Postecoglou before deciding whether they want to join Spurs or not, and that might open the door for other teams to make a move.

Are there any specific players they are targeting?

Spurs enquired about signing Yoane Wissa in January but Brentford made it clear they would not sell the DR Congo international forward in the middle of a season. Wissa, who finished the campaign with 19 goals in 35 appearances, has one year left on his contract, though Brentford have the option to extend it by an extra 12 months. He would be a shrewd signing as he is capable of playing in multiple positions across the front line but the size of the transfer fee and then his required salary might be off-putting as he turns 29 in September.

Who will they be looking to sell?

A big decision needs to be made about their two defensive midfielders. Bentancur performed better last season, which might mean it is time to wave goodbye to Bissouma.

Richarlison put his injury problems behind him to start both legs of the Europa League semi-final and then the final but it may also be time for him to leave. The Brazilian tends to score when he plays, but has struggled with fitness issues for all three seasons he’s been at Spurs. Manor Solomon has just helped Leeds United win promotion from the Championship and is a prime candidate to be sold when he returns from that loan.

Cristian Romero is the vice-captain and was instrumental in Tottenham’s European success. The Argentina international recently turned 27, has two years left on his contract and publicly flirted with the idea of playing in Spain’s La Liga in April. Spurs fans would be gutted to see Romero leave, but he could command a substantial fee if he did, and his inconsistency might make it tempting to cash in.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s loan to Marseille last summer will be made permanent in this one for a fee of €20million.

Will anyone move out on loan?

When everybody returns from loan, Spurs will have a massive squad. There are some players, such as Bryan Gil, who will probably leave permanently in this window and others, including youngsters Will Lankshear and Yang Min-hyeok, who could benefit from another loan where they will receive regular game time.

Does Jamie Donley deserve to be part of his parent club’s first-team squad now after a wonderful season with third-tier neighbours Leyton Orient?

What moves have they made already?

The club agreed a deal with Hadjuk Split two years ago to sign Luka Vuskovic, and he will finally arrive this summer. The centre-back had to wait until he turned 18 in February before he could join Spurs. Vuskovic impressed on loan with Belgian side Westerlo last season and it will be interesting to see if he is immediately included in the first-team squad at Tottenham or heads out on another loan.

Vuskovic is highly rated and has been called up by Croatia’s national team for the first time ahead of their World Cup qualifiers in June.

The original plan was for Tottenham to sign Kinsky in this window but Guglielmo Vicario’s ankle injury forced them to bring their plans forward to January. Mathys Tel was borrowed from Bayern Munich in a deal including an option to buy, so they need to consider whether to take it up. Kevin Danso’s loan from Lens contained an obligation to sign him permanently, which will be activated in the coming weeks.

What sort of budget do they have and what is their PSR position?

Winning the Europa League final last month should significantly boost Spurs’ spending power.

When the club released their accounts for the 2023-24 season in March, Levy said: “I often read calls for us to spend more, given that we are ranked as the ninth-richest club in the world. However, a closer examination of today’s financial figures reveals that such spending must be sustainable in the long term and within our operating revenues. Our capacity to generate recurring revenues determines our spending power. We cannot spend what we do not have, and we will not compromise the financial stability of this club.”

If Spurs had not beaten Manchester United in Bilbao and so been out of Europe for next season, it would have been difficult to foresee them spending significant amounts on players this summer, at least without making sales first. But now they are in the Champions League as Europa League winners, with a guaranteed four home games in its league phase, the situation is a bit brighter.

PSR headroom has never been a problem for them. The Athletic has estimated Tottenham have wiggle-room of more than £200million to spend. The issue has been whether they have the actual cash to do that, even with revenues breaking £500m in the last two seasons. But the prospect of that flow of Champions League money coming back online next season should make for a more comfortable summer.

The prize pot for UEFA’s blue-riband club competition this season was around €2.4billion. Every club who qualified for the league phase was rewarded with €18.6m, then got an extra €2.1m for every win, with draws worth €700,000. Even if Spurs lose every game in the 2025-26 Champions League, they would still earn a significant amount of money, and that’s before you add gate receipts, merchandise income and food sales.

If Postecoglou goes, his replacement will feel confident about being sufficiently backed in the transfer market.

(Top photo: Levy, right, and Lange; Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur have announced long-serving executive director Donna-Maria Cullen has stepped down from her position on the board and will leave the club.

Cullen, 62, joined the Tottenham board in 2006 and had worked as an advisor for the club in the 14 years prior to her appointment.

She described her departure as “such a hard decision”, while chairman Daniel Levy praised the “immense contribution” she has made to the club.

Cullen is among Spurs’ most senior executive directors and is credited with playing a key role in the club’s move from White Hart Lane to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Her departure marks the latest change to the Spurs hierarchy ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, with Vinai Venkatesham announced as the club’s new CEO in April.

A statement from Cullen read: “The club has been my life for the past three decades. It has been quite some journey, starting at White Hart Lane, with a brief stay at Wembley and finally our new home — amazing memories home and away. Ending this season with the Europa League Trophy was a dream come true.

“The time is now right for me to gather more time for myself and my family, whom I thank for all their support over the years. I shall spend the coming months ensuring there is a smooth handover with my staff.”

Levy added: “Donna has made an immense contribution to the club, over an extensive period. Her diverse responsibilities grew significantly and replacing her roles with a single individual will be impossible.

“While many may associate her primarily with marketing and communications, Donna’s impact extends far beyond those areas. Notably, her leadership and political acumen at planning committees, was instrumental in the club being able to build one of the finest stadiums and training centres in the world.

“Her daily input will be greatly missed, however she fully deserves to take time for herself, and I know that we shall be able to call upon her advice when needed. We wish her well for the future.”

Levy’s Spurs ownership has been the subject of supporter criticism and protest in recent seasons, with anti-Levy banners and chants becoming commonplace at fixtures.

Spurs concluded the season by ending their 17-year wait for a major trophy as they won the Europa League, but finished down in 17th in the Premier League after taking just 38 points in the top-flight.

What does Cullen’s exit mean for Spurs?

Analysis from Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Jack Pitt-Brooke

The departure of Donna-Maria Cullen is a hugely significant moment for Tottenham Hotspur. She has been integral to the running of the club throughout the ENIC era, which started with the purchase of Alan Sugar’s majority shareholding in 2000 and then Daniel Levy becoming chairman in 2001.

