Football.London

Every word James Maddison said on what Mikey Moore does in Tottenham training and his advice to him

Submitted by daniel on
Picture
Remote Image
Description

Tottenham Hotspur take on Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday and James Maddison took part in a press conference in Budapest ahead of the match.

The midfielder has been in fine form during Tottenham's four consecutive wins, the most recent of which was the 3-0 win at Old Trafford against Manchester United. The Spurs players was speaking to the media in Hungary ahead of the league stage clash against Ferencvaros and he covered plenty of topics.

football.london's Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Maddison at the press conference within the Groupama Stadium in Budapest. Here's every single word the England international said ahead of the match.

The England squad is named tomorrow, you know Lee Carsley well, do you feel you've done enough to get back in?

I didn’t think question one would be straight in with the England stuff, but… Tomorrow is the announcement, I want to be in the squad. It’s simple, every England player will tell you that.

I know Lee Carsley, I worked with him at Coventry, he was my assistant with the England Under-21s under Aidy Boothroyd who I had for a few years in a European Championship.

I feel really good at the minute. I feel as fit as I’ve ever felt, really. I feel like my fitness is at an optimum level.

Having a break over the summer, not going to the Euros, it does help. I know it’s been spoken about with Erling Haaland how he’s had a summer off and he hit the ground running and I feel the same.

I feel really good. I feel confident. I feel alive on the pitch at the minute. I always say the same cliched thing when I get asked about the England stuff. It’s if I just take care of my performances for Spurs, which I feel like I’m doing at the minute to a high level, then the other stuff will take care of itself, hopefully. I’ll just continue with that mindset and mentality and hopefully it will get me to where I want to be.

Did you come into the season with a renewed determination and resolve?

A lot of people make quite a lot of talking about the James Maddison of the start of last year. In my own head, the James Maddison that started last year has been there for four or five years in the Premier League, at that level. I think the exposure you get of being at a bigger club and winning games made everyone think ‘wow, James Maddison is at a really high level’ when really I felt like I had been at that level quite consistently for a few years.

Whenever in life you have setbacks, it can go one of two ways. And the gaffer has said that before. It is how you deal with that. You can either let it swallow you up a little bit and feel sorry for yourself and go down that route, or you can respond in the right way or the only way to get back to being successful and getting back in the England squad and playing at the top level for Spurs again.

It wasn’t a massive thing. I feel like I actually finished the back end of last season quite well. I always want to prove people wrong. Any sort of doubters, people who question, I always want to prove them wrong. That is where I get some of my hunger from, wanting to be the best version of myself for Tottenham, my team-mates and people close to me — but also to prove people wrong who doubt me. I get satisfaction from that. I feel really good at the minute and I feel sharp. Hopefully that can continue.

You seem to have taken Mikey Moore under your wing, what's he like in training and how good can he be?

Mikey, when he first came up I had to remind myself how young he actually is. When he first came up he was 16 and more of like a man already when I watch him play, he’s very powerful, and he’s only going to get stronger as he develops into his body. It’s quite scary, he’s got a lot of ability. But I don’t want him to feel any pressure because he’s getting a lot of people talking about him, and rightly so, and that’s down to him training well, getting in the first team and getting exposure which is what he wants. Firstly, he’s a great kid… a really polite and well-mannered young man, which is a credit to his family because as a senior player with a young lad coming up that’s the first thing you recognise.

You don’t want a young lad coming up with that arrogance, and that who does he think he is… And then his ability on the ball. We’ve seen it in training and the Spurs fans will be keen to see more in games. But we see it in training. He’s got bags of ability and it looks to me as if he loves the game, loves playing, gets tackles and sometimes falls on the floor and jumps up as if nothing’s happened and he wants the ball again. So I’m really excited to see how his journey goes and try to help him as much as I can.

I always try to have a little chat to him because I think ‘what would a 16 year old Hames Maddison want?’ and he would want one of the senior first team players to put an arm round him and one, treat him like a man, but also give him to advice to try and help him, and accelerate that success and living the journey he is going to have. He has got to go and do it when he gets the opportunity and I’m sure he will, and I’m sure he’s keen and eager to get going and get more minutes. I look forward to it.

