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Tottenham Hotspur have lost some staff this summer, with new faces coming in to replace them. Now, Ange Postecoglou has spoken about those changes and why they’re a good thing for the club.

Change can help Spurs move forward

Earlier this summer, Postecoglou‘s assistant, Chris Davies, left the club to take up the top job at League One outfit, Birmingham City. Since then, Davies has taken former Spurs coach, Nathan Gardiner, with him.

In their place, Postecoglou brought in Nick Montgomery and Sergio Raimundo. The pair were working at Hibernian last season. Meanwhile, Matt Wells has taken the step up to be the new Senior Assistant at Spurs.

Speaking on the changes that have occurred, Postecoglou told SpursPlay: “In sport, you’re constantly evolving. Changes have been made, with Chris Davies moving on. He did a great job for us last year but that gives us an opportunity to change things up a little bit, with new voices.

“I’m really pleased to get Nick and Sergio in. Both bring different skill sets, different personalities. They really tried to implement a sort of football style close to what we are trying to do here. They’ll bring a really good energy. They were super excited to be here, which is great for the players.”

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Some things stay the same at Spurs

Discussing how to balance these changes, Postecoglou added: “The continuity is me… I’m not going to change too much in my approach and the way we play our football… the other coaches are already very familiar with me and they’re showing their own personalities.

“Wells has obviously taken on more responsibility. We can’t end the season with satisfaction at what we’ve done. We all have a desire to push on and do more.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Things change in life and in football, and that can often lead to great things.

We lost some good people this summer, but Postecoglou knows who he wants around him, and I’m sure the new coaching structure will be a good change for Spurs.

Ange Postecoglou’s midfield at Tottenham Hotspur has been one of the areas most talked about when it comes to incomings and outgoings in the current transfer window.

Tottenham are linked with Scott McTominay

The Sun have today added a new name into the mix with a report which claims Tottenham hold an interest in Manchester United’s Scott McTominay.

Fulham have been admirers of the Scottish international for some time and have already seen a bid rejected this summer.

The Red Devils midfielder has just a year remaining on his contract at Old Trafford – albeit United have an option to extend that deal by a further year.

McTominay scored a career-best ten goals last season despite United’s turbulent season which saw Erik Ten Hag’s future as manager often questioned.

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There could be changes to the Spurs midfield this summer

Tottenham could be set to refresh their midfield options ahead of the new campaign with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg having been heavily linked with a departure.

The Dane has been linked with a move to Galatasaray with their vice-president Ibrahim Hatipoglu admitting he is a target but also revealing there is interest from other clubs (CNN Turk).

Oliver Skipp has also attracted headlines with Premier League newcomers Leicester City said to be keen on the academy graduate (Football Insider).

Spursweb Opinion

Tottenham fans, I feel would be disappointed if the club spent a large amount of money on McTominay who would not be any significant upgrade on what Hojbjerg offers.

Emerson Royal is still at Tottenham Hotspur despite plenty of reported interest in his services, with no offers coming from the latest clubs linked to the full-back.

Two Saudi clubs want Emerson Royal

Since joining Spurs in 2021, Royal has been used sparingly, and often out of position. Now, it seems the time has come for him to move on.

But, while a move to AC Milan stalls, there are three other clubs who could offer him a way out of North London according to GiveMeSport.

It is thought both Borussia Dortmund and Al-Nassr have Royal on their shortlists for the summer, but neither club have made a bid for the Spurs man yet. Meanwhile, newly-promoted Saudi side, Al-Qadsiah, are also interested in the Brazilian.

Regardless of the lack of offers right now, the report adds that Royal is “still expected to leave” Tottenham this summer.

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What’s happening with AC Milan move?

Until now, the strongest link for Royal has been with Italian side, AC Milan, who are thought to be very keen on adding a right-back to their squad this summer.

Royal himself has told Globo that he is keen to leave Spurs in order to improve his chances of first-team football.

According to Fabrizio Romano, a five-year contract has already been agreed with Milan and personal terms are all straightened out.

But, the issue is AC Milan have not offered enough money yet. Alasdair Gold reported that the Serie A giants had offered £8.4m for Royal, while Spurs are holding out for closer to £16.8m.

