Ange reveals impact of Vicario injury on January transfer window plans

Ange Postecoglou has backed England veteran Fraser Forster to fill Tottenham's goalkeeping gap, claiming he does not expect him to develop into one of world football's passing masters.

“There's a misconception about that,” Postecoglou said when asked if Forster could adapt to the demands of a modern goalkeeper in a possession-based team.

'I want to play from the back, but I don't need goalkeepers who are Maldini or Platini. The simpler they can keep it, the better for me. I always say to the players: don't pass it on to the goalkeepers, they have the gloves on, they are the goalkeepers and you are the player.'

Forster, 36, has played just four games in 18 months but is needed by Spurs as Guglielmo Vicario is out for months after surgery on a broken ankle, starting against Roma in the Europa League on Thursday.

Postecoglou ruled out signing a free agent as emergency cover and played down the idea of ​​changing the club's January transfer plans due to his confidence in Forster.

“It's not about their technical ability,” he added. “Look at the way we play from the back, and Joe Hart is a good example of that when he came to Celtic, it's about them executing very simple passes.

'They're actually quite good at it, all goalkeepers. It's more about mentality. The bottom line is that they don't think what they are doing is risky. I don't ask them to ping 50 meters. That's actually a more difficult skill.'

Vicario broke his right ankle in the first half of the 4-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday but stayed until the end before scans the next day confirmed a fracture that would require surgery.

“It won't take weeks, it will take months,” Postecoglou said. “He had surgery and there are certain timelines. Because it's Vic, and I don't like to give timelines so early in a process like that because it puts unnecessary pressure on the players and certain expectations, but once we get past the rehab phase and he comes out, we'll a clearer idea.'

On the idea of ​​signing a free agent, he said, “That's not going to happen.” And on plans for the January transfer market, he said: 'Any club that suffers a significant injury to their goalkeeper assesses where they are.

'It's not just one injury, but at the same time it's just one injury. We have been dealing with setbacks for some time now.

'In January we're always working on the next window of what the best-case scenario is for us, and a lot of that will depend on where we are from a team perspective and a game perspective. This injury alone doesn't change plans for January.”

Spurs are without central defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore.

Will Lankshear is suspended and cannot play against Roma after a red card against Galatasaray.

Rodrigo Bentancur, who is serving a seven-match ban in domestic football, has been cleared to play in the Europa League.

Tracks possible 433: Forster; Gray, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie; Bergvall, Bentancur, Madison; Johnson, Solanke, Son.