Ange Postecoglou wants Tottenham to bring in defensive recruits ‘as quickly as possible’ as he looks to strengthen his backline… with Spurs targeting moves for Bundesliga duo Edmond Tapsoba and Micky van der Ven

Ange Postecoglu wants Tottenham to speed up the search for reinforcements in central defense.

Spurs are on the verge of a £3 million deal to sign England U19 international centre-back Ashley Phillips from Blackburn Rovers, who are under pressure to cash in on the looming financial crisis.

Phillips, 18, will undergo a medical in the next 24 hours and will join Postecoglu’s squad for the final stages of the preseason tour of Australia and South East Asia if all goes according to plan.

However, the new boss continues to look for senior signings in central defense and ideally wants them in before the Premier League season starts.

“That’s definitely our intention, absolutely,” Postecoglu said. “We’ve been working on it for a while and we’re definitely going to try to get it done as soon as possible.”

Spurs watch £50million-valued Bayer Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba (left), as well as Netherlands U21 international Micky van der Ven (right), valued at £30million by Wolfsburg

Spurs have launched moves for Burkina Faso international Edmond Tapsoba, valued at £50 million by Bayer Leverkusen, and Netherlands U21 international Micky van der Ven, valued at £30 million by Wolfsburg.

Whether they can sign off on one or both of these priority goals will likely depend on the money raised through the sale.

“I don’t think it’s a secret about some areas that we had to strengthen,” Postecoglu said. “Some of it I identified early on. The goalkeeper was one and the central defense is another.

“As for the other guys, we have a big squad, but I think I wanted to take them and just work with them, get some clarity in my head and give them clarity.

“I think you’ll find a lot of them will say, ‘to be honest, it’s not for me, the way we play and the way we train,’ because like I said, I do things differently .

Tottenham lost 3–2 to West Ham in a pre-season friendly in Postecoglu’s first game in charge

“Every day we have together, every game, it gives you clarity on certain things.

“There is no doubt that the squad will be downsized and there will be some changes between now and probably the end of the transfer window.”

Tottenham lost 3–2 to West Ham in a pre-season friendly in Perth, Australia, in Postecoglu’s first match in charge.

There are 31 players on tour, with five in London recovering from injuries and Hugo Lloris who was left behind while he worked on a transfer.