EPL: Tottenham close to appointing Ange Postecoglou as new manager
Premier League club, Tottenham is reportedly close to confirming Ange Postecoglou as its next manager.
The Athletic reported that the former Australian national team boss has, in recent weeks, been earmarked as the likely successor to Antonio Conte. A deal for the 57-year-old is now expected to be finalized in the coming days.
The breaking news comes on the back of Celtic’s 3-1 Scottish Cup victory over Inverness on Saturday, June 3. Postecoglou brought the Scottish Premiership title back to Celtic Park in his first season, and his team successfully defended their crown in 2022-23 while also scooping the Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup to complete a treble.
However, Postecoglou refused to commit his future to Celtic following the club’s latest trophy. He told reporters after their last title win;
“I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.”
Late last week, popular journalist Fabrizio Romano reported that Tottenham was scheduled to discuss the role with Postecoglou after the Scottish Cup on Monday or Tuesday. Romano tweeted an update on Sunday afternoon, confirming the Athletic’s earlier report.
New round of talks scheduled in the next 24/48h between Tottenham and CAA agency in order to complete the agreement for Ange Postecoglou. 🚨⚪️ #THFC
Contract almost agreed, waiting on the final details to be sorted then it will be sealed. pic.twitter.com/SvByI0TemG
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 4, 2023
Tottenham and Ange Postecoglou are closer to agreeing terms than earlier thought. Despite Tottenham being in a state of confusion, even disarray, the open role will appeal greatly to Postecoglou, who hasn’t yet managed in Europe’s top five leagues.
Postecoglou has earned huge admirers in the game for his expansive and entertaining work at Celtic. The Australian is commonly seen as one of the most exciting managers in world football.
Tottenham on the other hand, endured a miserable campaign during the 2022/23 season, despite remaining unbeaten in nine of their opening 11 Premier League matches. The Lilywhites’ form fell off a cliff either side of the World Cup in Qatar, which resulted in Conte heading for the exit. The Italian’s interim replacement Cristian Stellini lasted less than a month before ex-midfielder Ryan Mason steered the ship for the final month of the campaign.
But Mason was unable to turn the team’s form around and Spurs ultimately ended up missing out on securing any form of European football next season as they finished eighth in the Premier League table.
In taking on the Spurs job, Postecoglou would become the fourth permanent manager employed by Daniel Levy since the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino in late-2018.
Tottenham has been unable to get their hands on any silverware since they lifted the League Cup under Juande Ramos in 2008. Mauricio Pochettino did lead the club to the Champions League final in 2019, where they were ultimately beaten by Liverpool. And they also reached the Carabao Cup final in 2021. But the team lost to Manchester City on that occasion and haven’t realistically been in contention for any major trophies over the last two years.
