Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou revealed that Spurs had been interested in securing a loan deal for Paris Saint-Germain’s wantaway forward Randal Kolo Muani, but insisted that a concrete move was never close.

The French striker was frozen out by PSG boss Luis Enrique at the end of last season. As it became clear that his immediate future would be outside Paris, Kolo Muani was strongly linked with Manchester United and Tottenham.

However, Juventus appear to have won the race for the versatile forward, who is set to have his loan deal announced imminently.

When it was put to Postecoglou that missing out on the forward was a big loss, the Australian manager’s response was blunt: “No.”

The Spurs boss revealed that there was interest in Kolo Muani, but quickly caveated that admission. “We were in,” he told reporters on Friday afternoon. “Well, it depends what you mean by ‘in’.

“We’d been interested and are looking at a number of players but did we get to the point where we thought he was coming to us? No.”

Spurs are slumped in the bottom half of the Premier League table, trailing West Ham – a club that were recently prompted to sack their manager – and Manchester United. Postecoglou has already welcomed goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky to north London this month, but has his eye on more additions during a difficult window.

“It is tricky as all clubs are finding and I guess traditionally it ramps up in that final week so we’re approaching there for all clubs,” the head coach explained.

“The club is working hard as it can and that’s all you can ask for. January’s not an easy month but I do know a lot of work is being done behind the scenes to try to get some reinforcements in.

“It’s not frustration. It would be frustration and disappointment if the club weren’t working hard, but they are. It’s an easy word to say but I know how hard the club have been working behind the scenes to get something done, but it’s not easy.

“You need agreement from three different parties. Sometimes, when you’re in our situation, other clubs realise that and try to make the most of it.”

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