How Tottenham are building for the future under Ange Postecoglou

Considering the number of incomings needed to strengthen their squad, and the number of so-called ‘deadwood’ players that need to be offloaded, on the surface it may seem as though Tottenham are having somewhat of an underwhelming summer so far – with just three signings made just over one week before the beginning of the new Premier League season.

Yet, in reality, they’ve offloaded the likes of Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Bryan Gil, Tanguy Ndombele, and others, whilst the three arrivals indicate the clear, patient, and exciting transfer strategy taking place at Hotspur Way.

Korean winger Yang-min Hyeok has penned onto a five year-deal with the North London club, alongside Championship young player of the season Archie Gray from Leeds United, and Swedish sensation Lucas Bergvall, who’s €10million signing was officially announced in February.

Now, these three may not be the proven, well-known names that many would expect a Champions League-competing club to aim for, and each of them have different qualities, background, and various degrees of experience at various levels of the game, however, they do share one key detail with one another: they are all 18-years-old.

That’s also not mentioning the €13m deal struck last September for then-16-year-old Luka Vušković from Hajduk Split. The precocious centre-back won’t join until July 2025, by which point he would have just completed a year-long loan at Belgian Pro League side K.V.C. Westerlo, in addition to the added to his 1700+ senior minutes he’s already accumulated for Split, and on loan at Polish first-tier side Radomiak Radom in the second-half of last season.

These all serve as a prime example (albeit a slightly drastic one) of the youthful rejuvenation that that has encapsulated Spurs’ transfer strategy under Ange Postecoglou so far. Since the Australian’s arrival last June, the average age of all Spurs signings has been just 21.5 years old.

Interestingly, this has come under the provision of two significantly different recruitment setups. Last summer saw Postecoglou perhaps more involved in decision-making that he would have liked, with the scouting department still discovering it’s structure under chief scout Leonardo Gabbanini, following the chaos that was technical director Fabio Paratici’s departure (or, at least, departure on paper).

And, although Spurs did make multiple successful signings under Gabbanini’s leadership, Johan Lange was ultimately chosen as the official successor Paratici. As such, Gabbanini and three other scouts subsequently left the club as part of the Danish technical director’s restructuring behind the scenes – which also saw Rob Mackenzie and Frederick Leth follow Lange from Aston Villa as ‘head of scouting’ and ‘head of football insights and strategy’ respectively.

Under the management of chief football officer Scott Munn, the three have overseen a cohesive, data-led approach to The Lilywhites’ recruitment – focused on acquiring young talent for low fees before they develop, rather than gambling on slightly more proven but expensive names, as Spurs have done in the past with the likes of Giovani Lo Celso and, most notably, club-record signing Tanguy Ndombele.

Spurs are acquiring talent from those nations which are often underrated and overlooked by top Premier League clubs, who instead opt to sign players for higher fees, after they have made a slightly smaller step up to a different, mid-to-high level European league. In other words, Spurs are, essentially, ‘cutting out the middle man’.

Of course, this strategy is by no means guaranteed to be a success and there will still be mistakes, whilst it also will (and must) be paired with occasional signings of more proven, experienced names to provide balance in the squad – such as James Maddison, the loan acquisition of Timo Werner, or the progressing potential deal for Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke.

However, the low fees of each deal mitigates the risks associated with gambling on such young talent, whilst acquiring the players so early on in their development provides them with adequate time to adjust to (and progress in) new environments, whilst the more experienced names provide instant output.

Consequently, this increases the chances of success, and, crucially for those that do join for slightly higher fees – such as Gray – relieving them of the pressure to make an instant impact, and live up to the unfair expectations created by their hyper-inflated price tags.

It’s also important to note the varying expectations that surround each arrival. After all, the aforementioned 21.5 figure is an average, and so the ages, and levels of experience, range between each player.

For instance, much like Gray and Bergvall – who are already thoroughly impressing in Spurs’ pre-season tour – the likes of Micky Van de Ven (now-23) and Brennan Johnson (23) came in with the expectation of impacting the first-team; albeit, to a larger extent than the two teenagers. Meanwhile, players such as Alejo Véliz (20) and Ashley Phillips (20), were always going to be slowly integrated and were both loaned out in January after a mix of a few senior, but mainly youth appearances.

Yang, who has been instantly sent back out on loan to K-League side Gangwon until January, will likely follow a similar path to Phillips and Véliz two, and Bergvall could too.

