Ange Postecoglou has admitted that Tottenham will be severely tested next month when Son Heung-min, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma jet off to join their national teams.
Tottenham still have a number of players on the treatment table at the moment, with Micky van de Ven, James Maddison, Manor Solomon, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ryan Sessegnon and Ivan Perisic continuing to work their way up to fitness.
To make matters worse, the Lilywhites will potentially be without their captain for the entirety of January as Son jets off to join the South Korea squad for the Asian Cup in Qatar.
Journalist Steve Han confirmed a few days ago that the 31-year-old will join up with his national side following Tottenham’s clash against Bournemouth on 31 December, and with Jurgen Klinsmann’s side one of the favourites to go all the way, he could be unavailable until February 10.
Meanwhile, the African Cup of Nations kicks off on January 14 and runs until February 12, with Sarr’s Senegal side being one of the fancied sides.
When asked about Son’s importance to the side and how much of a miss he will be, Postecoglou told The Daily Mail: “Nothing’s surprised me about Sonny. I’ve known him for a long time.
“The only new thing for him is that he’s taken over in a leadership role here. He’s taken to that well. All those players will be a big loss for us. But that’s been the story of our season. We’ve had to cope without significant players.”
Postecoglou does not know when Son will leave yet
When asked when Son will actually depart Tottenham, he added: “We’re still working on that.”
Postecoglou admitted that his squad will be quite stretched, which is not ideal, given his side’s high-intensity approach.
When asked if Tottenham have the options to cope without the trio, he said: “That’s dependent on where we’re at from a squad perspective.
“Eight guys out, at least seven won’t be back for a little while, you’re left with a fairly thin squad where you can’t rotate players. The way we play is physically and mentally demanding.”
Spurs Web Opinion
This might be a veiled message from Postecoglou at the Tottenham hierarchy, stressing the importance of making a couple of signings early in the transfer window. It might not be prudent to wait until the final few days of the window for bargain deals, which Spurs have a habit of doing.