Manchester City's losing streak stretched to five games across all competitions as Tottenham stunned the Premier League champions with a 4-0 victory at the Etihad Stadium.

On his 28th birthday, James Maddison scored twice in the first 20 minutes as Ange Postecoglou's visitors caught out their hosts on the counterattack.

Maddison was found unmarked at the far post by Dejan Kulusevski for his opener, then exchanged passes with Son Heung-min and dinked a fine finish over Ederson for his second.

City continued to dominate possession but struggled to find a killer pass, and their hopes of a second-half fightback were dashed when Pedro Porro – who spent three years as a City player between 2019 and 2022 – capped another lightning break early in the second half.

Erling Haaland clipped the crossbar but that was as close as City came to making it competitive, with Brennan Johnson completing the rout following fine work from Timo Werner, as the worst run of Pep Guardiola's managerial career continued.

Second-placed City could now find themselves eight points adrift of the summit after Liverpool’s trip to Southampton on Sunday.

Tottenham, meanwhile, climbed to sixth in the table, four points behind City.

Data Debrief: Uncharted territory for Pep

City have now lost five straight matches in all competitions, including two versus Tottenham after they were also beaten in the EFL Cup last month.

They are the first reigning top-flight English champions to lose five games in a row since Chelsea did so in March 1956.

This is the worst losing streak of Guardiola's glittering managerial career, with City last losing six in a row under Stuart Pearce in 2006.

Should their dismal run continue at Liverpool in eight days' time, their title defence may be in tatters before the festive season has even begun. 

Ange Postecoglou hailed Tottenham's EFL Cup fourth-round victory over Manchester City as his side continue to evolve under his stewardship.

Timo Werner and Pape Sarr were both on target in the first half on Wednesday, with Matheus Nunes reducing the deficit on the stroke of half-time.

Spurs held on against a much-rotated City side, who suffered their first defeat of the season after a 2-1 reverse in north London.

Tottenham disappointed in a 1-0 loss away to Crystal Palace in the Premier League before this win, though Postecoglou was delighted with his side's response.

"It's a cup tie played against a formidable opponent, I thought we did well for the most part," he told Sky Sports.

"We didn't allow too many clear-cut chances. We could have put the game away, but City are always going to push you.

"It's an ever-evolving process, this team is growing all the time, but when you have growth you are going to stumble.

"As disappointed as we were on Sunday I had great belief we could come out today and put up a great show.

"Both our goals were quality goals, they have to be as City don't give easy chances."

Spurs had been eliminated in their last three EFL Cup ties against fellow Premier League sides, going out to Chelsea in 2021-22, Nottingham Forest in 2022-23 and Fulham in 2023-24.

Werner eased any nerves after just five minutes, however, with his close-range finish easing the mounting pressure on the former Chelsea forward.

"Great for Timo. He is going through a tough time, but the build-up play was great," Postecoglou added.

"It should lift him, we are supporting him, but it is down to him and his approach to things. He was unlucky to not get one or two more, if attacking players don't score they feel anxiety a bit."

Postecoglou hammered his side after their collapse at the start of October in a 3-2 defeat to Brighton, and similar criticism followed after their defeat to Palace last time out.

The Australian coach is remaining level-headed, though.

"I don't believe in big moments or catastrophic moments - we are the same team that we were three days ago. Hopefully, we have more good days ahead of us," he concluded.

Timo Werner scored his first goal in seven months to help Tottenham eliminate Manchester City from the EFL Cup with a 2-1 victory in Wednesday's last-16 tie.

Both teams were left to count the cost of muscle injuries come full-time of an entertaining game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as Micky van de Ven hobbled off in tears and Savinho was also distressed as he went off on a stretcher.

Werner also sustained a knock that forced him off, but that was long after emphatically curling away from Stefan Ortega inside five minutes after being teed up by Dejan Kulusevski down the Spurs right.

Pape Matar Sarr tucked in a first-time finish of his own from outside the box to double the hosts' advantage 25 minutes later - an effort Ortega perhaps could have done better to keep out - but City finally woke up before half-time.

Savinho picked out Matheus Nunes to side-volley in at the back post and that set the tone for a gripping second period - one in which Erling Haaland watched from the substitutes' bench despite his side chasing a goal.

