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• Attacking Postecoglou suits Spurs' style, says King

  Ange Postecoglou has an attacking style of play that will suit Tottenham ideally, according to club icon Ledley King.

  It was confirmed this week that Postecoglou will leave Celtic to take charge of Tottenham on a four-year contract.

  The 57-year-old spent two years with the Scottish champions and departs after winning a domestic treble in 2022-23.

  Australian Postecoglou will take charge of a Spurs team that struggled to eighth place in the Premier League and will not play in Europe next season.

  But King is taking an optimistic stance about what can be achieved under the new Spurs boss.

  "He is a very good manager and he had a fantastic time at Celtic," said King, who was speaking to Stats Perform at an exclusive kit launch event for Club and Nike Members held at Alexandra Palace.

  "He is a front-foot manager who loves to play attacking football and score plenty of goals and I think he is someone that suits our style. Also, developing young players is really important. 

  "I'm looking forward to him starting his reign and I think it's important that we sorted it early. He's just finished the [Scottish Cup] final with Celtic and we've been able to get over the line, the deal has been sorted. Now we know what direction we're moving in. 

  "If I look through our history, we've always had players that want to go on the front foot, express themselves, and score goals – that has just been in the DNA of the football club. 

  "And, of course, to develop young players. We always have to see players given an opportunity. So I think for these reasons, it'd be a big hit with the fans. 

  "If you're an attacking player, the thought of that is fantastic. I know that players want to play, they want to play with the ball. They want to be dictating games – that is what players want to do. 

  "They want to play in a team that is enjoyable to play in and plays good, stylish football. We have a manager that plays that style. 

  "I'm sure the players are excited and will be looking forward to pre-season."

  Conte was sacked in late March, with Cristian Stellini and then Ryan Mason taking temporary charge. 

  There was a dismal finish to the season, but King pointed out Tottenham had spent much of the campaign in the battle for a top-four finish and is hopeful there will be a prompt recovery from a disappointing year.

  He added: "It was a difficult season. Obviously, there were a lot of different reasons. 

  "There's a World Cup that came in the middle of the season. Then Conte had a few health issues and he lost a coach during the season. 

  "So it was not an easy season, but I would say that the team, for most of the season, was in and around the top four. 

  "It is a talented group and now the new manager coming in has a chance to look at the whole group. 

  "The players that have been on loan get a chance to impress him and for him he has a chance to see who we can move forward with."

• Live – Treble-chasing Manchester City face Inter Milan in Champions League final

  1600 – Good afternoon and welcome to the PA news agency’s Champions League final blog. Stay here for all the build-up, key match action and post-game reaction as Manchester City and Inter Milan slog it out in Istanbul.

• FA and PFA study finds increased dementia risk in ex-footballers

  Former professional footballers are almost three and a half times more likely to be diagnosed with dementia than the general population, according to a study commissioned by the Football Association and Professional Footballers’ Association.

  First findings of the FOCUS study, conducted by the University of Nottingham, support previous research that former footballers may be at higher risk of neurocognitive disease.

  The new report states that 2.8 per cent of retired professional footballers in their study reported medically diagnosed dementia and other neurodegenerative disease compared to 0.9 percent of controls.

  This means former pros in the study were found to be 3.46 times more likely to have neurodegenerative diseases compared to the control group.

  The study also showed retired footballers in the study were twice as likely to fall below established thresholds in some dementia testing than the general population.

  Dr Charlotte Cowie, the FA’s head of medicine, told the governing body’s website: “The FA and the PFA jointly commissioned the FOCUS study in order to gain additional insight into the findings of the FIELD study, and to further examine any potential link between neurodegenerative disorders in former professional footballers.

  “The FOCUS study worked with an established group of former professional footballers that were participating in research and was able to review their brain health, and it supports the previous findings in the FIELD study which suggest an increased risk for neurodegenerative disease in former professional footballers than in the general population.

  “This is an extremely complex area of our game, but we are committed to working collectively with our stakeholders to help grow our knowledge in this area through further medical and expert analysis.”

  The initial findings of the FOCUS study will be shared with both FIFA and UEFA, and the FA has reiterated its support for further research from across the wider game to help build a better understanding of players’ brain health and well-being.

  “This is an important new study which supports previous evidence suggesting that footballers are at greater risk of dementia and poorer cognitive functioning in later life,” said the PFA’s head of brain health Dr Adam White.

  “Studies such as this… ensure that targeted and evidence-led action can be identified and taken to support and protect players at all stages of their career.

  “Continued investment in this type of research will remain absolutely vital.”

  An FA statement read: “The FA has led the way in taking steps to help reduce potential risk factors within the game (including) establishing industry-leading concussion guidelines, introducing the world’s most comprehensive heading guidance at every level of the professional and amateur game in England, and implementing a new trial to remove deliberate heading in football matches across under-12 level and below.

  “Further findings from the FOCUS study will be published in due course.”