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Hello and welcome to live coverage of Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham press conference ahead of this weekend's game against West Ham.

Premier League football is finally back after the second international break of the 2024/25 term.

Tottenham were on the losing side at Brighton & Hove Albion in their last league fixture and the hope will be that they can bounce back and return to winning ways against the Hammers.

London derby clashes are never straightforward, however, and the visitors will travel to N17 keen to follow up last season's win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

As well as discussing the West Ham game, Postecoglou will also be quizzed on the latest on the injury front, how his team react to the Brighton defeat and plenty more.

Our Spurs correspondent Rob Guest is at Hotspur Way and is among those putting the questions to the head coach. Scroll down for the latest updates from the press conference.

Real Madrid are reportedly eyeing up a move for Tottenham's Pedro Porro. Carlo Ancelotti's side want to add a new right-back after Dani Carvajal suffered a season-ending knee injury and Porro is on their shortlist.

Porro joined Spurs on loan from Sporting CP in January 2023 before making the move permanent for £39million in the following summer. After a mixed first six months, the Spaniard emerged as one of the best defenders in the Premier League last season under Ange Postecoglou.

In fact, Porro scored four times and added seven assists in 37 matches and that form attracted interest from a number of clubs in the summer. The 25-year-old stayed in north London and has started the season in a similar vein as Spurs look to improve and get back into the Champions League.

But now, it has been reported that Real are tracking his progress and are considering him as a potential Trent Alexander-Arnold alternative if they cannot sign the Liverpool right-back. According to The Athletic, Porro, Bayer Leverkusen's Jeremie Frimpong and Sevilla's Juanlu are the other names that Los Blancos have identified, with Alexander-Arnold their priority transfer target in that position.

Although Porro's attacking output has stood out, his defensive contribution can also be admired. He finished his debut campaign as the top tackling right-back in the Premier League with 63 won.

Porro has until 2028 to run on his contract but Tottenham could be tempted to sell if a mega-money bid comes in, despite his significance to the side. Meanwhile, Teamtalk.com report that Real are open to a £54.4m offer for Porro, who has previously indicated his 'pride' at being linked with major European clubs.

"Of course I'm proud of these links, it means I'm doing things well," Porro said. "If that happens one day, it happens. Now I'm fully focused on my club, Tottenham."

If Real's interest does turn into something substantial, Atalanta star Raoul Bellamova has been named as a potential replacement. It's claimed that Tottenham’s former sporting director Fabio Paratici has given his old club a glowing report on Bellamova following his summer move to Bergamo.

Enjoy some Spurs nostalgia with the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham where it's all about the 1990s! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Tottenham Hotspur are up first this weekend as Premier League action resumes following the second international break of the season. The pause in play probably didn't come at the best time for Ange Postecoglou's side as everyone no doubt would have preferred to immediately right the wrongs of the Brighton & Hove Albion defeat.

In excellent form prior to their capitulation on the south coast, Tottenham really need to return to winning ways on Saturday lunchtime when West Ham visit Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Hammers haven't enjoyed the best of starts to the season under new boss Julen Lopetegui but they did win in their last fixture after hitting Ipswich Town for four.

Tottenham do look set to receive a boost on the injury front going into the London derby with Son Heung-min and Richarlison in a good position to return. So do either of the duo come straight into the team to face West Ham? Our Tottenham writers at football.london have had their say below.

Rob Guest - Football writer

Ange Postecoglou very much has a preferred Tottenham XI when it comes to the Premier League and you would imagine he sticks with it despite the defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion last time out. It may only be one change from the loss at the Amex, with Son Heung-min coming back into the team following his injury as Timo Werner drops down to the bench.

Another change Postecoglou could consider is bringing Yves Bissouma into the XI for Rodrigo Bentancur. However, the Uruguayan has spent the past fortnight working at Hotspur Way with Postecoglou and his coaching staff and that may possibly give him the edge over his teammate.

Cristian Romero was in action for Argentina in the early hours of Wednesday morning and the quick turnaround with the West Ham game taking place at Saturday lunchtime could possibly give Postecoglou something to think about. As he does have his strongest Tottenham XI in mind, it's hard to see Romero dropping out for Radu Dragusin unless he is in no position to play from the off.

The rest of the team then picks itself.