Cullen is a corporate PR specialist who worked for Lord Bell’s communications company Chime plc in the 1990s before starting to advise Tottenham. In 2006 she joined the Tottenham board and since then has become one of the most influential people at the club. Along with CFO Matthew Collecott, Cullen has been at Levy’s side for decades, anchoring an era of remarkable boardroom stability at Spurs, as the club has grown almost beyond recognition and moved into a new stadium in 2019.

Over the years she has almost always been seen alongside Levy in the directors’ box at games. Cullen’s responsibilities have included oversight of the club’s relations with the media and the outside world.

This was always going to be a summer of profound change for the club on and off the pitch, with the arrival of Venkatesham as CEO. But those changes will now include the departure of one of Levy’s most trusted and powerful lieutenants.

(Stephen Pond/Getty Images)

It is easy to get wrapped up in Tottenham Hotspur manager discourse. The last two seasons at Spurs have been dominated by endless questions about whether Ange Postecoglou is good or not, whether his ideas hold together, his methods work, whether he is responsible for Spurs’ struggles or even for their successes. These debates — which have worn out everyone involved — will reach a climax as Daniel Levy decides whether to keep Postecoglou on for next season or not.

But there are bigger issues at Tottenham than who the manager will be in 2025-26. And regardless whether the man in the dugout in August is Postecoglou or someone else, he will face many of the same challenges. Namely: is the Spurs squad in its current form adequate for what they will face next season?

The story of this season was ultimately the story of Postecoglou carefully allocating his limited resources in pursuit of his goals. He knew that the squad, stricken by an injury crisis, was not good enough to compete on multiple fronts. So he consciously put all of his eggs in the European basket. Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero were preserved almost exclusively for the Thursday night games. So, to varying extents, were Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie, Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson and Guglielmo Vicario. And it worked, the means emphatically justified by the trophy Spurs won last week in Bilbao.

It was the perfect strategy to get through the 2024-25 season, ending it in a better way than anyone could have imagined. But it is clearly not an approach that will work for Spurs in 2025-26. When the Premier League starts on 15 August they will have to be at full strength from the start. And when the Champions League league phase begins one month later, Tottenham will have to throw everything at that too.

But if Tottenham did not have a strong enough squad to compete on two fronts this season, then how can they be expected to fare better next season with these players, especially given that their midweek games will be harder than they were this season? For Spurs’ league phase games at the start of this season, Postecoglou would routinely change more than half the team to rest his key players. He will not be able to play the second-string — or at least, that second-string, next time around.

What Tottenham need — more than they need a change in manager — is new players. A stronger squad. To give them the power and depth to go twice a week every week next season.

No one knows better than Postecoglou himself. Not least because he knows how hard it was at times this season because of the recruitment choices made last summer. Postecoglou has always been very loyal about the decisions taken last year, namely to bring in teenagers to replace the departing experienced players. Postecoglou, it should be remembered, signed off on all those calls too.

In his press conference after Sunday’s defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion — in what could yet be his last public act as Spurs manager — Postecoglou pointed to the three teenagers (Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert) signed last summer. And the fact that experienced players (Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Giovani Lo Celso, Emerson Royal) left to make room for them. “Whenever you do that,” he said, “there’s always going to be a little gap in the development.”

Postecoglou does believe that introducing those youngsters this season will put Spurs in good stead for next year. “We will be in a much better position,” he said, “from the point of view of the three young boys we signed. Lucas is not a young boy anymore, he’s going to be a massive contributor at the start of the year.”

But given the demands of next season, Postecoglou knows that Spurs cannot stand still. “If we do some good business in the transfer market, bring some experience in — and I’m not talking about age, I’m talking about players who have played at this level and can help the team — then I’ve got no doubt we can make the impact we want.”

“Not just us but any club that gets into the Champions League understands that,” Postecoglou explained. “It’s the most elite competition in Europe and it’s a great demand. Every club that gets into the Champions League sees it as an opportunity to strengthen. Experience is the right word, but players who have played at that level, who are going to be comfortable at that level. Not players who are stepping up to that level. That’s the difference.”

It made you think back to the window last summer. For all of Spurs’ business, the only ready-made established player they signed was Dominic Solanke (they also brought Timo Werner back for a second loan spell). In the January window they added two more young players in Antonin Kinsky and Mathys Tel, and the more-experienced Kevin Danso.

But last summer Spurs struggled to land other established players they were interested in. They pushed hard to get Jacob Ramsey at the start of the window but could not complete a deal. Postecoglou always liked Conor Gallagher but he went to Atletico Madrid instead. Pedro Neto left Wolves for Chelsea. Eberechi Eze stayed at Crystal Palace.

This summer they cannot afford to miss out on more established names. If they are to hold their own next summer they will need new players who are already proven in the Champions League. At centre-back, in central midfield and up front too. Postecoglou has said it already: “players who have played at that level, who are going to be comfortable at that level”. And that is just as true regardless of whether Postecoglou or someone else is in charge for the start of the next campaign.

(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur are in a state of limbo. A week after winning the Europa League final in Bilbao, it is unclear who will be their head coach next season.

With Spurs winning silverware for the first time in 17 years, has Ange Postecoglou done enough to convince chairman Daniel Levy that he deserves to stay on for a third season? Or will Levy find it impossible to ignore the fact that Spurs finished 17th in the Premier League, having lost 22 of their 38 matches?

Whoever is in charge next season, there will be 37 squad members during pre-season if you include the players returning from loan. (We have omitted Sergio Reguilon, Fraser Forster and Alfie Whiteman as their contracts are expiring this summer, while Timo Werner will return to RB Leipzig following his loan spell.)

Here, The Athletic breaks down the state of Tottenham’s squad and what should happen next.

Goalkeepers

Guglielmo Vicario

Age: 28

Contract expires: 2028

Vicario missed two and a half months of action after suffering a fractured ankle in Tottenham’s 4-0 victory at Manchester City in November. The Italian international’s absence had a huge impact on the side and Postecoglou used three different goalkeepers before he returned.

Vicario played a crucial part in his club’s Europa League success and made a fantastic save to prevent Luke Shaw from equalising in the last seconds of the final. He is an incredible shot-stopper and a leader in the dressing room who has to stay.

