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It was at this point 12 months ago when the injuries really started to pile up for Ange Postecoglou and Tottenham. One year on, Spurs have again had some scares on the injury front and they will be desperate to avoid a repeat scenario this time around.

Seeing Wilson Odobert return to the treatment room so soon after making his comeback from a hamstring injury, the summer addition looks set for a period on the sidelines as the head coach admitted that the winger's issue is "a serious one".

Micky van de Ven will not feature for Tottenham until after this month's international break after straining his hamstring in the Carabao Cup win against Manchester City. The Dutchman's defensive partner, Cristian Romero, then left the pitch early in the second half in Sunday's home win over Aston Villa after sustaining a foot injury.

That wasn't the only bad news to come from the game as Richarlison also appeared to pick up a hamstring problem when squaring the ball for Dominic Solanke to make it 3-1. The latest injury to the Brazilian does leave Postecoglou with a big decision to make heading into Thursday's Europa League tie away at Galatasaray.

Very much a game Richarlison would have started in order to give Solanke a breather due to the amount of minutes he has played of late, it looks like the head coach will not have that luxury now unless the ex-Everton man makes the most remarkable of comebacks in time for the game in Istanbul. As Postecoglou perhaps won't want to push Son Heung-min too much right now after taking him off just prior to the hour mark on his return from injury, the Australian may have to decide between Solanke or Will Lankshear to lead the line.

Many will be hoping that Solanke is given a well-earned rest, especially going on the rate Tottenham are picking up injuries at present. The summer signing has made a huge impact since his big-money move from Bournemouth and the team certainly cannot afford to lose him given what he brings to the frontline.

Postecoglou certainly won't be afraid of throwing Lankshear in from the off against Galatasaray after doing likewise in their previous away game at Ferencvaros. The crowd in Istanbul may be a lot more hostile compared to the fans in Budapest but that will only be a good experience for Lankshear and one that helps in his development.

After plundering goals for fun for the academy last season, the 19-year-old now wants to do the same in the senior team. The Welwyn Garden City-born player wasn't that far off marking his first senior Tottenham start with a goal away at Ferencvaros after sending a volley into the ground and narrowly over from Pedro Porro's cross.

Lankshear has been an unused substitute in Tottenham's two other European games this term but you would imagine he does go on to play some part at Galatasaray even if he isn't handed a starting spot by the head coach. Europe is the striker's best route to first-team football at present as he is yet to feature in the Premier League this term and you would have to say a Carabao Cup outing is unlikely at this stage of the competition unless of course there are some more woes for the club in regards to injuries.

Mikey Moore and Timo Werner will be in a good position to start at RAMS Park on Thursday evening, thus meaning Lankshear could join the duo in the frontline in what would be a repeat of Tottenham's attack from last month's Ferencvaros fixture. Postecoglou has so far rotated in Tottenham's European games and this week's fixture could be the one where he makes wholesale alterations in order to protect players at such a key period for Spurs.

Tottenham fans are desperate to see more of Lankshear and Moore in the first XI as both can have a huge say in the club's future. They may well get their wish on Thursday evening as Tottenham look to make it four wins out of four in the Europa League.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham for reaction to Spurs' victory against Man City! Click here for in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou could have up to five players missing for Thursday’s Europa League clash against Galatasaray. Attention turns to Europe following morale-boosting wins over Manchester City and Aston Villa in the cup and league, respectively.

The latest injury update is on Cristian Romero, who was forced off during the 4-1 win against Aston Villa at the weekend. Spurs will assess the defender this week, but it is reported in Argentina that he has suffered ligament injuries to his toe.

There was said to be a concern that he had a bone injury, which would have ruled him out for longer. It is, however, said that he will instead be absent for a week to ten days, meaning he will miss the clash against Galatasaray and likely the Premier League meeting with Ipswich Town.

He will join fellow defender Micky van de Ven on the sidelines. The centre-back has a strained hamstring and is due to return after the international break.

