Tottenham fans will be hoping that the club's summer transfer business soon starts to ramp up following the appointment of Ange Postecoglou as head coach. After Antonio Conte's departure from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at the end of March, Daniel Levy's top priority was always going to be finding the new man to take the club forward.
Now that Postecoglou is in the hotseat, the Lilywhites still have plenty to do ahead of the 2023/24 campaign as a new managing director of football needs to be found and a lot needs to be done in the transfer market. Moving very early in the transfer window one year ago with Ivan Perisic, Fraser Forster and Yves Bissouma all signing on the dotted line a few weeks after the previous campaign had come to an end, the hope is that Spurs will do the same this time around in order to give new signings time to bed in.
A new goalkeeper and reinforcements at centre-back are very much priorities for Tottenham this summer, with an attacking midfielder and other attacking options also required following the departures of Arnaut Danjuma and Lucas Moura. So are there any Celtic players Postecoglou could return for prior to the summer transfer deadline? football.london takes a look below.
Reo Hatate
Given the need to bring in a midfielder who can have a big impact in the final third, Hatate ticks plenty of boxes for Postecoglou and Tottenham. Playing in a midfield three, the Japan international was given licence to push on by the manager and offer support in and around the frontman.
Registering four goals and three assists in his first year at the club, the 25-year-old obliterated those numbers in 2022/23 as he chipped in with nine goals and 11 assists in 45 games. Undoubtedly one of Postecoglou's best Celtic signings, there is still plenty more to come from the ex-Kawasaki Frontale midfielder, as the boss explained back in February.
"He was great. He has been all year to be fair," he told BBC Sportsound. “He’s another who’s just not going to settle for where he’s at. He wants to be better. He’s constantly looking for ways to improve and for ways to get his game to another level.
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“He’s not going to rest until he’s the footballer he wants to be in his mind. He’s one who, every day comes in trying to improve and he’s getting the rewards for his efforts.”
A player who cost the Hoops £1.4million, the Scottish giants will make a nice profit on the Suzuka-born player, who was studying at university not that long ago before Kawasaki Frontale give him his big break, if he is to depart for a new challenge.
Jota
Could Jota be the man Postecoglou turns to as he looks to strengthen Spurs' attack? Initially joining the Bhoys on loan before making his move from Benfica permanent last summer, the Portuguese ace has made a huge impression during his time at Celtic Park.
Mainly operating off the left wing but also more than capable of playing from the right, Jota chalked up 13 goals and 14 assists in his first season at the club before hitting 15 goals and 12 assists in 2022/23. Representing Portugal at various levels but yet to receive a call-up to the senior side, the Celtic ace is on Roberto Martinez's radar and his first call-up could arrive very soon.
"Absolutely, he’s on my radar," said the ex-Belgium boss, as reported by the Daily Record. "I think obviously Jota is a player that is very important for the national team in terms of the qualities he has. He’s a player that has this natural knack of beating players in one-v-one situations. Since I arrived in January, I’ve tried to follow all the players and clearly Jota is one of them.
“His evolution has been very impressive. In the last four months especially, he is growing into a very mature role at his club. He's always involved in the big moments, and that's important. The stats that we have from him, they’re very impressive, not just in the Scottish league but in the Champions League.
“When you’re looking at measuring a player in that natural gift of taking players on it's very interesting to see it in in different levels. It's quite interesting that Jota actually has probably a bigger percentage in the Champions League than what he has in the Scottish Premiership, and that's something that we always follow very closely. He’s got the potential for being in the national team, absolutely.”
Joining Celtic permanently for around £6m, Transfermarkt value the 24-year-old at £10m.
Kyogo Furuhashi
One player who has already been linked with a switch to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is Kyogo. It's perhaps not hard to see why either after scoring goals for fun in his time in the east end of Glasgow.
In 83 games for Celtic, the Japan international has scored 54 goals and registered ten assists for his teammates. Joining for £4.5m, Kyogo, who stands at 5ft 7in, has already repaid that fee and more after playing a major role in Celtic winning five from a possible six trophies during Postecoglou's tenure as boss.
The Australian has waxed lyrical about the ex-Vissel Kobe man numerous times, including back in April following his double in their 3-2 win over fierce rivals Rangers.
“It’s easy for me to say because I’ve got a big rap for him," he told BBC Sportsound. “I think from the moment he’s arrived, he’s been outstanding. Every time he plays he looks like he’s going to score goals. The way he works for his team, he’s just brilliant.
“I never have to gee him up. I never have to get him motivated. He just goes out there, you see the size of him. Most of the time he’s up against guys who are a lot bigger than him a lot more physical. He’s got this really sort of kind nature about him.
“He’s smiling, but don’t underestimate his competitiveness. He wants to win. You know, he wants to win as much as anyone and again, in the big game, he’s delivered.”
Another option for Tottenham to play through the middle, a move for Kyogo may all depend on what happens with Harry Kane as Spurs currently have Richarlison as backup to the England international.
And the wildcard option....
Cameron Carter-Vickers
Tottenham fans will undoubtedly raise a quizzical eyebrow at the prospect of Postecoglou making a move for Carter-Vickers this summer. It would certainly looks daft from a Tottenham perspective to have sold the centre-back to Celtic 12 months ago to then re-sign him for even more money.
The United States international has come on in leaps and bounds under the Australian, though, and Postecoglou has previously described the player as the Scottish Premiership's "best defender". Speaking about the 25-year-old in March, the new Tottenham boss hailed his player.
"He's been outstanding from the moment we signed him," the Celtic boss told BBC Scotland. "He's a really great defender. In our back four, you need to do a lot of one-on-one defending. Physically, he's as strong as anyone.
"He's got great awareness and he's a really intelligent footballer in terms of understanding the game in the areas he needs to protect."
Perhaps not given a fair chance at Tottenham with seven loan deals coming his way prior to his permanent move to Celtic, the opportunity to work under Postecoglou could have been exactly what Carter-Vickers needed in his career at just the right time. After all, you do get players who look a completely different beast altogether under a certain manager.
Linked with a move to the likes of Leicester City and Newcastle United before his Celtic loan was made permanent, it probably won't be long at all until the Southend-on-Sea-born player returns to the Premier League. Given the need to strengthen at centre-back and as someone Postecoglou clearly knows and rates extremely highly, Carter-Vickers could be a wildcard option for the boss this summer as Tottenham look to add to their options at the back.
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