Thomas Frank has been handed a boost with PSG set to be without a key midfielder this week.
Sign up to our LondonWorld Today newsletter
Sign up
Thank you for signing up!
Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to LondonWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you.
Submitting...
Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a boost ahead of the UEFA Super Cup clash with Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night with the French giants sent to be without midfield linchpin Joao Neves for the clash.
Thomas Frank’s first competitive match in charge comes as a result of Spurs winning the Europa League under Ange Postecoglou last season. The victors of that tournament take on the winners of the Champions League in a curtain raiser for the season ahead.
It gives the former Brentford manager the chance to get his hands on a piece of silverware immediately but Paris Saint-Germain represent a notoriously difficult opponent. The Champions League winners made it to the final of the Club World Cup this summer but will be weakened against Tottenham Hotspur having picked up a red card in that game.
PSG handed suspension blow ahead of Tottenham Hotspur
Neves was sent off in the closing stages of that 3-0 defeat to Enzo Maresca’s side in what was a crazy incident involving full-back Marc Cucurella. The PSG star was left fuming by the Spaniard’s trademark antics and resorted to pulling on his long hair late on.
It’s now been confirmed by French journalist Fabrice Hawkins that the red card will rule Neves out of the fixture against Spurs, despite that red card coming in a separate tournament. The player will then also miss out of Paris Saint-Germain’s Ligue 1 opening against Nantes on August 17.
It’s a big blow for Luis Enrique. Neves made 59 appearances in all competitions last season and the player was regularly praised by his manager. Speaking about the 20-year-old last September, Enrique said: “What I expect from him is the same as I expect from all midfield players.
“He adapts perfectly to my idea of the game: his style of play, his physical strength, his intelligence, his relationships with his teammates. He has one important characteristic: he doesn't lose the ball. He adapted to the team very quickly. He and the other players who arrived have a good connection with the rest of the team.”
Thomas Frank ready for Super Cup clash
Neves played 84 minutes in the 5-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League final and became a regular starter in Enrique’s XI despite his young age. The French outfit forked out a €59.9 million fee with €10 million of add-ons in 2024 to sign the player from Benfica.
Speaking ahead of the Super Cup, Thomas Frank said: “We will 100% be ready for that game. I’m not in doubt about that. There are six days ahead… then we will be ready against PSG.
“The lesson I want to learn is that we won. That game will be about winning. If, for whatever reason, we shouldn’t win, then we will learn from it. We don’t see it as a test. We see it as two good teams against each other, and we want to win."
In other news, Tottenham vs PSG early injury news as 5 ruled out and 4 doubts for UEFA Super Cup.