Antonin Kinsky

Age: 22

Contract expires: 2031

Kinsky kept a clean sheet on his debut in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool after arriving from Slavia Prague in January for £13.3million ($17.5m). The Czech Republic Under-21 international made an instant impression with his slick passes and is arguably better on the ball than Vicario, although he did have a couple of shaky moments in the league games that followed.

He only turned 22 in March, so he still has a lot of room for development, but his vast potential is clear for everybody to see.

Brandon Austin

Age: 26

Contract expires: 2029

Austin is a product of Tottenham’s academy and he had to wait until January to make his senior debut in a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United. The 26-year-old’s impressive performance meant that he effectively replaced Forster as the third-choice keeper for the second half of the campaign. He signed a new contract last year, which means he is tied down until the end of the 2028-29 season.

Josh Keeley

Age: 22

Contract expires: 2027

Josh Keeley and Jamie Donley excelled on loan at Leyton Orient in League One this season. Keeley memorably scored in an FA Cup tie against Oldham Athletic and started their 1-0 play-off final defeat to Charlton Athletic last weekend.

Keeley will need to consider if he wants to compete with Austin and Kinsky for a backup role, head out on loan again or find a new club. He will have plenty of options after his impressive performances for Orient if he decides to leave on a short-term or permanent basis.

Defenders

Kevin Danso

Age: 26

Contract expires: 2030

Spurs signed Danso on loan from RC Lens in January after Radu Dragusin suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury, which ruled him out for the rest of the season. Danso made 15 appearances in all competitions and came off the bench for the final 10 minutes against Manchester United in the Europa League final.

There is an obligation to buy included in the defender’s deal, which means he will be contracted at Spurs until 2030 once that is activated. With Spurs playing at least eight games in the Champions League next season, there’ll be plenty of minutes for the Austrian.

Ben Davies

Age: 32

Contract expires: 2026

The Athletic reported in December that the one-year option in Davies’ contract was due to be triggered, which would keep him at Spurs until 2026. The Wales international has spent over a decade with Spurs and he will have loved lifting a trophy more than anyone apart from his close friend Son Heung-min. Davies might not play on a regular basis, but he has an important role as one of the most experienced members of the dressing room who can guide the next generation.

Radu Dragusin

Age: 23

Contract expires: 2030

Dragusin does not look as comfortable on the ball compared to Tottenham’s other centre-backs, but he deserves a lot of credit for putting his body on the line between December and January when the squad was stretched to its limit. The Romania international forged an awkward and unlikely partnership with Archie Gray, and they did their best in challenging circumstances.

The focus for Dragusin will be to make a full recovery from the ACL injury he suffered in January. It can take up to a year to recover from such an injury, so hopefully he could be back on the pitch near the beginning of the 2025-26 season.

Pedro Porro

Age: 25

Contract expires: 2028

Pretty much every member of the squad was impacted by injury in 2024-25 — apart from Porro. The full-back’s durability and quality delivery meant that The Athletic named him as their Spurs player of the season. Some will point out that Porro is not always the best defensively, but he is not helped by a system which at times leaves him and Destiny Udogie incredibly exposed.

He is a core piece of this squad and should spend his peak years in north London.

Cristian Romero

Age: 27

Contract expires: 2027

Spurs are in a tricky situation with Romero. In an interview in April, the Argentina international publicly flirted with the idea of moving to La Liga, amid interest from Atletico Madrid. He just turned 27 and has won back-to-back Copa America titles and the World Cup with his country. There are only two years left on his contract, so if there is any doubt about his commitment, the smartest option might be to sell him this summer.

Djed Spence

Age: 24

Contact expires: 2028

In the space of a year, Spence has gone from an outcast and saleable asset to an important member of the squad. The full-back joined Spurs from Nottingham Forest in July 2022 but only made his first start in December. Since then, he has impressed with his defending in one-on-one situations and driving forward runs.

The 24-year-old’s form dropped off towards the end of the season after Udogie reclaimed his spot at left-back, but Spence’s versatility means his place in the squad should be secure.

Destiny Udogie

Age: 22

Contract expires: 2030

Udogie underwent surgery on his quadriceps in April 2024 and only had a limited involvement in pre-season. It was clear at the beginning of the campaign that he was undercooked and a hamstring injury in December did not help.

The Italy international was sensational in the knockout stages of the Europa League after he recovered. He defended superbly and looked much sharper going forward. He should have recorded an assist in the final, but Dominic Solanke’s heavy first touch ruined the goalscoring opportunity. Maybe Udogie and Porro have been helped by the threat of Spence taking their spot.

Micky van de Ven

Age: 24

Contract expires: 2029

The crown jewel in Tottenham’s backline, Van de Ven is an incredible player to watch. For the second season in a row, the Netherlands international has recorded the quickest sprint speed in the Premier League. He is integral to Postecoglou’s high line and opposition strikers do not even bother trying to chase him for the ball.

If Postecoglou leaves, the new manager will love Van de Ven just as much. Qualifying for the Champions League was crucial for keeping players of Van de Ven’s calibre because, if he stays clear of any more injuries and performs consistently at a high level, other teams will surely be interested in signing him.

Ashley Phillips

Age: 20

Contract expires: 2028

Phillips has spent the last 18 months on loan in the Championship with Plymouth Argyle and Stoke City. He made 39 appearances for Stoke this season as they avoided relegation on the final day. Phillips is still young — he turns 20 in June — so there is no need to rush his development.

The next step for the England Under-20 international might be to go on loan to a club competing towards the top of the Championship and then make a genuine effort to break into Spurs’ squad for the 2026-27 season.

Luka Vuskovic

Age: 18

Contract expires: 2030

Two years after Spurs signed Vuskovic, he is finally joining the club from Hadjuk Split. The centre-back had to wait until he turned 18 on February 24 before he could officially make the move. Vuskovic, who has been named in Croatia’s senior squad but not featured yet, is highly rated and impressed on loan in the Belgian top-flight with KVC Westerlo.

He will become the latest member of Tottenham’s talented crop of players under the age of 21, which includes Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel.

Alfie Dorrington

Age: 20

Contract expires: 2029

Dorrington made his first-team debut as a substitute in December’s 5-0 victory over Southampton and the following month joined Aberdeen on loan. He scored an own goal in last weekend’s Scottish Cup final, but it did not matter as the Dons bounced back to beat Celtic on penalties.

Dorrington is contracted until 2029 so expect him to go on loan again and continue his development with regular game time.

