Postecoglou insists Spurs will have to sell before they buy, reveals he has ‘very little control’ over exits
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou admits that Spurs will have to “trim the squad down” before they can spend more money this summer.
The north London club have made loan deals for Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro into permanent transfers, while Guglielmo Vicario, James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Alejo Veliz, Ashley Phillips and Manor Solomon have also joined.
Harry Kane, Harry Winks and Lucas Moura have left the club on permanent deals, while Joe Rodon has departed on a loan to Championship side Leeds United.
And, when asked about transfers in his pre-match press conference on Friday, Postecoglou outlined the importance of trimming the squad before any more incomings.
Postecoglou told reporters: “That’s the reality of it. We can’t just keep aquiring players. That affects training and it affects the players. Our focus right now is to try to trim the squad down and see where that takes us. There’s still a couple of weeks left of the window and I’m sure we’ll see movement.”
On whether Hugo Lloris is close to leaving the club, Postecoglou added: “I’m not really across it. With the outgoings I have very little control over it. My focus has to be on what’s in front of us and who’s training. I’m assuming that as we get closer to the end of the window everything will accelerate.”
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On Van de Ven’s Netherlands call-up and the ceiling of the Dutchman, Postecoglou continued: “We signed him because we believe he has got some great atttributes and great profile but I wouldn’t go as far as saying one game justified all those things. Micky knows he is here to challenge himself, to improve and hopefully develop into the defender he wants to be and we hope he can be in the toughest of environments.
“He only had one year in Bundesliga and was before that with Volendam, not one of the big Dutch clubs, so he made some enormous leaps but he will be the first to say one game is not what he is here for.
“He will challenge himself against the best forwards in the world but is a willing learner. He came with that mindset and our role is to give him that environment to turn that potential into what he can be.”
On the Spurs fans signing his name, the former Celtic boss replied: “It means a lot but I’m not comfortable with it. You love what it means. For the most part it’s blind faith. I haven’t earned it yet. Hopefully when the day comes that we deliver something it will mean even more.
“I’m not dismissive of it and I’m very appreciative of it but it reminds me of the responsibility that I have to repay that faith.”