With Dejan Kulusevski playing deeper now, do you share the creative load?

He’s a forward-thinking player, played a lot as a winger. He’s a top footballer with a top mentality and one of fittest geezers I've seen in my life. It’s nice to play with him, very attacking and I love it. He’s a creative player but it’s not like I felt responsibility to be only creative players in the team. The way we play we kind of create from all different situations with our philosophy. He’s a brilliant player, at Old Trafford he really grabbed the game by scruff of neck, driving us forward. He’s so good at carrying the ball. There’s a really nice balance in there at the minute. It’s a pleasure to play alongside him, especially when he’s like that.

You're good friends with Brennan Johnson and you posted an image of him as Ronaldo that the Spurs fans have called Brenaldo, how delighted have you been that people are seeing just how good he can be now?

Brennan is first and foremost he’s a very good friend, I’m close with him. I think a lot has made of him coming off social media which to him was probably not such a big thing. He’s the type of guy to have a break from that stuff anyway. People have maybe read too much into it too much but since then gone four in four I don’t think I’ll be telling him to redownload anytime soon… He’s a great kid, a brilliant player. No-one has every doubted that but he’s really showing it at the minute consistently. It’s not easy to score four games in a row. He’s a brilliant lad and a great friend of mine so I’m always there for him. That picture was a bit tongue in cheek, we found it funny when it was put in our group chat. But hopefully he can continue this form because he’s a real threat for us. He can do damage to a lot of oppositions in the Premier League and Europe so I like to see him in that rich vein of form.

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

Ange Postecoglou's unusual training decision and the youngster making a first Tottenham appearance

Submitted by daniel on
Picture
Remote Image
Description

Tottenham Hotspur took to the pitch inside the Groupama Stadium in Budapest for their final training session ahead of the Europa League game at Ferencvaros.

Following James Maddison and Ange Postecoglou's press conferences inside the ground, the squad that has travelled over from the UK were put through their paces in Hungary. As per UEFA rules, the media were allowed to watch the first 15 minutes of the session yet there was still plenty to be taken from that window of time.

Here are five things we noticed from the training session:

The weather

The rain had been pouring down all day in Budapest and it showed no signs of relenting as the Tottenham players took to the turf. It was absolutely bucketing down.

Postecoglou will be wary no doubt of further potential injuries amid the wet conditions with the rain expected to continue throughout Thursday. Both clubs will also be wary over just how much rain continues to pour down during the day and night in case they get another situation like they had last summer in Bangkok when the pitch for their friendly against Leicester became unplayable and the money-spinning game was postponed.

Who was absent and Reguilon's involvement

Postecoglou explained to football.london why Sergio Reguilon had travelled with the squad despite being unable to play as he is not in Tottenham's Europa League squad and who had missed out on the flight to Hungary.

"He's a Spurs player, mate. I mean, we've got a training session so it's a balance that we need 20 players for training, that's what we do for match day minus one. It didn't make sense to bring someone like Radu or a couple of guys who have got injuries because we won't get back until late on Thursday," he said.

"We've brought a couple of young guys in. The academy played last night and we didn't want to disrupt that, but we brought a couple of young guys and Reguilon to make sure our training is really good today. Squad-wise, from the weekend Destiny hasn't travelled. It's nothing significant, his injury but again it didn't make sense to bring him over if he wasn't going to play. Radu is suspended and Sonny is back in London doing rehab, but the rest of the squad plus the young players have travelled."

There were a couple of others missing though in the injured Richarlison and Wilson Odobert and also Djed Spence, who is presumably being kept in bubble wrap in case he's needed to play at Brighton at the weekend if Udogie is not fit. The 24-year-old is also not in Spurs' Europa League squad either.

Youngsters involved

There were a number of Tottenham youngsters involved in the session, including Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear, who both train regularly with the first team, but also academy defenders Alfie Dorrington and Dante Cassanova as well as 18-year-old winger Damola Ajayi, getting a first real chance to impress Postecoglou.

