Ange Postecoglou has revealed signing a new centre-back is Tottenham’s priority for the January transfer window.
Spurs got off to a superb start to the season, winning eight of their first 10 Premier League games to top the table, but a run of five games without a victory coincided with injuries to a number of key players.
Postecoglou saw his side get back on track with a rampant 4-1 win over Newcastle United last Sunday – a side also ravaged by injuries – but he remains short of bodies with Micky van de Ven, James Maddison and Rodrigo Bentancur sidelined.
“When you think about it, we let Davinson Sanchez go after the window closed,” Postecoglou told Sky Sports. “We kind of knew we were taking a bit of a risk; we couldn’t get the extra centre-back that we were trying to get in, and for the early part of the year that was fine.
“But once we lost Micky [van de Ven], and Eric Dier’s had some issues as well, we don’t have another centre-back.
“Young Ash Phillips had just joined the club, so it’s fair to say that we can’t run the risk of that happening again, so that’s obviously a priority for us in January.
“But again, we’ve got to get the right person. It’s not just about bringing another body in, it’s about getting the right one in and hopefully that’ll happen.”
90min recently revealed Everton’s Ben Godfrey is high up on Spurs’ transfer radar, with interest also being shown in teammate Jarrad Branthwaite, while Union Saint-Gilloise’s Koki Machida is another player to have caught the eye of the club’s scouting team.
On the profile of player he might look to sign, Postecoglou said when asked whether he’d target youngsters who can develop: “Yeah, because that’s what we’re trying to build at the moment.
“Even Vic [Guglielmo Vicario], he’s only 26 for a goalkeeper and the only one we’ve kind of signed who isn’t in that bracket but I still think he’s got the best in front of him is Madders [James Maddison], but all the rest are all young.
“Guys like Pape Sarr, Destiny [Udogie], Pedro [Porro] and [Dejan] Kulusevski – who both [Porro and Kulusevski] became permanent [in the summer] – they’re all in their early 20s, so we’re in the first phase of building something.
“I think when you’ve got young guys and you start building something and they grow together, I think it gives you more chance of having sustained success down the road.”
READ THE LATEST TOTTENHAM NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS & GOSSIP
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
90 Mins
