Postecoglou on Son’s fitness, ‘versatile’ Gray and a personal bond with Puskas

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media before Thursday’s trip to Hungarian side Ferencvaros in the Europa League (17:45 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

  • Destiny Udogie has not travelled with the team but his issue is “nothing significant” while Son Heung-Min is “back in London doing rehab”.

  • On Sergio Reguilon travelling despite not being named in his Europa League squad: “Sergio is a Tottenham player, that’s why he’s here. We like to have 20 players for training, we’ve also brought some young players. They had a game last night and we didn’t want to disrupt them too much.”

  • Postecoglou spoke about his “special connection” with iconic Hungarian player Ferenc Puskas who managed him for three years at Australian side South Melbourne Hellas: “I was blessed to spend three years with him. I was so lucky to have those years with him. I’d love for him to still be around and see where I am today because he played a role in that and also the person I’ve become.”

  • On the form of James Maddison: “Madders has been outstanding so far this year. His form from the first game has been really strong. Physically he’s back at the levels where he can play in the manner he wants to and have a real effect on the game. I’m sure if he continues in this vein he will be in the conversation for England squads going forward.”

  • Postecoglou said Dominic Solanke is finding his feet after a “false start” with injury: “We knew what he would bring to the football club. I was very confident that the way we play and his attributes would be a great fit. We had to be patient and he’s getting up there now in terms of fitness.”

  • Is Archie Gray capable of playing central defence in Europe? “Archie can play centre-back, he’s played full-back, played midfield, played left-back. He’s a very versatile player. He takes in information well. With Radu [Dragusin] being suspended and Destiny [Udogie] out we’re definitely going to need him at the back. We’ve got a couple of different options about where we use him but I’d be comfortable using him in any of those areas.”

[BBC]

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