The appointment of Ange Postecoglou as Tottenham manager marks the start of a summer in which much will change at the north London club.
Daniel Levy is still searching for a new sporting director to oversee the club’s transfer strategy, and up to 10 players could leave ahead of next season. Plenty will need to be brought in.
Hugo Lloris is almost certain to leave this summer, while the likes of Ben Davies, Davinson Sanchez, Eric Dier, Harry Winks, Ivan Perisic and Sergio Reguilon could also depart. Ryan Sessegnon, Giovani Lo Celso and Bryan Gil are three more players whose futures are under threat.
A squad upheaval of that size will inevitably require players to come the other way, and Postecoglou’s transfer business at Celtic demonstrates that signing players he has worked with before is a well-trodden path for the Australian.
Here, Standard Sport takes a look at three Celtic players who Postecoglou may want to look at bringing to Spurs.
Kyogo Furuhashi
Kyogo was signed by Celtic in the summer of 2021, when Postecoglou became manager. While they had not worked together before, the Japanese forward scored for Vissel Kobe against Postecoglou’s previous club Yokohama F. Marinos. Postecoglou knew he needed to sign the player.
Kyogo plays with the No8 on the back of his shirt for Celtic, but he is an out-and-out striker in every sense of the word. He has rattled in 54 goals in 83 games for Celtic. Spurs’ long line of deputies to Harry Kane — from Fernando Llorente to Carlos Vinicius — could only have dreamed of comparable strike rates.
Whether Kane leaves or not, Spurs need another striker and Kyogo could surely be coaxed into a Premier League move considering he is 28 and might not get the chance again.
Reo Hatate
A fellow Japan international, Hatate stands at just 5ft 8ins tall but has proven a capable midfielder in his first two seasons at Celtic. Nine goals in all competitions this season shows he is an attacking threat too, which is something few of Spurs’ current midfielders can claim to be.
While Brighton are also interested in securing his services for next season, Hatate flourished under Postecoglou in Scotland and would surely revel in the chance to work with him again.
Only five players in the Scottish Premiership registered more assists than Hatate this season.
Jota
With Heung-min Son and Richarlison enduring difficult campaigns this term and Arnaut Danjuma set to leave the club, Spurs could really do with reinforcements in wide attacking areas this summer. Jota could be just the ticket.
The 24-year-old winger was a much-lauded graduate of the Benfica academy and excelled for Portugal at youth level. After an outstanding loan spell at Celtic last season — in which he caught the attention of clubs across Europe — he signed for the Scottish champions last summer.
And there are signs that the wily attacker may well be off. After scoring in the Scottish Cup final at the weekend as Celtic sealed their domestic Treble, Jota responded by posting a caption on Instagram that read: “The Class of 22/23 have successfully graduated. Been an absolute pleasure, thanks to everyone!”
Celtic fans are now panicked they might lose him, and Spurs would make real sense as a potential destination.
