Tottenham have a difficult decision to make before they can truly get their summer transfer business underway, and the longer they delay what they are going to ultimately do with manager Ange Postecoglou, the more difficult it will be for them to get a top team prepared for the Champions League next season.
Postecoglou can be thanked for the fact that Tottenham are back in the Champions League for the 2025/26 season, as he helped guide Spurs to a rare Europa League title triumph over Manchester United. But he was also responsible for the stench of a 17th-placed Premier League finish, which is the worst in club history.
It could legitimately go either way for Postecoglou, because there are compelling reasons to keep him (retaining Cristian Romero) and deep philosophical reasons to give him the axe (Fabio Paratici wanting a clean slate with a better coach).
Tottenham aren't going to be reactionary with Big Ange
According to the latest information from The Mirror's John Cross, despite some of the positive rhetoric coming out of Tottenham and the dressing room about Big Ange, the expectation remains for Spurs to decide to part ways with the oft-embattled coach this summer.
This latest update is a sobering one for Postecoglou and for some Tottenham fans who have been swept up in the positive afterglow of the Europa League title win, because, as David Ornstein once reported, Tottenham are probably going to take a wider-view picture of Postecoglou's recent work, especially since they saw how Manchester United's choice to keep Erik ten Hag after an FA Cup win backfired horribly.
Postecoglou isn't out of the woods, and it looks like he is more likely to be out than in. It's a fine balance that seems to teeter on either edge of the 50/50 mark, but it's so hard to ignore a club finishing 17th in a league only above three newly-promoted teams that were beyond woefully underprepared for the rigors of the Premier League.
Spurs have issues in their squad, yes, but after investing heavily in young talents and a top Premier League striker in Dominic Solanke from the 2023/24 season, Postecoglou would have been expected to easily finish better than 17th. Wins over Manchester United, Bodo Glimt, and an Omar Marmoush-less Eintracht Frankfurt probably aren't as gaping as consistent losses to Premier League clubs in the top half of the table - the bare minimum of where Spurs should aim to be.