Ange Postecoglou slams ‘not massive membership’ Tottenham after star-studded transfers rejected
Ange Postecoglou has explained how Tottenham are ‘not a big club’ and slammed the north London outfit’s transfer policy, naming a star-studded four-man shortlist that Spurs rejected in summer 2024
Ange Postecoglou slammed Tottenham as ‘not a big club’(Image: The Overlap)
Ange Postecoglou has launched a scathing attack on Tottenham’s transfer strategy and disclosed the club turned down his four-man wishlist during the 2024 summer window.
The 60-year-old was given his marching orders from his head coach position at Tottenham last summer after two seasons in north London. Throughout his tenure, the Australian steered Spurs to fifth place in his debut campaign, before breaking the club’s 17-year silverware drought by clinching the Europa League last term.
Nevertheless, Spurs opted for a change with Postecoglou being shown the door and Thomas Frank arriving as his replacement following his impressive work at Brentford. Postecoglou achieved a 46.5% success rate at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, securing victory in 47 and drawing 15 of his 101 games at the helm.
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But now, having branded Tottenham as “not a big club” – at least regarding salaries and transfer spending – Postecoglou has torn into his former employers and revealed he attempted to pursue Pedro Neto, Bryan Mbeumo, Antoine Semenyo and Marc Guehi during the 2024 summer transfer window – none of which materialised.
Speaking on The Overlap, Postecoglou said: “At the end of my first year when we finished fifth, for me I was like, ‘How do you go from fifth to challenging?’ Well, we had to sign Premier League ready players, but finishing fifth that year didn’t get us Champions League, we didn’t have the money so we ended up signing Dom Solanke who I really like and three teenagers (Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert).”
“I was looking at Pedro Neto, Mbeumo, Semenyo at the time and Marc Guehi. Because I said if we want to go from fifth to there, that is what the other big clubs were doing at that moment.
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“Those three teenagers are outstanding young players and I think that they’ll be brilliant players for Tottenham, but they’re not going to get you from fifth to fourth and third. But what was coming out from the club was that we are a club that can compete on all fronts.”
Postecoglou went on: “I still felt like Tottenham as a club were saying we’re one of the big boys but, in reality, I don’t think they are, in my experience over those last two years. You see Arsenal spend £100m on Declan Rice, I don’t see Tottenham doing that. Maybe now, I don’t know.”
Following the departure of England captain Harry Kane to German giants Bayern Munich, Tottenham splashed out more than £210million during Postecoglou’s maiden summer, bringing in James Maddison, Pedro Porro, Brennan Johnson, Micky van de Ven, Dejan Kulusevski, Guglielmo Vicario, Alejo Veliz, Ashley Phillips and Manor Solomon.
That support contributed to Spurs’ extraordinary beginning under Postecoglou’s management, with Tottenham perched at the summit of the Premier League table with 20 points after eight fixtures.
Despite Tottenham eventually falling away to finish fifth, two points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa, there was genuine optimism and conviction that the Australian could construct something remarkable in north London if given proper backing in his second summer.
However, after missing out on Champions League qualification, Tottenham invested less than £80m on new signings, with Dominic Solanke representing their most notable acquisition. Youngsters Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert were the other arrivals, though Spurs avoided losing a key first-team player, unlike with Kane.
Whilst Spurs did proceed to claim the Europa League trophy, displays and outcomes in the Premier League deteriorated markedly, resulting in a 17th-place finish – their worst final standing since 1976/1977. This decline prompted Postecoglou’s departure, with then-Spurs chairman Daniel Levy believing a change was necessary.
