Ange Postecoglou has said that while he wants to build a strong squad at Tottenham, he also acknowledged that some bit-part players at the club might want to leave in order to further their own careers.
Postecoglou has only had two transfer windows as Spurs boss and the Australian is still in the process of building a squad which can compete on multiple fronts.
While Timo Werner and Radu Dragusin’s arrival this month has given the Australian head coach more options, the club have also sold some senior players this month while allowing some other youngsters to leave on loan.
With a little over 24 hours left until the window slams shut, there continues to be speculation over further exits, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Foot Mercato) and Bryan Gil (Sportitalia) continuing to be linked with moves away from the club.
Postecoglou on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Bryan Gil
Postecoglou has now addressed the situation of both players, admitting that the midfielder and the winger would have to be replaced if they depart the club.
The Spurs head coach told Football.London: “With all the players, I look at it the same way. As much as I’m steering this ship, they also have their own. I speak to players about this all the time. It’s their careers and they have to do what they feel is right as well,” said the Tottenham boss.
“From my perspective, I need a strong squad. Maybe this year without being in Europe and obviously being out of the cups, the games now are limited to between now and the end of the year.
“But if we want to get to where we want to, then I compare us to the other clubs that we want to try and challenge. They’ve got big squads. They’ve got some pretty good players not starting. I look at it every week when they make substitutions. That’s where we’ve got to get to.
“Whether that’s Bryan or Pierre who maybe feel they should be playing more, if they made a decision that ‘I need to go somewhere else to play’, I’m going to replace them with somebody who is going to be a good enough player to play in the Premier League but maybe won’t start, because you need that.
“Pierre has played the last two games. I think he’s probably played just about every game this year. He hasn’t started a lot, obviously.
“Bryan had a couple of injury problems early in the year and probably hasn’t played as much as he would want to, which I understand, but ultimately I’ve got to try to build a squad here that’s going to challenge. That’s only going to happen if I’ve got 20, 22, 23 players who are all of Premier League standard.
“That will mean if it’s not Bryan and Pierre, it’s two other players who will come in and maybe aren’t playing as much, but that doesn’t mean I don’t rate them or don’t think they’re up to the standard, it’s just you need a squad. We’ve seen it more than anyone with injuries we’ve had.”
Spurs Web Opinion
While I can see Gil potentially being loaned out before tomorrow’s deadline, Hojbjerg looks overwhelmingly likely to remain at the club until the end of the season unless Spurs pull a surprise out of the bag and manage to bring a midfielder through the door.