Ange Postecoglou has given his strongest hint yet that Tottenham will look to strengthen their squad in the January transfer window.
Spurs have suffered injury problems in recent weeks, with Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Richarlison all missing.
Postecoglou’s all-out attacking strategy failed in their absence and Spurs head into Christmas in 11th place in the Premier League after Sunday’s 6-3 home defeat to Liverpool.
Asked if he was looking forward to doing business when the window reopens next week, the Australian replied: “As I said a while ago, we have been planning. A lot of that was going to be where we are at that time. It is fair to say that we are still a little behind in some areas and need to strengthen.
“But January is trickier in terms of the type of players you can bring in. For us, ideally – for any club, I suppose – you want to bring in people who are going to make you stronger.
“I think the fact that obviously we are still in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup, that we still have Europe, the FA Cup, that we are in all the competitions, it’s not like our schedule was going to lighten at any time so I think it makes sense We will try to strengthen where and what number we will have to wait and see.
News from the Ange team ahead of our Boxing Day trip to Nottingham Forest 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/Uiqnntmihk
– Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) December 24, 2024
Bentancur returns
Tottenham travel to Nottingham Forest on Boxing Day, boosted by the return of midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur 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, to my knowledge, no problem. Destiny was on the bench but wasn’t 100% right and should be right. Bentancur is available after his suspension. That’s a bit like it for now.
Return from the forest for Johnson
Brennan Johnson returns to his former club on Thursday after losing his place in the team due to the form of Dejan Kulusevski, but Postecoglou is confident the Wales international will soon get his chance.
“Brennan just needs to keep doing what he’s doing,” he said. “I had Deki there and he did very well and he scored goals. It’s about the balance of the team. It’s about managing that load. We’re already overloading some players there. Brennan will have her minutes.