Another player who picked up an injury in the win over Villa was Richarlison. He sustained a fresh problem while setting up Dominic Solanke’s second goal to make the score 3-1, with Postecoglou confirming that the problem was with his hamstring.

Like Romero, Richarlison will be assessed this week, with no definite return date given. One player who will be out is Wilson Odobert.

The summer signing suffered a serious setback after making his return from a hamstring injury last month. He is not expected to be back available before the international break.

Harry Kane and Dele Alli have both sent Tottenham messages following the Premier League victory against Aston Villa. The former Spurs duo were part of an iconic attacking quartet under Mauricio Pochettino alongside Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min with the latter still at the club and key to the 4-1 triumph over Villa.

The club captain has missed the last two games with injury having only just returned from a hamstring issue that resulted in him missing three weeks of action. Morgan Rogers scored the opening goal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium but, just minutes after the interval, Son's deep cross was turned home by Brennan Johnson.

Having recently suffered a setback, Ange Postecoglou opted to bring off his skipper in the 55th minute with the hosts losing momentum until Dominic Solanke scored twice in two minutes to put the Lilywhites in total control. James Maddison then scored a superb free-kick off the bench to seal the points.

Asked about the the goal, he said: “I know I can be dangerous from them, but I probably haven’t shown it to Spurs fans yet. To be honest, I don’t feel like we have had that many of those opportunities for whatever reason.”

With Maddison having clearly enjoyed that moment, perhaps proving a point after being dropped from the starting XI, Alli has also provided his reaction with a clear four-word message. In reply to the Tottenham star's Instagram reel of the goal, Alli said: "bend it like Beckham."

Like Alli, Kane also made his Tottenham feelings clear when asked about what he would be doing on Sunday afternoon after scoring twice in Bayern Munich's win over Union Berlin on Saturday. Asked on his Cleats Club app for his plans, he said: "A chilled Sunday with the family and watched the Spurs game. Great second half."

Though both have now left the club, it remains very clear that they are keeping a close eye on proceedings in north London. The victory took Spurs up to 18 points, two away from Villa, and with the chance to move up to third heading into the November international break if results go their way.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham for reaction to Spurs' victory against Man City! Click here for in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

As we are now at the beginning of November, the January transfer window is edging ever closer. Tottenham were active in the market at the start of 2024 after signing Timo Werner on loan from RB Leipzig and wrapping up a permanent deal for Radu Dragusin from Genoa.

After plenty of movement on the transfer front in the summer, Spurs fans will be hoping that the club can bolster Ange Postecoglou's squad for the remainder of the season. It could prove to be an exciting end to the campaign for Spurs as they look to compete on four fronts and finally end their trophy hoodoo, with potential additions perhaps proving key to helping them achieve their goals.

In regards to potential incomings, Johnny Cardoso's name is always going to crop up when it comes to the transfer window reopening for business. Following Giovani Lo Celso's return to Real Betis at the end of the summer transfer window for quite a modest transfer fee, it was reported at the time that Tottenham had secured a future agreement involving Cardoso as part of their deal with Los Verdiblancos.

According to reports, Tottenham have a priority option to sign the 23-year-old in a reported two-week window in the summer of 2025 for a lower set price, which is claimed to be around €25million (£21million). If they elect not to take up that option and pass on the opportunity to lure the United States international to N17, the deal instead becomes a sell-on clause for a player they do not even own.

Speaking in September, Real Betis president Angel Haro opened up on the deal involving the Spanish side and Tottenham.

“It would be something interesting for everyone, it would mean that we would also have an added value,” he said, as quoted by AS (via Sport Witness). “In short, if there is a transfer in which there is a capital gain for Betis, Tottenham would have a percentage of it. There is also a purchase option for them, but it would be high and positive for us if it were to happen.”

As there is the possibility that Cardoso becomes a Tottenham player in 2025, some Spurs fans may have been keeping a close eye on him playing for Real Betis in LaLiga. So how exactly has he done so far this season?

