ANGE POSTECOGLOU is reportedly plotting a brutal clearout at Tottenham after warning his players “change has to happen”.
Spurs have seen their top four hopes all but vanish after a run of two wins from their last seven games, including three losses on the bounce before facing Liverpool at Anfield tomorrow.
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In an effort to make the jump into the top four next season, the club are said to be planning a busy summer transfer window.
The Telegraph report midfielders Conor Gallagher and Amadou Onana, midfielders Lloyd Kelly and Tosin Adarabioyo and wingers Raphinha and Samuel Iling-Junior on their radar.
A decision must also be made on the future of on loan Timo Werner, while an out-and-out striker is also on the list.
However, any arrivals will be facilitated by a number of outgoings.
Richarlison is said to be one such star who’s position is under threat, along with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Emerson Royal.
Postecoglou, 58, made seven signings in the first summer he arrived, supplemented by also making loan deals for Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro permanent.
Radu Dragusin and Werner were then added to the squad ranks in January.
Harry Kane was sold for £104million to bolster Spurs coffers in the squad revamp, with players such as Eric Dier, Hugo Lloris, Lucas Moura and Davinson Sánchez also being moved on in the last two windows.
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But the former Celtic boss is determined to not lose any steam in completing the squad renovations in north London.
He said: “We need change. Change has to happen.
“You can’t want to alter your course, and quite dramatically for this club because we went down a certain direction and now we’re pivoting to a whole different direction, and expect the same people are going to be on that [journey]. It’s just not going to happen.
“We’ve had two [transfer] windows and we’ve had some development of players, for sure. But when I say we’ve still got a long way to go, that’s what I’m talking about.
“We can’t be there yet because it’s impossible to say you’re going to have drastic change and yet expect everyone to be on that journey. It’s not for the want of trying.
“It’s just that we’re going to play a certain way, we’re going to train a certain way and we’re going to have a certain mindset, and that’s not for everyone.
We’re going to play a certain way… and that’s not for everyone
Ange Postecoglou
“And the same way, whether it’s Liverpool or Arsenal, if you look at the beginning of their journeys, by the time they win the competition or have success, the team’s almost unrecognisable. That’s the reality, if you change.”
However, before that, Postecoglou will be hoping to get a grip of Spurs’ lousy defensive set-piece record after seeing dead balls bite them in their games against Arsenal and Chelsea.
Earlier this week Premier League clubs announced they were pushing ahead with a new way to control spending, with clubs set to be limited to spending 4.5 or five times the TV revenue of the lowest-paid club.
If agreed – a formal vote is now likely at the Harrogate AGM in June – the new measures would be introduced in “shadow” form next term, alongside a “squad cost ratio” format that links expenditure on wages and transfers to a maximum of 85 per cent of club revenues.
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The sides playing in any of Uefa’s three competitions will be restricted to spending 70 per cent of their income from the start of 2025.
But the current Profitability and Sustainability Rules – which allow clubs to lose a maximum £105m over three seasons – will remain in force next season.
Spurs’ set piece woes
By Tom Barclay
ANGE POSTECOGLOU took the blame after another set-piece disaster left Tottenham’s Champions League hopes hanging by a thread.
Trevoh Chalobah and Nicolas Jackson headed home from free-kicks to take the number of goals Spurs have shipped from dead-ball situations to SIXTEEN this season, excluding penalties.
Only Luton, Sheffield United and Nottingham Forest have conceded more in a week where Postecoglou downplayed the importance of set-pieces.
“We didn’t have the mindset that I expect us to have. That’s on me, I’ve got to take responsibility for that.
“I’m the one putting them out there and preparing them for it. When we’re so far off it, I’ve got to look at myself and see how I’m preparing this team for it.
“We lacked a real conviction and positive mindset in our football. We didn’t really have any fluency, any sort of aggression with and without the ball.
“It’s a bit unlike us because if nothing else we’ve always been competitive.”
He later added: “We had bigger issues tonight than set pieces.”
