Ange Postecoglou has given his strongest hint yet that Tottenham will look to strengthen their squad in the January transfer window.
Spurs have struggled with injury problems in recent weeks with players such as Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Richarlison missing.
Postecoglou’s all-out attacking strategy has not worked in her absence and Spurs go into Christmas in 11th place in the Premier League after Sunday’s 6-3 home defeat to Liverpool.
Asked if he was ready to do business when the window reopens next week, the Australian said: “As I said some time ago, we have planned. A lot of this would take place roughly where we are currently. It is fair to say that we are still falling short in some areas and that we need to step up our game.
“But January is more difficult when it comes to what kind of players you can bring in. It’s ideal for us – for every club, I guess – when you bring in people who make you stronger.
“I think the fact that we’re obviously still in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, still have Europe, the FA Cup and all the competitions, doesn’t mean that our schedule will ease up at any point. So I think it makes sense. We will try to reinforce where and in what numbers we have to wait and see.”
Team news from Ange ahead of our Boxing Day trip to Nottingham Forest 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Uiqnntmihk
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 24, 2024
Bentancur back
Tottenham travel to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day, buoyed by the return of suspended midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur.
The Uruguay international has missed the last seven domestic games due to comments made about teammate Son Heung-min, but will feature at the City Ground.
Left-back Destiny Udogie is also available again after an injury.
Postecoglou added: “As far as I know there are no problems in the game. Destiny was on the bench but wasn’t 100% right and should be right. Bentancur is available again after his suspension. That’s it for now.”
Forest return for Johnson
Brennan Johnson returns to his former club on Thursday after losing his place in the team due to the form of Dejan Kulusevski, but Postecoglou is confident the Wales international will get his chance soon.
“Brennan just has to keep doing what he’s doing,” he said. “I had Deki there and he did a really good job scoring goals. It’s about the balance of the team. It’s about managing this burden. We’re already overtaxing some players up there. Brennan will get his report.”