Guest's team: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Bentancur, Kulusevski, Maddison; Johnson, Solanke, Son.

Lee Wilmot - Head of Football

West Ham at home. Three points are all that matters.

It's fair to say probably nine of the 11 positions in the team pick themselves at this moment in time. The back four in front of Guglielmo Vicario should be as you were, although a case can be made for Djed Spence stepping in at left-back.

Destiny Udogie has had an up and down time of it after an injury-hit summer and was at fault for the first of Brighton's three comeback goals last time out, while he did not cover himself in glory with the third either. You know what, I'm going to go with Spence. He's just signed a new contract, he'll be on cloud nine, let's see what he can do.

In midfield is where one of the two really contentious decisions lies - Rodrigo Bentancur or Yves Bissouma at the base of the three? I'm inclined to give Bissouma the nod on this occasion, with Bentancur available from the bench.

Then in the front three it's a case of whether or not Son Heung-min is fit enough to start. Ange Postecoglou has said he hopes to have him available and if that's the case, he starts.

Richarlison being back offers another alternative off the bench too, which is great to see.

Wilmot's team: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence; Bissouma, Maddison, Kulusevski; Johnson, Solanke, Son.

Enjoy some Spurs nostalgia with the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham where it's all about the 1990s! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Tottenham's global following has increased drastically since Son Heung-min joined the club. The 32-year-old signed for Spurs for £22million from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, making him the most expensive Asian of all-time.

During his time in north London, Son has been excellent. It took him some time to hit the ground running at the start of his Tottenham career, but once he got going, there hasn't been many in the Premier League that have been better in that period. Over the last eight full seasons, Son has scored 154 goals in 378 matches.

Following his fine strike in a 2-1 win over Brighton in April 2023, Son moved up to 100 Premier League goals, becoming the first Asian player to reach that feat. After that, Son said he dedicated his goal to his late grandfather and hoped his achievement would inspire young Asian players.

Son's impact has been felt all over the continent, especially in his homeland of South Korea. In fact, according to a Global Fan Report from Chiliz, Tottenham's following in South Korea (42.3 per cent) is the largest share by a team in any particular country - far above Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

As South Korean fans are most likely to have their love of football fuelled by an iconic player (38.21%), Son's heroics on the pitch have worked wonders for their global following. In South Korea, it's said that 58% of supporters chose their oversees team due to an individual player - by far the highest of any nation.

It's added that Tottenham have the sixth highest amount of oversees fans in world football. Real Madrid sit first, with Barcelona in second, Manchester United sitting third and Chelsea in fourth. Arsenal are fifth, with Spurs sixth and above Manchester City, Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain.

Son's impact has helped grow Tottenham's following oversees; there is no doubt about it, and the fee, which was said to be £22 million, does look to have been a bargain both on and off the pitch.

Meanwhile, it's reported that English clubs are by far the most popular with oversees fans. 32% of fans say their non-domestic team plays in England, with Manchester United still the global powerhouse and dwarfing their rivals despite not winning the Premier League since 2012/13. The Premier League is the most popular league for fans from the USA, Nigeria, Japan, South Korea, and Italy.

Ange Postecoglou made it clear during pre-season that there was a place for Djed Spence in his squad if the Tottenham man continued to "take control of his own direction". It was exactly what some Spurs supporters wanted to hear despite the right-back only managing to make six senior appearances for the club in his first two years in north London.

Many believed that Spence had not been given a fair chance during Antonio Conte's reign, with the 24-year-old not in Postecoglou's thinking either last season and subsequently spending time on loan with both Leeds United and Genoa. Going on those two loan spells away and because he was not previously in Postecoglou's plans, the writing appeared to be on the wall for the ex-Nottingham Forest loanee in regards to his Tottenham career.

The fact that Spence penned a new contract at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Wednesday afternoon is testament to the hard work he has put in behind the scenes in recent months to get his Spurs career finally up and running. Showing just what he can do in an impressive second-half cameo appearance in the pre-season win away at Hearts, the defender continued to take his chance in the team's summer friendlies and also training to really make a mark on Postecoglou and his coaching team.

"I think with Djed, for me we got him back into pre-season and we’re judging him on his merits," Postecoglou told football.london during the club's pre-season tour of South Korea and Japan. "He's a Tottenham player. To be fair to him, I think he's been very, very good for us this pre-season, in terms of the way he's trained and his general attitude. But a lot of these things are in the players' hands themselves. They kind of decide their own future in many respects and I think Djed is in that boat.

