Postecoglou explains what he tells Spurs transfer targets during phone calls

Ange Postecoglou has insisted that he never tries to convince players to join Tottenham, revealing that he instead just shares his vision of how they would fit into the side.

Almost every single one of Spurs’ summer signings as well as two arrivals this transfer window have spoken about how their conversations with Postecoglou played a big part in convincing them to make the switch to the club.

In fact, according to various reports, the Australian’s conversation with Radu Dragusin was a key reason why the Romanian international chose to move to the North London side over Bayern Munich (The Times).

Postecoglou does not need to sell Tottenham

However, Postecoglou has now clarified that he does not try to sell Spurs to any potential new signing, insisting that he only wants players who are excited to join the club.

When asked about what he says to transfer targets to convince them to join the club, the Australian told Football.London: “I don’t think it’s me convincing them because I really don’t try and do that. It’s important for me, not that they meet me halfway, but you want to hear some excitement in their voice about [coming here]. And this is not just here at Tottenham, wherever I’ve been, it’s that they really want to come here for themselves, that they see it as the best step for their career.

“For that to happen, all I try to do is try to paint a picture for them for what they’re entering into. Part of that conversation is me knowing as much as I can about that.

“I think that gives them comfort that’s not me just talking to another player, it’s actually me talking to something that I’ve invested time in to find out about, and then allowing them to articulate what they’re looking for next. You can pick up in that conversation that OK, this is the right place for them because the things they want are here.

“There are all these other things that come into it. There’s the financial aspect, there’s the network around the players themselves who obviously have their own opinions. You can’t really go on the fact that I as an individual can convince them to come, but what I try to do is give them real clarity and certainty that I wouldn’t be speaking to them if I didn’t think they would fit and this wasn’t the right place for them.”

The Tottenham project certainly appears to have a lot of pull at the moment, with the likes of Dragusin, James Maddison and others, rejecting some big clubs to join the Lilywhites.

When asked if the fact that players are turning down Champions League sides to move to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is a sign that something special is happening at N17, Postecoglou responded: “I hope so. Hopefully, a lot of that is from them seeing externally, maybe the way we’re playing, the kind of players we’re bringing in and seeing how the players we’re bringing in help us.

“Our summer window was good in the fact the players who came in contributed. It shows that we put in a lot of time and effort and care into making sure we bring in the right types of players and people.

“I think that gives comfort to anyone who is deciding, ‘well OK, they wouldn’t be talking to me unless they see me [as someone who could fit in]’. I think a lot of that is the external and then watching us how we’re playing, how we’re going about things.

“That is a good selling point for us. The more we can go down that track and have success in these areas, particularly when you’re talking about younger players, because part of their journey is they don’t want to make the wrong decision at this point of their careers. So seeing others who are in a similar boat to them coming here and having an effect straight away helps us in that pursuit.”

Spurs Web Opinion

While it might not be Ange’s role to ‘convince’ players to move to Tottenham, one would think that any conversation with the Australian would help persuade players who were on the fence about the move, given the clarity of the 58-year-old’s vision and the way he communicates it.