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Tottenham's big January transfer window decisions Ange Postecoglou must make

Ange Postecoglou of Tottenham Hotspur FC looks on during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Ipswich Town FC at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on November 10, 2024
-Credit: (Image: Photo by Sebastian Frej/MB Media/Getty Images)


Ange Postecoglou is struggling for numbers right now with his Tottenham Hotspur squad and attention has already turned to the upcoming January transfer window.

The Spurs boss has not had the widest array of options in recent weeks to turn with the north London club having more players missing one match or more through injury than any other team in the Premier League so far this season and Rodrigo Bentancur is now expected to miss seven games through suspension.

While Tottenham must continue to keep within their squad limits and rules for homegrown and foreign players, Postecoglou will need to continue his squad revamp in the January window.

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We've taken a look at each department of Spurs' squad to see what the Spurs boss needs:

Goalkeeper

Postecoglou is going to have to make a decision on this department. Whether that comes in January or at the end of the season remains to be seen, but Spurs need a goalkeeper for the long-term to challenge Guglielmo Vicario and 36-year-old Fraser Forster's contract is coming to an end this summer.

Whether the former England international remains as an experienced, popular head within the squad, despite not entirely fitting Postecoglou's high line football, will need to be decided. But his continued involvement ahead of Brandon Austin, who signed a new five-year contract at the end of last season, and Alfie Whiteman suggests that Postecoglou is not sold on either academy product being able to challenge Vicario at this point despite them being 25 and 26 respectively.

Austin and Whiteman, whose contract is up in the summer, are Spurs' only two senior club-trained players for their Europa League squad and any potential new incoming keeper would have to replace someone else in that squad if they were to be registered for the knockout stages.

It could be that if Tottenham make a move in this department in January it is to secure a goalkeeper to arrive in time for next season but it certainly seems to be an area of the squad that will need to be addressed in the next six months or so.

Full-back

Spurs' full-back situation is summed up by the fact that Destiny Udogie has had to play more minutes than any other outfield player at the club with 1,207 to his name.

The situation has been compounded by the fact that Postecoglou does not particularly see Ben Davies as a left-back any more and needs him as a centre-back anyway, and also that the Australian chose not to register Djed Spence for the Europa League, naming Forster instead in the final non-locally trained spot.

That has meant an overreliance on Udogie, who missed much of pre-season following his quadriceps surgery, and new £40million midfield signing Archie Gray has been needed on both flanks as a full-back.

On the right there's Djed Spence, who signed a new contract recently, and Gray played a lot of last season as a right-back for Leeds so there's cover on that side but Postecoglou could do with another left-back if Spence is not going to be used there in any competition.

Tottenham will need a natural left-back anyway going forward for the long-term to compete with Udogie as Davies' contract is coming to its end.

Central defence

Postecoglou has four options in this position in the shape of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Radu Dragusin and Davies. However, with four competitions to play in this season, those options are already looking stretched before the FA Cup enters the fray.

With Davies' contract currently heading towards its conclusion this summer and not technically a natural centre-back anyway, Tottenham will have to make a decision in this position in January.

When football.london put it to Postecoglou toward the end of the summer window that he had swapped Eric Dier for Radu Dragusin and last season admitted he wanted another centre-back, so surely needed another natural man in the middle of the back four, the Australian played down the idea this time around.

"No, and I don't think we're in the same position. I think Radu is a different proposition for us, and certainly with Archie coming into the group and Djed probably not being in the plans initially, but now in I think we're in a much different position than we were last year," he said.

"We've got Ben Davies as well, obviously, who can play at centre back or at left back. But again, I mean, that's the discipline of it. Yeah, we can go out and sign another centre back, but if the right player's not there, I'm not going to do it. It's as simple as that. I'm not, I never have, I never will.

"For me, it's about getting the right people in and there wasn't an opportunity for us to bring in someone who I thought was going to add to our group, so we don't do it. We've got Ashley Phillips, we've got young Luka Vuskovic available next year. Two young centre-backs.

"I don't want to block their pathway by doing something now. It might look from the outside, like we've got another player, but if that player is not going to be suitable to what we're doing and not going fit in, why would I bring them in and potentially block the path for somebody else."

It's a big decision for Postecoglou to make in this window because he needs the cover in the short term. It could be that the right player emerges on the market for the long-term, with Davies' deal coming to an end, or he decides to wait and look first at Vuskovic when he arrives as an 18-year-old in the summer. Another option could be to recall Phillips if possible in January from a loan at Stoke that has only just started to bring starts, although Postecoglou appears yet to be truly convinced by the player who is yet to play for Spurs competitively.

Tottenham's injuries in this position with Van de Ven's hamstring and Romero's dodgy toe could clear up in the near future but it's a huge call to not bring in another defensive body with so many matches, even if it's someone who can cover both centre-back and left-back.

Midfield

The No.6 role is probably covered for now with Rodrigo Bentancur, even with his expected ban, Yves Bissouma and Archie Gray, while Spurs have also secured an option on Real Betis' Johnny Cardoso for the summer window to come.

Pape Matar Sarr, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Lucas Bergvall flesh out the rest of the central midfield options and there's probably enough there to cover this season, particularly as young Bergvall and Gray start to grow into their place at this level.

Postecoglou will no doubt have his eye on further creative midfielders, but with Spurs having created more chances than most other sides this season so far, unless someone absolutely perfect is available in January or a versatile player who plays there as well as in other roles, then it's likely to be a position looked at in the summer.

Attack

Spurs are the top scorers in the Premier League and have scored 35 in all competitions but the attack still feels like an area that needs attention.

There's currently long-term injuries to Richarlison and Wilson Odobert and with Kulusevski now a deeper midfielder, it's putting a lot of pressure on Son Heung-min and top scorer Brennan Johnson to play most games as the wingers and Dominic Solanke as the striker.

You've got the on-loan Timo Werner, who is carrying a groin injury and a lack of confidence in his final product, as well as Mikey Moore, who is a huge talent but at just 17-years-old will need to be developed carefully rather than overused, especially after struggling with a nasty virus in recent weeks.

Some in the fanbase have called for Werner's loan deal to be cut short but that would leave Spurs with one less option rather than adding to the numbers, and the decision-making on loans often lies with the parent club. Just ask Galatasaray about that with Tanguy Ndombele last season.

Yang Min-hyeok is coming next month to start settling in ahead of his January move and will be part of the first team squad but Spurs are expected to be cautious about the 18-year-old South Korean winger as he adjusts to life in a very different country and league.

Will Lankshear, who netted his first goal for Spurs before getting sent off at Galatasaray, will continue to learn the senior game this season and be given opportunities here and there.

Postecoglou would certainly not say no to extra firepower, either in terms of a winger or another forward that fits his system if Richarlison's unavailability continues to be an issue.

The Australian's way relies on changes around the hour mark in key positions, particularly in attack, and he needs the options to do that without dropping the quality otherwise he won't do it.

Again, with any new additions, decisions will have to be made over the packed Europa League squad and who comes out if a new face arrives.

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