Daily Mail

Ange Postecoglou is likely to leave Tottenham Hotspur regardless of whether his side wins the Europa League – while the club is set to carry out a wide-ranging summer overhaul of its football operation.

The Australian has overseen a deeply disappointing season in the Premier League with their loss against Nottingham Forest – the 18th of the season – leaving them in lowly 16th.

However, it has been a different story in the Europa League with Spurs in the semi-final and potentially three games away from the Champions League qualification awarded to the winner.

Should that be the case Postecoglou could avoid the axe, but belief has grown over the past few weeks that the 59-year-old will depart regardless.

Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola and Fulham’s Marco Silva would be among the leading candidates as a replacement, while Mail Sport understands Scott Parker, who guided Burnley to promotion, also has admirers within the club.

Parker played for Spurs, was well-liked by supporters and also coached within the club’s academy set-up.

Iraola would, however, appear to be more suited to the shift in tactics and focus on attacking football engineered by Postecoglou while Parker’s success at Turf Moor has been built on the back of a resolute defence that has conceded just 15 times in 44 Championship matches.

Former boss Mauricio Pochettino would like to return at some point but is currently the USA coach and has a home World Cup to come next year. Brentford’s Thomas Frank is also on the radar.

Mail Sport revealed last week that another Aussie, Scott Munn, is expected to leave the club after two years as the club's chief football officer. And it can now be disclosed that others are likely to follow after a review into the reasons for the club’s underperformance is carried out.

Various departments within the football operation are under the microscope and a series of changes are expected across areas such as medical, sports science and analytics. There is a belief that the season has not been good enough across the board and that responsibility for that lies not just on the head coach. ‘Nobody is safe,’ said one insider with knowledge of the situation.

Munn led a review that ended with the exit of long-serving head of medicine Geoff Scott last year. This season's injury record has not improved and is arguably worse.

Tottenham will play Norway’s Bodo/Glimt in the semi-final and, should they be successful, would face Athletic Bilbao or Manchester United in the final, which is in Bilbao.

Postecoglou has often spoken of his record of winning trophies in his second season at a club and doing so this year could open the door for a more dignified exit.

A victory in Bilbao could set up a similar situation to that United faced when they beat Manchester City to lift the FA Cup and subsequently handed then manager Erik ten Hag a new contract. Ten Hag was backed in the summer window but was then sacked in October with the episode viewed as an expensive mistake. The way that the scenario unfolded in Manchester will not have gone unnoticed in North London.

Spurs have not won a trophy since 2008 and Postecoglou has had to contend with a series of issues as he seeks to end that drought.

A crippling injury list has decimated his squad, while matches have often played out to chants against chairman Daniel Levy and club owners ENIC. Postecoglou has also overseen an investigation into a suspected leak within the club. When asked if he was going to remain as head coach he responded that he had ‘no idea’ and told reporters ‘you’re going to have to put up with me for a bit longer’ following the unexpected quarter-final win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

There are changes expected elsewhere regardless. The club has already seen one new arrival with Vinai Venkatesham to join as chief executive officer in the summer.

Venkatesham is highly-regarded following his time at rivals Arsenal but the extent of his influence remains to be seen. A high-level trio of Levy, executive director Donna-Marie Cullen and operations and finance director Matthew Collecott are widely viewed as those who call the shots and some have wondered if change may be afoot in that axis following Venkatesham’s appointment.

Cristian Romero has been one of Tottenham's best players in the last four years

The centre back has been linked with a move to Atletico Madrid in recent weeks

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Cristian Romero has seemingly opened the door to a move away from Tottenham at the end of the campaign in a recent interview.

The Argentinian central defender has been at the club since joining from Atalanta as Serie A's defender of the year back in August 2021, and he has since played 89 times for the north London club.

Since his arrival at Spurs he has become one of the club's best defenders, however he has been hampered this season by injuries, like many of his team-mates.

However, his reputation within the game has remained intact, and he has regularly been reported as a transfer target for some of Europe's biggest clubs.

Among the suitors, Atletico Madrid have been linked to a move for the World Cup winner ahead of this summer's Club World Cup.

However a recent interview might find other clubs paying somewhat closer attention to Romero's situation, after he suggested he could be open to leaving Tottenham this summer.

'We're in the Europa League semi-finals, and I want to finish the season on a high note,' the Argentina star admitted when questioned on his immediate future by Los Edul.

