Former Villa boss claims 39-year-old would be ‘shrewd appointment’ by Spurs 

Alex McLeish has argued that Yaya Toure would be a shrewd appointment by Tottenham, amidst reports the former Manchester City star could be handed a permanent coaching role in North London.

Toure was one of the Premier League’s all-time great midfielders, having won three league titles during his time at Manchester City.

Since hanging up his boots last year, the 39-year-old has spent time working towards his badges with QPR, Blackburn and the Welsh FA before serving as an assistant coach at Ukrainian side Olimpik Donetsk and Russian club Akhmat Grozny.

Toure has been working with Spurs’ Under-18s since December, under the supervision of academy manager Dean Rastrick, head of coaching Chris Powell and coach Stuart Lewis.

The Evening Standard reported last week that Tottenham are set to hold talks with the former City star over a permanent academy coaching role as he works towards his Uefa A licence.

The report claimed that the Ivorian is eager to land a job at Spurs or elsewhere, with a view to working his way into a senior position in future, and Tottenham are allegedly happy with his progress.

McLeish has now endorsed the potential appointment, insisting that many at N17 will look up to Toure.

The former Birmingham City boss told Football Insider: “A great player. I’m sure that all the students, the wannabe coaches and wannabe players will look up to him definitely in a big way.

“Of course, that’s a massive influence. It’s a very shrewd appointment as well by Spurs. You would think that Yaya Toure will be looking at predecessors, ex-teammates doing so well in the game now.

“He’ll be saying: ‘I want a piece of that. I want to still be involved in football,’ because of his love for the game.”

Spurs Web Opinion

Having a player of Toure’s experience and accolades will certainly be a huge asset for the academy players at Spurs as the 39-year-old will have some invaluable pieces of wisdom to share with the youngsters at the club. So, I can see why Spurs would be keen to have Toure on board. 

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