"I think there's an opportunity for him here, for sure. Thinking about building a squad, he would be definitely somebody who could [contribute] with the attributes he has. I thought last year there was a chance but it didn't quite work out. For those kind of things, I think sometimes players really wait for direction when they can really take control of their own direction."

He added: "Djed’s here. He is a Spurs player. He's a very good player who fits into our football and so it's as much about him as it is about me making a decision.

"As you see right now, he's been very good pre-season, he's been very good on the tour. He's impressed all the coaches, not just myself. For some of them it’s the first time they've worked with him and they've all been really impressed with him.

"Maybe he's learned a couple of things over the last couple of years about himself and hopefully we can sort of bear the fruit of that."

Tottenham are benefitting from the decision to keep Spence at the club this summer even if his minutes in the first-team have been rather limited. Spurs possibly wouldn't have a Carabao Cup round four game against Manchester City on the calendar had the defender not produced his heroics at Coventry City.

A rare positive on a poor night for the club, Spence got the crucial equaliser in the closing minutes before Brennan Johnson won it for the Lilywhites in stoppage time. He then followed that showing up with a really good performance in the 3-0 win at Manchester United after replacing Destiny Udogie at left-back for the second half of the contest.

A right-back by trade but someone who is more than capable of playing on the opposite flank, Spence has an extremely tough job on his hands in his quest to become a Spurs regular with Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie ahead of him in the pecking order in both positions. His omission for the 25-man Europa League squad has not helped his cause and limited his opportunities even further, with Spence the unlucky player to miss out due to Tottenham's struggles when it comes to those non-homegrown and homegrown numbers.

Providing that they do indeed advance to the knockout round of UEFA's second club competition, Postecoglou and Spurs can make changes to their playing squad and many will be hoping that Spence is given a recall as the club look to win the trophy in Bilbao come May. One thing for sure is that the full-back's Spurs career is now back on track after two previous forgettable years in N17.

It may only be an extra year on top of his previous deal but it is a huge sign that he is in the club's long-term vision. Spence very much took control of his own direction and now he is here to stay at Postecoglou's Tottenham.

Enjoy some Spurs nostalgia with the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham where it's all about the 1990s! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

It has been some start to the season for Tottenham ace Dejan Kulusevski. Undoubtedly the club's standout performer from their opening ten games of the 2024/25 term, the 24-year-old is also excelling on the international stage for his native Sweden.

Kulusevski is leading by example for club and country at present, with the Stockholm-born player getting to wear the captain's armband for his country over the past two international breaks. Named as Jon Dahl Tomasson's skipper with regular captain Victor Lindelof unavailable in September, Kulusevski kept hold of the armband for October's international games as the Manchester United defender came off the bench against Slovakia and was then an unused substitute in the win over Estonia.

Kulusevski's influence on the pitch for Tottenham has been clear for all to see, something he puts down to a growing maturity and taking more responsibility. It's not only on the pitch where he is "taking more responsibility" as the birth of his daughter, Leonie, has had a huge impact on his life and also his football.

Speaking on The Review Show following Tottenham's 3-0 win at Manchester United, a game in which Kulusevski toyed with the Red Devils, the Swede revealed that his daughter is his "biggest motivation" and that everything has become "100 times better" with football becoming "even more fun". Tottenham and Sweden are both benefitting from a key period in the attacker's life and it may even result with Ange Postecoglou getting a new leader on the pitch in Kulusevski.

Following the Australian's appointment as head coach in the summer of 2023, Postecoglou appointed Son Heung-min as Tottenham's new captain, with Cristian Romero and James Maddison named as vice-captains. Guglielmo Vicario, who football.london reported in September was added to Tottenham's leadership group in the summer by Postecoglou, is also another key voice in the changing room for Spurs.

Kulusevski's growing maturity and leadership, both in terms of what he produces on the pitch and also helping his teammates, is only going to benefit Tottenham going forward. At a time when Postecoglou is looking to bring success to the football club, having another leader in the ranks is only a positive thing.

It perhaps comes as no surprise to see Kulusevski's leadership qualities develop to a point where he has taken on the Sweden armband in Lindelof's absence. After all, he has played under a number of impressive captains in the early stages of his career who quite clearly left a mark on him.