Midfielders

Lucas Bergvall

Age: 19

Contract expires: 2031

Bergvall started the season slowly after joining Spurs from Swedish side Djurgarden. Ankle ligament damage prevented him from featuring in the Europa League final, but the teenager belongs in Tottenham’s strongest XI. He is one of the best ball-carrying midfielders in the division, defends tenaciously and has a great passing range. A new contract recognising his growing status was deserved, and it runs until 2031.

Rodrigo Bentancur

Age: 27

Contract expires: 2026

Bentancur’s season was disrupted by a seven-game suspension for racist comments he made about Son Heung-min and two separate concussions. After Christmas, he tightened his grip on the No 6 role and proved to be a better fit than Bissouma. Bentancur turns 28 next month and his contract expires next year. Recent form suggests Spurs would do well to agree to an extension with the experienced Uruguay international.

Yves Bissouma

Age: 28

Contract expires: 2026

Two months ago, it looked like Bissouma might never play for Spurs again. He was substituted at half-time against Fulham and Postecoglou said that “sometimes he lets the game drift him by.” Injuries to Bergvall, James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski gave him a shot at redemption, which he took with solid performances in both legs of the semi-final and the final.

If Spurs want to progress, they need to be ruthless. Bissouma’s inconsistency has been a theme throughout his three years in north London. He turns 29 in August and has a year left on his contract, so now is the time to wave goodbye on the high of lifting the Europa League trophy.

Archie Gray

Age: 19

Contract expires: 2030

Gray has had a strange first year at Spurs. He had an extended run in the team at centre-back but only started five times in his preferred role of central midfield. Gray’s temperament, willingness to sacrifice himself for the team and versatility mean he will be a success whatever position he ends up in permanently. Spurs should be building around Gray, Bergvall and Mikey Moore long-term.

Dejan Kulusevski

Age: 25

Contract expires: 2028

The Sweden international was exceptional up until January when fatigue and a foot injury took their toll. Kulusevski thrived after he was moved from the right wing to a central attacking midfield role. He weaved in between opposition defenders for fun and single-handedly dragged his team to victory on a couple of occasions.

The focus for the 25-year-old needs to be on making a speedy recovery from the nasty knee injury he suffered against Crystal Palace earlier this month, with Postecoglou suggesting he would be out for “months”.

James Maddison

Age: 28

Contract expires: 2028

Maddison might be the most infuriating member of Tottenham’s squad. He is capable of producing excellent performances against high-quality opposition but might be all but anonymous the following week. When he is fully fit and in the right mood, the 28-year-old effortlessly controls games.

He was directly involved in 16 goals in 31 appearances. And if you break the numbers down, he scored or recorded an assist on average once every 113 minutes, which is impressive. It will be interesting to see how he handles the Champions League.

Pape Matar Sarr

Age: 22

Contract expires: 2030

Sarr made the most appearances (36) in the top-flight for Spurs in the 2024-25 campaign but only started 22 times. The Senegal international’s boundless energy, long-distance strikes and late runs into the box make him a special talent, but he has been overshadowed this season by Bergvall. Sarr is a fantastic rotational option who will only keep improving.

Alfie Devine

Age: 20

Contract expires: 2027

Devine spent last season on loan with Vuskovic at KVC Westerlo. He was a regular starter for the Belgian side and made 32 appearances in all competitions. Devine will turn up to pre-season determined to prove he is ready for the first team.

Jamie Donley

Age: 20

Contract expires: 2029

Donley’s stock has risen dramatically this season with a collection of viral moments while on loan at Leyton Orient, which include a stunning strike from the halfway line against Man City in the FA Cup (which was eventually given as an own goal).

Donley was used as a left-back in pre-season last summer by Postecoglou, but his technical quality marks him out as a creative force. The 20-year-old deserves to be given a chance with the first team next season or, if that will be harder to do with the Champions League instead of the Europa League, should be playing on loan for a Championship team fighting for promotion.

Wingers

Son Heung-min

Age: 32

Contract expires: 2026

Son, who is 33 in July, will go down as a legend at Spurs for staying to win silverware when others, including Harry Kane, left to achieve their dreams elsewhere.

Son might be the captain, but is he the best left winger in the squad? The answer is probably no, with Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert able to offer more dynamism and energy when they play. Spurs triggered a 12-month contract extension in January, which keeps Son around until 2026, but his future beyond that is uncertain. He will be 34 at the start of the 2026-27 season.

Whisper it quietly, but we are probably approaching the beginning of the end of his memorable spell with Spurs.

Brennan Johnson

Age: 24

Contract expires: 2028

Johnson scored the winner in the final and registered more goals in all competitions than any of his team-mates, but he still divides opinion. The Wales international is exceptional at attacking back-post crosses but is guilty of fading in and out of games far too often. He needs to offer more in possession, but is a solid option on the right wing, and is now a hero among fans to boot.

Mikey Moore

Age: 17

Contract expires: 2027

A nasty virus impacted Moore’s development this season. It is easy to feel impatient, but he does not turn 18 until August and has already made 12 top-flight appearances. With a solid pre-season under his belt, Moore will hopefully feature more next season. The only thing to consider is that Moore is competing with Tel, Odobert, Richarlison and Son for minutes at left wing. It might be better for his development to spend the 2025-26 campaign on loan.

Wilson Odobert

Age: 20

Contact expires: 2029

Odobert’s season was disrupted by hamstring surgery. He showed flashes of his quality when he returned in February, but will be hoping to make a much bigger impact next season.

Mathys Tel

Age: 20

Contract expires: 2031

The highly-rated Tel arrived in February from Bayern Munich on loan, with an option to buy. The France Under-21 international took a while to warm up as he adapted to a new country and club and struggled with the physicality of the Premier League in his first few games. Tel looked more threatening by the end of his loan spell, but Spurs might want to renegotiate with Bayern over the £45.7million fee to make his move permanent.

Manor Solomon

Age: 25

Contract expires: 2028

A meniscus injury disrupted Solomon’s first year with Spurs after joining them from Shakhtar Donetsk in July 2023, and he spent last season on loan with Leeds United. The winger scored 10 times in the Championship, including an added-time winner against Plymouth Argyle on the final day of the season, which secured Leeds the title.

Spurs are stacked with options at left wing, so do not be surprised if Solomon is sold for a profit.