'After that, we'll see. My focus is always on growing and looking for new places to continue developing.'

Tottenham's campaign has been underwhelming for 2024-25, with the club currently 16th in the Premier League following a 2-1 defeat by Nottingham Forest in north London on Monday night.

As such, they are out of the race to qualify for Europe next term via the Premier League, though their chances are still alive through other means.

Winning the Europa League would secure their place in next year's Champions League, which would put a hugely positive edge on a miserable season.

Romero was also asked which league that he had never featured in he would most like to join, to which he admitted he'd choose Spain, though that is not thought to be a major hint about his future.

The Mirror earlier this week reported Romero was subject of interest from Atletico over a £43million move, with Diego Simeone keen to replenish his defence with several stars' contracts expiring at the end of the season.

In December, Romero warned Daniel Levy that the club are slipping behind their Premier League rivals due to a lack of investment.

Asked if Tottenham were suffering over limited spending and a lack of depth, the centre back told Telemundo Deportes: 'The truth is, I would say no comment, but...

'Manchester City competes every year, you see how Liverpool strengthens its squad, Chelsea strengthens their squad, doesn't do well, strengthens again, and now they're seeing results. Those are the things to imitate.

'You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they realise it.

'The last few years, it's always the same: first, the players, then the coaching staff changes, and it's always the same people responsible.

'Hopefully, they realise who the true responsible ones are, and we move forward because it's a beautiful club that, with the structure it has, could easily be competing for the title every year.'

Atletico Madrid are keen to secure a deal for Tottenham defender Cristian Romero before the Club World Cup, according to a report.

Romero has been a key cog in the Spurs side since joining on an initial loan from Atalanta in the 2021-22 season.

The 26-year-old was critical of the club's hierarchy and recruitment policy in December, highlighting a lack of depth to their squad in comparison to the Premier League's elite, following a glut of injuries.

Having missed a number of games this season through injury and suspension himself, he has also praised his national side's medical staff in comments that have been construed as a subtle dig towards his rehab treatment at Spurs.

Last month, Mail Sport reported Atletico Madrid are monitoring developments with Romero ahead of a potential summer move.

The Argentina international is also understood to be interested in exploring a move away as he looks to play Champions League football.

Atletico have now made Romero a prime defensive target and are hopeful of signing him for £43million, according to the Mirror.

Atletico want to sign two defender including Romero, with Valencia's Cristhian Mosquera also on the shortlist.

The contracts of Cesar Azpilicueta, Axel Witsel and Reinildo Mandava are up at the end of June and their participations in the Club World Cup, which runs from June 14 to July 13, are in doubt.

A World Cup winner with Argentina, Romero is playing under his fifth manager at Spurs, including interims, since signing for £43million from Atalanta in 2021.

In December, Romero warned Daniel Levy that the club are slipping behind their Premier League rivals due to a lack of investment.

Asked if Tottenham were suffering over limited spending and a lack of depth, the centre back told Telemundo Deportes: 'The truth is, I would say no comment, but...

'Manchester City competes every year, you see how Liverpool strengthens its squad, Chelsea strengthens their squad, doesn't do well, strengthens again, and now they're seeing results. Those are the things to imitate.

'You have to realise that something is going wrong, hopefully, they realise it.

'The last few years, it's always the same: first, the players, then the coaching staff changes, and it's always the same people responsible.

'Hopefully, they realise who the true responsible ones are, and we move forward because it's a beautiful club that, with the structure it has, could easily be competing for the title every year.'

Tottenham are on route to their worst Premier League campaign as they sit 15th - but remain in the hunt to end their long trophy drought having reached the Europa League semi-finals with victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has provided a worrying fitness update on Son Heung-min.

The South Korean missed last weekend's defeat at Wolves and the Europa League quarter-final victory at Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday With a foot injury.

Spurs return to action on Monday against Nottingham Forest - but Son will not take part after being ruled out once again.

And Postecoglou says he doesn't know when his captain, who has scored 11 goals and provided 12 assists this season, will return to full fitness.

'He's been dealing with a foot problem for a while, so now is as good a time as any to give him the right time to to get over it,' said Postecoglou. 'He'll definitely miss Monday.

Asked when Son could return, the Spurs boss said: 'Not really sure. It's been something he's been dealing with for a little while and it got to the point where not only it wasn't improving, but it was deteriorating, and it's one of these things where rest is going to be as important as anything else with that kind of injury.