“To give energy and to read the room with words and actions. I’ve learned a lot from many good ones that I have played with," he said in September, as reported by Fotboll Skanalen. “I played with Bruno Alves at Parma, with [Cristiano] Ronaldo, [Gigi] Buffon, [Giorgio] Chiellini at Juve and Zlatan [Ibrahimovic]. I’ve learned a lot from these players.”

He added: “I’m inspired by everything, by new things every day. I won’t copy anything, it’s 100% Dejan. I’ve always had it in me [to be a leader]. I love to gamble and am a very bad loser.

“I’m ready to sacrifice a lot to win. I will also think about making my teammates better, that is something that I have developed in recent years.”

Speaking in September, Sweden teammate Ludwig Augustinsson gave an insight into Kulusevski the captain following their UEFA Nations League fixtures.

“He has natural leadership qualities. He is a pusher," said the former Aston Villa loanee to TV4 (via Sport Witness). “He wants to move forward, he takes the initiative. He drives the team on the pitch and more and more in the dressing room.

“He is much more open and outgoing than before. He is growing more and more into a leader and he has a lot of experience at the highest level. It feels natural that it is he who takes the armband.”

Kulusevski has made an incredible start to the 2024/25 season and there is plenty more to come from him for both club and country. It does appear that his role is only going to get bigger for Tottenham and Sweden in the months ahead.

Enjoy some Spurs nostalgia with the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham where it's all about the 1990s! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Ledley King had never done any coaching until Jose Mourinho came along. And while things might not have gone to plan on the pitch at Tottenham under the 'Special One', King had a whale of a time.

King joined Mourinho's coaching staff at the start of the 2020/21 season and Spurs enjoyed a fantastic start to the campaign, leading the Premier League table after 12 games.

They had beaten Arsenal, Manchester City and thumped Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford. But things would not continue to go as smoothly. A last-gasp defeat to Liverpool at Anfield was proceeded by an up and down run of form and Mourinho was eventually sacked - unceremoniously just days before the Carabao Cup final.

Speaking on the Seaman Says podcast, in association with Betway, King explained how the dressing room was "dead" once Mourinho had departed the club.

He said: "Jose was great for me, I enjoyed it. It was a tough season in the end. We started off really well, we beat Arsenal 2-0 at home, beat City 2-0 at home, beat Man Utd 6-1 at Old Trafford.

"It was December when we were top of the league, and I'm thinking: 'We're going to win the league'. I've been at Tottenham my whole life, but now we were talking about Jose. He wins things. And then it took a nosedive in the second half of the season, Jose left, we had a cup final that year and I stayed and finished the season with Ryan Mason and Chris Powell.

"I was on the coaching side of things, and slowly but surely it just felt like the connection wasn't there anymore. It happens over a number of weeks, maybe even months. I remember playing a game against Everton, it was 4-4 (sic) or something like that. As a defender myself, 4-4 doesn’t give me any joy, but after the game it just felt weird.

"The changing room was dead, and that was the beginning of the end. It's tough when that happens because I've been a player and had loads of managers myself, but actually being on the coaching side of things felt so weird."

Ange Postecoglou is hopeful that Son Heung-min and Richarlison will be part of the Tottenham squad for Saturday's Premier League encounter against West Ham. Son has missed Spurs' past three games due to a hamstring injury sustained against Qarabag in the Europa League, with Richarlison only featuring twice this term due to a calf issue.

Question marks remain over whether Lucas Bergvall will be fit enough to be included after returning to Hotspur Way early from international duty. The Swedish star picked up a "minor injury" and subsequently missed his country's game against Estonia.

Wilson Odobert is another who remains on the sidelines for Tottenham after coming off early in September's Carabao Cup win at Coventry City with a hamstring injury. The winger has done some good work over the past few weeks and Postecoglou has stated that he could return to training with the main group next week.

"Sonny and Richy have done some good work and trained with the group which is a real positive for us," said the Australian in an interview with SPURSPLAY. "Sonny was always hopefully going to get through this international break really well and be ready and Richy has done some good work. Hopefully both are available for the weekend.

"The international guys I think just about all of them got through ok but we're still waiting on a couple to come back into the building. Lucas was the only one who had a slight niggle but we're hoping that he'll be ok.