Bryan Gil

Age: 24

Contract expires: 2026

It is time for Spurs to accept their losses with Gil and seek a permanent exit for him. He has never scored for them across 25 league appearances and has not stood out during loan spells with Valencia, Sevilla and Girona. The 24-year-old needs a fresh start.

Yang Min-hyeok

Age: 19

Contract expires: 2030

Yang joined Spurs from South Korean side Gangwon in January and within a few weeks joined Queens Park Rangers on loan. He made 14 appearances and scored twice in the second tier. Yang needs more regular game time before he can think about breaking into the first-team squad permanently, but it would be nice to see him involved during the pre-season tour to Korea and Hong Kong.

Strikers

Richarlison

Age: 28

Contract expires: 2027

Even before he started the Europa League final, Richarlison was destined to become a cult hero. Rarely fit since he joined from Everton in July 2022, the Brazilian still finds a way to score or impact games when he is available. The sight of Richarlison banging a drum in the crowd after beating Manchester United in Bilbao was one of the most iconic images of the night.

Due to his age and injury record, though, it is probably best if he leaves. There was interest from the Saudi Pro League last summer, and clubs may be tempted to try again.

Dominic Solanke

Age: 27

Contract expires: 2030

Tottenham’s £65million club-record signing only scored 16 times in 45 appearances, but his importance to the team goes beyond goals. He leads the press, stretches opposition defences with his runs and drops deep to link play. He is a multi-functional forward at the peak of his career. Spurs need to surround him with better quality players to reach the next level.

Dane Scarlett

Age: 21

Contract expires: 2027

Scarlett’s progress has stalled over the last couple of years with a series of underwhelming loan spells at Portsmouth, Ipswich Town and Oxford United. The forward returned from Oxford in January and scored a crashing header in a crucial victory over Elfsborg in the league phase of the Europa League, but only made five appearances in total. The academy graduate might need a new club to reignite his career.

Will Lankshear

Age: 20

Contract expires: 2029

Lankshear produced an iconic moment when he celebrated right in front of Galatasaray’s ultras when Spurs travelled to Turkey in October. The Premier League 2 Player of the Season in 2023-24 spent the last few months on loan with West Bromwich Albion.

He did not score in 11 appearances, but they were mainly from the bench. Lankshear’s talent is clear to see, but it is probably better that he goes on loan again.

Alejo Veliz

Age: 21

Contract expires: 2029

Veliz’s loan spell with Espanyol started positively when he scored a stoppage-time winner against Rayo Vallecano in his fourth game. The problem is that he never scored for the Spanish side again in La Liga. He did score a hat-trick in the Copa del Rey to take his total in all competitions to four goals in 29 matches.

The Argentina Under-20 international’s last start for Espanyol was on January 17 against Real Valladolid. Veliz turns 22 in September, and the chances of him becoming a success at Spurs feel slim.

Additional reporting: Mark Carey, Thom Harris

(Top photo: Ricardo Larreina/Europa Press via Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur were a huge disappointment for the majority of the 2024-25 season. They finished 17th, losing 22 times — the most ever in a 38-game Premier League season by a side who were not relegated — but how much does any of that really matter anymore?

While their league form nosedived, Spurs kept plugging away in the Europa League. Ange Postecoglou tweaked his tactics and guided them to a first major trophy in 17 years.

Luka Modric, Harry Kane, Toby Alderweireld, Jan Vertonghen and Hugo Lloris were world-class talents who never lifted silverware with Spurs. This current squad have endured an often torrid season but are now heroes in the eyes of every single supporter.

This season will be remembered as…

A wild rollercoaster which ended in the best way possible.

A crippling injury crisis derailed them in the league so attention shifted firmly to the cup competitions, but it was still difficult to have faith that they would end the season with silverware.

Postecoglou proved everybody wrong. The squad and the staff stuck together and it all paid off in Bilbao when they beat Manchester United 1-0 to win the Europa League final.

Game of the season

Two weeks after Spurs lost at home to Ipswich Town, they thrashed Man City 4-0 at the Etihad. James Maddison was sensational and scored twice while Guglielmo Vicario played the entire second half with a fractured ankle. Things spiralled out of control in the league soon after this game but at the time it felt like anything was possible.

Spurs’ 1-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League quarter-final second leg stands out too. Everybody thought Spurs would lose in Germany and that the pressure on Postecoglou would be cranked up even more, but he surprised us all by coaching a disciplined performance. It turned out to be the blueprint for their success against United.

Goal of the season

It has to be Johnson’s scrappy effort in the final for its sheer importance but let’s look at our options if we want something more aesthetically pleasing.

Maddison produced a couple of superb goals this season including a delicate chip against Man City and a free kick in a 4-1 victory over Aston Villa. Son Heung-min scored directly from a corner in the crazy Carabao Cup quarter-final with Manchester United.

Johnson’s strike against United at Old Trafford in September was inside the six-yard box but the real beauty of his goal came from Micky van de Ven’s glorious run. The centre-back pinched the ball from Marcus Rashford before he charged forward 70 metres and drilled a perfect cross for Johnson to attack. It was an incredible display of skill, speed and strength from the Dutchman.

Moment of the season

Johnson might have scored the winning goal in the Europa League final but, in the 68th minute, Van de Ven produced a jaw-dropping goal-line clearance. Rasmus Hojlund’s header looped over Vicario but Van de Ven jumped and smashed the ball into the air with his right foot. It was a stunning piece of acrobatics and at one stage he was horizontal in the air.

If Hojlund had scored, United would have drawn level with 20 minutes remaining and the momentum would have completely swung in their favour. Van de Ven boldly sacrificed himself, he hurt his back when he landed, and produced an instantly iconic moment.

Spurs’ 3-0 victory over Elfsborg deserves a special mention. All three goalscorers — Damola Ajayi, Dane Scarlett and Mikey Moore — were academy graduates. It gave the supporters a glimpse of an exciting future.

Did that really happen?

Spurs played Liverpool four times this season and conceded 16 goals but they beat them in January in controversial circumstances in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg. Lucas Bergvall made a couple of erratic tackles while he was on a yellow card, including wiping out Kostas Tsimikas when Liverpool were on the counter, but somehow was not sent off.

