Sport
Ange Postecoglou isn’t very good at hiding his disappointment, and the Australian coach has had a lot to be disappointed about recently. Tottenham Hotspur have won just one of their last seven Premier League matches with the North London side currently slumped in the bottom half of the table, a long way from where they want to be.
Time is running out for Postecoglou to prove he can point Spurs in the right direction again. While Tottenham have certainly become a more dynamic, entertaining team under his stewardship, they are exceptionally volatile and defensively flawed. This has been exposed in a number of recent matches.
January could be Postecoglou’s last chance to fix his Tottenham team. Speculation is already swirling over potential transfer targets with Spurs in desperate need of reinforcements in several areas of the pitch. This could be a pivotal transfer window for Postecoglou as he looks to mould the squad in his own image.
Tottenham are surely targeting at least one defender. Injuries to Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven have left Spurs seriously depleted with Destiny Udogie also missing matches over the Christmas period. This has forced Postecoglou to field a makeshift backline more times than he would have liked.
Central midfield has also been an area recently placed under scrutiny. Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr have struggled to reach the heights of last season when they formed one of the strongest midfield partnerships in the Premier League. Instead, they have been overwhelmed by quicker, more technical opponents.
In an attacking sense, Spurs have enough quality to get through the season. Dominic Solanke has settled in quickly following his summer switch from Bournemouth with Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson also enjoying good individual campaigns. Son Heung-min has struggled for consistency, but the South Korean shouldn’t be written off yet. He has credit in the bank.
Creatively, Spurs could still use another player who can take the burden off Kulusevski and James Maddison, leading to links with Jack Grealish. The England international is struggling for consistency at Manchester City and could be liberated by Postecoglou’s chaotic style of play. It could be a good fit.
Matheus Cunha has also been linked with a January move to Tottenham, although Wolves could demand upwards of £50m for their prize asset. Postecoglou and the Spurs decision makers might feel that money could be better invested in other areas of the squad with the North London side so vulnerable at the back.
“We’ve been planning,” said Postecoglou about the prospects of making signings in January. “A lot of it was going to be around where we’re at around this time. Fair to say we’re still a little bit short in a couple of areas and we need to reinforce. January’s trickier in terms of what sort of players you can bring in.
“For us, ideally – for any club, I guess – you want to bring in people who are going to make you stronger. I think the fact that, obviously, we’re still in the Carabao Cup semi-final, still got Europe, FA Cup, we’re in all the competitions, it’s not like our schedule’s going to ease up at any stage. So, I think it makes sense. We will try and reinforce. Where and what number we’ll have to wait and see.”
Postecoglou has been backed in the transfer market, but signings (see Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, for instance) have been made with an eye on the next few years. Tottenham now need signings that can make an immediate impact. Their season, and the future of their manager, could depend on it.
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