sport news Ange Postecoglou's bond with Kyogo is clear and he's a perfect fit for Spurs trends now
Some managers make it clear they will never go back and raid their old team. Others keep quiet and do it if they feel the need.
Time will tell which side of the fence Ange Postecoglou falls on. But I don’t take the Australian for being a sentimental type.
He’s a tough guy who makes big decisions for the benefit of his employers. And I do wonder whether that will lead him back to Parkhead when he begins the work of trying to rebuild Tottenham Hotspur into a genuine force in English football.
It’s really interesting that Postecoglou wants to take key members of his backroom staff with him from Celtic. It’s a change of policy from how he’s previously operated.
What’s even more fascinating is whether a desire to be surrounded by people he trusts extends to signing players from the club he’s now poised to leave. Where one name is concerned, it seems like a logical solution to one of the issues Postecoglou might have to face in North London.
Ange Postecoglou looks set to be named Tottenham's new manager in the coming days
It would not be a surprise to see him take Kyogo Furuhashi (above) with him to Spurs
His admiration for Kyogo Furuhashi — as both a player and a person — is clearly immense. Postecoglou has said that, when he was working in Japan, he already knew that he wanted to make the striker his first signing if he ever got a job in Europe. No matter which club or country it was, Furuhashi was coming with him.
That level of faith is unusual. And it feels particularly relevant when you consider the wider situation at Tottenham.
We don’t know what is going to happen with Harry Kane this summer, although Spurs insist he’s not for sale. He’s been linked with Real Madrid after Karim Benzema’s decision to leave for Saudi Arabia. Manchester United, too, have a long-standing interest.
Spurs are going to need a new forward. If not to replace Kane immediately, then at least to give another credible option in that department.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Furuhashi ended up joining Postecoglou in London at some point. And I could see him being a success, too.
With his movement, his intelligence, his finishing and his work-rate, I think he could handle the step up in quality. He would be a handful even for the more switched-on defenders of the Premier League and, crucially, would understand what his manager wanted from him.
That’s only part of the equation, of course. Would Celtic let their most prolific goalscorer follow their manager out of the door in the same summer? It would have to be a really significant financial offer for a player who still has two years left on his contract.
In my view, though, Furuhashi has the ability to make an impact at Spurs. And they have the money to try and make a deal happen if it’s what Postecoglou wants.
His record in the transfer market at Celtic was excellent. A big part of that was looking to players he knew extremely well. Hence the signings from Japan.
Postecoglou has been very successful in the transfer market during his two years at Celtic
I don’t think he
