Ange Postecoglou wants to add a fresh face to one key area of the Tottenham squad as the January transfer window approaches, coming amid some real injury concerns.
Van de Ven and Maddison injuries
Spurs suffered their first defeat of the Premier League campaign on Monday with a 4-1 loss at home to Mauricio Pochettino's Chelsea. The encounter has pretty much everything a neutral could hope for; sending offs, VAR controversy, goals galore and a bold move by Tottenham to maintain a high line despite being down to nine men in the second half.
In what was, arguably, the division's most entertaining encounter of 2023/2024 so far. However, it was an evening that spelt horror for Postecoglou, who lost a quartet of star players in Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, James Maddison and Micky van de Ven.
Udogie and Romero will now sit out temporarily through suspension, while Maddison and van de Ven could be sidelined for the foreseeable through injury. The extent of Maddison's problem hasn't been officially confirmed yet, but van de Ven may be set to miss a fair chunk of games. Postecoglou, speaking after his side's loss to Chelsea, has described the Dutch defender's injury as a "significant" one.
The 22-year-old pulled up clutching his hamstring and could barely leave the pitch without assistance.
"It's too early but looking at Micky you're thinking it's a pretty significant one so you'd assume he'll be out for a little while." said Postecoglou on Maddison and van de Ven.
"Madders got a knock on the ankle and we'll just have to assess him and see how it is."
Spurs have started the new campaign with real aplomb as Postecoglou cements himself as a real fan favourite; winning eight out of their opening 11 top-flight encounters while remaining unbeaten until their last game. If Tottenham wish to maintain their excellent early-season form, the January transfer market comes as a solution to plug gaping holes in Postecoglou's squad.
Postecoglou "keen" to bolster key area
Writing for Football Insider, journalist Pete O'Rourke has shared the Tottenham manager's plans for the winter window. It is believed Postecoglou is "keen" to bolster his centre-back options in particular, amid van de Ven's injury blow.
This comes after the Australian previously hinted at activity in the new year, explaining that the mid-season window will be an "important" one for Spurs.
"It is important they come in now. The January window, like for every club, is an important one," said Postecoglou on January transfers.
"My view on the January one is that if you can get your business done early in the window it certainly is more helpful because you leave it until the end of January and sometimes what you train to gain you've missed that opportunity by waiting a whole month.
"That's sometimes out of your control so having Johan in is good. I'm sure we'll have a lot of discussions between now and then and I'm looking forward to working with him."
In terms of rumoured names, it's been claimed that Spurs are eyeing Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo, with Tottenham also targeting Lloyd Kelly of Bournemouth.