Ortega made three saves to keep City in the tie, with Richarlison failing to convert from a glorious position, and those misses so nearly proved costly in the closing stages.

Yves Bissouma brilliantly denied Nico O'Reilly on the line with quick reflexes, however, to ensure Ange Postecoglou remains on course for silverware in his second season at Spurs, while inflicting a first loss of the campaign on eight-time EFL Cup winners City.

Data Debrief: City can't handle Kulu

Tottenham had suffered elimination from their previous three EFL Cup ties against fellow Premier League opposition - against Chelsea, Nottingham Forest and Fulham in the past three seasons - but they showed great resolve to overcome City.

Werner and Sarr scored the goals that sent Spurs through, both of those assisted by Kulusevski in a different manner. The Sweden international created four chances in total, which was double the number of any other home player.

Man City may have scored for the first time in four away games in the EFL Cup, but this marks their third successive away loss in the competition for the first time since August 1997.

Tottenham have agreed another loan deal with RB Leipzig for Timo Werner to remain at the club for 2024-25, with the club holding an option to make the move permanent next year.

Werner joined Spurs on loan in January and immediately assumed an important role in Ange Postecoglou's team, contributing two goals and three assists in 14 appearances in all competitions.

He saw his season ended prematurely by a hamstring injury in May, but Tottenham always appeared keen to keep him at the club for next season.

Postecoglou's side will play in the Europa League in 2024-25 after finishing fifth in the Premier League, and Werner will be an option across the frontline again next season.

Reports suggest Tottenham could have made the move permanent this year for £15million, but the extended loan deal includes a buy clause estimated at £8.5million.

Ange Postecoglou has revealed Tottenham have a deadline if they want to make Timo Werner’s loan deal permanent.

The German joined Spurs on loan in January from RB Leipzig, scoring twice and assisting three goals in 14 matches in all competitions for the North London side.

However, Werner missed the last five games of Spurs’ season due to a hamstring injury he sustained against Arsenal.

Postecoglou admitted that he was relaxed about the situation, but whether a deal was made was out of his hands.

Speaking to reporters following their friendly in Melbourne against Newcastle United, Postecoglou said: "I think from our perspective, there's a deadline there.

"Again, a lot of that will depend on the negotiations between the clubs and how Timo feels.

"Again, from my perspective, I'm comfortable with that situation, and I'll let the other guys steer it to see what kind of outcome there is."

After a strong start to their season, Spurs eventually finished fifth in the Premier League, securing a place in the Europa League next season.

The Australian also believes the club need to bring more attacking players in as a priority to balance the higher workload next season after struggling with injuries this campaign.

"Yeah, absolutely. It's no secret [we need new forwards]. You saw the way we finished the season," he said.

"We obviously lost Richarlison and Timo Werner as well with injuries, but we're fairly light in that area.

"We started last season with Manor [Solomon] and [Ivan] Perisic, and we were quite healthy in that front third in terms of numbers, but as the year went on it became pretty evident that we needed to bulk up.

"We're in Europe as well next year, so we'll have more games, and it's definitely an area of the park we'll need to strengthen."

Julian Nagelsmann has named a 27-man provisional squad for hosts Germany ahead of Euro 2024.

The biggest surprise in the squad was the inclusion of a fourth goalkeeper, as Stuttgart goalkeeper Alexander Nubel received his first senior call-up.

Mats Hummels is one of the big names left out despite helping Borussia Dortmund on their way to the Champions League final, while Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka is also absent once more. 

Julian Brandt, Niklas Sule and Karim Adeyemi miss out on a place in the tournament, while Serge Gnabry and Timo Werner are both out through injury.

After winning just one of his first four games in charge, Nagelsmann changed things in March and was rewarded with back-to-back victories.

Nico Schlotterbeck won 71 per cent of his tackles in the Bundesliga - the highest figure in Europe's big-five leagues this season (at least 70 tackles), and is back in the national squad for the first time since September.

Aleksandar Pavlovic missed the March friendlies due to injury but is a welcome recall - Bayern have an 83.3 per cent win ratio with Pavlovic in their team in the Bundesliga this season, but that drops to 53.3 per cent when he is not in the side.

Schlotterbeck, Niclas Fullkrug, Toni Kroos and Antonio Rudiger will all link up with the squad late due to their involvement in the Champions League final.