The former Internacional player has featured regularly at the base of Betis' midfield this term, playing 13 games in all competitions for the side from Andalusia. Eight of those appearances have come in LaLiga, with one of his recent outings a standout showing as Betis brought Atletico Madrid's unbeaten start to an end following a 1-0 victory.

Lining up in the holding role, Cardoso displayed just how influential he can be at both ends of the pitch as he helped Betis to victory. Making four passes into the final third and creating two chances, the Denville-born player was also successful with three of his five dribbles and three of his seven long balls.

In regards to his defensive play, he won three of his five tackles, made five clearances, four interceptions and eight recoveries. He also won nine of his 14 duels as Diego Simeone's men tasted defeat at Estadio Benito Villamarin.

On the bench a couple of times at the beginning of the season and also introduced as a substitute twice in the opening weeks, Cardoso has been a regular in LaLiga since the end of September having started five of the team's last six league fixtures. The player has also featured prominently in the UEFA Conference League, featuring in their two qualifiers and two league phase fixtures so far.

Amid links with AC Milan, Tottenham's agreement with Betis for Cardoso could prove to be such a shrewd move if Postecoglou and Johan Lange want to add him to the playing squad next year. As 2025 approaches and Cardoso continues to go from strength to strength in LaLiga, the spotlight is only going to shine even brighter on him.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham for reaction to Spurs' victory against Man City! Click here for in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Ange Postecoglou finished his post-match press conference on Sunday by mentioning how important it was for Tottenham to win on Ugo Ehiogu's birthday. Ehiogu, who was Tottenham's Under-21s manager, suffered a cardiac arrest at the club's Hotspur Way training base on April 20, 2017 and died the following morning.

A tragic event that left the whole club in total shock, Tottenham assistant coach Matt Wells was Ehiogu's assistant manager in the Under-21s at the time and witnessed what happened. Something he admitted that he has struggled with given the nature of how everything happened, the 36-year-old spoke to the Tottenham squad in the lead up to the Aston Villa game about Ehiogu as a way of bringing everyone closer and also to show a bit of vulnerability.

Wells' talk proved to be a big inspiration for the squad going into Sunday's encounter at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as they won 4-1 on the day against Unai Emery's impressive side. Speaking to Tottenham's official website on Monday about his speech to the first-team squad, Wells also revealed how Postecoglou surprised him in the dressing room before and after the Aston Villa encounter.

"So, I spoke at the end of the team meeting on Saturday. It was a good opportunity to talk about Ugo, not least the timing of it, with Sunday his birthday and we’re playing Villa, the club he’s most associated with as a player, alongside Middlesbrough," he explained.

"The gaffer gave me the opportunity to do it, so I put up a photograph of the pair of us sat together in the academy restaurant back in the day. We had the salt and pepper shakers out and we were planning our pressing strategy for a game against Chelsea. Jenny Stephens [our former assistant football secretary] came through and snapped the photo, the two of us sat at the table, salt and pepper set up 11 vs 11!

"I was telling the lads what that photo symbolised and what it meant to me, and the whole timing of it, his birthday on Sunday. I wasn’t linking it to the game and saying, ‘let’s win it for Ugo’, it was just a way of bringing everyone closer with that family vibe, and I just thought it was a chance to show a bit of vulnerability, because the lads don’t normally see that side of it.

"They only really know me as a coach and wouldn’t have known what I went through, and what I’m still going through and processing. Everyone can relate to it, though, because everyone has had people they’ve loved and lost. So, it was just about that and my relationship now with Ugo’s wife Gemma, and his son, Obi. It was a nice moment and a privilege to be able to share that with them.

“Then, before the game, the gaffer, at the end of his team talk, something I didn’t know he was going to do, but off the back of that, put a picture of Ugo up on the screen in the dressing room before the game, which was really nice, and he spoke a bit about my talk and the pain I’ve gone through and just linked it back to the squad and how everyone can relate to that and the fact that it was Ugo’s birthday and, again, not saying, ‘let’s win for Ugo’, but more about the togetherness vibe.

