As Tottenham Hotspur continues to navigate a season defined by injuries, Ange Postecoglou sheds light on the club’s strategy, particularly the role of its youngest talents, including new signing Yang Min-hyeok.
Spurs’ injury crisis and the influx of youth talent
Tottenham’s campaign has been marred by an injury crisis that has affected key areas across the pitch, with the exception of midfield.
This unfortunate trend has hit the wings particularly hard, sidelining promising youngster Mikey Moore and new arrival Wilson Odobert.
These absences have left significant gaps in Postecoglou’s attacking options, forcing the club to look elsewhere for reinforcements.
Enter Yang Min-hyeok, an 18-year-old winger from South Korea, who joined Spurs during the summer transfer window as part of a broader push to invest in youth.
Alongside other teenage signings, Yang represents Tottenham’s commitment to building for the future, even as the club grapples with present challenges.
In a recent press conference, Postecoglou was quizzed on the strategy behind this youthful recruitment drive and the potential impact these young players might have on a squad under immense pressure.
Postecoglou on youth and Yang Min-hyeok
He told football.london: “It depends which way you look at it but like I’ve said before, I think it’s the way you build.
“If you are trying to build, what you want is young players because ultimately every team goes through it’s cycles and we don’t have many at the top end in terms of age-wise.
“We have a few in that sweet spot of peak years as they call them and a lot who will grow into that over the next number of years.
“What you want is hopefully those 18-year-olds, not all of them but you want the majority of them to start growing with the team and breaking through, so there is a longer-term view which has to be taken from a team and squad perspective.
“We have gone heavy on the younger ages but that is a deliberate process because we’re at the start of a cycle.
“If you’re closer to where you want to be and two or three years into it, you’re less likely to because then you are denying them opportunities. What we’re hoping is, we’re bringing them in but they’ll still get opportunities at this point of where we’re at.
“Again, the flip side of that is with Yang, 18-year-old coming from a totally different part of the world, different league and it’s a massive step then say Archie doing it from Championship to Premier League, so we have to be mindful of what impact we expect from someone like that.”
When will Yang Min-hyeok join Spurs?
When questioned about Yang’s arrival, Postecoglou provided an update: “No, he has not arrived yet. He will have some time off. Their league finishes and I have not spoken to the guys lately but I know he is keen to get over here and we will get him over here.
“I remember with Celtic, we signed a couple of lads from Japan and Korea and middle to late December they joined us and it was good leading into January for those guys.”
Tottenham’s strategy under Postecoglou is clear: build a squad that is sustainable and capable of evolving through the years. The focus on youth is not without risks, but it offers the promise of developing a cohesive and competitive unit over time.