Tottenham Hotspur play their first preseason match of their Asian tour on Saturday morning against Vissel Kobe. Ahead of that match, today Spurs participated in an open training session at the National Stadium of Japan in front of a crowd of local fans. And afterwards, head coach Ange Postecoglou gave a press conference where he discussed Spurs’ preparations for this friendly, the ongoing transfer window, and his hopes for Spurs in this upcoming Premier League season.
Postecoglou first gave an update on who might feature against Vissel Kobe tomorrow, saying the only players who will definitely not feature are Destiny Udogie and Richarlison, whom both traveled with the team but are still recovering from injury. But Ben Davies is back, and will likely see at least a little bit of action on Saturday.
“Yeah the guys who kind of participated in the games so far [are available], plus Ben Davies has trained this week. So out of the travelling party I think it’s just Richy and Destiny who aren’t quite ready to play but everyone else is fit.”
Alasdair Gold, who is in Japan covering the tour for Football.London, expanded on Ange’s comments a bit through observations of the open training sessions, and noted that in addition to Udogie and Richarlison, Timo Werner and Alfie Whiteman also did not participate. Whiteman was a notable absence in Spurs’ previous friendly against QPR, with U23 keeper Luca Gunter getting an extended spell of play in the second half of that match.
Talk then pivoted to the transfer window. Yesterday, the news was about Tottenham’s imminent confirmation of 18-year-old Korean winger Yang Min-Hyuk. Postecoglou was asked about Yang’s addition, and while he didn’t give much away he did emphasize that Spurs are not limiting themselves to the European market as they continue to search for new players to improve the squad.
“Yeah, again I’m well aware of the quality of the K League. When I was at Celtic we were looking to bring over at least a couple of Korean players at the time and I think they’ve brought a couple over. Again they‘ve made a fantastic impact in Europe, a lot of Korean players, none bigger and none better than our own [Son Heung-Min]. He’s just an outstanding player and an outstanding person. He’s the captain of our club and he’s just an outstanding individual, we’re super happy to have him at our football club. So yes, we’ll be looking far and wide for players and as you rightly said, it is difficult for me to discuss.”
Postecoglou has a history with Japanese football, having managed Yokohama F. Marinos from 2018-2021, and bringing in a number of Japanese footballers into his Celtic teams before assuming the Spurs job. So does this mean Spurs are looking to raid the J-League for talent as well?
“Good try! We’re constantly looking. Everyone knows me. I spent close to four years here in Japan. I loved my time here and I really think the J League is a competition that ranks with, apart from maybe the big five or six leagues in Europe, I believe it ranks equal in quality with other leagues.
“I really believe that Japan is producing some world class players, who are already making their mark on the Premier League. We seen Mitoma go to Brighton and the Premier League and do fantastically well. I took three or four, maybe more, players to Celtic and they’re all making an impact. We’re constantly looking everywhere. I guess my experience here showed me that you can find quality footballers and footballers who will fit into the style we want to play from anywhere and we’re constantly looking. So yes my answer is not yes and not no.”
One of the through-lines this summer has been the lack of concrete information about Tottenham’s transfer moves. It was noted that some fans are getting edgy about incoming (and outgoing) players with the start of the new season looming. But Ange said that the club has had a plan for transfers from the beginning, and while situations change the overall plan does, and has, not.
“As you say, at this time of year it’s pretty hard for supporters because they don’t have all the information and it’s fair to say there’s plenty of misinformation out there. We’re working hard to bring players in and it’s a process that you sometimes have to be patient with. But in terms of what we set out to do, that’s still the plan and you have to stay disciplined with that.
“Sometimes the timings don’t work out and it doesn’t happen as quickly as you want and you don’t get them (players) in at the right time but I think it’s really important you stay disciplined and not run off and chase other things. So, what we started with at the start of summer are still there, and I wouldn’t want to put timelines on it. A lot of that is out of our control and we just need to be patient. From where I sit at the moment we’re still in that phase where what we identified is still what we’re after.”