Just over a minute after Bergvall’s challenge on Tsimikas, Kevin Danso launched the ball long for Dominic Solanke to chase. Tottenham’s club-record signing then set-up Bergvall for a simple finish. It was a special moment for the teenager but Liverpool were incensed. Arne Slot and Virgil van Dijk were furious with the referee while assistant coach Sipke Huslhoff was sent off.

Favourite quote

“I don’t usually win things in my second season, I always win things.”

This quote has hung over Postecoglou ever since he said it after September’s defeat to Arsenal in the north London derby. Postecoglou tried to explain a few days later that he was just stating a fact, but lots of people interpreted it as an arrogant boast.

He would have been mocked if Spurs lost the Europa League final but now people will look at his comments as a prophetic statement. During the post-match celebrations, Sergio Reguilon and Maddison held up a banner with an image of Postecoglou with that famous line written underneath.

Biggest surprise

It has to be the unlikely redemption of Djed Spence. The full-back joined Spurs from Nottingham Forest in July 2022 but spent his first two years at the club sitting on the bench or on loan at Rennes, Leeds United and Genoa.

He seemed destined to leave but produced a couple of encouraging performances in pre-season which prompted Postecoglou to keep him. The 24-year-old had to wait until December to make his first start but was one of the team’s best performers during the second half of the campaign. Spence has looked excellent on the left and right, capable of driving the team forward with his runs and defending diligently.

The funniest moment

Take your pick from the crazy celebrations after Spurs lifted the Europa League trophy. Cristian Romero’s dancing, Maddison getting his revenge on Roy Keane, Yves Bissouma walking around topless with a speaker strapped to his back or Richarlison banging a drum in the crowd.

Best performance by an opposition player

Beck Ray-Enoru, a shop assistant at Zara, gave Pedro Porro a surprisingly difficult afternoon in January’s 3-0 victory over non-League side Tamworth in the third round of the FA Cup but, unfortunately, the serious answer is Cole Palmer.

Chelsea’s playmaker inspired their comeback victory over Spurs in December and scored two penalties, including a Panenka that prompted goalkeeper Fraser Forster to kick the ball away in disgust. Dominik Szoboszlai was a menace every time they faced Liverpool too.

Rate the manager’s season out of 10

It is tempting to give Postecoglou a 10 for achieving something that Antonio Conte, Jose Mourinho and Mauricio Pochettino, coaches with much bigger reputations, failed to do with Spurs. However, his team did lose a lot of games, which we can’t entirely ignore, so I will give him an 8 and look forward to your complaints below…

The issue that will dominate the summer

The Athletic reported in March that Postecoglou’s long-term future was in serious doubt and that winning a trophy might not be enough to save him. We will likely know within the next few days whether the Australian will still be in charge come August, or if Spurs need to spend the summer looking for a replacement.

If chairman Daniel Levy decides to part company with Postecoglou, then the fanbase will argue about whether it was the right decision for years to come.

This time next year we’ll be saying…

“Maybe Spurs should not have sacked their first manager to win a trophy in 17 years…”

Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images

It was almost 6.40pm at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when the music was turned off and the South Stand found their voice again. They belted out Ange Postecoglou’s name over and over again as he stood down in front of them, surrounded by the players and their families.

This was a strange day at Spurs, one where the real occasion was everything that happened after the final whistle. It started just before 6.15pm when Son Heung-min walked back out onto the pitch holding the Europa League trophy, roared on by a stadium that was still almost full. Postecoglou came out after his players, making sure to hug every one of the club icons — Ossie Ardiles, Steve Perryman, Ricky Villa, Pat Jennings — forming a guard of honour.

It felt like a symbolic moment, one that marked how significant Postecoglou now is to the modern history of this club.

In a sense, this was his day. His name was sung louder and more frequently than it has been all season. He was warmly applauded when he walked around the pitch at the end. As he was about to leave the field, he kept being grabbed for photographs by people who wanted to share the moment with him.

All of these images, all of these memories, will be in Daniel Levy’s mind in the coming days as he prepares to make one of the biggest decisions of his life. Simply: does Postecoglou, the man who delivered the biggest trophy, the greatest moment of the 24-year ENIC era, get a third season as manager or not? Is it worth sacrificing this unique climate to start again with someone like Thomas Frank or Marco Silva?

Less than one week ago, it felt inevitable that this would be the last week of Postecoglou’s tenure. That had been the expectation for the last few months, and nobody said anything to seriously challenge it. Even in Bilbao, the night before the final, he spoke about how he had been in this position before, “where the big game was the last game”. It sounded like he was preparing for the end. It felt like this would be yet another reset summer for Spurs: new manager, new ideas, new direction.

But then Bilbao happened and everything changed. What if this direction was always the right one after all?

This is a different football club now. It has been transformed by what happened in Spain on Wednesday night, and then back here in Tottenham on Friday afternoon. You could see it as soon as you walked down the High Road and saw the ‘Europa League Winners’ signs attached to every lamp post. Or the ‘champions of Europe’ scarves that have been hurriedly made to sell at the merchandise stands. Or the huge ‘WINNERS’ sign over the glass entrance on the west side of the stadium.

The change of the last few days is about more than signage. It is even about more than Postecoglou fulfilling his line on winning in his second season. It is about something more fundamental than that. It is about a change in mood, in energy, in status and prestige.

During the 17 years between Ledley King lifting the League Cup at Wembley and last Wednesday night, Tottenham became increasingly synonymous with not winning. In a sense, this was unfair, given that they had a good team under Harry Redknapp and then a very good one under Mauricio Pochettino. But there has always been an element of luck about which teams win which trophies. And Spurs always found themselves on the wrong side of it.

When this stadium was opened six years ago, the hope was that it would help Tottenham bridge the gap to their rivals and bring about the trophies the fans had been waiting for so long. It nearly happened sooner than anyone planned. Within weeks of opening the stadium, Spurs were in the Champions League final. If they had beaten Liverpool in Madrid, it would have been Pochettino, Hugo Lloris, Harry Kane, Dele Alli and the rest parading the trophy down the High Road.

But that did not happen and the dominant moods here for most of the time since 2019 have been variations on disappointment, frustration, apathy and anger.

Up until Wednesday night, the abiding images of this season were the anti-Levy protest marches, attracting thousands of disgruntled fans who had run out of patience with the running of the club. And yet those images have now been supplanted in the shared Spurs consciousness by everything we saw last week. Tottenham Hotspur has never in the modern era been a happier, prouder, more positive or more unified place than it is right now. And that is all down to Postecoglou masterminding the Europa League triumph, guiding Spurs all the way to Bilbao and then beating Manchester United in the final.