The final 26-man squad must be submitted on June 7, meaning at least one player will be dropped before the start of the tournament.

As the tournament hosts, Germany begin their Euro 2024 campaign in the opening game against Scotland on June 14.

Germany squad

Goalkeepers: Oliver Baumann (Hoffenheim), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich), Alexander Nubel (Stuttgart), Marc-Andre ter Stegen (Barcelona)

Defenders: Waldemar Anton (Stuttgart), Benjamin Henrichs (RB Leipzig), Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich), Robin Koch (Eintracht Frankfurt), Maximilian Mittelstadt (Stuttgart), David Raum (RB Leipzig), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid), Nico Schlotterbeck (Borussia Dortmund), Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)

Midfielders: Robert Andrich (Bayer Leverkusen), Chris Fuhruch (Stuttgart), Pascal Gross (Brighton), Ilkay Gundogan (Barcelona), Toni Kroos (Real Madrid), Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Bayern Munich), Leroy Sane (Bayern Munich), Florian Wirtz (Bayer Leverkusen)

Forwards: Maximilian Beier (Hoffenheim), Niclas Fullkrug (Borussia Dortmund), Kai Havertz (Arsenal), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich), Denis Undav (Stuttgart)

Alexander Isak smashed his way through the 20-goal barrier as Newcastle boosted their European hopes by denting those of Tottenham.

The Magpies’ £63million record signing produced two sumptuous finishes either side of Anthony Gordon’s strike to take his tally for the campaign to 21 before Fabian Schar’s thunderous late header secured a 4-0 win at St James’ Park.

It was their third victory in four Premier League outings and ended fourth-placed Spurs’ three-match unbeaten run, and while it might not have been as spectacular as last season’s 6-1 rout in the corresponding fixture, it was equally emphatic.

Head coach Eddie Howe once again set up his team to suck in the visitors and then hit them on the break, and the plan worked to perfection on an day defender Micky van de Ven in particular will want to forget quickly.

With both sets of players wearing black armbands in memory of former Newcastle boss and Tottenham defender Joe Kinnear, who died last weekend, Gordon caused early problems and Elliot Anderson had a third-minute header blocked at source as Spurs found themselves under pressure.

However, they soon settled and turned the Magpies with seven minutes gone when Rodrigo Bentancur put Brennan Johnson in behind Dan Burn, although Timo Werner was unable to adjust quickly enough to volley his cross towards goal.

The visitors looked menacing and Magpies keeper Martin Dubravka was relieved to see Werner shoot straight at team-mate Son Heung-min after the South Korea international had picked out the striker with a fine pass before continuing his run.

Dubravka enjoyed another escape with 18 minutes gone when Werner side-footed wastefully across goal from James Maddison’s inviting cut-back.

But it was the hosts who took the lead on the half-hour later when Gordon robbed Destiny Udogie and slid the ball into Isak, who sat Van de Ven down before firing firmly past keeper Guglielmo Vicario.

Newcastle’s joy was doubled within two minutes when full-back Pedro Porro tried to play Burn’s header back to Vicario and Gordon intercepted before rounding the hapless Van de Ven as he went to ground once again and beating the keeper.

Van de Ven did intervene to prevent Isak from converting Anderson’s 35th-minute through-ball and then again as he went for goal two minutes later, and Vicario managed to pluck the ball off the Sweden international’s toe as he controlled Harvey Barnes’ fine cross with the Londoners in tatters at the back.

Maddison forced Dubravka into a 42nd-minute save from distance at the end of a sustained period of pressure, but Isak glanced a Gordon corner wide with Howe’s men refusing to sit on their laurels.

Werner tested Dubravka significantly further within six minutes of the restart, but Newcastle increased their lead seconds later when Isak ran away from Van de Ven to collect Bruno Guimaraes’ inch-perfect ball over the top and drill a shot past Vicario.

Vicario parried an Anderson shot at his near post and Maddison blazed high over at the other end with the Magpies managing their lead in relative comfort despite seeing little of the ball, and they finished with a flourish when Schar powered Gordon’s 87th-minute corner home to make it 4-0.

