By Vince Rugari
Ange Postecoglou looks set to be tempted with an immediate move to the English Premier League amid reports he has become one of Tottenham Hotspur’s top managerial targets.
Spurs have been searching since March for a permanent replacement for Antonio Conte, but negotiations with other candidates - most recently Feyenoord coach Arne Slot - have fallen through.
Ange Postecoglou is on the cusp of a domestic treble with Celtic - but may have a job offer soon from England.Credit: Getty
The Independent is reporting that the club is now “strongly considering” a move for Postecoglou, whose reputation in European football has skyrocketed in his two trophy-laden years at Celtic, and has been linked to numerous Premier League vacancies in recent months.
Slot had become Tottenham’s No.1 option but the club and the Dutchman could not reach an agreement, reportedly because of his concerns around the structure of their football department, and how he would work alongside a director of football - another key off-field vacancy that Spurs are also seeking to fill.
With Slot re-committing to Feyenoord, Julian Nagelsmann apparently out of the running, and Mauricio Pochettino choosing to join Chelsea instead of making a return to Tottenham, Postecoglou’s name is quickly advancing up their list of priorities - although it remains to be seen if he is ready to leave Celtic, who are on the cusp of a rare domestic treble in Scotland and, unlike Spurs, have qualified for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
Former AFL, NRL and A-League executive Scott Munn was recently announced as Tottenham’s chief football officer, and with the departure of Fabio Paritici - their previous director of football who failed to overturn a worldwide ban on football-related activities for his role in alleged false accounting at Juventus - he is expected to play a key role in the club’s managerial search.
Could Harry Kane be working under an Aussie manager next season?Credit: AP
Munn is understood to be on gardening leave, having worked in China for the City Football Group since leaving his post with Melbourne City, and does not officially begin his new position with Spurs until July 1. However, his appointment prompted immediate speculation that he would push for the hiring of Postecoglou, who he obviously knows well from his time in Australia and in the CFG network, which part-owns Yokohama F.Marinos, the Japanese club where Postecoglou won a title in 2019.
Postecoglou has consistently played down links to England and has hinted that he has unfinished business at Celtic, where he has won five of the six available domestic trophies since he became manager in mid-2021.
“If people are talking about my future or are interested in my future, I will sit there and listen,” he told Scottish media earlier this year.
“But it doesn’t mean I am going to jump at anything that comes my way. I am still here even though people have been getting me out the door ... I think you will be surprised how long I am here. I am just consumed by what I do. That is to try to make this football club the best it can be and enjoy every minute of it.”
He has also spoken at length about how the club’s next frontier is to become a regular qualifier for the Champions League’s group stage and to push for a berth in the tournament’s knockout phase.
“It’s going to be exciting again and right now, you are ticking off the champions in each league and seeing who else is getting the spots,” Postecoglou said this week when asked about possible opponents in Europe.
“Once the season is over, we will start looking at potential draws. No matter who we get, you can guarantee it will be another exciting draw for us.”
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