Ten months after beginning his Tottenham reign with a pre-season friendly against West Ham in Perth, Ange Postecoglou is poised to return home again at the back end of May to guide Spurs against the A-League All Stars and a yet to be named European opponent.
FTBL understands negotiations are at advanced stage with an announcement due in the near future.
This time the destination is the 58-year-old’s home city of Melbourne - with the iconic MGC likely to host what organisers hope will be two virtual sellouts as fans flock to pay homage to Australia’s greatest ever coaching export and the vibrant, swashbuckling team crafted in his image..
It’s a revival of the All Stars concept - scrapped last season after Bayern Munich pulled out - but a box office success in 2022 when Barcelona strutted their stuff in front of 76,000 at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium.
By the time Ange and his team touch down in Victoria, he will be able to reassess and re-evaluate his debut season in north London, with the prospect - very possibly - of Champions League to look forward to in 2024-2025.
Whatever transpires, Tottenham’s arrival - with all the trappings of Ange attached - is guaranteed to generate enormous interest and expectation in a city where top tier sport holds a religious-like grip on the populace.
Tottenham will play both games within a four-day time frame - with the Lillywhites currently sitting fifth in the Premier League two points off Champions League qualification.
Organisers are confident Postecoglou will name his strongest possible squad, as was the case last year in Perth, though with the Euro 2024 kicking off in Germany in mid-June, the likes of playmaker James Maddison (England), Destiny Odogie (Italy) and Micky van de Ven (Netherlands) could all be otherwise engaged preparing for battle with their respective nations.
Regardless, Tottenham will be replete with star performers such as skipper Son Heung-min, World Cup winning defender Cristian Romero, Brazilian striker Richarlison and the African axis of Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma.
The identity of the third team is unclear at this stage - but is expected to be a big name side from Continental Europe.