Spurs Web Opinion

After seeing Royal in action against Hearts on Wednesday, it’s glaringly obvious that he has to leave the club as soon as possible.

I do think £8.4m is low-balling, but anything over £10-12m we should take it and run. Hopefully, Dortmund come in for him soon.

Tottenham Hotspur lost the services of their talismanic striker Harry Kane last summer and are still yet to bring in a fresh face to help with the goalscoring burden.

Spurs are still yet to replace Harry Kane

Instead, last season the responsiblity of goals sat firmly on the shoulders of club captain Heung-min Son, who was typically asked to play the central role withn Ange Postecoglou‘s attack.

The South Korean struggled at times to perform consistently through the middle and looked much more at home when asked to shift to his famliar position on the left-hand side of the front three.

One player who has been linked with a potential arriving at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer is Ivan Toney.

The Sun are reporting that Brentford are prepared to slash their initial £80m asking price down to £50million for the England international who is in the final year of his contract.

A lack of interest in the 28-year-old from the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal, who have all made it clear they will not be pursuing the striker this summer has resulted in a £30m reduction in the Bees’ valuation.

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A Spurs move for Toney could depend on Richarlison

The report claims that Tottenham and West Ham United are now considered to the be the frontrunners for Toney’s signature.

Brentford have been surprised by the lack of interest in Toney this summer and have already brought in his replacement, having paid Club Brugge £31m for Brazilian striker Igor Thiago in February.

It is said that any Tottenham bid for Toney would be dependent on whether they can sell Richarlison.

Richarlison has once again been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia during the current transfer window, with Saudi dealmakers prepared to pay close to £60m (GiveMeSport).

SpursWeb Opinion

Toney’s return to action following his ban did not go exactly to plan where he would have wanted to put himself in the shop window to secure a big-money move.

His lack of goals will have caused a concern to some teams which looks to have happened, however, a £50m fee is still too expensive for a player who is 28 and in the last year of his contract.

England found themselves without a manager earlier this week when Gareth Southgate decided to resign two days after the defeat by Spain in the 2024 European Championship final.

Postecoglou is said to be on England’s managerial shortlist

Southgate’s decision to call it a day after eight years in charge of the Three Lions has seen a whole host of names being linked with becoming his successor.

The Telegraph reported yesterday that Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou is expected to be on England’s managerial shortlist.

John McDermott, the technical director of the FA, who spent 15 years at Tottenham overseeing the academy and is known to be an admirer of the Australian.

Postecoglou was quizzed about the links following Tottenham’s 5-1 win over Hearts last night and played down the speculation.

He told Football.London: “I was having a nap this afternoon. I have no idea. I’m the Tottenham manager and I’m determined to bring success to this club. That’s where my focus is totally.”

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The Telegraph have today provided an update on the situation where they claim that Tottenham are confident they will not lose the services of Postecoglou to England, despite their interest.

Tottenham are confident over Postecoglou’s future

Tottenham do not believe that the 58-year-old would jump ship just after a year in charge of the North Londoners and there was never any worry when he was linked with the Liverpool job at the tail end of last season following Jurgen Klopp’s decision to depart.

SpursWeb Opinion

Tottenham need to keep on the current track of ensuring they back Postecoglou with the players that he needs to turn the club into genuine contenders for silverware.

Ange Postecoglou has already done a fair bit of reshaping to the squad which he inherited last year and the work is hopefully set to continue in the current transfer window.

Tottenham are bracing themselves for an approach

Tottenham are now said to be bracing themselves for offers for Brazilian striker Richarlison this summer, according to GiveMeSport.

The report claims that Saudi dealmakers have already let their intention known that they are prepared to pay close to £60m to take the striker to the Middle East.

Al-Ittihad and Al-Qadsiah have both expressed an interest in the forward, who is currently working his way back to fitness.

The North Londoners are yet to replace former talisman Harry Kane and a potential exit for Richarlison would only speed up their urgency to bring in a new frontman.

Club captain Heung-min Son has often been asked to play through the middle by Ange Postecoglou, however, has looked far more comfortable when slotting back into his familiar position on the left.

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Richarlison still has Saudi interest

Richarlison missed the end of last season with a calf problem which also saw him ruled out of Brazil’s Copa America campaign, which saw Argentina take the crown.

