TheNational.scot

Spurs made the decision to allow last season’s leading scorer Johnson to leave on Friday to join London rivals Crystal Palace in a £35 million deal.

It has raised eyebrows, given Johnson’s finishing ability and Tottenham’s lack of goals in recent months, which again hampered them on Sunday when they let a lead slip to drop more points at home in a 1-1 draw with Sunderland.

To compound matters for under-fire Spurs head coach Thomas Frank, his favoured right forward Mohammed Kudus was withdrawn due to injury after only 19 minutes, and, coupled with Johnson’s departure, it left the north London outfit short of firepower.

Amid a busy spell and a run of two wins in 11 Premier League matches before this Wednesday’s trip to Bournemouth, Davies called for the Tottenham squad to dig deep.

Davies said: “I think it’s sod’s law that when one guy leaves, Mo picks up something.

“Brennan is a great player. I’m lucky that I get to play with him on the national team as well as here.

“I think he’s going to be missed here, but this is the business of football. When players aren’t playing, other suitors will come along, and that’s what’s happened.

“That’s the positive to look at (unbeaten in three), but we’ve got a stretch now, I think it’s five games in 15 days where it’s intense.

“You can see at the end of that game that both sides were pretty flat out; it’s not really an excuse, and we’ve got to go again in the next three days. It’s part and parcel of what we do.”

Davies was handed a surprise first start of the season against Sunderland and marked it with an even more unexpected tap-in from a corner in the 30th minute.

It was only his 10th Spurs goal in 361 appearances, and while Tottenham failed to hold on for a much-craved home victory, the 32-year-old was encouraged by aspects of their display.

“It was good, we’ve been working on set-pieces a lot, and everyone has to kind of do their job, and I feel like I did mine today,” Davies reflected.

“First half, we were really good. Then in the second half, they came out a lot more aggressively, and they caused us a few more problems.

“We could have been a bit more clinical, I think, on the counter-attack when we had the opportunities.

“(Home form) hasn’t been the one and only thing that we’ve looked at, but we want to be better, and we want to be winning games.

“Ultimately, it will only get better if we play better.”

The British billionaire, who handed ownership of the club to the Lewis Family Trust in 2022, was fined five million US dollars (£3.8 million) after he pleaded guilty in January 2024 to charges alleging he had committed securities fraud and conspired to commit securities fraud by insider trading.

A White House official confirmed the pardon and said Lewis, 88, requested it so that he could receive medical treatment and visit his grandchildren and great-grandchildren in the US, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

He had initially denied the charges of securities fraud and conspiracy with which he was faced.

According to prosecutors, he passed secrets to romantic partners, personal assistants and friends.

The information allowed them to bet on companies in which he had invested, using information only those with access to the business could have known.

The Lewis family took full operational control of Tottenham this year, after former chairman Daniel Levy stepped down.

Lewis will not be returning to the club, which will continue to be run by the next generation of the Lewis family.

Lewis said: “I am pleased all of this is now behind me, and I can enjoy retirement and watch as my family and extended family continue to build our businesses based on the quality and pursuit of excellence that has become our trademark.”

A source close to the family added: “Joe and the Lewis family are extremely grateful for this pardon and would like to thank President Trump for taking this action.

“Over his long business career, Joe has been a visionary, creating businesses across the world which multiple generations of his family are now taking forward.

“This is why there is so much more to the Joe Lewis story than this one event.”

Lewis built his wealth through the investment company Tavistock Group, and bought a controlling stake in Tottenham Hotspur in 2001.

In 2022 he ceded control of the club and formally handed his stake to a family trust and has no day-to-day involvement with the club.

Spurs is now run by Joe Lewis’s daughter Vivienne, his son Charles, and Vivienne’s husband Nick Beucher, as well as non-executive chairman Peter Charrington and chief executive Vinai Venkatesham.

Mr Levy stepped down as chairman of the club in September after nearly 25 years.

Lewis, who handed ownership of the club to the Lewis Family Trust in 2022, was fined 5 million US dollars (£3.8 million) last year after the British billionaire pleaded guilty to insider trading.

The Lewis family took full operational control of Tottenham this year, after former chairman Daniel Levy stepped down.

But Lewis will not be returning to the club, which will continue to be run by the next generation of the Lewis family.

The White House is due to publish Lewis’s pardon later today.

Lewis said: “I am pleased all of this is now behind me, and I can enjoy retirement and watch as my family and extended family continue to build our businesses based on the quality and pursuit of excellence that has become our trademark.”

A source close to the Lewis family added: “Joe and the Lewis family are extremely grateful for this pardon and would like to thank President Trump for taking this action.

“Over his long business career, Joe has been a visionary, creating businesses across the world which multiple generations of his family are now taking forward.

“This is why there is so much more to the Joe Lewis story than this one event.”

Spurs is now run by Joe Lewis’s daughter Vivienne, son Charles and Vivienne’s husband Nick Beucher, as well as non-executive chairman Peter Charrington and chief executive Vinai Venkatesham.

Mr Levy stepped down as chairman of the club in September after nearly 25 years.