Maddison had plenty to say about 17-year-old Moore, who everyone is hoping to see more of against Ferencvaros on Thursday.

"Mikey, when he first came up I had to remind myself how young he actually is," he said. "When he first came up he was 16 and more of like a man already when I watch him play, he’s very powerful, and he’s only going to get stronger as he develops into his body. It’s quite scary, he’s got a lot of ability. But I don’t want him to feel any pressure because he’s getting a lot of people talking about him, and rightly so, and that’s down to him training well, getting in the first team and getting exposure which is what he wants. Firstly, he’s a great kid… a really polite and well-mannered young man, which is a credit to his family because as a senior player with a young lad coming up that’s the first thing you recognise.

"You don’t want a young lad coming up with that arrogance, and that who does he think he is… And then his ability on the ball. We’ve seen it in training and the Spurs fans will be keen to see more in games. But we see it in training. He’s got bags of ability and it looks to me as if he loves the game, loves playing, gets tackles and sometimes falls on the floor and jumps up as if nothing’s happened and he wants the ball again. So I’m really excited to see how his journey goes and try to help him as much as I can.

"I always try to have a little chat to him because I think ‘what would a 16 year old Hames Maddison want?’ and he would want one of the senior first team players to put an arm round him and one, treat him like a man, but also give him to advice to try and help him, and accelerate that success and living the journey he is going to have. He has got to go and do it when he gets the opportunity and I’m sure he will, and I’m sure he’s keen and eager to get going and get more minutes. I look forward to it."

What they did

With only 15 minutes to view, there wasn't too much to be seen but there were a number of different drills involved even in that time.

First the squad jogged around the circumference of the Groupama Stadium pitch before undertaking some sprints in the corner of the stadium.

They then split into two separate rondos with two men in the middle trying to get the ball back. Then they took part in an attacking drill with all of the players involved, trying to score goals in the one goal with those Postecoglou favourites - the low crosses into the six yard box.

Postecoglou leading the way

Postecoglou's coaching style means that he often stands back from training sessions at Hotspur Way and delegates responsibility to his coaches to handle training sessions. The staff and the Australian then sit down for a long debrief with him in the offices over everything that happened and what he noticed during the session that needs tweaking and which players stood out or struggled.

However, on Wednesday night on the rain swept pitch, Postecoglou took charge of the attacking drill and you could hear him in the centre of the players bellowing instructions and encouragement to the Tottenham squad.

They scored goal after goal in the one goal. Some were wearing bibs but it did not look like either was the team we are likely to see thanks to the smattering of youngsters involved in both sides.

Postecoglou was leaving us all guessing about the team he will select for the game.

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

word Tottenham injury prediction amid huge Ange Postecoglou update

Submitted by daniel on
Picture
Remote Image
Description

Tottenham star Destiny Udogie is hopeful of a swift return after he left the clash with Manchester United due to injury. Following a blistering run down the left in the opening 45 minutes, with the score already at 1-0, he was captured on the floor and receiving treatment from Spurs physios.

The Italy international was able to see out the half but he was replaced by Djed Spence at the interval with Ange Postecoglou admitting the change was precautionary. "He felt something in his quad, he obviously finished the half, but we just thought at half-time no point, we've got to be careful about how much we push our players," he said.

"Obviously, Destiny had to come on pretty early on Thursday night, which wasn't the plan and I would say Micky played probably more than we wanted him to." Postecoglou's comments over the weekend certainly suggest Micky Van de Ven may be rested, though he has since confirmed both Son Heung-min and Udogie will be absent.

"Destiny hasn't travelled," the Tottenham boss revealed on Wednesday. "Nothing significant, but didn't makes sense to bring him if he wasn't going to play. Radu is suspended and Sonny is back in London doing rehab." With Postecoglou seemingly hopeful that Udogie can return fairly soon, the man himself is also optimistic.

