It’s a shocking lineup. 메이저놀이터
Australian Celtic manager Enze Postecoglou has emerged as a strong contender to become the new manager of Son Heung-min’s English Premier League club Tottenham. After being rejected by the likes of Julian Nagelsmann, Vincent Kompany, Arne Slott, and Xabi Alonso, it seems that Spurs are closing in on a deal with Postecoglou.
Of course, there is a mountain to climb. His career, which has taken him from the Australian national team to Yokohama Marinos in Japan’s J-League to Celtic, is not exactly befitting of a Premier League manager, and there is an immediate backlash from Spurs fans. Spurs fans have been campaigning against his appointment, claiming he doesn’t have the “gut” to lead the club.
However, Daniel Levy, the chairman of Tottenham Hotspur, seems to have shifted his focus to Postecoglou.
The Sun, a popular British tabloid, also reported that Postecoglou is closer to the Celtic job than any other manager.
“Celtic have resigned themselves to losing Postecoglou,” The Sun reported on January 1. “Tottenham are respectfully keeping quiet as the Scottish Cup (FA Cup) final remains, but are keen to finalize details of a deal with Postecoglou, who is keen to test himself in the Premier League, as soon as possible.”
“Celtic realize they are losing a man who won the league and League Cup in his first season in Scotland and is on the verge of leading Celtic to a triple this season, but they will not stand in the way of Postecoglou’s move to another club, having brought him in the same way from Yokohama in Japan two years ago.”
The Sun also revealed a predicted Tottenham squad under Postecoglou.
The Australian manager is well versed in Asian affairs, so it’s likely to include a number of Asian players. In fact, Celtic currently have seven players from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) member countries, including five Japanese players, South Korean striker Oh Hyun-gyu, and Australian international Aaron Mooy.
The Sun’s prediction was no different. South Korean striker Son Heung-min is the unchanged left wing, but there’s a shocking name on the list.
Japanese striker Kyogo Furuhashi, the top scorer in the Scottish top flight in 2022/23, is now replacing Tottenham’s star striker Harry Kane.
Furuhashi has scored 27 goals this season, making him Scotland’s top striker. The Sun predicts that Postecoglou will not forget about Furuhashi, who has helped him to glory, and will bring him to Tottenham. However, Furuhashi hasn’t been called up to the Japanese national team, so his arrival at Tottenham will be another surprise for fans.
Flanking Furuhashi will be Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski, while at left back, the newspaper predicts that Destiny Udoji, who is on loan to Udinese in Italy, will return to play for his original club.
In goal, with Hugo Llorente out of the picture, the paper predicts that current number one Fraser Forster will start in the absence of any other signings.
Whether Postecoglou will arrive at Tottenham as expected, and whether more Asian players such as Furuhashi will be brought in, will be the focus of Spurs fans over the next week.