Upon his move from Djurgårdens IF, the Swede was perhaps initially expected to make a smaller step to a different European league (e.g. The Dutch eredivisie, or the Belgian Pro League), before integrating into Postecoglou’s setup once retunring. But, Bergvall shone against the likes of Bayern Munich in pre-season, and may even have put his name in the mix to start in Spurs’ Premier League opener away at Leicester City.

Though, as mentioned, due to his low fee and age, there will be no panicking if the latter situation is not the case, and Bergvall may eventually make that loan should he not adapt to the English too flight as seamlessly as his recent performances have suggested.

Meanwhile, from a (perhaps cynical) business perspective, the €10m fee is a drop in the bucket for a £500m plus revenue earning side like Tottenham, and could easily be recouped for a player that will still only be 23 in the last year of his current contract.

This ‘ cutting out the middle man’ approach, or, more accurately, loaning out to the ‘middle man’, is akin to that which has been so lucrative at Brighton; both on and off the pitch.

The list of signings matching this profile at The Amex Stadium can go on (seriously, go through some of their transfers in recent years – it’s fascinating), but just as a few examples: current Brighton wingers Kaoru Mitoma and Simon Adingra, as well as club-record sale Moisés Caicedo were all signed for under £10m, all loaned out to a Belgian Pro League side within six months of their arrival, and all made a significant impact for The Seagulls’ upon returning from said loans.

Of course, Brighton’s remarkably successful transfer strategy isn’t something that can be easily replicated at all clubs, but Spurs already have a very recent track record in this area; in the form of Pape Matar Sarr, and Destiny Udogie.

With Sarr signing from Metz for €15m in August 2021, and Udogie for €18m from Udinese a year later, both men were loaned back to their respective sides for a following season, and have subsequently gone on to be standout performers under Postecoglou, albeit Sarr did have an underwhelming year during Antonio Conte’s tenure in the 22/23 season.

As such, although they were both signed from Top five European leagues, rather than more rogue, cheaper markets, they still fall within the category of young players signed for relatively small fees, who arrive with the aim of developing the future of the club.

It’s also important to note the differences between this transfer strategy, and those similar, at Chelsea, for instance.

Dissecting and analysing Chelsea’s transfer methodology during BlueCo’s ownership so far is a whole other topic for another time, but has seen them sign the likes of Omari Kellyman (18), Marc Guiu (18), and Caleb Wiley (19) this summer already, in addition to Ângelo Gabriel (now-19), Deivid Washington (19), and Lesley Ugochukwu (20) last summer, countless others in the 22/23 winter window, and 17-year-old wonder kids Estêvão Willian and Kendry Páez, who will both join The Blues next July.

Given those were only a few of the 20 (!) under-21 players Chelsea have signed over the past three seasons, the most obvious difference between their strategy and that of their London rivals, is the sheer quantity of players they have purchased. Aside from creating a litany of potential financial implications, acquiring so many players of similar profile severely hinders the development of each individual, and their respective chances of establishing themselves at the club.

The amount of unhealthy competition in the squad means each player receives less specific focus in training, less game time, and are constantly under pressure to instantly produce and outperform not only those who arrived in similar situations, but also experienced first-team players, marquee signings, and any academy players breaking through – who themselves face similar struggles caused by this strategy.

As a quick example of how these issues can be created for both external and homegrown talent: Chelsea have recently sold academy graduates such Lewis Hall, Mason Mount, Ian Maatsen, Callum Hudson-Odoi, and many more, are expected to sell Trevoh Chalobah and Conor Gallagher, whilst many of the aforementioned under-21 signings have yet to make a league start for the club.

To put it another way, there is no clear, consistent pathway into the first team. To Chelsea’s benefit, this does mean that only the best of the best ultimately withstand, but, on a proportionate basis, it is largely to the detriment of each player, and eventually, the club itself – as the troubles experienced at Stamford Bridge over the past few seasons clearly highlight.

Bringing it back to the main point,  this lack of pathway does not exist to the same degree at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as the success’ of Sarr and Udogie last season demonstrate. Therefore, as Spurs’ pre-season has also indicated, there is adequate reason to believe the likes of Gray and Bergvall, as well as exciting academy stars such as Will Lankshear (19), and especially Mikey Moore (16) will be heavily involved for The Lilywhites next season.

And so, whilst it may seem like a long-shot, if those names are able to reach a level near to the outstanding potential they have displayed in both their youth and senior minutes so far and, vitally, if Tottenham continue this strategy alongside signing a few more expensive, but more established players (e.g. Solanke), there is adequate reason to believe Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs could be title challengers in the years to come. Or that, they are, at least, on the right pathway to doing so.

Travis Levison | Get Football