Ange Postecoglou says Tottenham are "pushing hard" to do their January transfer business early as they prepare to lose Heung-min Son, Yves Bissouma and Pape Sarr at the start of next year to international duty.
Postecoglou, whose side travel to Nottingham Forest tonight, joked that he had already given his wish list to Santa — in this case, Spurs chairman Daniel Levy — but admitted it will be "challenging" to get new signings in early next month.
The Australian has said Spurs need another centre-back, while they are also expected to be in the market for a forward and could target a new midfielder, given the impending loss of Bissouma and Sarr.
"I wrote my letter to Santa! Like my kids now, I've just got to see whether I've been naughty or nice and see what I get, mate," Postecoglou told Standard Sport.
"It is challenging, [but] the reason [we want to do business early] is obviously where we're at injury-wise and the players we're going to miss. We've got some significant games in January and signing somebody late in the month could mean they haven't been able to make an impact in those games."
Bournemouth defender Lloyd Kelly and Fulham's Tosin Adarabioyo were both targets in the summer, while Spurs are among a host of top European clubs monitoring Nice centre-half Jean-Clair Todibo.
Portuguese forward Jota, who played under Postecoglou at Celtic, has been left out of Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad's domestic squad and is also on their radar.
"We're pushing hard, but you need all parties to agree," Postecoglou added. "Other clubs, particularly if it's players they want [to keep], will be wanting to hold on to them for as long as possible for their own reasons through January.
"It is a challenge, I get that, but everyone at the club is working hard to get the best outcomes for us and we’ll see how it goes.”
Spurs are in talks with South Korea over when they will release Son for the Asian Games, which take place from January 12 to February 10, while Mali’s Bissouma and Senegal’s Sarr will be on duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, running in tandem.
“Those three players will be a big loss to us, but that’s been the story of our season,” said Postecoglou. “We’ve had to cope without significant players so far. That’s what we’ve been dealt and we have to deal with it.
“We’ve still got eight guys out and at least seven of them won’t be back for a little while. You’re left with a fairly thin squad. The way we play is fairly physical and mentally demanding, but our guys have been pretty good so far, showing resilience and we’ll have to keep doing that.”