On Instagram, with Spurs going on to win 3-0, he wrote: "Coming back to London with 3 points. Sure i’ll be okay! #blessed [praying emoji]." Dominic Solanke and Pedro Porro were among those in the replies with both likely hopeful he can return imminently.

Though it appears as though Udogie will not be out for an extended period, his absence on Thursday is actually a major blow. That is because Spence, who replaced him at the weekend, was not named in Spurs' Europa League squad which means one of Ben Davies or Archie Gray will likely play at left-back.

Another surprising squad decision has also been made recently with Sergio Reguilon, who was not included in the league stage squad, spotted getting on the plane to Budapest. Despite the fact he cannot feature, Postecoglou has explained the decision to have him as part of the travelling group.

"We've got training sessions (here), so we've brought young players and Reggy, just to make sure the quality of our training is what it needs to be today," he said when speaking to SPURSPLAY.

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

Latest Tottenham injury news and return dates for Ferencvaros clash

Submitted by daniel on
Picture
Remote Image
Description

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou will have two new players absent for Thursday's clash away at Ferencvaros in the Europa League. Spurs enter the fixture fresh off a superb display and victory at Old Trafford against Manchester United, however it was not an entirely positive afternoon

At half time, Destiny Udogie was subbed off with an injury concern having received treatment in the first half. Son Heung-min was absent from the 3-0 win entirely after suffering a hamstring issue in the clash against Qarabag earlier that week, which Spurs won by the same score line, with Postecoglou now offering new updates on the duo.

Radu Dragusin will also be missing as he serves a one-match suspension for picking up an early red card in last week's European triumph. Summer signing Wilson Odobert will also be absent because of a hamstring injury described as "quite significant".

Richarlison is also not available due to injury and though Postecoglou's most recent update was rather worrying, the Brazil international looks to be much closer to a return. With all of that being said, football.london has rounded up the latest Tottenham injury news and the potential return dates of all four stars currently absent.

Son Heung-min

Tottenham will be without captain Son Heung-min for the Europa League clash against Ferencvaros. The South Korea international was subbed off in the 3-0 win over Qarabag last week due to a suspected hamstring issue. He then missed the weekend clash against Manchester United.

What Postecoglou has said: "Apart from Sonny everybody is okay [to face Man United] and Sonny I don’t think is too bad. He wants to train tomorrow and we will see how it goes and make a decision from there. Sonny is back in London doing rehab."

Potential return date: Unknown

Destiny Udogie

During the midway point of the first half against United, Udogie went down with a possible muscular injury. He completed the half but made way for Djed Spence at the interval.

What Postecoglou has said: "Destiny hasn't travelled. Nothing significant, but didn't makes sense to bring him if he wasn't going to play."

Potential return date: Unknown.

Wilson Odobert

In the opening stages of the Carabao Cup win against Coventry City, Wilson Odobert went down holding his hamstring and received treatment before he was replaced by Brennan Johnson.

What Postecoglou has said: "Wilson doesn’t look good, we are still waiting for it to settle down and get all the information but he will definitely be out for the next period."

Potential return date: November/December.

Richarlison

Richarlison has been absent through injury since his cameo against Everton at the end of August. However, he has recently been spotted back on the grass at Hotspur Way.

What Postecoglou has said: "[Richarlison] is a fair way off, I think you should stop asking me about him until I say I’ve got an update. He’s still not training with the first team.”

Potential return date: Unknown

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

Every word Ange Postecoglou said on which Tottenham stars stayed at home and why Reguilon didn't

Submitted by daniel on
Picture
Remote Image
Description

Tottenham Hotspur take on Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday and Ange Postecoglou held a press conference in Budapest ahead of the game.

The 59-year-old is looking for his north London side to continue their fine form of four straight wins, the most recent of which was the 3-0 triumph at Manchester United. The Spurs boss was speaking to the media in Hungary ahead of the league stage clash against Ferencvaros, who are coached by London-born Pascal Jansen, who earlier had admitted that Tottenham were one of the teams he followed as a youngster.

football.london's Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Postecoglou at the press conference within the Groupama Stadium in Budapest. Here's every single word the Australian said ahead of the match.