'So, we'll give him that time. Sonny is the kind of guy who always wants to train, so we'll put him on ice for the next few days and see how he responds to that.'

Meanwhile, James Maddison is also a doubt for the visit of Forest after being forced off in the first half against Frankfurt.

Postecoglou said: 'We had the day off yesterday as we didn't get back until the early hours. 'Fair to say he will be a bit sore so he's a doubt for Monday.

Radu Dragusin is now Tottenham’s only other injury absentee after Dejan Kulusevski and Kevin Danso both featured off the bench against Frankfurt

Tottenham sit 16th in the Premier League table, while a win for Forest will strengthen their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season.

Tottenham advanced to the Europa League semi-finals after beating Frankfurt

Vicario insisted Spurs are determined to end the fans' pain by winning silverware

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Victory can transform the mood in an instant and Tottenham's players emerged triumphant from a fine night in Frankfurt with fresh determination to end this season of suffering in style.

'Everyone suffered a lot this season,' said goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario after clinching a place in the Europa League semi-finals. 'It has been a very tough one, but we are still alive and want to fight for something special.

'It is an important achievement. The job is not done but it's a big win for Tottenham Hotspur, for everyone, for the boss, for us players, for the staff, for the fans. We are very proud.'

Pride was evident in the way they overcame Eintracht Frankfurt. By grinding past tough opponents 1-0 courtesy of a penalty scored by Dominic Solanke, in a hostile atmosphere to confront the most common criticism, that Spurs are flimsy and easy to beat.

'It's just a perception,' said Vicario. 'We know what we are capable of when we are really tuned in, when we work hard as a team like we showed. The achievement over two legs was deserved. We showed the resilience and desire to fight.

'We got the job done and deserved to be in the semi-final of a big European competition. It was an amazing night for us. The job is not done. Now we go to the semi-final. We face another tough opponent. But we will fight for sure.'

Tottenham will take on Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt in the semi-finals, with the first leg at home on Thursday week. They are striving to win major honours for the first time since 2008.

It will not, however, mask a dreadful campaign in the Premier League. Having been devasted by injuries in midwinter, they wallow in 15th. They have lost 17 of 32 league games, and host Champions League chasing Nottingham Forest on Monday.

Nor will it erase doubts around the future head coach Ange Postecoglou but it will reinforce confidence inside the dressing room.

'Not at any stage have I felt they lost any belief in me or what we're doing,' said Postecoglou. 'That is crucial when you're having a difficult season, but there is also a season of opportunity there. That's what keeps driving me.'

Scott Munn, a key ally of Postecoglou, is expected to leave Tottenham after two years as the club's chief football officer when Vinai Venkatesham, formerly at Arsenal, arrives as chief executive at the end of the season.

Munn, 51, arrived from the City Football Group's Chinese branch in 2023, the same year as fellow Australian Postecoglou. He has been a background figure, barely speaking publicly and was charged by chairman Daniel Levy with shaking up and streamlining various departments at the club.

This included a review into the medical department that ended with the exit of long-serving head of medicine Geoff Scott last year but failed to curtail the injury problems that have haunted Postecoglou's tenure.

Follow Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score, team news and updates from the Europa League clash between Eintracht Frankfurt and Tottenham plus updates from Chelsea vs Legia Warsaw in the Europa Conference League.

Troy Deeney insisted that Tottenham are in dire need of a summer clear out if they are to have any hope of bouncing back next season.

Spurs currently find themselves in the midst of a historic slump, with the club languishing in 15th in the Premier League table following a dismal run of results.

Injuries to key players throughout the campaign have severely limited Ange Postecoglou's options, and the Aussie has been largely forced to put his faith in youth to plug the gaps in his squad.

Postecoglou's position at the club has appeared increasingly tenuous in recent weeks, with Thursday's Europa League clash with Frankfurt appearing to be a pivotal moment in the 59-year-old's reign in north London.

Speaking on Tottenham's ongoing woes former Premier League striker Deeney insisted several players will likely need to move on to facilitate a rebuild at the club.

'For me, he's done a good job blooding the younger players and giving them the confidence to go and score a lot,' Deeney told talkSPORT.

'Brennan Johnson, what is he on, about 16 goals now? I think they're in a transition period, I think you could see the likes of Son [Heung-min] move on.

'Potentially [James] Maddison, [Yves] Bissouma, Richarlison, these guys will start moving on. And then obviously they have a lot of young players like Mikey Moore, but I still think they're a little bit like Chelsea.

