Tottenham Hotspur will be glad to put 2024 behind them.
The last months have been a massive check for the Ange Postecoglou team, which has fought to compete in the Premier League and the Europa League with what results as a list of endless injuries. The January movement window will give the Spurs the opportunity to make inventory and their squad . . . if they wish.
Here athletics breaks down what is expected next month.
As expected, Tottenham’s plans for the January movement window are connected to their crisis.
In recent weeks, Postcoglou had to face its first national team goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and central defenders Micky Van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Ben Davies. Richarlison and Wilson Odobert, or hamstring injuries, while Mikey Moore slowly returns to complete form after a virus.
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His reduced squad forced Postecoglou to call five teenagers onto the bench for the 5-0 win at Southampton alongside Brandon Austin, the 25-year-old goalkeeper who came through the Spurs academy but never made a senior appearance.
“A lot will depend on what happens in the next 3 weeks, who we return at this time, where we go down with the fitness of the team at the beginning of January,” Postecoglou said on December 6. “January is complicated. I wouldn’t do it. We expect us to do too many big things in January, however, if on January 1 we are in precisely the same position as now with nine players, I think we would do anything”
However, they will be looking for opportunities for their attacking options. They go overboard with Dominic Solanke, his son Heung-Min, and Brennan Johnson to start each and every game, while Postecoglou has made his feelings about Timo Werner’s effectiveness clear.
“There’s no doubt that we want a bit of reinforcement in this third game before the next two play windows,” Postcoglou said before the 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth.
“(Solanke) coming in has been great, again, we can’t overload him either, because at the end of the day, you know, even if it’s still compatibility and something doesn’t happen, the functionality will invariably drop if his power degrees drop. So that’s all we know and we have to plan for. “
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“If I looked at everyone we were linked to, I would have no time to do anything else, to be honest,” Postecoglou said. “I have got other people to do that part of the process. For us, we’ve been pretty disciplined in what we’re trying to build here and we’ll continue to be so.”
It is an easy link to make but, reading between the lines, any potential move for Rashford feels unlikely. He turned 27 in October and Spurs have focused on signing players under the age of 23 since Postecoglou was appointed. Rashford prefers to play on the left wing, which is where the captain Son, Werner and Odobert operate.
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It is also said that the salary of 325,000 weekly pounds of the English international is an obstacle. The smartest option would be to send a reinforcement to Solanke; Richarlison’s struggles with his form and physical condition show that he can trust him as much as Posttecoglou would like.
After Vicario fractured his ankle during the 4-0 victory over Manchester City, Spurs were linked with free agents including Keylor Navas and Loris Karius. Despite Fraser Forster making a couple of horrible mistakes in the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United, then conceding six against Liverpool, the wisest move might be to sign a younger back-up goalkeeper for the long-term.
There is interest in James Trafford by Burnley, but, with vicar a few months away, any movement is more likely to take place in the summer. Trafford is a horny perspective, since he is a 22 -year -old local player with championship and experience in the Premier League.
It has been widely reported that as part of negotiations with Real Betis over the sale of Giovani Lo Celso, Spurs had included a clause relating to Johnny Cardoso. Tottenham have a preferred option on the 23-year-old midfielder, but he becomes active during the summer. Cardoso joined Betis in January after starting his career with the Brazilian Internacional. He plays as a midfielder and has played 11 games in La Liga this season.
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Tottenham’s most valuable asset not playing is Richarlison. The Brazilian striker arrived from Everton for an initial payment of £50m in July 2022, but has since scored just 12 goals in the league. It’s no secret that he was on the market last summer and that Saudi Arabia’s interest would have allowed Tottenham to get their money back, something they would have struggled to do if they had sold him to a European club. But Richarlison didn’t need to move to Saudi Arabia, and that’s why he stayed in North London.
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It has been another frustrating campaign for the 27-year-old which has been disrupted by calf and hamstring issues. He has been restricted to five substitute appearances in the league for a total of 88 minutes, but is expected to return from injury at the beginning of January.
The other player to watch is Sergio Reguilon. The 28-year-old is not a component of Postecoglou’s long-term plans and enters the final six months of his contract in January. It will be allowed to negotiate with foreign clubs and foreign clubs and Signal a pre-contract agreement in order to leave for nothing in the summer. He made his first appearance for Spurs since April 2022 in the Carabao Cup victory over Manchester United, and that was only due to injuries to key players.
Son and Davies will also enter the final six months of their contracts, but Spurs plan to trigger one-year options on both.
The Spurs have a small team and are all at this time, so the only players who can spend on loan will come from the academy.
Talented youngsters Alfie Devine (Westerlo), Ashley Phillips (Stoke City), Alejo Veliz (Espanyol), Dane Scarlett (Oxford United), Josh Keeley (Leyton Orient), Jamie Donley (Leyton Orient) and George Abbott (Notts County) moved on loan in the summer and are benefiting from regular game time.
Tottenham completed a deal in July for Yang Min-hyeok from South Korean side Gangwon FC. The 18-year-old winger has arrived in London and met a few of his new team-mates but does not officially join Spurs, and therefore cannot train with them, until January 1. Yang is focused on settling into life in a new country and having English lessons.
Depending on how he adapts, Yang could even add to Postecoglou’s wide options in the first-team squad, although the expectation is that he will be closer to the level of Spurs’ academy teenagers rather than players such as Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall.
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Last year, Tottenham agreed to sign Luka Vuskovic from Hajduk Split, and the Croatian centre-back is currently on loan at Westerlo in Belgium. He is still 17 years old and has a reputation as one of the most productive young defenders in European football. Vuskovic cannot sign up for Spurs until he is 18 and his birthday is in February, so fans will have to wait until next season to see him.
Together with Yang, Vuskovic represents the next step in the Spurs policy of rejuvenating his team for the future.
Since Postecoglou was appointed in June 2023, he has had a voice and vote in the policy of movements and in which players come and go in the Spurs. He works intensely with technical director Johan Lange, appointed in October 2023, filling a void in the official design left by the resignation of Fabio Paratici six months before.
Lange has shifted the recruitment process to become more data-centric since his arrival. Postecoglou and Lange work closely together, with input from chairman Daniel Levy, to make decisions on who to sign.
Tottenham has had a margin of Cushty Psr, which may explain why President Levy has been a great defender of the rules. For years, Tottenham has been controlled sustainably instead of depending on the injections of benefactors. Spurs have some of the highest income in the country since the opening of their new stadium, with their turnover reaching £ 549 million for the 2022-23 season. His salary bill was only the sixth highest in the Premier League that season and since then they have lost some of their best paid players, adding Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris.
Put it all in combination and it means Spurs don’t necessarily have to sell players just to avoid PSR restrictions and can spend a significant amount of cash, if one of their most sensitive targets becomes available.
It might seem strange with their defensive troubles but Postecoglou’s priority is to add more quality up front. The hope is that this will help his side break down teams that sit deep.
Spurs have only won two of their eight Premier League fixtures this season where they have had more than 60 per cent possession.
(Top photos: Getty Images)