Yaya Toure secures new coaching job at Belgian top-flight side

Yaya Toure spent eight years in the Premier League. (Photo Credit: Imago)

FOOTBALL Yaya Toure secures new coaching job at Belgian top-flight side

Joel Omotto 10:00 - 21.06.2023

The Ivory Coast and Manchester City legend has been working at the Tottenham Academy in the last 18 months

Ivory Coast legend Yaya Toure has left his role at Tottenham’s Academy to take up a new position as assistant coach at Belgian side Standard Liege.

The former Manchester City midfielder coached the Spurs Under-16s side last season. He previously held positions at Ukrainian side Olimpik Donetsk and Russian team Akhmat Grozny, having left City in 2018 and ended his playing career after spells in Greece and China.

Toure, 40, wrote on Twitter: "I am delighted to share that I will be taking on the role of assistant coach at Standard de Liege. It’s an honour to join the club and I am looking forward to working with head coach Carl Hoefkens.”

"I would like to thank everyone at the Tottenham Hotspur Academy for their support in the 18 months I spent with the club. A special mention to Dean Rastrick, Chris Powell and all the young players. Thank you."

Toure moved to City in the summer of 2010 from Barcelona for a £24m fee. It proved to be a masterstroke as the Ivory Coast international was a pillar of the club's success for much of the next decade.

The midfielder went on to make more than 300 appearances for City in all competitions and scored 79 goals. In his time at the Etihad Stadium, he picked up three Premier League titles, two League Cups, the FA Cup and the Community Shield.

Spurs meanwhile have confirmed the appointment of Simon Davies as Academy director. Davies, the captain of Manchester United’s famous youth team of 1992, joined the Academy as head of methodology last year.

He has considerable experience of Academy football having spent eight years at Manchester City. He also worked as assistant to former City captain Vincent Kompany at Anderlecht before moving to Tottenham last year.