What Ange Postecoglou wants his Tottenham squad to look like after the transfer window closes

Tottenham have two and a half months to shape Ange Postecoglou's squad to fit the needs of a packed season with raised expectations.

The transfer window has been open for a week and as of this moment Spurs and Chelsea are the only sides that finished in the Premier League's top six last season to have signed anyone, with the north London side bringing in Timo Werner on loan for a full season and the Blues signing Tosin Adarabioyo on a free transfer.

None of the top six have paid out a transfer fee yet and beyond that only Bournemouth, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and West Ham have done so with Newcastle bringing in Lloyd Kelly on a free transfer. A few clubs have made loan deals permanent after options to buy were triggered.

Spurs have mainly been busy in moving players out of the club so far with five first team players heading out of the door, while Lucas Bergvall will arrive next month after his £8.5million move from Djurgarden.

Tottenham technical director Johan Lange worked with Postecoglou and chief scout Rob Mackenzie on a plan for incoming and outgoing players this summer which has been in place for months, with top targets and other highly-rated players in case they become available. Some are involved at international competitions which prevents them signing for anyone for a while but Postecoglou told football.london last month that he is keen to at least get some faces through the door in time for pre-season early next month.

We've taken a look at what Postecoglou's squad needs to look like in each department by the time the Premier League summer window shuts on August 30 at 11pm.

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Goalkeepers

This is probably the one area of the squad that does not require an addition unless a bargain that is too good to pass up comes along. Otherwise Postecoglou has Guglielmo Vicario firmly in place as Tottenham's main man between the sticks with experienced back-up from Fraser Forster and a homegrown player in Brandon Austin with the ink still drying on his new five-year contract.

A decision might have to be made on Alfie Whiteman in the final year of his deal in the wake of Austin's long contract extension and whether he heads out on loan or finds a new chapter in his career. Spurs have plenty of young goalkeeping talent coming through in the shape of Josh Keeley, who trained with Republic of Ireland's senior squad this month after stepping across from the U21s, and Luca Gunter, who was in fine form for Tottenham's double silverware-lifting development side in the second half of the season.

With four goalkeepers aged 25 or above and at least two young stoppers learning their trade, with potential loan moves for them, Spurs are well stocked in this department.

Full-backs

In contrast, the full-back position will be a busy one for Spurs in the market this summer as this window rolls on. Ryan Sessegnon has already been released and Sergio Reguilon and Djed Spence are not in Postecoglou's plans following loan spells at Brentford and Genoa respectively, with Tottenham looking for permanent moves for both. The Spaniard is in the final 12 months of his contract, while Spence has three years to go on his.

Emerson Royal has interest from AC Milan, Flamengo and Saudi Pro League sides and Postecoglou is willing to let the Brazilian go should the right offer come in.

That would leave Tottenham with only one natural inverted full-back on either side in Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro, with Ben Davies and Micky van de Ven able to fill in on the left if required.

The indications in the past month have been that Spurs will likely bring in one new full-back who can fill the inverted role perfectly this season and sign a versatile centre-back who can also play as a full-back to help cover the other side.

With Van de Ven and Davies able to do so on the left - with the Welshman, one of Spurs' few experienced players, tipped to remain at the club this summer - that perhaps lends itself to signing a right-sided centre-back who can play as a right-back, although the early indications appear to be that Tottenham are looking for a centre-back who is comfortable on the left as a signing later in the summer.

Monaco's right-back Vanderson has been linked as a potential Emerson replacement, although £40million on a player likely to be behind Porro at least to begin with would seem a stretch, even for a 22-year-old. Spurs already spent more than that on the Spaniard so it could be that more realistically they spend an Udogie-sized fee - less than £20million - on a new full-back who can develop and challenge the current players in the role with the bigger money spent elsewhere in the squad.

Tottenham really like Leeds' 18-year-old wonderkid Archie Gray, as do most of the Premier League and Europe's top clubs, and have scouted him heavily. The Yorkshire club need to raise funds this summer, with a £50million price tag mooted for a midfielder who has looked very much at home as a right-back. Again that's a lot of money, although Gray can play in so many positions and is seen as a star in the making so would be an investment.

The problem this summer would not only be the competition for his signature but also Leeds' reluctance to part with a player they believe will only increase in value in the coming seasons.

