Ange Postecoglou insists 22-year-old Tottenham player is in his plans next season

Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has insisted that young midfielder Oliver Skipp is in his plans next season.

Postecoglou and Skipp appeared together at a press conference, via Football London, on the latest leg of their pre-season tour.

After their cancelled friendly against Leicester City, Tottenham are preparing for another game scheduled for tomorrow.

They face Singapore top-flight side Lion City Sailors after their original opponents AS Roma dropped out of the fixture.

Ange Postecoglou has only had one opportunity on this tour so far to analyse his options.

That was during a 3-2 defeat to West Ham, where despite the score line he witnessed a very positive performance.

Postecoglou handed Oliver Skipp a start for Tottenham that day despite arriving late for pre-season.

The 22-year-old was starring for England at the Under-21 European Championships where they went on to win the competition.

Postecoglou praises Tottenham youngster Skipp

Asked about the midfielder sitting next to him, Postecoglou said: “He’s part of my plans absolutely.

“We gave him the option and it’s fair to say with a tournament and him being successful, you want him to enjoy that.

“We did leave it in his corner. I was more than prepared for him to miss this part of the trip but in the back of my mind I did like his decision.”

Skipp wasn’t a regular starter for England’s Under-21 this summer but did come off the bench on five occasions, including in the final.

There’s been talk that Skipp could leave this summer, with Leeds United interested in the 22-year-old.

However, it would be a strange decision for Skipp to take to step down to the Championship right now.

He established himself as a decent option in the Premier League last season and is only getting better.

His last spell in the Championship was two years ago with Norwich and he dominated in a league-winning side.

Skipp has only improved since then, so it’s no surprise that Postecoglou sees a future for him at Tottenham.

It will be interesting to see where the Australian sees Skipp fitting into his tactics.

He’s unlikely to be played as a lone defensive midfielder but may need to work on the creative side of his game to be one of his two number-eights.