Lloris to be sidelined or sold as Tottenham aim to trim squad

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou said trimming down his squad is the priority in the final week of the transfer window as former captain Hugo Lloris appears to have played his final game for the club.

The Frenchman has not been involved in Spurs’ opening two games under Postecoglou after saying he was seeking a “new challenge.”

New signing Guglielmo Vicario kept a clean sheet in his home debut as Postecoglou’s men beat Manchester United 2-0 last weekend and is set to be backed up by Fraser Forster.

Premier League clubs must submit a squad list by September 13 which contains a maximum of 25 players aged over 21 and cannot be changed until the January window opens.

“You can’t just have any number of players you want. There is a list and it is unlikely we will have three goalkeepers on our final Premier League list,” said Postecoglou on Lloris’ prospects of being involved in his plans.

The 36-year-old has played 447 times for Spurs since joining from Lyon in 2012.

Lloris is not alone. There are  31 players over 21 currently on Tottenham’s books.

Eric Dier, Japhet Tanganga, Sergio Reguilon, Tanguy Ndombele, Davinson Sanchez, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Bryan Gil are among those who could leave before Friday’s transfer deadline.

“At the moment you can see by doing the maths, we have got too many players,” Postecoglou added.

“In terms of when we submit our final list, there will be guys here who won’t be on that list if nothing changes so I am pretty sure that will change.

“From now until the end of the window, I am sure there will be some movement.”

Spurs’ dominant second-half display against United showed there is life after Harry Kane.

James Maddison has been central to the positive start to Postecoglou’s reign in charge and the England international is expected to be fit for Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth despite picking up an ankle injury last weekend.

“Madders trained today unrestricted. We’ll see how he pulls up, but at this stage it looks like he will be available,” said Postecoglou.