What the papers say

Arsenal and Chelsea are set to battle it out for 20-year-old Sporting defender Ousmane Diomande. According to The Sun, Arsenal have matched their London rival’s £51million plus bonuses offer to lure the Ivory Coast international from Lisbon.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is attracting interest from Bayern Munich among other clubs for his work at the Seagulls. But the Daily Mirror reports the Italian coach is in no rush to decide on his future.

Everton’s England Under-17s goalkeeper Douglas Lukjanciks is attracting attention across Europe. The Daily Mail reports Bayer Leverkusen are among the clubs interested in the 16-year-old.

Promising Nigerian striker Hafiz Umar Ibrahim is set for a trial at Chelsea, thanks to a little help. Raheem Sterling played a key role in linking the 18-year-old with Stamford Bridge, according to the Evening Standard.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Timo Werner: Tottenham are keen on making the 28-year-old RB Leipzig and Germany forward’s loan deal permanent, but are in no rush to trigger a £14.5million option to buy, according to Four Four Two.

Federico Chiesa: Liverpool and Manchester United want to sign the Italy forward, 26, from Juventus, reports Teamtalk,

Ange Postecoglou hopes Timo Werner gains confidence after he scored to help Tottenham earn a much-needed 3-1 home win over Crystal Palace.

Spurs were set for a second consecutive defeat when Eberechi Eze curled home a sumptuous free-kick for the visitors just before the hour mark.

Werner had also been guilty of missing a glorious first-half chance but made amends when he tapped in with 77 minutes played after excellent work by Brennan Johnson to spark a late turnaround by the hosts, with Cristian Romero and captain Son Heung-min also scoring.

It was Werner’s first goal for Spurs since his January loan from RB Leipzig and also just his 11th Premier League goal in 62 appearances after a mixed spell at Chelsea but Postecoglou praised the contribution of the Germany forward.

He said: “I thought Timo, he missed the chance in the first half but he was a constant threat to them and was in the right area for the goal.

“I understand that with attacking players, goals make them feel better and make them more confident.

“I guess it relieves the pressure on them a little bit but just in general I thought he was really aggressive with his running.

“He kept taking on the full-back and I thought apart from the missed chance his general play was really good.

“A goal always helps, it was pleasing for us and it was an important time in the game. It was great for him to score.”

Tottenham struggled to break down Palace in the first half, although Werner should have scored after 19 minutes when Son sent him through but he tried to round Sam Johnstone and was thwarted.

It was the finish of a forward out of confidence and while Spurs started strongly after the break, Oliver Glasner watched his team take the lead when Eze produced a superb free-kick for his seventh goal of the campaign.

Postecoglou introduced Johnson and his tenacity created the equaliser after he robbed Joachim Andersen of possession, got the better of Jefferson Lerma and teed up Werner for a simple finish.

Three minutes later and the hosts were ahead when Romero flicked on James Maddison’s inventive cross with 80 on the clock before Son wrapped up the scoring in the 88th minute after Johnson put him clear.

“I was pleased with the whole game,” Postecoglou insisted.

“You need that goal to break open a team that is going to sit so deep. I still felt like we were putting enough work into them that at some point we would be able to break them.

“Obviously we conceded which was disappointing. You’re looking for a reaction and I thought the reaction was outstanding.

“They just had a real belief today in our processes and our football and I’m really pleased with the outcome.”

Postecoglou also attempted to clarify reports in Brazil that Richarlison may be fit enough for his country’s international fixtures with England and Spain later this month after the Spurs boss had ruled the forward out for “three-to-four” weeks with a knee injury on Friday.

He added: “We’ve still got, what, two weeks to go before then?

“I’m not a doctor, I don’t write prescriptions, I get sort of a guide and go from there.

“If he’s ready to go, he goes. If not, he’ll be with us.”

New Palace boss Glasner was disappointed his team could not hold on at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but credited the effort of his players.

“Yes, I think the players did a great job over 60 to 70 minutes,” Glasner said.

“They stick to the plan and we defended really well for most of the time. Then we scored a very nice goal but to win here at Tottenham you have to be perfect over almost the whole distance of the game.

“We are disappointed because I had the feeling before the 1-1 we can win the game but then it turned and in football one situation can change the game.”

Tottenham returned to winning ways with a 3-1 home victory over Crystal Palace after a dazzling spell of three goals in 11 second-half minutes.