"I didn’t know he was going to mention it in his interviews after the game and in the dressing room afterwards, he caught me off guard a little, he came in and where he usually does his team talk, he stood up and said, ‘Wellsy, the floor’s yours’, and let me speak to the lads again.

"I couldn’t tell you what I said, because I was quite emotional, so I just rambled on a little and thanked them all for the performance. It was a memorable day with the victory and performance and, for me, on many emotional levels as well. It was class from the gaffer.

“It’s been nice to talk about it this week. It’s something I’ve struggled with, especially with the nature of how everything happened, the trauma, I guess, of witnessing it, being there. In a way, it was quite cathartic.

"I did get quite emotional, but I said to the lads, it’s also been a privilege to be able to share memories of Ugo with them and I’m glad the performance and the victory made it a special occasion. It’s certainly a day I’ll remember for a long, long time.”

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham for reaction to Spurs' victory against Man City! Click here for in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

James Maddison found himself out of a Premier League starting XI for the first time this season for Tottenham's clash against Aston Villa. The emergence of Dejan Kulusevski in a central role has seen his minutes impacted as Ange Postecoglou attempts to find the perfect midfield balance with Pape Matar Sarr preferred on this occasion.

Being named on the bench in league action has appeared inevitable for some time, though, with Maddison an unused substitute earlier in the week for the Carabao Cup win over Manchester City. Prior to that, he had been subbed off early against both West Ham and Crystal Palace.

With Spurs racing into a 3-1 lead, the need for creative Maddison to come on and make an impact seemed to be dwindling. However, an injury to Richarlison, who had only just replaced Son Heung-min, gave Maddison the final eight minutes on the pitch and he certainly took advantage of that.

Following a foul on Dominic Solanke, who bagged a brace, just outside the penalty area, Maddison stepped and scored a delightful free-kick to put the gloss on an excellent second-half performance. Exactly as they did against West Ham two weeks prior, Spurs went behind early on, but blew away their opponents after the interval.

And in the dressing room at half-time Maddison has revealed that their ability to do exactly that was the message from Postecoglou. "The manager, at half-time he stayed so calm, because he knows we have got a chance to blow teams away in quick periods," he told The Mirror.

"Even 1-0 down, he's just like; 'Get your heads up'. We know we can go and score four goals in a half against any team because that's what we do with our intensity. Thankfully that's exactly what we did. We blew them away."

Despite scoring, Maddison was understandably not overly pleased at being left out of their starting XI - with that feeling perhaps shown when he was greeted by Postecoglou after the final whistle.

As the Tottenham manager exchanged a quick hug with Maddison, he also spoke a few words of encouragement in his ear. However, images and videos which emerged since have shown the 27-year-old was not quite engaged in what he was being told.

Despite that, it's very clear that Maddison holds no ill-feelings especially judging by his social media activity after their victory. While also posting numerous clips of his goal from different angles, he captioned an Instagram story, "three point lane...." with a pop-up included which shows a women shaking her finger from side to side.

That message appears to be a subtle dig at Villa after they had won on their last two league visits to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a social media post, soon after their second win, captioned: "three point lane."

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham for reaction to Spurs' victory against Man City! Click here for in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly set to go head-to-head for the signing of one of the most talented prospects in Europe.

The January transfer window is just under two months away and Premier League clubs will be busy looking ahead to the business they may be able to conduct in the New Year. Both Chelsea and Spurs had busy summers in terms of new signings, and it remains to be seen if either club will dip into the market once again for more new additions in January.

Reports are already starting to emerge about players that may be of interest in January, with Lecce star Patrick Dorgu the latest name on the rumour mill. According to Football Insider, Chelsea and Spurs are monitoring Dorgu with a view to potentially signing the left-back in 2025, which could see a move happen in January.

The report claims that the Blues and Tottenham will battle with Manchester United for Dorgu's signature, with several clubs set to be interested in signing the left-back.

