In a brutally honest assessment that sent shockwaves through the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou suggested that even Liverpool's scoring machine Mohamed Salah would find it difficult to shine in his current struggling side.
Speaking ahead of Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool, Postecoglou didn't mince words about his team's current predicament. With Spurs winless in their last four matches, including a chaotic 6-3 defeat to Liverpool in December, the Australian manager painted a stark picture of his squad's challenges.
"Mo is a world-class player, but if you put him in our team now I'm not sure he'll have that same level of performance because of the situation we're in as a group," Postecoglou candidly admitted. His comments come as Salah continues his remarkable season, having already netted 21 goals in 27 appearances across all competitions.
The Spurs manager emphasized that individual brilliance alone isn't enough, stating that successful attacking play requires "a team that's in good form, creating opportunities, playing on the front foot, having a really solid foundation of a defence that is cohesive" - elements he acknowledged are currently missing from his squad.
In a silver lining for the north London club, captain Son Heung-min has committed his future to Spurs until 2026. The South Korean star, who has amassed an impressive 169 goals in 431 appearances for Tottenham, including seven this season, remains a bright spot in the team's current struggles.
Drawing a parallel between Son and Salah, both 32, Postecoglou suggested their differing forms were more about team dynamics than individual capability. "If you put Son Heung-min in Liverpool's team, I reckon his goalscoring return would be decent," he noted. "When we're at our best, I still think you'll see Sonny's return, in terms of his ability to score goals and be really effective for us. I don't think that's diminished at all."
