Tottenham have already made some quick moves in the transfer market to ensure that Ange Postecoglou has the right tools to work with ahead of the 2023/24 Premier League season. After clinching permanent deals for Dejan Kulusevski, Guglielmo Vicario and James Maddison, Manor Solomon looks set to be the next player to sign on the dotted line in north London.
The addition of Maddison from Leicester City in a £40 million deal is undoubtedly a statement signing and the England international could play a pivotal role in Spurs achieving their ambitions due to what he offers in the final third. As important as Maddison could be to Postecoglou's Tottenham team, former Spurs man Gus Poyet wants to see the Lilywhites strengthen in defence and decide on their preferred backline as he believes that will lead to Maddison and the team playing at their best.
“I think the James Maddison signing is very interesting and it will be important to see if he can adapt,” Poyet told 888sport. “Last season Tottenham didn’t play with a proper number 10, and they played with three in attack, so it will be interesting to see how he adapts to the middle of the pitch.
"If they play with two wingers and a striker, for instance with Son Heung-min or Richarlison, Harry Kane and Dejan Kulusevski, along with Maddison, then the two behind them in midfield have to be two animals because they will need to run all game and defend for everyone, and the back four will have to be outstanding.
“The system will be very important, and I don’t know if they will play with four or five at the back. In terms of quality, Maddison will bring plenty and I think it’s time for him to make the step up to being a consistent and important player in an important team.
“Next season, if Tottenham play with a back four I would like to be able to know the back four for certain every week, with no questions over any of the positions. When you know your back four for certain that is when you are at your best because you’re solid. The rest of the team are the ones taking the headlines, but the base of the team is the goalkeeper and the back four, and I want to see Tottenham be solid there.”
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As well as plenty of talk about incomings at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer, outgoings are also very much on the agenda as Postecoglou tries to build a squad capable of helping Tottenham achieve their silverware aspirations. Kane's future is a major talking point amid Bayern Munich's interest in him, but Poyet believes the England international should stay in north London.
“If I was Harry Kane I would stay in the Premier League rather than going to Bayern Munich," stated the former midfielder. "It will be a massive decision for Tottenham, for Harry, and for everyone involved, and of course, as the coach, Ange Postecoglou would like him to stay.
"There have been so many rumours and so many things happening over the past two or three years so I can’t say for sure what is going to happen. I think the only person who really knows is Harry Kane.”
Regardless of whether Kane moves on or not ahead of the summer transfer deadline, Poyet feels that Postecoglou will face a tough first 12 months in the Spurs job as he tries to take them forward once again.
“I think the next 12 months will be hard for Ange Postecoglou,” he added. “It will be even harder if Harry Kane leaves.
"As a coach it’s hard when you get to the club and you have a lot of energy and then they tell you that Harry Kane might leave and you think, ‘oh, thank you, but maybe you could have told me before I signed the contract!’.
“I don’t know how Postecoglou’s finished squad is going to look and how Spurs do next season will depend on the players that they keep and the players that they bring in. There have been so many transfer rumours recently and I’m sure that in the next few days Postecoglou will have his say on those decisions.
“For example, we don’t know how long Rodrigo Bentancur is going to be out for and it’s things like that that can affect your season. Tottenham’s inconsistencies have been because of things like that. It wasn’t about the quality of their players, it was about the inconsistency – in one game everybody looked up for it and the next week it looked like a totally different group of players. For me, this season is about consistency.”
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