Ange Postecoglou’s team were heading for a second straight defeat when fit-again Eberechi Eze curled home for Oliver Glasner’s side with 59 minutes on the clock.

Substitute Brennan Johnson helped turn the match back in Spurs’ favour, though, with a brilliant assist for Timo Werner’s 77th-minute equaliser before Cristian Romero headed in a second soon after.

Captain Son Heung-min wrapped up the scoring two minutes from time after Johnson had sent him away to earn the hosts’ a much-needed win in the battle for Champions League qualification.

Spurs had two weeks to prepare for this fixture but were up against a Palace side buoyed by the arrival of new boss Glasner, who won his first game in charge at home to Burnley last weekend.

It was the visitors who made the brighter start with Jordan Ayew blazing over before Jean-Philippe Mateta had a shot blocked by Emerson Royal.

Slowly Postecoglou’s side started to click with Son almost put through before he turned creator for what should have produced the opener.

Rodrigo Bentancur won back possession and Son sent Werner clear but he tried to round Sam Johnstone, who stood up well and thwarted the attacker in the 19th minute.

Play was back down the other end soon after when Jefferson Lerma’s shot deflected into the path of Daniel Munoz but Guglielmo Vicario bravely dived in to deny the Palace wing-back.

Vicario made a superb save from Ayew with half an hour played only for the offside flag to be raised as the first rumblings of discontent occurred from the home crowd.

Spurs ended the first half with 82 per cent possession but had produced one shot on target against an organised Palace side in a 3-4-3 under their new boss.

Tottenham’s tempo after the break was much-improved with Werner firing an effort across goal before he wanted a penalty with 53 minutes played.

Werner raced into the area and was caught by Daniel Munoz but referee John Brooks awarded a corner and VAR decided not to intervene.

The attacks kept coming with Son firing a first-time effort against the post from Dejan Kulusevski’s pass before Eze was afforded a rare moment of space and won Palace a free-kick in a dangerous position.

Bentancur was booked for the cynical foul but worse was to follow for Spurs as Eze whipped the free-kick around the wall and beyond Vicario for a superb seventh goal of the campaign.

Postecoglou instantly turned to his bench with Johnson brought on and he side-footed a good chance over straight after his introduction.

Son was next to go close with a scuffed effort wide before Tottenham did find the breakthrough thanks to Johnson’s tenacity.

Johnson first won back possession from Joachim Andersen and then got the better of Lerma before he teed up Werner at the back post to level in the 77th minute.

It was Werner’s first goal in English football since April 2022 but Spurs very quickly made it 2-1.

James Maddison sent a floated cross into the area, which was headed home by Romero, before Son wrapped up the scoring with a fine finish into the bottom corner for his 13th goal of the season.

Chelsea’s potential outgoings could dominate transfer deadline day with speculation over Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja’s futures at the club yet to subside.

West London rivals Fulham have been linked to Broja over the last few days of the January window, while England midfielder Gallagher has been linked with a move to Tottenham throughout the month.

Spurs have been one of the busier clubs in a seemingly quieter January transfer window so far, with Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner arriving in north London, but head coach Ange Postecoglou suggested on Tuesday it would be “unlikely” to see any more signings

Financial services firm Deloitte suggested that clubs’ desire to avoid tough sanctions for financial rule breaches could be a factor in a general drop in Premier League transfer spending this month, but did not rule out a “late flurry” of activity before the 11pm deadline on Thursday.

Aston Villa have been active in the final stages of the window, with winger Morgan Rogers expected to join from Middlesbrough in a deal worth £16million.

Forward Jhon Duran has been linked with Chelsea, while Unai Emery is also keen to keep hold of Jacob Ramsey, who has been linked with Tottenham and Bayern Munich.

Speaking about the midfielder at a press conference on Monday, Emery said: “Jacob Ramsey is a very important player. He grew up in the academy and his progression is getting better.

“His level is increasing a lot and I want to keep him here with us. Of course, there are movements (speculation) around him.

“Maybe there are teams involved in the possibility to sign him because he has a big, big potential at Villa and in England. I want to keep him here, 100 per cent.”

Newcastle were another club linked with Ramsey, but Eddie Howe insisted on Monday that the Magpies had made no approach for the 22-year-old.

