Ange Postecoglou agrees to leave Celtic for Tottenham – reports

By Gavin McCafferty, PA

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou appears to be moving towards a swift resolution of his future amid reports he has verbally agreed to become Tottenham’s new manager.

Postecoglou admitted on Saturday that his ability to enjoy Celtic’s treble success would soon be disrupted by some decision-making and that seems to have happened even quicker than he anticipated.

The 57-year-old dodged questions on his future before and after Saturday’s Scottish Cup final win over Inverness having emerged as the overwhelming frontrunner to take over at Spurs.

Neither club are commenting publicly but reports claim Postecoglou told Celtic principal shareholder Dermot Desmond on Saturday night that he intended to leave for London and he is now said to be closing in on signing a two-year Spurs deal with the option to extend.

When repeatedly pressed on his future after Celtic’s 3-1 Hampden win over Inverness on Saturday, the Greek-born Australian said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.

“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.

“But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.”

The former Australia head coach has won five domestic trophies out of a possible six after arriving from Yokohama F Marinos in Japan and was linked with numerous Premier League clubs throughout this season.

Postecoglou became a hero with the Celtic support, not just for resuming their success after a barren season, but also for implementing an attacking style of play and his connection with the fans.

But he looks set to swap Glasgow for another rebuild job as Spurs finally look to appoint a permanent successor to Antonio Conte, who departed on March 26.

Postecoglou is due to go on a family holiday on Tuesday and a deal could be finalised quickly.

Former Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers has emerged as an unlikely favourite to succeed Postecoglou, four years after leaving the club mid-season to take over at Leicester.

Assistant manager John Kennedy is also high up the list but reports claim Postecoglou hopes to take the former Celtic defender to Tottenham.