The 27-year-old has experienced a tough time since his move from Everton and has managed to score just 15 goals in 66 appearances for the North Londoners in all competitions (transfermarkt).

SpursWeb Opinion

If Tottenham receive a bid of close to £60m for Richarlison from Saudi, they should take it with no questions asked.

The problem will be to try to persuade the striker to swap the Premier League for the Saudi Pro League given his ambition to break back into the Brazil set-up ahead of the next World Cup.

Unfortunately, his injury record and lack of consistency in front of goal is not what we need as a top four hopeful and the money should be used, along with existing funds to bring in two new strikers instead.

Tottenham Hotspur are now more than a week into their pre-season schedule, and Ange Postecoglou has taken some time to discuss the way things are going for his squad right now and what his plans for the future are.

Spurs players are gaining fitness at Hotspur Way

There is still plenty of summer left for Spurs, but Ange Postecoglou has big ambitions for the Lilywhites for the upcoming campaign, and the hard work starts now, it seems.

Speaking to SpursPlay, Postecoglou said: “Pre-season is obviously an opportunity to gain fitness and get the guys back up to speed from a match perspective, but for us, it’s a real valuable time where we can embed our principles and how we want to play.

“All this is here for the players. I really want the players to come back here and see we haven’t stood still, that we’re constantly moving forward. The main thing for us is to get work done with the boys.”

The majority of Tottenham players returned to Hotspur Way last week to begin their training ahead of the new campaign.

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Tottenham’s pre-season progress

Spurs have already played one friendly match, a behind-closed-doors game against League One side Cambridge United. The Lilywhites won that game 7-2 with a Brennan Johnson hattrick, a Heung-min Son brace, a Mikey Moore goal, and an own goal forced by Timo Werner.

Up next is a clash with Scottish side Hearts on Wednesday night, at the opponents’ Tynecastle ground.

Spurs Web Opinion

I have no doubts that Postecoglou and his coaching staff will put in great work with the players we have on the training ground.

But, the key thing is we add new players to that squad and get closer to the way of playing that Ange wants to see this season so that we can compete across all fronts.

Tottenham’s manager isn’t a stranger for toying with player’s positions, having trialled Oliver Skipp at left-back last season against Liverpool, and pushed Ashley Phillips into right-back against Cambridge United at the weekend.

Phillips wasn’t the only player to be played in a different role

Tottenham took on League One outfit, Cambridge United, on the 13th of July in what was a behind-closed-doors friendly match at Hotspur Way ahead of Spurs’ more official pre-season fixtures.

According to Football.London, Jamie Donley was another player to be trialled in a different position whilst playing against Cambridge. Donley, who by trade is an attacking midfielder, was shoehorned into Postecoglou’s inverted left-back role, reportedly performing impressively despite playing a role he wasn’t familiar with.

Due to Dragusin, Romero and an De Ven all on national team duty this summer in their respective tournaments, Ashley Phillips is one of the only recognised central defenders left in the pre-season squad.

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Postecoglou is believed to have trialled Phillips as a right-back

According to Alasdair Gold who was speaking on his podcast, Gold and Guest Talk Tottenham, stated that Ashley Phillips was experimented with as one of Postecoglou’s trademark roles, inverted right-back.

Gold stated ‘It’s an interesting one and I didn’t get a second source on this so I can’t go with any real confidence, but I heard a suggestion that at one point, Ashley Phillips was playing at right-back, which seems odd as the only natural centre-back of any senior nature, so whether that was just filling in for a time when someone else came off, I don’t know. It may well be that he played centre-back for a longer period’.

As Gold concluded, the experimenting of Ashley Phillips’ position is an unusual one due to the lack of depth in his position, however, with the friendly being behind closed doors it’s conceivable that Postecoglou was more concerned about experience and performance rather than the result.

Phillips will be hoping for more minutes this evening when Spurs face Hearts at Tynecastle.

Spurs Web opinion

Despite the move of Phillips’ position being confusing at face value due to the vulnerability, it will leave because of the lack of centre-backs, pre-season friendlies, especially ones behind closed doors, are for experimentation.