Howe added he is determined to keep his squad “intact” amid speculation over the futures of Kieran Trippier, Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron throughout the window.

After securing Kalvin Phillips on loan, Portuguese winger Jota is reportedly a target for West Ham to replace Algeria winger Said Benrahma, who is likely to leave before deadline day.

Pablo Fornals could be another player to leave the Hammers and he is reportedly close to sealing a move to Real Betis.

Brighton have been linked with a move for Leicester midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, but Seagulls boss Roberto De Zerbi remains tight-lipped about the speculation.

“I don’t know anything about him (personally); I know him as a player,” he said.

“He has great quality but it’s not my business speaking about other players, especially because (Foxes boss) Enzo Maresca is my friend and I want to be correct with him.”

There could be activity towards the bottom end of the Premier League table as Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder admitted the club will be working “frantically” to improve their squad before Thursday, while Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo is also hoping to bring in reinforcements.

Tottenham have opened talks with Club Brugge over the signing of attacker Antonio Nusa, the PA news agency understands.

Spurs have held a long-standing interest in the 18-year-old and have moved to secure the services of the highly-rated Norway international this month.

The potential recruitment of Nusa would be Tottenham’s third addition of the January transfer window, but he would return to Club Brugge on loan for the remainder of the campaign, PA understands.

Nusa has built up a strong reputation since he made his Norwegian top-flight debut at the age of 16 in 2021 while at Stabaek.

He moved to Club Brugge later that year and hit the headlines when he scored on his Champions League debut against Porto.

Tottenham have continued to keep tabs on Nusa, who marked his full Norway debut in September with a goal against Jordan.

Ange Postecoglou has already secured the signings of Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner this month.

Spurs have also been busy with outgoings with Djed Spence, Japhet Tanganga, Ash Phillips, Sergio Reguilon and Alfie Devine all finding new clubs for the second half of the season, while long-serving players Hugo Lloris and Eric Dier have departed.

Tottenham will listen to offers for Ryan Sessegnon, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Bryan Gil and Ivan Perisic, but young duo Alfie Dorrington and Jamie Donley are set to remain part of Postecoglou’s first-team squad despite numerous loan interest.

Ange Postecoglou has no interest in Tottenham’s poor historical record away to the Premier League’s ‘big six’ but has challenged his young team to accelerate their growth by winning those games on the road.

Spurs travel to Old Trafford on Sunday with Manchester United trailing the fifth-placed visitors by eight points after 20 matches.

Tottenham won 6-1 at United in 2020 but have claimed only one victory at Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City or United in the ensuing 16 attempts.

“I’m not a great one at looking at the historical references to these things, I wasn’t there so I don’t know whether there was something endemic in the club that didn’t allow that,” Postecoglou explained. “I just tackle from when I get into a club.

“I think it is important – if you want to be successful, you need to be able to perform in those big games, particularly away from home.

“We went to Arsenal, City (and drew), (beat) Liverpool here, we’ve done OK in those games. Not just results but performance-wise, I don’t think we’ve walked away from any of those games and thought there was a massive gap between us and them.

“Old Trafford is another place where you know the atmosphere is going to be a great challenge for us. It would be good to see how we react to that and how we keep developing as a team.

“It’s an important part of the process. Home comforts are great and we have a great crowd behind us, but if you can do it away from home in adversity I think it accelerates your growth.”

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Spurs will be without a number of key individuals, with captain and leading marksman Son Heung-min absent with South Korea at the Asian Cup, though Postecoglou can call upon January recruits Radu Dragusin and Timo Werner.

Werner was linked with a move to United but has returned to England with Tottenham and has a point to prove after he managed only 10 goals in 56 Premier League appearances during two seasons at Chelsea.

“Again, that’s not the way I look at it,” Postecoglou countered. “I’m looking at what he can give us today, not something that happened three or four years ago.

“I just don’t think it’s relevant. I dare suggest he’s a different player, he’s certainly a different person. We all, with more experiences, evolve, we grow up in many senses, there’s more maturity, he’s probably at a different stage of his life.

“What I look at is if we bring Timo in, can he contribute to the side we have today and the way we play provided his motivations are right?”

While Werner is set to start this weekend, centre-back Dragusin is likely to be on the bench with Micky van de Ven fit again and Cristian Romero back in full training.

