Hindsight is a fine thing, but it certainly sounds like Tottenham would have been in a much better place had Ange Postecoglou been given what he asked for when it comes to transfer targets.
Despite Thomas Frank departing his role as Spurs manager this week, much of the attention around the club has turned to his predecessor, Ange Postecoglou.
His appearance on the Stick to Football podcast has dredged up a lot of the contempt and frustrations of the Tottenham fanbase, as a lack of ambition once again comes to the fore.
Postecoglou revealed Daniel Levy’s odd comments prior to the Europa League final, but it also sounds like Spurs were simply not prepared to equip the Australian manager with the tools he needed to succeed.
- READ MORE: Micky van de Ven highlights differences between Thomas Frank and Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham
Which players did Ange Postecoglou target at Tottenham?
Reflecting back on his time at Spurs, Postecoglou pinpointed the summer of 2024 as the moment he realised the club were not prepared to invest effectively and improve the squad — at least not in the manner he had hoped.
He said: “You know, I was looking at Pedro Neto and [Bryan] Mbeumo and [Antoine] Semenyo at the time, and Marc Guehi. I said we need, if we’re going to go from fifth to [challenging at the top], that’s what the other big clubs would do in that moment.
“Those three teenagers [Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert] are outstanding young players and I think they’ll be great players for Tottenham, but they’re not [the signings] to get you from fifth to fourth and third.
“But what was coming out from the club was that ‘no, we’re a club that can compete on all fronts’.”
Postecoglou claimed Spurs were unwilling to spend big on the right kind of players he needed, citing Arsenal’s £100m signing of Declan Rice as an example of how things should really be done.
He added: “I still felt like, you know, Tottenham as a club was saying ‘we’re one of the big boys’ and the reality is I don’t think they are in terms of my experience over the last two years of how they act,” he said.
“When Arsenal need players, they’ll spend a hundred million on Declan Rice. I don’t see Tottenham doing that. Maybe now, I don’t know. But not, not in, not just my history, even predating me.
“And a lot of that was, okay, they were building a stadium, so obviously finances were a challenge. I guess the bit I didn’t realise was just how much Champions League football makes a difference and I think that’s why there was always this desperation, because that provided the kitty, you know.
“So that means my first year, they finished eighth the year before. We lost Harry two days before we played Brentford in the first game. I’ve got to try and that’s a tall order. It’s a tough one. We almost got there. I mean, if it was fifth any other year, that probably would have been [enough].
“And if we did, maybe last year, we wouldn’t have bought three teenagers. But I still don’t think, it’s not the transfer fee, the wages to really attract. I mean, when was the last time Tottenham really signed somebody and you go ‘wow’?”
Antoine Semenyo would have been a game-changer for Spurs
Obviously, we can be pretty confident in saying that signing any (or all) of those four players Postecoglou targeted would have benefited Tottenham massively.
In particular, the addition of Antoine Sememnyo would have been transformative. The former Bournemouth man is exactly the kind of player Spurs needed, and indeed, still do need.
He scored 13 goals and registered seven assists in the 2024/25 campaign. Can you imagine how valuable that kind of output would have been for Tottenham?
Thomas Frank wanted Semenyo, too, but he was also let down by the board. The winger went to Man City instead, and he continues to excel there. It’s yet another case of what could have been for Tottenham, and a very frustrating one indeed.