‘Outstanding’… Ange Postecoglou very impressed by £17m player who was linked with Tottenham move

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has now been singing the praises of Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez after his display yesterday.

The Spurs boss was speaking to Viaplay following the game and spoke about the very small margins in the defeat.

Postecoglou was happy with his side’s performance overall, but lamented some missed chances and Martinez’s role in keeping many Tottenham attempts out.

He said: “You created the chances but is that a matter of personal but also confidence to put those chances in?

“It’s not an exact science. You have an outstanding goalkeeper in the other goal who is doing the best to keep them out, there’s some goalposts which play a part.

“You’re talking very small margins and we all know that scoring goals in the most difficult thing.

“So like I said for me the most important thing was that I was disappointed with our performance against Wolves but today we played our football and if we continue down that road we will get the rewards for how we play.”

And this focus on Martinez is particularly interesting given Spurs were credited with interest in the Argentinian this summer.

Ange Postecoglou praises Emiliano Martinez following Tottenham defeat

Reports expected that Emiliano Martinez was likely to leave Villa in the summer following his World Cup win.

Tottenham were said to be at the front of the queue for the former Arsenal man, who did eventually stay put.

Of course, Spurs did end up recruiting Guglielmo Vicario between the sticks, a very smart signing.

But as Martinez showed yesterday, he does have the potential to win the biggest of games with his huge personality and quality.

The keeper can also make mistakes, but that is almost part of his all or nothing charm.

And as Postecoglou pointed out yesterday, £17m Martinez was ultimately the difference in a match between two top teams in Tottenham and Villa.

Given that is now three defeats on the spin for Spurs, it will be very interesting to see how they manage a trip to the Etihad.

Despite his unwavering philosophy, Postecoglou surely has to take a more pragmatic approach to an extremely tough away trip given those he has available.

And given his lack of options, Spurs are now looking likely to make a £25m signing in January.