- Ange Postecoglou believes he has his ‘healthiest squad in a while’ at Spurs
- Son Heung-min is back from Asia, while Yves Bissouma has finished at AFCON
- CHRIS SUTTON on sledging, expletives and verbal jousting on the field – It’s all Kicking Off podcast
Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Son Heung-min and Yves Bissouma are back from international duty and ready to play as he enjoys his ‘healthiest’ Tottenham squad for ‘a while’.
Tottenham hosted Brighton on Saturday afternoon, a week after the 2-2 draw with Everton, where an injury-time goal gave the Toffees a late point against Spurs.
Son Heung-min has returned from Asian Cup duty with South Korea, with the Tottenham boss revealing he recovered on Thursday before training on Friday, 24 hours before hosting the Seagulls.
Yves Bissouma is also expected to be part of the Australian’s plans for Saturday’s Premier League match after featuring in the Malian squad at AFCON.
Postecoglou said: “It’s good to get the boys back, all three of them, and Pape (Sarr) too. Unfortunately, their tournaments ended early, but we benefit from that. They’re good… Biss has had a bit of a longer journey, but they both trained today.’
Ange Postecoglou revealed that Son Heung-min and Yves Bissouma are back in contention
Son has returned from the Asian Cup, while Bissouma was part of the Malian squad at AFCON
Postecoglou revealed Giovani Lo Celso is back in training, adding: ‘He’s had a good week’
Postecoglou revealed that Giovani Lo Celso is back in training, adding that he has had a good week but due to the long absence he may need more time.
Bissouma ‘had a mild case of malaria’ before the African Cup of Nations, Postecoglou revealed, before adding ‘he is 100% now’ as it cleared before the international tournament started.
However, Manor Solomon has undergone another procedure on his knee, meaning he is two to three weeks away from returning to the squad. Ryan Sessegnon continues his rehabilitation after a thigh problem ruled him out for the season.
Overall, he admitted that ‘it’s the healthiest squad we’ve had for a while’, which now creates the challenge of who to pick, rather than being forced into team selections.
On the issue of blue cards, which has been a dominant talking point in football this week, Postecoglou said: “I find it difficult to understand why this urgency suddenly brings new things. I don’t know if there’s that much wrong with the game. My problem with the game at the moment is that VAR has changed football as an experience.
He refused to accept that Tottenham have a problem with late goals despite Everton’s equalizer
Postecoglou’s Spurs look to improve on their fifth place, two points behind Aston Villa
‘I don’t know why a different color chart is going to make a difference. I don’t know if this borrows things from other sports. Other sports try to make their matches faster, we create more mess.’
After Everton’s late equalizer, Postecoglou told reporters: ‘It’s disappointing to concede goals at any point. People will want to analyze it. I’m sorry, but we will be a team that scores late or concedes goals.
‘The way we want to finish games is by trying to score goals late in the game. One thing we’re not going to do is jump on shadows and try to solve the last thing that’s being analyzed.”
Spurs look to improve on their current fifth place in the Premier League, two points behind Aston Villa, who sit above them in the table.
