Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has now had over 12 months in his role with the Lilywhites with big changes made.
After weeks of preparations, Tottenham are now set to end their pre-season and enter the 2024/25 term with their curtain raiser against Leicester City.
Postecoglou promised change this summer and that is exactly what has unfolded in N17 with 11 players having departed the club this summer alone.
The Australian has had a full year to assess his options after inheriting a squad which was moulded around Antonio Conte’s plans.
However, there were also a number of player exits last summer with Postecoglou now admitting they were not all sanctioned by him.
Ange Postecoglou admits he didn’t sanction sale of ‘outstanding’ Tottenham player
This summer has seen something quite remarkable happen in north London with Tottenham offloading so many players already.
Emerson Royal is the latest to depart after sealing a move to AC Milan after weeks and weeks of negotiations.
But last summer also offered some considerable exits and Postecoglou has now admitted that he did not have much of a say in one of them, in particular.
Harry Winks departed Tottenham last summer in a £10m deal to join Leicester City following their relegation down to the Championship.
But Postecoglou has admitted he did not get much of a say in Winks’ future after landing: “Yes, to be fair to Harry, that decision was kind of made before I got here,” he told the media on Thursday.
“The squad has changed fairly dramatically from 12/13 months ago but that’s the reason I’ve came in. At the same time, it doesn’t diminish Harry’s career. He has had a fantastic season and is back in the Premier League this year. He is an outstanding footballer. These decisions are often not a reflection of a player’s ability, it is just timing of things and things moving on.”
What Harry Winks has said about facing Tottenham on Monday
Ironically, Winks’ first game back in the Premier League is going to see Tottenham travel to the King Power Stadium on Monday night.
The Foxes will be looking to cap off the opening weekend of the 2024/25 Premier League campaign in style with a shock victory against Spurs.
Tottenham do hold a seriously impressive record against newly-promoted sides but Winks is fully focused on taking all three points as he faces some of his old teammates.