What have you made of James Maddison this season?

I think Madders has been outstanding so far this year. His form from the first game has been really strong physically. I've said a few times that he's back at the levels where he can play in the manner he wants to and do everything he wants in a game. In the last two or three weeks he's had an effect on goals and assists as well, which always gets highlighted with players in his position, but his general play has been outstanding. I'm sure if he continues in that vein he will be in the conversation for England squads moving forward.

You've got a special connection with Ferenc Puskas, how do you remember those years and what are you expecting from tomorrow?

I do have a special connection, for me anyway, with Mr Puskas. I was blessed to be able to spend three years in the company of one of the greatest footballers of all time but more importantly for me an outstanding person. He was one of the greatest people I've ever come across and I feel really fortunate to have had those three years with him, where I was able to sit there and talk to a person who in the football world had done everything but more importantly a person who I had so much respect and admiration for.

I still think about it and it still feels unreal to me that I got that opportunity being based in Australia. As you get older you keep those experiences even more. I would love for him to still be around today to see where I am because he played a role in me becoming certainly the football manager I am. He played a role in that but also the person I’ve become.

I'm looking forward to the game tomorrow. It's going to be a great challenge. Every European game, especially away from home, is going to be difficult. I know in this stadium, the atmosphere is going to be good. They get behind their team, they love European football here and I think it's one that me and the players are looking forward to.

Why has Dominic Solanke settled in so well at Tottenham?

Obviously, we didn’t sign Dom until late in the window and he was really keen to get his Tottenham career up and running as quickly as possible and then he had a false start. He got injured really early in the game at Leicester and then proceeded to miss a couple so for him it's probably been a little bit frustrating but I knew what we were bringing to the football club. I was really confident that the way we play and his attributes, that he was going to be a great fit.

I could see that from the first day of training, but we had to be patient. He's getting up there now in terms of physical fitness, I think every game he looks like he's getting stronger. It's a demanding role up front for us, it's not just about goals, it’s about his link-up play and pressing.

We've put a fair amount of workload on him, even though he's missed a couple of games. I can see he's getting strong. Obviously the goals help. He's a striker. He wants to score goals and that helps him to feel better about the beginning of his career here.

I think he’s in great condition, he's already made a big impact at our football club, but I'm even more excited about what’s ahead and the potential we have as a team and he as an individual and that he can make a significant impact.

Just as a follow-up, I know you wouldn't advise an international manager but from Dom's perspective and fitness wise, is he ready to play and be selected for England?

Yeah there are no issues around him from a physical perspective. I get enough stick for my own selections, mate so I am not going to get involved in anyone else's selections, but yeah Dom is fine.

Can I ask you about the squad, is there anyone you've left behind and we've seen Sergio Reguilon is here too although he can't play, why is that?

He's a Spurs player, mate. I mean, we've got a training session so it's a balance that we need 20 players for training, that's what we do for match day minus one. It didn't make sense to bring someone like Radu or a couple of guys who have got injuries because we won't get back until late on Thursday. We've brought a couple of young guys in. The academy played last night and we didn't want to disrupt that, but we brought a couple of young guys and Reguilon to make sure our training is really good today. Squad-wise, from the weekend Destiny hasn't travelled. It's nothing significant, his injury but again it didn't make sense to bring him over if he wasn't going to play. Radu is suspended and Sonny is back in London doing rehab, but the rest of the squad plus the young players have travelled.

With no Destiny Udogie, presumably Ben Davies plays at left-back and with no Radu here, is Archie Gray capable of playing in Europe at a centre-back or was that just a pre-season thing to get him minutes?

No, I think Archie can play centre-back. He's obviously played full-back, played midfield, played probably left-back. He's a pretty versatile player and that's one of the reasons we were really excited to bring him to the club. He takes in information well and with Radu being suspended and Destiny out, we'll definitely need him at the back. We've got a couple of different options about where we use him, but I'd be comfortable using him in any of those areas.

