Ange Postecoglou has admitted that not all of the players who have travelled on pre-season tour to Australia will be at Tottenham when the new Premier League season gets underway.
Tottenham have an extremely bloated squad at the moment and it has been widely reported over the last few weeks that Postecoglou is expected to oversee a mass clear-out this summer, with around ten players likely to depart (The Athletic).
It came as a surprise to some when it was announced that 31 senior players had travelled on the pre-season tour, with Hugo Lloris being the only fully fit senior player staying back in London to address his own future.
Postecoglou has now remarked at today’s press conference ahead of the friendly against West Ham United tomorrow that some of those who are part of the group will be offloaded this summer but he insisted that he will continue to treat every player the same until they are the club.
Postecoglou speaks about potential Spurs departures
When asked how many of the 31 players who are now in Perth will stay at Tottenham next season, the Spurs head coach told Football.London: “Fair to say less than that. I don’t think that’s helpful for anyone, the players included.
“My view has always been to treat everyone the same. Whether it’s short, medium or long term, they’re all part of our club so I don’t differentiate. We brought a group that are all healthy and fit and can play.
“Will they all be there at the start of the year? Unlikely, very unlikely. But that doesn’t mean I’ll treat them any differently now. That’s just the way I work.
“Obviously, the players will look for opportunities elsewhere if they think they’re not going to get them here. When that comes across my desk I’ll discuss it with the players and we’ll come to the decision that’s best for all of us.”
Postecoglou refused to divulge how big a squad he wants at Tottenham for the upcoming campaign which sees the north Londoners without European football after a disappointing eighth place finish in the Premier League table last season.
A further question was asked on if he was aiming to trim the size of the playing group down to 25, the Australian responded: “We’re trying to make a squad that’s going to be robust enough to play the football. Exact numbers are not important. We’re going to play numbers a certain way and to do that will require a strong squad, not just a strong 11. What that magic number is, we’ll see.”
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While Postecoglou might want to give every single player a clean slate, in reality, he would have already made up his mind on offloading some players, given that he does not have enough time to thoroughly assess every one.
The likes of Davinson Sanchez, Joe Rodon, Sergio Reguilon and Ivan Perisic will likely be off as soon as a suitable offer comes in for them.