Tottenham news: Ange Postecoglou plotting £25m transfer raid on Celtic | Football | Sport
Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou is looking to reunite with one of his former players at Celtic after enjoying a fine start to life in the Premier League. Spurs are flying up near the top of the league under their new boss and it seems Postecoglou is already eyeing ways to improve his side in the January transfer window with a move for Daizen Maeda.
The Australian coach has restored some enjoyment for Tottenham fans after their unbeaten start to the season, including a 2-0 win over Manchester United and a 5-2 thrashing of Burnley at Turf Moor last time out. And he is already looking to adding another attacker to their ranks despite scoring 11 goals in their opening four games.
According to TeamTALK, Postecoglou sees Maeda is an ideal addition to his squad and Celtic are ready to demand a large fee. They offloaded Jota to Saudi club Al-Ittihad this summer, and it is claimed they would want a similar fee – around £25million – to let him leave.
It remains to be seen if Spurs still have anything left in their transfer fund after splashing out this summer on Guglielmo Vicario and James Maddison.
Spurs also added two new attackers after acquiring Brennan Johnson and Manor Solomon from Nottingham Forest and Shakhtar Donetsk respectively, while Dejan Kulusevski’s loan from Juventus was turned into a permanent move to represent a total outlay of £75m. But Postecoglou’s deployment of Son Heung-min could change his plans.
The South Korean bagged a hat-trick against Burnley and, after Harry Kane’s exit and Richarlison’s on-pitch struggles, captain Son could be tasked with playing through the middle while £45m new boy Johnson gets to grips with his new club.
It also means that Spurs could be looking for another wide player – and that is where Maeda could come in. The winger was a revelation for Japan at the World Cup and he is a player that Postecoglou knows well from his time at Celtic Park.
Postecoglou recruited the 25-year-old from Yokohama F. Marinos after he scored 23 goals in 36 appearances for the Japanese side. He hasn’t been quite as prolific in Scotland but still managed 13 goals in his debut campaign in Scotland.
But Maeda – who is yet to score in four games this season – would surely jump at the chance to reunite with the coach who discovered him in Japan. He even admitted he had started watching their games due to Postecoglou’s influence on him.
”Obviously Ange went to Spurs, so I have started watching their games and I was impressed by their Manchester United win,” he said last month, as quoted by the Scotsman.