"It's really only Wilson, who has also done some good work in the last couple of weeks, and hopefully he joins the main group at some point next week."

Enjoy some Spurs nostalgia with the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham where it's all about the 1990s! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Tottenham striker Richarlison has made his feelings ahead of a possible comeback perfectly clear online. After missing each of the last eight matches in all competitions through injury, the Brazilian appears close to a return.

For the second season in a row Richarlison has hit a patch of fitness problems which have hampered his progress. Now competing against Dominic Solanke for a starting spot up front, his chances to cement a spot in the side have been complicated.

With over just one goal in his past 10 Premier League games, Richarlison has been a peripheral figure so far at Spurs. Ange Postecoglou may well be able to add him to the ranks once more sooner rather than later.

Richarlison has been spotted back in training after overcoming his calf strain. Although this has so far been solo work, it is hoped that he will be back with his teammates before long.

Due to his issues, getting back into the matchday squad is likely to be extremely carefully managed. Postecoglou did indicate that after the international break there was a chance of ramping things up.

For now, Richarlison himself seems to have all but confirmed an imminent return. Reposting an image from Tottenham photographer Sam Cornish on Instagram, Richarlison shared the "It's comeback time" message sent to him.

Although Richarlison himself did not write this, he looks to have endorsed the sentiment, and it comes at a good time too. Postecoglou and Tottenham suffered a damaging 3-2 defeat to Brighton before the break, throwing away a two-goal lead.

They will next welcome West Ham, who got their first win of the season in a 4-1 hammering of Ipswich last time out. It is the first of a key run of games for Spurs, who have crucial Europa League matches to come as well as domestic fixtures against Manchester City and Aston Villa on the horizon.

Enjoy some Spurs nostalgia with the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham where it's all about the 1990s! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.

Ange Postecoglou has admitted he is "ready to explode" once his Tottenham players return to Hotspur Way from international duty. Heading into the Brighton & Hove Albion game before the pause in play on the back of five successive victories, Spurs looked set to make it six wins on the spin after taking a 2-0 lead into the half-time break.

However, Brighton would turn the game on its head in the second half as they scored three times to win the match 3-2. Postecoglou was very honest in his post-match press conference and labelled the loss as his "worst defeat" since becoming Tottenham head coach.

Unable to put things right on the pitch in the days after the defeat due to the international break taking place, the Lilywhites return to action on Saturday with a home clash against West Ham. Now that all of his players will have returned to Hotspur Way for training ahead of this weekend's London derby clash, Postecoglou is ready to get things off his chest after "sitting on it for ten days".

"You never know if it's (the international break) good or bad. Maybe for the players it was good, but I don't like sitting on a loss," said Postecoglou in an interview with Optus Sport. "You want to get it out of your system and move on to the next challenge, so you're kind of sitting on it.

"There can be a tendency to over-analyse things. It wasn't a good one, it was a sore one. The first half was unbelievable against Brighton and probably as well as we've played all year, but I didn't like the second half and what we looked like.

"It wasn't the loss, which was painful enough, but it was the manner in which we kind of went about it that I wasn't really comfortable with.

"You know what it's like with international football as the game finishes, everyone goes and the dressing room after the game is not the time to analyse. So I've been sitting on it for ten days, I'm ready to explode once they get back in the building and that will be my therapy."

Postecoglou has come in for criticism at times due to the team's style of play but that is not something that affects him. The Australian was brought to Tottenham to achieve success and he does believe that his team "will have success" as they look to accomplish their goals.

"I care about what I do and if I've upset one person that's enough for me. The scrutiny isn't the challenge," said the 59-year-old. "The challenge is the competition - you're playing against the best in the world. The demands of that are pretty dramatic in terms of where I've come from in terms of starting my journey.

"This club has its own unique challenges for sure. Are they more difficult than others? I don't know. When I was at Celtic I was expected to win. If you lose one game it's a major problem and not many can cope with that.

"It's just a different challenge for sure. I get why people would say it's the level and the scrutiny is the reason why you're not having success - I don't believe that. I believe we will have success and there's nothing here that makes me think that is insurmountable."

Enjoy some Spurs nostalgia with the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham where it's all about the 1990s! Click here for in depth Spurs chat on your preferred podcast platform.