Ange Postecoglou has given his clearest indication yet that Tottenham will look to strengthen their squad in the January transfer window.
Spurs have suffered injury problems in recent weeks with the likes of Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Richarlison absent.
Postecoglou’s all-out attacking strategy has fallen short in his absence and Spurs go into Christmas 11th in the Premier League following Sunday’s 6-3 home defeat to Liverpool.
Asked if he was looking forward to doing some business when the window reopens next week, the Australian said: “As I said a while ago, we have been planning. Much of this was going to happen where we are right now. It’s fair to say that we are still a little short in a couple of areas and need to strengthen.
“But January is more complicated in terms of what kind of players you can bring in. For us, the ideal (for any club, I suppose) is to bring people who make you stronger.
“I think the fact that obviously we’re still in the Carabao Cup semi-final, we’ve still got Europe, the FA Cup, we’re in all the competitions, it’s not like our schedule is going to slow down at any point. So I think it makes sense. We will try to reinforce where and what number we will have to wait and see.”
News from Ange’s team ahead of our Boxing Day trip to Nottingham Forest 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Uiqnntmihk
– Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 24, 2024
Bentancur back
Tottenham head to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day buoyed by midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur’s return from suspension.
The Uruguay international has missed the last seven domestic matches due to comments about teammate Son Heung-min, but will be involved at the City Ground.
Left-back Destiny Udogie is also available after injury.
Postecoglou added: “From the game, as far as I know, there are no problems. Destiny was in the hot seat but she wasn’t 100% right and she should be right. Bentancur is available after his suspension. “That’s all for now.”
Back from the woods for Johnson
Brennan Johnson returns to his former club on Thursday having lost his place in the team due to the form of Dejan Kulusevski, but Postecoglou is confident the Wales international will get his chance soon.
“Brennan just needs to keep doing what he’s doing,” he said. “I’ve had Deki there and he’s done very well and scored goals. It’s about team balance. It’s about managing that load. We’re already overloading some of the players up there. “Brennan will get his minutes.”