Centre-backs

There's already been activity in this department with Eric Dier and Japhet Tanganga both set to be released at the end of their contracts this month. Joe Rodon will also leave the club this summer with all three promoted clubs Ipswich, Southampton and Leicester City interested among others in the Premier League, as well as Championship side Leeds, where he spent last season on loan.

Spurs have three big options in this position now with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin, who is currently starring at Euro 2024 with Romania, while Davies can also cover in the position, with young defenders Ashley Phillips and Alfie Dorrington well regarded. The latter is expected to be back from his hamstring surgery in August.

Romero was linked with Real Madrid by one report in Argentina but Tottenham quickly shut down any such talk about the vice-captain departing.

Postecoglou would like one more senior centre-back to arrive this summer as part of his squad building although as football.london has previously reported, a new player in that position is not seen as a priority in the transfer window and is more likely to be something addressed later on when the squad situation is clearer.

Bologna's 22-year-old defender Riccardo Calafiori is among the defenders Spurs have looked at but with a gradually rising price tag, currently around £35million, and the position not being a priority, a move for the Italy international would appear unlikely at this stage in the window.

He does fit the mould of centre-backs though that Spurs have been looking for as he can also play at left-back, similar to Hiroki Ito, who ended up going to Bayern Munich from Stuttgart. Another similarly versatile young centre-back Tottenham have scouted this season is Middlesbrough's Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year Rav van den Berg. The 19-year-old has indicated a desire to stay at the Championship club but also admitted that his future may not be in his hands.

Spurs strongly considered signing Adarabioyo and Kelly in the past year as good level free agents and previously when they both had a fee, but both players moved to clubs where they felt they would get more regular football.

Across London, Tottenham are certainly not alone in greatly admiring England international Marc Guehi at Crystal Palace and have looked at Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah in recent seasons but neither will come at the price tag that fits the lower priority placed on the position. Guehi is wanted by most of the Premier League's top sides while Chalobah would only move for week in, week out football, otherwise why leave Chelsea?

This is a position to keep an eye on later in the transfer window.

Midfield

This is definitely one of the two departments that Tottenham are prioritising this summer for Postecoglou. Tanguy Ndombele has agreed a mutual termination of his contract with the club after half a decade, while Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg is likely to be the highest profile departure from this department in the squad, with his performances at the Euros only helping Spurs to keep his price tag high despite the Dane being in the final year of his contract.

Giovani Lo Celso could also fetch a similar price if he impresses at the Copa America this summer, with 12 months left on his deal as well. The trouble for Tottenham is that they will not be recouping that money for either player until later in the window during their tournament involvement.

Oliver Skipp wants regular first team football next season but the 23-year-old's club-trained status - a rarity at Tottenham - might ensure Postecoglou keeps him around for now and gives him game time in the many Europa League fixtures Spurs will face in the first half of the season at least.

Postecoglou then has Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur, James Maddison, Pape Matar Sarr in the midfield and knows more are required to cover the amount of games Spurs will have this season.

The very talented Bergvall will arrive this summer and is being tipped to star for the club but will need the first half of the season at least to adapt to the increase pace and physicality of the Premier League. The 18-year-old will be involved in the first team from the off with Postecoglou excited about his ability to play as one of his number eights, while also versatile enough to fill in elsewhere.

The Australian has also taken a shine to academy midfielder Tyrese Hall and the 18-year-old is expected to be used heavily in pre-season as the Spurs boss looks to increase his development and pathway towards the first team. Jamie Donley is also well-regarded within the club and is the subject of plenty of interest in a loan move. The 19-year-old could be given that to help continue his huge progress in the past 12 months if that is preferred over further first team minutes here and there in Europe.

Postecoglou needs further additions in midfield, with England internationals Conor Gallagher and Eberechi Eze both on the club's wish list. The former is currently showing very little intention of leaving Chelsea, while Spurs would likely have to pay the full sum for the latter to show their intent with talk of a potential release clause, although said to be a complicated one, with Palace not keen on losing him for anything less.

It's worth noting that Eze is represented by CAA Base, the agency who also represent Postecoglou, Son, Porro, Sarr and many other staff and players within Tottenham and have had strong links with chairman Daniel Levy for years.

There is also Atalanta's Ederson, with the 24-year-old a rising force in Serie A and having won the Europa League with the Italian side. The media in Italy claim Spurs were knocked back in January when asking about the midfielder, while Atalanta's Champions League football next season lessens their need to sell and could also be a draw for the player to stick around.

