Heung-min Son may be a Tottenham Hotspur legend – but he could be one of four key stars that are ruthlessly offloaded this summer.
That’s the view of ex-Watford striker Troy Deeney, who believes Spurs are in dire need of experienced leaders to install a winning mentality in the club.
The north Londoners are enduring a shocking season so far, with Wolves condemning them to their 17th Premier League defeat last weekend.
Ange Postecoglou‘s side are now just two losses shy of equalling their all-time Premier League record of 19 – which they set during the 1993/94 and 2003/04 terms.
And there is a danger that Postecoglou could guide Tottenham to their lowest points total and lowest Premier League finish.
Languishing in 15th spot with six games remaining – and 11 points off a Europa Conference League place – Spurs’ only hope of plying their trade across the continent next season lies in winning the Europa League.
Failure to do so will see Tottenham’s trophy drought stretch to an 18th year, which could see a large majority of Spurs fans get their wish in Postecoglou being axed.
Spurs face Eintracht Frankfurt in their quarter-final second leg tie in Germany on Thursday night with the scores level at 1-1.
With Postecoglou facing an uncertain future, supporters could be primed for yet another style of play – with players having to get to get to grips with another change in system.
In the last decade, fans have seen nearly all types of football – from controlled, attacking possession under Mauricio Pochettino to defensively-minded under Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho and then on to all-out attack under Postecoglou, which has seem them ship in goals for fun.
Speaking to talkSPORT.com ahead of the crunch clash with Frankfurt, Deeney praised Postecoglou for putting his trust in the youth, before stating that a number of his key players could follow him out the door.
He said: “For me, he’s done a good job blooding the younger players and giving them the confidence to go and score a lot.
“Brennan Johnson, what is he on, about 16 goals now?
“I think they’re in a transition period, I think you could see the likes of Son [Heung-min] move on.
“Potentially [James] Maddison, [Yves] Bissouma, Richarlison, these guys will start moving on.
“And then obviously they have a lot of young players like Mikey Moore, but I still think they’re a little bit like Chelsea.
“They need one, maybe two, older pros just to be like, ‘We don’t do that here, this is how you win things.’
“And that’s the bit I think that they’re missing.”
GettySpurs’ 4-2 defeat to Wolves leaves them just two points clear of West Ham in 17th spot[/caption]
Deeney was also questioned whether he believes Spurs could be without a manager on Friday should they fail to prevail against Frankfurt.
It led to the former Birmingham forward to once again stress that Spurs lack leaders, as he remarked: “Every time they lose, it’s like, ‘Is he going to be sacked?’
“I’ll say this again. What are Spurs? They’be been trying to win a trophy for ever.
“I don’t know what the plan is, they’ve got loads of young talent, no real proper leaders as what I would describe as a leader.
“I look at Ryan Yates at [Nottingham] Forest [vice-captain], while Morgan Gibbs-White is the [stand-in] captain, Ryan Yates is the heartbeat of that team.
“And when he plays, he’s got the emotional connection with the fanbase, the players respond, he knows he’s not the best player, but he’s probably the most important to how they play.
“If you look at Spurs, who is that?”
When suggested that teenager midfielder Lucas Bergvall, who was guilty of a major error that led to Matheus Cunha‘s strike at Molineux, has stepped up in his first season in England, Deeney insisted the jury is still out on the 19-year-old.
He remarked: “I ain’t sure on him yet personally, I’m not sure.
“I think he’s a good kid with a load of talent, [but] he runs aimlessly everywhere.
“And to fans, you’d be like, ‘Oh my God, look at him, he’s running everywhere.’
“But to players, it’s like, ‘F****** stay in your position, you keep getting picked off because you’re running everywhere.’
GettyBergvall has appeared in 42 games this season since arriving at Spurs last year[/caption]
“So I’m not sure on him, he’s only 19 though, so there’s obviously loads [of room] to grow.
“But who are the senior leaders that have been there, that have won things and are coaching them [teammates]?
“Coaching them on day-to-day habits on how to be winners… I don’t see that.
“So if they’re going to sack Ange – which they might do, they might choose to – I don’t care either way, then who’s the next one?
“Because you look through the history of their managers, loads of them!”
It remains to be seen what Spurs chairman Daniel Levy decides to do should the club fail to make it into the last-four of Europe’s secondary competition.
GettyPostecoglou could guide Spurs to their lowest ever Premier League finish[/caption]
However talkSPORT understands that Spurs have already drafted up a list of replacements should they wield the axe on their Australian manager.
That includes Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, Marco Silva and Thomas Frank.
But whoever is in charge of Tottenham next season may have to listen to Deeney’s advice in making a change to their recruitment strategy to stand any chance of success.