Phillips shone brightly on loan at Plymouth and currently is Spurs’ fourth-choice centre-half, however, if he can also prove he’s capable of playing right-back then it may increase his playing time and make him a valuable squad option next season.

The Tottenham hero had taken up a role as U18s coach following his retirement from football in 2022 but has now left his post in order to progress his managerial career.

Defoe has coached some of Spurs’ brightest prospects

Tottenham welcomed Defoe back to Hotspur Way with open arms back in August of 2022. Defoe had only retired weeks before rejoining Tottenham in a role the club described as club ambassador as well as a member of the academy coaching staff. (Tottenham Hotspur)

Spurs’ former number 18 was widely appreciated as one of the club’s great strikers in modern times, netting 143 times in 363 games, placing him 5th in Spurs’ all-time top goal scorer list. (TransferMarkt)

As a coach of the under-18s, Defoe coached plenty of exciting academy talent, some of whom Tottenham fans have high hopes for in the forthcoming season.

Tyrese Hall and Mikey Moore are the two most notable names, with both replying to Defoe’s leaving announcement with a white heart to display their gratitude to their former coach.

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Defoe wants to become a head coach

Defoe on the morning of the 17th of July has announced that he will not continue as a Tottenham academy coach next season, ending his two-year experience back with the club. (@IamJermainDefoe on Instagram)

The former striker’s statement read, “Today I leave this incredible club, and I want to say thank you to all the amazing people in the building who have helped me learn and grow.”

Fellow academy coaches Paul Bracewell, Stuart Lewis, Nigel Gibbs, Bradley Allen and U21’s manager, Wayne Burnett. Defoe also credited one of the club’s top directors, Donna Cullen, for bringing him back to Hotspur Way.

Expressing his love for the club Defoe stated, “Spurs will always hold a special place in my heart and the fans already know how much the club means to me.

“However, now is the right time for me to move on and shape the rest of my coaching and managerial career, nevertheless I will forever remember my time at Spurs fondly.”

Spurs Web opinion

Defoe is one of the best Premier League strikers of his era, proven by his membership with the Premier League’s 100 club and Tottenham fans will likely see the rewards of his work with 16-year-old Mikey Moore in the coming years.

The 41-year-old was renowned for his impeccable finishing and it’s likely to be a miss, especially to the club’s young strikers, to not have someone of such experience coaching them in future years, although all Spurs fans will hope Jermain’s coaching career reaches its next level, potentially returning one day as Tottenham’s head coach.

Paris Saint-Germain have made an offer for reported Spurs target, Desire Doue, and it’s a pretty substantial bid according to Florian Plettenberg.

PSG outbid Bayern Munich for Desire Doue

While Bayern Munich made the first move for the Frenchman last week, and got rejected, it remains to be seen whether PSG’s offer will be accepted, but it is much higher than the German side’s first bid.

According to Sky Sports Germany journalist, Florian Plettenberg, the offer submitted for Doue today was worth an initial €40m plus a further €10m in add-ons. That equates to £33.6m up front, and another £8.4m in additional payments, coming to a total of £42m.

HITC reported earlier this week that a ‘bidding war’ had begun for Doue, and it seems that is very much the case, and PSG have outbid Bayern by quite some distance.

That report claimed the Bundesliga giants had bid just £29m for the 19-year-old, with Rennes knocking this back as they valued Doue closer to £42m. That price tag has now been matched by PSG.

It was also said that a number of Premier League clubs, including Spurs, were involved in discussions for Doue and that the player himself was open to the idea of a move to England.

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Will Spurs move for Desire Doue?

Upon hearing of Bayern’s failed attempt to sign the versatile French star, it was suggested Spurs would kick into action and make their move soon (The Sun).

Apparently, Tottenham face competition from the likes of Manchester United and Chelsea, as well as the clubs in Europe (L’Equipe).

However, Fabrizio Romano reported in the last 24 hours that Spurs have ‘gone cold’ in the race for Doue, so it remains to be seen whether they rekindle their interest (The Debrief podcast on The Daily Briefing).

Spurs Web Opinion

The fact that PSG have matched the price tag Rennes set for Doue, plus the benefit of him being able to stay in France, just says to me that the deal is basically all but done.

I cannot see any other club being able to offer a more suitable package for him.