Ange Postecoglou returns to Scotland on Wednesday as Tottenham officially begin their pre-season schedule with a match at Heart of Midlothian.
Postecoglou spent two years in Glasgow at Celtic, winning five trophies in two seasons including the domestic treble in his final year. Now he will return across the border to take his Spurs side to Edinburgh for a friendly game at Tynecastle Park on Wednesday evening as they prepare for the new Premier League season.
While Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso, Rodrigo Bentancur, Micky van de Ven, Radu Dragusin, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Guglielmo Vicario have all been given time off after their experiences at the Copa America and Euro 2024, Postecoglou will still have a strong squad to take on the flight up to Scotland.
Spurs played a behind-closed-doors friendly against League One side Cambridge United on Saturday afternoon in which two different Tottenham XIs played in each half, winning the first 5-0 and drawing the second period 2-2. Barring any knocks or reactions from that match, you can assume that the bulk of those players involved in that training ground game will be in the squad to face Hearts.
New summer arrivals Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall both played, as did Timo Werner, who has had his loan spell at the club extended for another season. in the first half, Brennan Johnson scored a hat-trick, while captain Son Heung-min netted twice. Youngster Mikey Moore scored his first goal for the seniors in a right-wing role in the second period, while Werner forced the other goal in that half.
Pedro Porro, Yves Bissouma and Dejan Kulusevski all played in the first half while Manor Solomon also got his first minutes of 2024 following his knee issues last season. James Maddison, Werner, Oliver Skipp and Emerson Royal were among those playing in the second half line-up as Postecoglou mixed up the teams.