Ange Postecoglou set to discover Tottenham player fate ahead of pre-season training return

Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham side will soon be back on the pitch with their first pre-season game now not too far away. Starting the summer with a friendly against Scottish Premiership side Hearts at Tynecastle, the teams will go head-to-head in Edinburgh on Wednesday, July 17.

Tottenham's first team players are expected to start filtering back to the club's Hotspur Way training base for pre-season work from Saturday, July 6. Postecoglou will have a decent amount of his squad to work with in the opening weeks of their summer training as only a handful of players got the nod for Euro 2024 and the Copa America.

In terms of those at the Euros, Guglielmo Vicario, Radu Dragusin, Micky van de Ven and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg are representing their respective countries in Germany. Cristian Romero and Giovani Lo Celso are then on Argentina duty at the Copa America, with Rodrigo Bentancur playing for Uruguay in the United States.

The group phase of Euro 2024 is now drawing to a conclusion, with the final two groups due to be wrapped up on Wednesday evening. Vicario and Italy are safely through to the Round of 16 after Italy salvaged a late point against Croatia on Monday courtesy of Mattia Zaccagni's fine strike in the 98th minute of the contest.

Van de Ven and Netherlands are also through to the knockout stage of the competition ahead of their final match against Austria on Tuesday. Even if they do lose against Austria in Berlin, Oranje will still advance as one of the best third-placed teams in the tournament.

Hojbjerg will be hoping to join his Tottenham compatriots in the Round of 16 on Tuesday night when Denmark play their final game against Serbia. In a good position to go through as they currently sit second in Group C, there is still the possibility that the Danes suffer an early exit if they lose against Serbia and Slovenia do not in their match against England.

READ MORE: Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham handed Europa League challenge with key issue already clear

READ MORE: Jonathan David, Ivan Toney and the truth about the names on Tottenham striker transfer shortlist

If Denmark and Slovenia both lose, they will be split for third and fourth place by overall goal difference, then overall goals scored, then disciplinary points and finally European qualifier rankings if they are still level. An early elimination for Hojbjerg and Denmark would see the midfielder make his return to Hotspur Way perhaps earlier than expected once he has had his summer break.

A summer exit does look a real possibility for the experienced player due to his lack of regular football under Postecoglou last term and Denmark potentially heading home early could possibly speed up a permanent transfer away from Tottenham. Linked with Atletico Madrid already this summer, reports from Bild in Germany suggest that Borussia Dortmund are keen on a move for Hojbjerg before the summer transfer deadline.

Wednesday will then see Group E come to a conclusion and it promises to be a very interesting 90 minutes as Dragusin and Romania look to seal their passage through to the Round of 16. Romania currently sit top of the standings after two games but all four teams are level on three points.

Romania just need to avoid defeat to Slovakia to finish in the top two of Group E and subsequently advance through to the final 16. Lose, however, and Ukraine avoiding defeat against Belgium will see Dragusin's country crash out of the Euros.

Postecoglou will certainly have a better idea over the next two days of when exactly some of his international stars will be due to return to Hotspur Way for pre-season training following their summer breaks immediately after exiting the Euros. While of course the Australian will want all his players to go as far as possible and taste glory on the international stage, an early return to pre-season training for Dragusin would certainly be beneficial to the player, head coach and club.

The talented centre-back has yet to get a taste of a pre-season under Postecoglou after arriving from Genoa in early January and this summer is important for the 22-year-old as he looks to feature more regularly in his first full campaign in N17. In regards to the three Tottenham stars playing at the Copa America, the group phase of the competition comes to a close early next week.

Argentina started their campaign with a 2-0 win over Canada and they will be expected to triumph over Chile and Peru in their final two Group A fixtures. Uruguay, on the other hand, are also in a good position to advance after recording three points with a 3-1 win over Panama.

Qualification through to the next stage of the competition could even be secured on Thursday when Bentancur and Co. take on Bolivia. Both Uruguay and Argentina will be expected to go deep into the competition in the United States, meaning it could possibly be a fairly late return to Tottenham pre-season training for Romero, Lo Celso and Bentancur.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham by clicking here! In depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Want breaking and top Tottenham stories sent straight to you? Join our Spurs WhatsApp community by clicking this link. If you're curious you can check out our privacy policy here.