Chelsea have several options who have performed in the left-back position this season, with Marc Cucurella, Reece James and Renato Veiga being used in the position by manager Enzo Maresca, with Ben Chilwell making just one 45-minute appearance in the Carabao Cup so far this term.

Spurs have Destiny Udogie as their first-choice left-back at the club and it remains uncertain if Ange Postecoglou and Co. would look to bring in a reinforcement in the position next year.

It was back in the summer that Arsenal were also reportedly interested in signing Dorgu, before the club decided to bring Riccardo Calafiori to the Emirates Stadium from Bologna to strengthen the left side of their defence.

It proved to be an excellent week for Ange Postecoglou and his Tottenham team as they claimed two very important victories. Firstly keeping their silverware hopes alive with a 2-1 win over Manchester City in the Carabao Cup, Spurs then followed it up with a convincing 4-1 win at home to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon.

For the second game in succession against the Midlands club, Postecoglou's side put them to the sword with four second-half goals. Helped by Brennan Johnson's strike so soon after the interval, Dominic Solanke helped himself to a double and James Maddison completed the scoring with a fine free-kick.

Very much a day to remember for Tottenham fans, the only negatives to come out of the game were Cristian Romero and Richarlison having to leave the pitch through injury in the second half. Romero's exit was due to a foot injury sustained in a poor challenge on Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, with Richarlison appearing to pull his hamstring when crossing the ball for Solanke to score his second of the day.

It was the second time Romero had left the pitch early in the space of five days. Postecoglou and Tottenham will be hoping for positive news on the World Cup winner, especially with Micky van de Ven currently in the treatment room after straining his hamstring against City.

Tottenham are in a much better position defensively than was the case 12 months ago, with the head coach this time having Radu Dragusin to call upon. Spurs are perhaps one too short at centre-back at present and they cannot really afford to sustain any other injuries in the position.

With the January transfer window not too far away in the distance, it will be interesting to see if Tottenham do look to strengthen at centre-back at the turn of the year as they look to compete on four fronts. That was a talking point on the latest episode of football.london's Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham podcast.

As well as discussing the defensive absences right now, Spurs correspondents Alasdair Gold and Rob Guest also reflected on a great day against Aston Villa, Solanke's superb showing and also the contributions from Dragusin and Ben Davies. Thursday's Europa League tie away at Galatasaray was also on the agenda as Postecoglou could possibly choose to rest a number of players to ensure there are no further injury blows heading into Sunday's game at home to Ipswich Town.

You can listen to the latest episode of the podcast by heading right here or watch the show on YouTube by going right here.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham for reaction to Spurs' victory against Man City! Click here for in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

South Korea head coach Hong Myung-bo has stated that the national team need to protect Son Heung-min's health following his return to the Tottenham side. The 32-year-old made his Tottenham comeback in Sunday's 4-1 win over Aston Villa after missing the previous three games due to injury.

Son would only play 56 minutes of the contest and looked rather puzzled when Ange Postecoglou decided to substitute him so early in the second half. The attacker did appear a tad frustrated once sat in the dugout and was caught on camera chuntering to himself and biting down on his shirt.

Postecoglou quite clearly didn't want to push his star man too much upon his return from injury, with his decision proving to be the right one as Spurs ran out 4-1 winners on the day. Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Spurs boss indicated that Son "was never going to play more than sort of 55/60 minutes irrespective of how the game was going".

Now facing another busy week with Galatasaray coming up in the Europa League on Thursday evening before they host Ipswich Town in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon, Son's minutes could once again be limited prior to the final international break of 2024. The forward has been included in South Korea's squad for their international games in November after missing out last month through injury.

Kuwait and Palestine are on the agenda for Son and Co. as they take part in qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. Spurs fans will be hopeful that the player's minutes are restricted in the international fixtures as they will not want to lose him ahead of a busy period of games from late November onwards.

Speaking at a press conference following the latest squad reveal, South Korea boss Hong was asked about his captain and how he plans to use him in their two fixtures.