Postecoglou is nevertheless excited about having three top centre-backs competing for two spots.

He added: “If Radu just wanted to play, he would have stayed at Genoa.

“He has come to a big club and when you go to a big club, you know you have to compete. That’s part of your development.”

Ange Postecoglou believes an alignment between all the key figures at Tottenham has allowed them to move quickly in the January transfer window.

Postecoglou repeatedly made clear his desire to bring in a centre-back early and Spurs completed the signing of Radu Dragusin from Genoa on Thursday, with Djed Spence heading on loan in the other direction.

It capped a busy week for Tottenham after they secured the loan addition of Timo Werner from RB Leipzig on Tuesday and allowed Eric Dier to depart after 10 seasons to join Bayern Munich.

Spurs’ quick work is a big shift in strategy after previously waiting until the end of the month to secure signings and Postecoglou paid tribute to chairman Daniel Levy, technical director Johan Lange and chief football officer Scott Munn.

“It’s easier said than done because while we might have a desire to do things early, you’ve got to have all parties agreeing to that and it’s not easy to do, especially in January,” Postecoglou said ahead of Sunday’s trip to Manchester United.

“The key thing for us was from the chairman to Johan and his team and Scott, we were all very aligned in what we wanted and we got our targets early.

“It was pretty clear what we wanted to do and if it didn’t happen, then we’ve moved on. But I think the fact that we were all pretty aligned on what our objectives were allowed us to be sitting here now with two players in – not so much for Sunday, but we know we’ve got a two-week break which means we get at least a couple of weeks to get the lads up to speed.

“We had some pretty clear objectives. If there’s an opportunity for us to get better, we’ll take it, but what we were trying to achieve going into it, I’m really pleased we’ve got two players in who I think will play a really important part for us.”

Postecoglou has continued to reshape the squad this month with former captain Hugo Lloris joining Los Angeles FC and Dier ending his nine-and-a-half-years at Tottenham to join Bayern.

“The club made a conscious decision to change the way we went about things and for that to happen you need change in personnel,” the Australian reflected.

“Hugo left and Eric moves on to another chapter in his career, he’s another one who has had a fantastic career here at Tottenham.

“Eric’s left his mark, he was part of a very very good side who made many great memories for our supporters here and he certainly leaves his mark here at Tottenham.

“He moves to another big club and hopefully has success in the rest of his career.

“For us, it’s a constant evolution of traying to inch forward to becoming the team we want to be.”

Postecoglou expects Dragusin to be involved at Old Trafford despite still waiting for his work permit and Micky van de Ven is fit enough to start.

Cristian Romero has also returned to training and could feature against United, but Giovani Lo Celso and Ben Davies are both out.

Lo Celso’s absence could earn Werner his full debut.

Tottenham have completed their first signing of the January transfer window with the loan addition of RB Leipzig forward Timo Werner.

Former Chelsea attacker Werner arrives on a six-month deal, which includes the option to make the transfer permanent in the summer.

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou gave the green light to sign the 27-year-old with captain Son Heung-min set to miss the next month while at the Asian Cup with South Korea.

Werner returns to the Premier League with unfinished business after he endured a mixed spell at Chelsea, scoring 23 times in 89 appearances after a £54million move.

The Germany international did play a role in the Blues’ Champions League success in 2021 and will aim to rediscover his best form in London.

Werner left Chelsea two years ago to return to his former club Leipzig in a £25m switch and while he scored 16 times last season, opportunities have been limited under manager Marco Rose this term with only four starts in all competitions.

He is in line to make his Tottenham debut in this weekend’s away fixture at Manchester United and could extend his stay in N17 if the temporary switch proves to be a success.

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An option to make the transfer permanent for a fee between 15million and £20m euros has been included in the deal.

While Werner boasts an inconsistent record over the past few seasons, his versatility will provide greater options in attack for Postecoglou with the ex-Stuttgart forward able to play in a central role or on either wing.

Tottenham are also chasing the signature of Genoa’s Radu Dragusin.

Spurs stepped up talks with the Serie A club last week but face competition from Bayern Munich in their efforts to conclude a deal for the Romania centre-back before Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford.

Meanwhile, Djed Spence could head in the other direction after being offered to Genoa on a six-month loan, PA understands.