Ange Postecoglou insists he is not currently considering bringing a premature end to Timo Werner’s loan spell at Tottenham.
The former Chelsea forward was singled out for strong public criticism by his under-pressure manager following Thursday’s 1-1 draw with Rangers in the Europa League.
Postecoglou fumed that Werner’s performance at Ibrox was “not acceptable” as he replaced him at half-time with Dejan Kulusevski, whose goal 15 minutes from time salvaged a point for out-of-form Spurs, who have now won just one of their last eight matches across all competitions.
The Tottenham boss appeared to double down on those comments during a subsequent press conference held before Sunday night’s trip to struggling Southampton in the Premier League, insisting that they were an “assessment of his performance” rather than intended as criticism.
Postecoglou’s comments on Werner have led many to question if the German international could now see his extended temporary spell at Spurs ended early when the transfer window reopens for business in January, having last May seen his six-month loan stint back in English football from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig extended until the end of this season.
Tottenham are said to have previously held a £15million option to buy Werner permanently, while they can now sign him for £8.5m next summer - the chances of which now happening seem very slim indeed.
"Right now that is the furthest thing from my mind,” Postecoglou said when asked if Werner could return to Leipzig early in January. “I’m just not interested in what happens next. I’m interested in what happens now.
“Now is the time we have an opportunity. In these next five games between now and New Year we can set up our season.
"Last night [against Rangers] was a great point for us because it sets us up for Europe, so we know we’re going to make the knockout stages. Now we have four league games to get ourselves back up the ladder and make an impact.
“We’ve got a massive Carabao Cup quarter-final [against Manchester United] to get to a semi-final. I’m not interested in anything else beyond that.”
