Ange Postecoglou says even in-form Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah would find life a struggle at the moment in the Tottenham team he manages.
Spurs are set to face the Reds in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on Wednesday (20:00 GMT), during a difficult run of form.
Tottenham have lost three and drawn one of their past four matches, including a 6-3 Premier League defeat by Liverpool on 22 December.
Egypt international Salah scored twice in that game and has netted 21 goals from 27 appearances in all competitions during a particularly eye-catching campaign.
However, under-pressure Postecoglou believes even having an “unbelievable player” in Salah at his disposal would have done little to improve their fortunes.
“Mo is a world-class player, but if you put him in our team now I’m not sure he’ll have that same level of performance because of the situation we’re in as a group,” said the Spurs boss.
“His attacking play, who do you need? You need a team that’s kind of in good form, creating opportunities, playing on the front foot, having a really solid foundation of a defence that is cohesive. None of these things exist at the moment.”
Spurs head into the match against Arne Slot’s side with the news that captain Son Heung-min will stay at the club until at least the summer of 2026 after activating an option to extend his contract.
Son has scored 169 times in 431 Spurs appearances, including seven goals in all competitions this season.
Postecoglou felt the South Korean’s form does not reflect his true ability when compared with fellow 32-year-old Salah.
“You’ve always got to give context. He [Salah] is playing in a fantastic team that are flying at the moment,” he explained.
“I’d hazard to say that if you put Son Heung-min in Liverpool’s team, I reckon his goalscoring return would be decent. It’s hard for our players at the moment, they’re trying awfully hard to be the best they can be.
“But when we’re at our best, I still think you’ll see Sonny’s return, in terms of his ability to score goals and be really effective for us. I don’t think that’s diminished at all.”
