'We know': Ange Postecoglou singles out £6m Southampton star as proof of 'really good' transfer strategy

Ange Postecoglou may have made his name coaching in Australia, Japan and Scotland, but the Tottenham Hotspur boss is also a font of knowledge regarding all things Eredivisie.

Speaking ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash with AZ Alkmaar in North London, Ange Postecoglou admits that he has a particular fondness for a team who, while lacking the star power of Ajax, Feyenoord or PSV, have established themselves as one of the top teams of Dutch football in recent times.

AZ have not finished outside of the Eredivisie’s top five since 2017.

Arne Slot – the now Liverpool boss tried to sign Micky van de Ven in the AZ dugout – had them level on points with Ajax at the summit until the COVID crisis brought the 2019/20 season to a standstill.

And, for former Yokohama F Marinos boss Postecoglou, AZ’s penchant for unearthing talented up-and-comers from Japan has earned the admiration of a man who brought Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Kyogo Furuhashi to Celtic.

Ange Postecoglou highlights Southampton’s Yukinari Sugawara as proof of AZ success

Yukanari Sugawara, for instance, blossomed into arguably the Eredivisie’s stand-out right-back at the AFAS Stadium. He joined Southampton in a £6 million deal over the summer.

Fittingly, Sugawara’s place in the AZ XI has now been taken by the Nagasaki-born Seiyo Maikuma.

“I think I know more about Dutch football than Micky!,” Postecoglou said during his pre-match press conference alongside Spurs’ Netherlands international centre-half Van de Ven.

“I know AZ really well. I know Dutch football really well. Australia has always had a strong connection with Dutch football so I’ve always followed it very closely.

“We played AZ when I was at Celtic in the Europa League a couple of years back. Always a good side, really good at identifying young talent. There’s also a Japanese connection there.

“When we played them last time, Sugawara was there. Now, he’s in the Premier League. They’ve got Maikuma there now.

“So, I’ve always followed Dutch football and AZ, so we know the information we need.”

Celtic triumphed 3-2 on aggregate against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League play-offs back in 2021.

Postecoglou’s current employers will be clear favourites to claim all three points on Thursday evening too, Tottenham looking to maintain their 100 per cent record after defeating Qarabag and Ferencvaros earlier in the league phase.

Ange Postecoglou urges Tottenham to keep Europa League run going

“We have started the competition really well so far, [overcoming] different challenges in both games,” Postecoglou said, that 3-0 Qarabag win made all the more impressive by Radu Dragusin’s early red card.

“The first game at home we had a player sent off in the first few minutes which provided its own unique challenges for us. Whenever you play away in Europe like we did the last game – Ferencvaros, again a different challenge – and we have exposed some of our younger players to European football which I think is a positive, you see growth from that.

“We want to continue that.

“Again, a good challenge. AZ [are] a good side. And, from our perspective, particularly here at home, a good opportunity for us to continue our form.”

Postecoglou is expected to shuffle his pack. Spurs starlets Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear could be involved again after starting at Ferencvaros in Hungary.

The aforementioned Sugawara, meanwhile, has been a bright spark in a poor start to the campaign for Southampton. He is one of only five players to score for Russell Martin’s Saints so far, fizzing home a stunning volley in that 3-1 defeat to Brentford.