"We will see how much his playing time increases in the next two matches, and that will be part of our preparation for the two November games," explained Hong (via Yonhap News Agency). "I don't think it's appropriate for us to push him hard on the national team just because he has returned to action for his club. We'll first have to see how much he plays in his next club match, and we'll go from there."

He added: "I obviously understand he wants to play for the national team. But first and foremost, we have to protect his health."

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham for reaction to Spurs' victory against Man City! Click here for in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Aston Villa must be sick of the sight of coming up against Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham team. Having managed to keep Spurs at bay in the opening 45 minutes of Sunday's game despite the hosts having the better openings on goal, the Midlands club could only hold out for four minutes in the second half before Brennan Johnson restored parity.

Tottenham were to hit a further three goals in what remained of the match, with Dominic Solanke scoring a double and James Maddison adding a free-kick deep into stoppage time. It was the second game in succession against Villa that the north London club had hit four second-half goals.

It was a similar scenario at Villa Park back in March as Maddison put the team one goal to the good five minutes after the interval. Further goals from Johnson, Son Heung-min and Timo Werner sealed a statement win against Unai Emery's impressive Aston Villa team.

Tottenham's latest four-goal haul has seen them become the Premier League's top goalscorers for the season on 22 goals. Even if they do fall a goal behind, which has been the case in 12 of their 14 Premier League fixtures at home in 2024, Spurs have more than enough firepower in the team to go on and win the game.

It would certainly be easier for Tottenham fans and also the team that they do not concede the first goal, yet you know that chances are always going to be there for Spurs due to Postecoglou's attacking football philosophy. As he mentioned in his interview with SPURSPLAY after the game, the 59-year-old knows "we've got other gears in us" and that is always going to prove crucial to the end result.

At a time when heads could drop given the team were trailing to a very good Aston Villa team, Postecoglou saw nothing of the sort in the changing room at half-time. Instead, he felt an energy in the room and noticed that his players "couldn't wait to get back onto the pitch for the second half" and complete the turnaround.

"I wasn't happy that we were 1-0 down, but I was happy with the way we went about things, because I could see that Villa were working really, really hard," he told SPURSPLAY following the 4-1 win. "What we know is that we can work really, really hard for 100 minutes, not a problem, we’ve got other gears in us. It’s then about testing the opposition.

"So, the key for us was to come out second half, go up a notch and really take the game to them and see if they could cope. I wasn't really worried at half-time that we were falling into the same traps as last week, I felt the energy in the room and the players couldn’t wait to get back onto the pitch for the second half, and the performance reflected that."

When asked if the result was reward for the sheer hard work of the players, he added: "It's a big part of our game, a big part of who we are, then you allow the quality we have in the team to bear fruit, because if you want to play the way we want to, where we’re constantly at the opposition, aggressive, attacking, for want of a better word, then you need a big, physical capacity to do that.

"That's why we work hard in training every day. Having that fitness base is one thing, but having the mental capacity to use it, because you could leave it in the tank. You saw that on Wednesday night, today, they emptied their tanks, everything they had they gave, and they got the rewards."

Tottenham have certainly got their rewards from their last two fixtures, leaving them with a record of nine wins from their last 11 games in all competitions. This weekend they could possibly jump a few places in the Premier League standings providing that they win and results also go their way.

Currently seventh in the table and three points off Nottingham Forest in third, Tottenham host Ipswich Town in a 2pm kick-off on Sunday afternoon. In terms of the teams above them, Forest play Newcastle United at home, Chelsea and Arsenal do battle at Stamford Bridge and Aston Villa travel to league leaders Liverpool.

Going on Tottenham's excellent record at home this season coupled with Ipswich failing to win a game following their Premier League return, the hosts will be the red-hot favourites to claim another three points. Regardless of whether they go a goal behind or not on Sunday, Postecoglou will be very confident of his team chalking up another victory as they more than have it in them to move up the gears and get the job done.

Listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham for reaction to Spurs' victory against Man City! Click here for in-depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.