'They need one, maybe two, older pros just to be like, "We don't do that here, this is how you win things". And that's the bit I think that they're missing.'

Postecoglou has faced criticism throughout the season for a perceived tactical inflexibility for his attempts to mould his squad to fit the system that served him so well in the Scottish Premiership with Celtic.

However, Deeney insisted that the overriding issue for Spurs is a lack of leaders in the dressing room resulting in a lack of identity from the club as a whole.

He continued: 'Every time they lose, it's like, "Is he going to be sacked?"

'I'll say this again. What are Spurs? They've been trying to win a trophy forever. I don't know what the plan is, they've got loads of young talent, no real proper leaders as what I would describe as a leader.

'I look at Ryan Yates at Forest, while Morgan Gibbs-White is the [stand-in] captain, Ryan Yates is the heartbeat of that team.

'And when he plays, he's got the emotional connection with the fanbase, the players respond, he knows he's not the best player, but he's probably the most important to how they play. If you look at Spurs, who is that?'

Man United and Tottenham have grossly underperformed expectations this term

Red Devils will set new Premier League low, while Spurs have lost 17 matches

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Tottenham and Manchester United face season-defining Europa League ties on Thursday night after both enduring awful seasons by their high standards.

Man United host Lyon at Old Trafford following Andre Onana’s calamitous errors which allowed the French side to claim a 2-2 draw.

For Ange Postecoglou’s side, they travel to the Frankfurt fortress after a disappointing 1-1 stalemate in the first leg.

After 32 games, Spurs and Man United sit in the bottom half of the Premier League table, 15th and 14th respectively in a horrendous domestic campaign.

This leaves both Ruben Amorim and Postecoglou under pressure and fighting for their jobs, relying on European glory to avoid the sack.

Since Amorim’s arrival in United’s 1-1 draw with Ipswich back in November 2024, only West Ham, Tottenham, Southampton and the soon-to-be relegated Ipswich and Leicester are below the Red Devils. Here, Mail Sport compares just how bad the two managers have been in the 2024-25 season using statistics from Opta in all competitions since November 23.

Spurs and United have remarkably both won 12 matches, with Amorim having the lowest win percentage of any Red Devils manager in the Premier League (29 per cent).

Yet, Postecoglou has lost three more games than Amorim (14 v 11), highlighting how poor the Lilywhites have been this season.

Spurs have endured an injury crisis far worse than the 2023-24 season, yet. with nearly the full first team back, they are still struggling to win games with excuses running out.

Tottenham fans are falling out of love with Postecoglou and Daniel Levy with the ‘Time for Change’ protests ramping up with every game they lose this campaign.

The 2024-25 campaign has been disastrous with Postecoglou’s tactics and man management causing issues on and off the field, becoming flustered in post-match interviews in contrast to his usual calm demeanour.

This has led to a shaky relationship with fans, who initially welcomed the former Celtic boss, as exhibited in their 4-2 loss to Wolves where Postecoglou opted to not approach fans.

Despite their underwhelming league form, Amorim has managed to maintain United’s undefeated status in the Europa League, potentially boding well for their chance to progress into the semi-finals.

Despite winning two trophies in his two previous campaigns, Erik ten Hag's poor start to the campaign condemned him to the sack, paving the way for the former Sporting Lisbon manager to take his place in the United dug out.

Ten Hag and his backroom staff received £10.4m following their dismissal while Sir Jim Ratcliffe forked out £9.25m to release Amorim from his contract with the Portuguese champions.

Amorim has been completely honest about Man United and their current troubles in what is set to be a big period of transition for the club.

The Portuguese has been frank in describing the club as ‘maybe the worst’ team in the 147-year history of the club.

Meanwhile, although they languish in 15th in the Premier League table, Tottenham have a +11 goal difference, better than the likes of Aston Villa, Fulham and Brighton who are all in the top half of the table.

Postecoglou’s free-flowing attacking side have scored 59 goals in all competitions, 10 more than United.

Interestingly, the Lilywhites have massively outperformed their expected goals (47.8) whereas Man United are performing as expected (49.3).

United’s shots per game (14.3) dwarfs Tottenham (12.3), but the Red Devils’ shot conversion rate (10.7) is a concern for Amorim and a reason for their woes in front of goal.

Rasmus Hojlund has been criticised for being goal-shy this season, scoring just eight times in 43 matches in all competitions.