Just last week, any survey of match-going Spurs fans would probably have given you an ‘Ange Out’ majority. Those 21 Premier League defeats (made 22 with the 4-1 loss to Brighton) — the most in any 38-game league season in the club’s history — ground the fanbase down. Incidents between Postecoglou and Spurs fans, not least the ear-cupping moment at Stamford Bridge on 3 April, suggested that the relationship between the manager and the matchgoing fans was badly damaged. When that happens, it usually just points to one outcome.

There have been plenty of moments this season where sacking Postecoglou would have been acceptable, even popular with large sections of the crowd. Some of Spurs’ worst defeats — Liverpool at home, Everton away, Leicester at home, Liverpool away — did have an end-of-days feel about them.

But Wednesday prompted a shift among the fans in favour of Postecoglou. Many of those who previously favoured a change now feel Postecoglou has earned the right to have a third season, and a shot at the Champions League. Sacking Postecoglou is a far riskier proposition now than it was just a few weeks ago. It would risk being as unpopular as the sacking of Pochettino in November 2019.

The prospect of deciding to keep a manager after he wins a cup will make people think of Manchester United u-turning to keep Erik ten Hag this time last year. That turned out to be an expensive waste of time, which ruined United’s season. But this would not necessarily be the same as that. Tottenham winning the Europa League is simply a more significant, more transformational event than United winning yet another domestic cup.

The support that Postecoglou has within the dressing room is also far deeper than Ten Hag enjoyed at Old Trafford this time last year.

Of course, you can still construct a rational case for changing the manager. The league form really is abysmal. That can be contextualised, given Postecoglou’s prioritisation of the Europa League, but it cannot be entirely ignored. Sunday’s game against Brighton existed in a context all of its own, given the partying since Wednesday night, but the second-half collapse still echoed some of Spurs’ struggles this season.

Then there is the issue of squad management.

Spurs won the Europa League in part because of Postecoglou’s clear-sighted prioritisation of Europe, resting his best players for league games in recent months. They never looked comfortable competing on two fronts simultaneously. But Tottenham will be in the Champions League next season. They will need to go all-out every weekend and every midweek, every single time. At the very least, they will need a stronger, deeper squad to balance those demands. Postecoglou said in the post-match press conference they would need more experience in the market.

The point here is not only the assessment of what went right and wrong in the league this season. If Spurs had not won in Bilbao, then you could easily make the case that now was the time for a safe pair of hands, someone pragmatic, experienced in the Premier League, who could help calmly steer the ship through next season. It could well be the time for Silva or Frank to tighten up the defence and find a more robust, repeatable approach.

But this is not a choice between Silva or Frank (or similar equivalents) and the Postecoglou of 22 league defeats. That would be a simpler call. Nor are Spurs weighing up the possibility of bringing in a box-office manager, a Jose Mourinho or an Antonio Conte, not that either of those appointments ever came close to giving them a week like this one.

The choice is between a new manager starting from scratch and the one who has delivered their greatest moment for a generation.

When Postecoglou was appointed, the hope was that he would bring the whole club back together, and he has finally done that in what may be his penultimate match in charge. But because of the events of this season, the way he pursued glory through disaster and got there in the end, he has a special aura now. After saying that he always wins things in his second season and delivering on it, at Spurs of all places, he has the distinct energy of a far-sighted prophet.

Levy has sacked 13 managers over the course of his chairmanship of Spurs. There have been many moments this season when sacking Postecoglou might have been the obvious thing to do. But to do it right now, after Bilbao, after the parade, after today, and after Postecoglou got the fans back on side, would make it one of the boldest, hardest calls of the last 24 years.

Right at the moment, Tottenham have achieved glory and unity again, Levy would be risking it all, hoping that the grass is greener with a different man in charge. Postecoglou will go on holiday on Monday, still waiting to hear about his future, but at least he will not have to answer any more questions about it.

“I’ve done something that no one believed I could,” he said at the end of his press conference. “And I shouldn’t be sitting here talking about it.”

(Top photo: Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur’s supporters serenaded their Europa League winners but, with the memory of that midweek win in Bilbao still fresh, their Premier League campaign petered out in all-too-familiar frustration.

Sunday’s final game of the campaign ended up as a humiliation for the home team.

Ange Postecoglou’s side threw away an early lead against Brighton & Hove Albion, who began the afternoon aspiring to qualify for Europe next season themselves, and were ultimately overwhelmed as the visitors ran riot. The 4-1 defeat condemned Spurs to finishing 17th, above only the three relegated sides, their lowest finish in a top-flight season since they last went down from the top flight in 1977.

Mats Wieffer’s foul on the lively Mathys Tel on the quarter-hour mark had seen Spurs awarded a penalty, which was converted confidently by Dominic Solanke. Tel, fed by Pedro Porro, might have added a second only to be denied by an excellent save from Bart Verbruggen.

Yet, while Brighton had only threatened sporadically before the break, they were revived by their half-time changes.

Two set-piece goals completely transformed the game, with Tottenham unable to cope with Adam Webster’s aerial prowess at corners. First, the centre-half nodded down Brajan Gruda’s delivery for Jack Hinshelwood to convert smartly from close range. Then, moments after Carlos Baleba had struck the post, Hinshelwood summoned a cheeky back heel in the confusion of the six-yard box to convert beyond Guglielmo Vicario.

Matt O’Riley’s late penalty sealed the win and there was still time for Diego Gomez to rip a stunning fourth into the top corner from distance.

Jay Harris and Elias Burke dissect the key talking points from a harrowing last game of Tottenham’s season.

So what now for Postecoglou?

Despite Brennan Johnson’s winning goal and Micky van de Ven’s acrobatic goal-line clearance as Manchester United were beaten in Bilbao, Ange Postecoglou had been the star attraction at Friday’s trophy parade through this part of north London.

His address, in front of at least 150,000 fans packed into the streets surrounding the stadium, ended with a hint that he had been given assurances about his future. While his “third season” comment provoked the biggest roar of the evening, Postecoglou clarified in his pre-match press conference the following day that he hadn’t actually held any talks with Tottenham’s hierarchy regarding his status for 2025-26.

