Dier out first
Eric Dier will be hoping to play a part in Tottenham’s second pre-season friendly of the summer on Sunday due to his absence in their opening game against West Ham. After undergoing surgery at the end of last season due to a long-term groin injury, the centre-back was one of seven players to miss out on the squad for the 3-2 defeat in Perth.
The England international, certainly keen to make an impact under new boss Ange Postecoglou, was the first out for Spurs’ morning training session in the Australian city. Greeted by the boss, who was waiting on the training ground, the pair shared a few quick words before the rest of the squad began to filter down and share a moment with Postecoglou before the start of training.
Joe Rodon and Djed Spence are also in the same boat as Dier at the moment as they were missing from the matchday 24 to face West Ham. Both needing court time to catch the eye of the head coach, the duo, both of whom were involved in trainingfingers crossed that an opportunity will come against Leicester City in Bangkok.
The speed of the training sessions
One thing that was noticeable in the double training session in Perth was the speed and intensity of Tottenham’s play. They impressed many on Tuesday with their exciting brand of attacking football under Postecoglou, despite the Australian only working with his squad for less than three weeks, and the Lilywhites are taking what they have learned in training and putting it into practice on the pitch.
It will no doubt please the former Celtic boss, but it is only the beginning of things to come from the 57-year-old and his players. There was a bit of play in training where Oliver Skipp was on the ball and running at Pedro Porro, with a member of the coaching staff constantly shouting ‘speed’ to encourage him to attack the full-back at full pace.
Postecoglou, who has been crying out for attacking and entertaining football for some time, is keen to deliver it to the Tottenham faithful.
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Solomon on fire
The signing of Manor Solomon on a free transfer could turn out to be a very good piece of business from the football club. Having caught the eye when given the opportunity for Fulham in the second half of last season, the Israeli ace was one of Spurs’ standout performers in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to West Ham.
Creating two chances for Skipp and Dejan Kulusevski, the 23-year-old also had two openings on goal and perhaps really should have scored his second effort, which was saved by Lukasz Fabianski. However, he had no trouble finding the back of the net in Tottenham’s training session in Perth.
Played through on goal a number of times, the winger made no mistakes at all and confidently found the net. Displaying a variety of finishing with both feet, on one occasion cutting inside Rodon to find the corner and then rounding the keeper to score not long after, many Tottenham fans looked up to Solomon’s scoring ability.
Now he just needs to replicate that in a match scenario for the Lilywhites, ideally starting in Sunday’s friendly against Leicester.
Postecoglou praises Kane
During the training session, where Solomon scored for fun, Pape Matar Sarr also hit the net after a wonderful piece of play from Harry Kane. Over the past few seasons, the England captain has demonstrated his exceptional vision and eye for a killer ball, drawing praise for his excellent pass that resulted in the midfielder.
After some neat play from Giovani Lo Celso to find Kane, the Tottenham forward spread the ball wide with a fine cross to Sarr. The Senegalese international initially saw his cutback to Solomon blocked before then darting the ball into the bottom corner.
Postecoglou, watching from the sidelines, could be heard saying in the background: “What a ball, H. What a ball!” Now Tottenham need to ensure he makes it on the pitch for Postecoglou and the Lilywhites in the 2023/24 season amid plenty of speculation over his future with Bayern Munich very vocal about a summer transfer.
Sanchez was not amused
As for Sarr, the former Metz man appears to be good friends with Tottenham defender Davinson Sanchez. After a number of stretches just before putting on the boots and starting to work on the training ground with the coaching staff, the midfielder could be seen playing a game with Sanchez.
As the Colombian adjusted his shorts and had his shirt halfway up his chest, Sarr decided to take a few playful digs at the defender’s abs. Where Sarr found it quite amusing, the same cannot really be said for Sanchez.
There is clearly a good atmosphere in the training camp at the moment, all players seem to be enjoying life under the new man and his coaching staff.
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