Ange Postecoglou hits back after Tottenham star shared post digging out club chiefs

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou insists that no concerns about travel arrangements were raised prior to the North London derby in the wake of a social media post shared by Cristian Romero.

The Argentine centre-half was among several Tottenham players who jetted off to play for their countries before returning to domestic duty last weekend. Postecoglou's side were beaten by local rivals Arsenal, who battled to three points on the road on Sunday.

Romero was deemed partly responsible for the winning goal as Gabriel headed home from a second-half corner. Initially he was marking the Arsenal centre-half but lost his man as the Brazilian rose highest to nod past goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario.

The Argentina international had played for his nation against Colombia before having to make his own way back to London with Tottenham not chartering a flight for him. A reporter in Romero's homeland claimed he was suffering from fatigue due to the travel arrangements, with the player then retweeting the post.

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The reporter Gaston Edul said on X: "Tottenham lost to Arsenal again. They weren’t able to fight until the end because they weren’t across the details. It was the only Premier League club that made their international players return, on their own and without proper logistics, on the decision of the club’s leadership. They gave away the advantage because their players arrived with less rest than the others: Cuti Romero played with tiredness."

Those comments and Romero's decision to share it was put to the Tottenham boss himself, who had been made aware of the comments. But he also cited how every player was back at the club by Thursday, giving them ample preparation time.

He said: "It was mentioned to me [after the game] but it wasn't mentioned to me before the game. All the players were back by Thursday for a Sunday game. Prior to the game there was nothing mentioned."

Premier League clubs are not obliged to transport players from other countries after the end of the international break and that burden is usually left with the nations themselves. Tottenham are not known for flying players back to the club on private jets and didn't feel it was necessary in Romero's case, according to The Sun.

Romero remains an integral figure for the north Londoners and reports claim the Argentine was the subject of interest from some of Europe's top clubs back in the summer. He now has a World Cup win on his CV and Tottenham are hopeful he can aid their hopes of winning silverware.

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