In terms of creativity, Tottenham are superior to Manchester United across the board especially in open play crosses where Spurs have nearly 100 more crosses, likely down to Postecoglou’s play style.

Spurs average 12.5 crosses per game, 2.2 more than Man United, yet the latter has a better crossing accuracy of 21.2 per cent.

Tottenham also get more passes into the final third and into the box, although United have had marginally more touches in the box with 917 to Spurs’ 900.

Both sides have come under fire for their weaknesses at the back this season, particularly with shaky performances from both sets of keepers.

Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir have both made mistakes in United’s recent games against Lyon and Newcastle whilst Guglielmo Vicario had a shocker in Spurs’ 4-2 loss to Wolves.

Tottenham and Manchester United have conceded 53 and 48 goals respectively, conceding 1.6 and 1.5 goals respectively per 90.

Postecoglou has come under fire for his poor defensive record which is supported by his whopping 60.6 expected goals against, proving the Lilywhites have been fortunate to not have conceded more.

Tottenham vs Man United compared

Wins:

Losses:

xG

Shots per game:

Crosses per game:

Touches in the box:

Goals conceded:

Tackles per game:

Errors leading to goals:

Tottenham

Manchester United

The damming defensive statistics continue, with Spurs facing just over 100 shots more than United.

United win more tackles per game (20.1) than Spurs (17.3), hinting at why they have conceded less than the North London side.

Spurs have also produced a huge 38 errors leading to shots, 14 more than the Red Devils - proof of their tendency cede possession in their defensive third through sloppy passes and poor decision-making.

The Tottenham high line is the likely cause for the extortionate number of chances they give to their opponents, a style Postecoglou has refused to adapt given their defensive issues.

Amorim’s pragmatic back five has seen better defensive results than Spurs but still an alarming number of mistakes is undoing the good work they strive to produce.

This was evident in United’s 4-1 loss to Newcastle where both Noussair Mazraoui and Bayindir were directly at fault for two of Newcastle’s goals.

The Europa League offers an opportunity for these stumbling managers to attempt to restore faith in their tenures at their respective clubs.

Many pundits feel Postecoglou will leave the club regardless of winning the Europa League with Jamie Carragher saying the Frankfurt game could be the nail in the coffin.

Manchester United manager's Premier League win percentage

Manager

Ruben Amorim

Ralf Rangnick

David Moyes

Louis van Gaal

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

Erik ten Hag

Jose Mourinho

Alex Ferguson

Games

Win percentage

Speaking on Sky Sports he said, ‘I think if they go out to Eintracht Frankfurt in the cup, it probably would be a shake hands and move on to something different for both parties in terms of the manager and the club.’

For Amorim, the Europa League could offer hope to potential long-term success for the Red Devils.

Given the Portuguese has not had a full summer to arrange his squad, inheriting a group of players he didn’t ask for, winning the Europa League would be a huge boost to his backing.

Tottenham have been dealt a blow to their hopes of reaching the Europa League semi-finals ahead of their game away at Eintracht Frankfurt.

Ange Postecoglou revealed that captain Son Heung-min has not travelled for Thursday's last-eight second leg.

Spurs were held to a 1-1 draw last week at home, a game in which Son started and played 79 minutes before being hooked for Pape Sarr.

Winning the Europa League would spell the end of Tottenham's 17-year trophy drought, having last won the EFL Cup in 2008.

But Postecoglou's hopes of bringing silverware back to N17 have taken an unfortunate set-back.

He said on Wednesday: 'Sonny didn't travel in the end. He's the only one who misses out. He trained yesterday but didn't feel right.

'We've left him out and rest is the best way of recovery. It is only Sonny that misses out.'

Son has made 41 appearances for Spurs this season, scoring 11 goals and providing 10 assists in those games.

In the Europa League, the South Korean is their joint-top scorer (three goals) alongside Brennan Johnson.

As well as Son, Radu Dragusin is, of course, absent for the visitors as he recovers from an ACL injury he suffered in February.

Meanwhile, Kevin Danso is not expected to return until next Monday at the earliest, when Spurs host Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.

If Spurs progress against Frankfurt, they would face either Bodo/Glimt or Lazio in the Europa League semi-finals.

Glory in the competition would end a three-year absence in the Champions League for Tottenham, as it would secure them automatic qualification to Europe's biggest club contest in 2025-26.

Follow Mail Sport's live blog for the latest score, team news and updates from Lyon vs Manchester United and Tottenham vs Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League.