Ray Parlour has backed Tottenham Hotspur to bring in Jermain Defoe and Yaya Toure as coaches ahead of the new Premier League campaign, as he told talkSPORT.
The Highbury legend added that ‘you want to see’ club legends return to their old stomping grounds, like Jack Wilshere has done at Arsenal after he was appointed U18’s coach.
The London Evening Standard reported that, with an overhaul at Tottenham, Defoe will start his role as academy coach next month, whilst Toure will be handed a job full-time, after he worked on a temporary basis back in December.
Yaya’s brother, Kolo, is already in the coaching mix, he was under Brendan Rodgers stewardship at Celtic and he is now with the Northern Irishman at Leicester City.
Whilst Defoe got a brief taste of coaching when he was coming towards the end of his reign at Scottish Premiership side, Rangers.
Nonetheless, when former striker Alan Brazil labelled the rumoured arrival of Defoe and Toure as ‘interesting’, former Gooner, Parlour, backed the call being made by Tottenham.
“This is an interesting one,” said Brazil. “Spurs are set to appoint club legend, Jermain Defoe, and three-time Premier League winner, Yaya Toure, as academy coaches. What about that?”
“That’s good,” said Parlour. “Jack Wilshere has just gone into Arsenal, hasn’t he? The U18’s coach, so you want to see your ex-players coming back in.
“Jermain Defoe, what a legend he has been. What a way to learn.”
THINGS MOVING UP FOR TOTTENHAM?
On the pitch, Tottenham are headed in the right direction after Antonio Conte guided the club to their target of Champions League football.
This is now the Italian’s first full season in charge and it will be interesting to see how he uses the youngsters and the academy.
Throughout his managerial career, Conte has been known to prefer experience over youth, as the signing of Ivan Perisic proved.
But if Spurs want to compete on all fronts next season, then they will need to dig deep into their squad and possibly academy, to perform.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