Suggesting whether he stays or goes is a straightforward decision would be a disservice to chairman Daniel Levy, who has endured Tottenham’s worst season in Premier League history in the hope Postecoglou’s second-year trophy declaration would bear fruit — and it did. Success in the Europa League, and the ticket to the Champions League that comes with it, ensures that 2024-25 will be written into their history books for reasons of triumph rather than failure.

Still, a club of Tottenham’s size and level of playing talent cannot lose 22 league games out of a campaign’s 38, irrespective of the injuries and Europe taking priority in recent months. This defeat, their 10th in 19 home top-flight matches this season, ended up a thrashing.

Yet if Levy takes stock of the options available to replace Postecoglou, the Australian’s case to take the club forward is strengthened. Thomas Frank and Marco Silva have enjoyed excellent seasons at Brentford and Fulham respectively and either might raise Spurs’ floor next season, but perhaps the ceiling is higher with Postecoglou.

Immediately parting ways with the coach who brought silverware to Spurs after a 17-year wait has to be a decision you’re sure about.

It’s clear the players are behind him. Judging by the atmosphere at that parade on Friday, the supporters are too. Though the picture of thousands heading for the exits after O’Riley put Brighton 3-1 up on 88 minutes here suggests they’re not unanimous in their backing.

Elias Burke

How did Solanke do in his first season at Spurs?

Tottenham broke their transfer record to sign Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth last summer for £65million ($87.9m at the current exchange rate). He was supposed to be the elite centre-forward who could fill the void left by Harry Kane when he moved to Bayern Munich a year earlier.

An ankle injury sustained on debut disrupted his early season, then a knee injury in January ruled him out for nearly two months, but Solanke still managed nine goals in 27 league games, including his penalty today. It is fair to say that he is not a prolific striker like his predecessor, but he offers the team so much more than just goals.

The 27-year-old is integral to the way Postecoglou wants his team to press. Solanke leads from the front and tirelessly chases after long balls from his team-mates. He is selfless, which means that other people tend to benefit from his hard work. Johnson is the perfect example of this: Solanke’s runs towards the near post will often drag opposition centre-backs out of position and leave the Welsh winger free to receive a cutback.

Solanke might not have scored many this season but he delivered under pressure. He got the winner in the Europa League quarter-final tie against Eintracht Frankfurt and scored in both legs of the semi-final victory over Bodo/Glimt. He had a great chance to score in the final too, but was clearly exhausted when he received Destiny Udogie’s pass in the second half.

The three-time England international has looked isolated by Spurs’ system at times and will need more help next season, but he should be this club’s first-choice striker for the next few years. His has been a promising — if not necessarily spectacular — start.

Jay Harris

Should Tottenham make Tel’s move permanent?

The situation Tel entered on arrival in the winter transfer window would have been a challenge for a seasoned international, never mind a teenager being asked to adapt to a new league and country.

Tottenham were sliding down the table then and Tel, who had earned most of his minutes on the left wing at parent club Bayern Munich, was called upon to deputise for a sidelined Solanke at centre-forward. He found the adjustment difficult.

Since Solanke’s return from injury, Tel has largely moved back to the left, and his performances there have been more encouraging.

He scored in back-to-back league games against Southampton and Wolves in April, and followed those up with arguably his best performance in a Spurs shirt in the 2-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest. Against Brighton on Sunday, he offered a bright spark in attack and had a good opportunity denied by an excellent save. He perhaps should have had an assist in the second half, cutting a cross back to Johnson, who fired wide when in a position he has scored from several times this season.

Spurs can exercise a €55million (£46.2m; $62.5m) option to make Tel’s stay permanent this summer, but, despite his recent upturn in form, whether he’s done enough to justify that price tag is up for debate.

But there’s no denying his talent. If Levy can negotiate that price down, it’s a deal that makes sense for a side needing reinforcements across the squad with a Champions League campaign ahead.

Elias Burke

Can Europe mask the Premier League form?

In Sunday’s first half, it felt as if Spurs would beat Brighton because they were fired up by the incredible atmosphere inside the stadium. Wiefer was struggling to contain Tel, Rodrigo Bentancur kept making interceptions and Van de Ven found it easy to deal with the threat of Simon Adingra.

Everything changed when Fabian Hurzeler brought Kaoru Mitoma and Gomez off the bench at half-time. Mitoma instantly started driving directly at Pedro Porro and won a corner. Gruda’s out-swinging delivery bounced off Solanke and Hinshelwood rifled the ball into the roof of the net.

Spurs never recovered their momentum from that moment.

Baleba smacked the post with a shot from another corner. Gomez pinched the ball off Kevin Danso in Tottenham’s half and launched a dangerous counter. Yankuba Minteh moved to the right wing and darted in so many different directions that Udogie would have been left with a headache.

As it was, Hinshelwood scored Brighton’s crucial second from another corner which Spurs defended poorly.

Yves Bissouma conceding a penalty for a late tackle on Gomez summed up the entire second-half performance. Djed Spence and Udogie lost the ball on the halfway line and slowly trudged back without much effort.

Gomez’s fourth in added time just rubbed salt into the wounds.

For all the happiness that lifting the Europa League trophy brought to the fanbase, this was a reminder that a lot of work needs to be done before this team becomes competitive again towards the top of the domestic table. Again, this was their 22nd defeat of the Premier League season, their 10th at home, and they finished above only the three relegated clubs.

Hurzeler’s tactical substitutions changed the game and counterpart Postecoglou was too slow to react. If the Australian stays and leads the team next season, he needs to learn from his mistakes over the past nine months to ensure his side heads in the right direction.

Jay Harris

What did Postecoglou say?

Asked about the game by BBC Radio Five Live, Postecoglou said: “A pretty disappointing result. We obviously got pretty fatigued in the second half and couldn’t really sort of go on with the job. First half was okay. I thought we controlled them pretty well, scored a goal, probably should have had a second. But (we) fatigued in the second half. Unfortunately the game got away from us.”

On the campaign: “How do I assess the season? Outstanding. We won a trophy, which we hadn’t done for 17 years, and we’re in the Champions League. Ask anyone at this football club at the start of the year whether they’d take that, I’m pretty sure there wouldn’t be a person in the house who wouldn’t.

“It’s been an unbelievable season. I said during the week that I couldn’t be prouder of the group that we’ve achieved what we have. It’s a real good platform to kick on now.”

(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)