Toure joined Spurs on a part-time basis in December
Premier League great and Manchester City legend Yaya Toure has reportedly agreed to join Tottenham Hotspur as a full-time academy coach.
The Ivorian initially joined Spurs on a part-time basis in December, spending a couple of days a week at the club’s Enfield training base.
The 39-year-old, who lives with his family in Hampstead, was keen to find a nearby club to continue working towards his UEFA A-Licence after previously holding coaching positions at Ukrainian club Olimpik Donetsk and Russian side Akhmat Grozny.
🚨 BREAKING 🚨
✅ Tottenham have an agreement with Yaya Toure to become an Academy Coach at the club
⚪️ Talks are also at an advanced stage for Jermain Defoe to take up a similar role pic.twitter.com/qIdxsZj8T1
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) July 26, 2022
Toure – who made 316 appearances for City, registering 79 goals and 49 assists – has also spent time working towards his badges with QPR, Blackburn and the Welsh FA.
Speaking to The Coaches’ Voice earlier this year, Toure said: “I have started to realise how good it is to be a coach. But sitting in an office the whole time – that’s not me.
“I want to be out on the grass, interacting with other people, exchanging ideas.”
Spurs have helped a number of former players undertake their coaching badges, with Bournemouth boss Scott Parker and Ryan Mason, who now assists first-team manager Antonio Conte, both spending time with the academy before moving on to other roles.
🚨Tottenham Hotspur are set to appoint Jermain Defoe and Yaya Toure as academy coaches.
🧮Spurs have helped both former players undertake their coaching badges and they are set to be handed charge of their own age-group teams as part of a rejigged academy staff.#THFC | #COYS pic.twitter.com/1122LfbwtW
— Last Word On Spurs (@LastWordOnSpurs) July 26, 2022
Defoe set for Spurs return
Jermain Defoe, who scored 143 goals in 363 appearances in two spells at Spurs, is also expected to take up his first coaching job in the club’s academy from next month.
The 39-year-old had a brief spell on Rangers’ coaching staff after Steven Gerrard left the club last year and retired from playing in March during his second spell at Sunderland.
Related links:
- Yaya Toure picks his best XI of former teammates and it’s utterly bizarre
- Jamie Carragher admits he ‘admires’ Thomas Tuchel’s furious reaction after Arsenal loss
- Juventus statement confirms Paul Pogba has suffered a torn meniscus