Tottenham have also been linked with Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White in recent months as another homegrown attacking midfielder option, although links with Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie this summer are not believed to have any basis to them.

Spurs will have a number of midfield options on their radar, all approved by Postecoglou, who knows that he needs signings that really make his system work with the midfield the biggest issue as last season wore on.

He needs at least five or six players who can play in the number eight role and three or four who can be utilised as the number six, although the Australian will tell you that they should all be able to play in either role.

Attackers

This is an area where Postecoglou wants new faces to hit the goals that his teams are built upon. Ivan Perisic will leave the club permanently this month at the end of his contract while Bryan Gil is available for transfer as he seeks regular football after failing to break through at Tottenham since arriving three years ago.

There is a hope that Manor Solomon will be able to take part at some point as pre-season progresses although the complex nature of his knee injury last season and the setbacks and surgeries mean the club will take it slowly and cautiously with the winger before increasing his involvement in the months ahead.

Troy Parrott is expected to get a move this summer, likely a permanent one, despite his strong season in the Eredivisie with Excelsior Rotterdam, while Dane Scarlett could get more game time this campaign for Spurs with the Europa League fixtures. Argentinean striker Alejo Veliz will head out on another loan and Postecoglou will also decide what comes next for Will Lankshear, who netted 32 goals for the U21s last season, with Spurs having no intention of selling the striker, who has lots of interest in the Championship and across Europe in a loan move.

With Werner back on board for another year at least and Richarlison keen to improve on last season, which brought 12 goals and four goals in 31 matches around knee, groin and hamstring problems, there is also skipper Son Heung-min, Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski as attacking options. There are high hopes in particular for Johnson to build on his 15 goal involvements in his debut season as he adapted to the club and Postecoglou's system.

There is also the gifted Mikey Moore, who turns 17 in August, with Postecoglou keen to give the teenager opportunities this season with the mass of fixtures ahead.

The Australian wants more recruits though in the attacking areas, something he admitted to football.london was a priority for him out in Melbourne last month.

Spurs have looked at strikers galore since Lange's arrival with Brentford's Ivan Toney, Bournemouth's Dominic Solanke, Feyenoord's Santiago Gimenez, Bologna's Joshua Zirkzee, RB Leipzig's Lois Openda and Sporting's Viktor Gyokeres among a longer list of forwards scouted and the data crunched to see whether they fit Postecoglou's system.

Gyokeres in particular is set to be on the expensive side with reports in Portugal currently suggesting Sporting would be unwilling to allow the Swede to leave for much less than his £85m release clause with plenty of clubs including Arsenal interested. Barcelona's Victor Roque and Sevilla's Youssef En-Nesyri are among the many strikers linked in the Spanish media, while Stuttgart's Serhou Guirassy has been linked with a number of Premier League clubs, including Spurs and West Ham, with a release clause reported to be just £15million. Jonathan David at Lille is a player Spurs have looked at in the past prior to Postecoglou's arrival.

Wingers have also been looked at, including 19-year-old Desire Doue at Rennes, who can play out wide or centrally in midfield, with his brother Guela, a right-back at the club, also linked with Tottenham by the French media. Closer to home, Eze can of course play out wide as one of his roles.

Barcelona's Raphinha has been admired by Spurs in recent seasons while the club have even considered a return for Marcus Edwards, with their former winger counting as club-trained and available at a cut price from Sporting due to their 35% sell-on clause.

Athletic Bilbao's Nico Williams is a player of interest to most of Europe's top clubs, not least Tottenham, and his stock is only rising further with his performances for Spain at the Euros. The 21-year-old reportedly has a £46.5million release clause in the new contract he signed six months ago, which there would be a rush of the continent's top clubs looking to trigger should he indicate a desire to leave Athletic Bilbao. However he has not done so at this stage nor are the La Liga club worried about losing him.

Spurs could well look for further versatile attackers who can play out wide or through the centre as Richarlison, Son, Werner and Johnson can all do but ultimately the key is to get further quality in through the door with so many games on the horizon and last season's injury woes still fresh in the mind with Postecoglou likely to need three players available to play in each of the three attacking slots.

Postecoglou needs a bigger, stronger squad to handle all of the extra fixtures in the coming season and it's down to the club to deliver that for him.

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