We spoke to Pascal Jansen earlier, he mentioned your game against his Alkmaar before, what are your memories of that and what advice would you give him as a manager making his way overseas?

Well, neither of us played against each other. Let me tell you that mate but I remember the game well. It was one of my early doors at Celtic and it was a very, very good AZ Alkmaar team that Pascal had. It was two tough games but important games for me because European football that year was the beginnings and I knew it would be important for Celtic's season. Yeah, real challenging games both of them. I remember them well. They had a very good team, he had them set up well and really intense games, high-tempo games. It's great to see he is continuing on with his managerial career and looking forward to seeing him again tomorrow night, but I expect an equally challenging encounter as we did when we played them.

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

Sergio Reguilon Tottenham squad call for Ferencvaros explained amid Europa League axe

Submitted by daniel on
Picture
Remote Image
Description

Ange Postecoglou has revealed that Sergio Reguilon has made the trip to Budapest with the rest of the Tottenham squad to ensure that the quality of training is what it needs to be. Not part of the head coach's thinking for the new season and looking likely to head for the exit door, the Spaniard was not named as part of Tottenham's Europa League squad after failing to secure a transfer away from N17.

Reguilon was not the only player to miss out on the 25-man squad as Djed Spence was also cut despite forcing his way back into the head coach's plans. Amid the decision to not include Reguilon in their Europa League thinking, Spurs fans got a surprise on Wednesday morning when footage and photos emerged of the Spurs players boarding the plane to Budapest ahead of their game against Ferencvaros.

Reguilon was amongst the Tottenham players spotted getting on the flight, thus raising plenty of questions in the process about whether he was now part of their European squad. Speaking to the media ahead of the Ferencvaros fixture, Postecoglou revealed exactly why the left-back is with the rest of the first team.

"We've got training sessions (here), so we've brought young players and Reggy, just to make sure the quality of our training is what it needs to be today," he said when speaking to SPURSPLAY.

In his time with the media in his pre-match press conference at the Groupama Arena, he said: "Sergio [Reguilon] is a Tottenham player, that's why he's here. We like to have 20 players for training, we've also brought some young players. They had a game last night and we didn't want to disrupt them too much."

The academy players who have made the journey to Hungary include Alfie Dorrington, Dante Cassanova and Damola Ajayi. Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear are also present after making the matchday squad for last Thursday's win over Qarabag.

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

min fitness latest and Tottenham injury update for Ferencvaros

Submitted by daniel on
Picture
Remote Image
Description

Ange Postecoglou has confirmed that Son Heung-min is unavailable for Tottenham's Europa League game against Ferencvaros and has remained behind in London. Handed a start in last Thursday's 3-0 win over Qarabag at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the Spurs captain made way on 71 minutes after picking up an injury during the game.

Son sustained a hamstring issue in his pitch time and it left the Lilywhites sweating over his fitness going into Sunday's showdown at Manchester United. The 32-year-old played no part in the 3-0 win at Old Trafford after he was left out of the matchday squad by Postecoglou, who indicated prior to the game that Son "just wasn't right for today".

Now with Tottenham set to return to action on Thursday night as they take on Ferencvaros in Budapest, Postecoglou has provided a new update on Son as well as revealing that Destiny Udogie is also staying behind in London.

"Sonny and Destiny are back in London," Postecoglou said in an interview with SPURSPLAY. "They're working away, but they're not available for this one. Everyone else from the weekend got through the game and is good to go."

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Postecoglou went on to add that Udogie's injury issue after coming off early against Manchester United on Sunday is "nothing significant".

"Destiny hasn't travelled. Nothing significant, but didn't makes sense to bring him if he wasn't going to play," he explained.. "Radu [Dragusin] is suspended and Sonny is back in London doing rehab."

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

Ange Postecoglou and James Maddison press conference LIVE

Submitted by daniel on
Picture
Remote Image
Description

Ange Postecoglou and James Maddison are holding a joint press conference ahead of Tottenham's Europa League match in Hungary against Ferencvaros.

Spurs will be looking to keep their momentum going after four wins in 12 days, a run that culminated in a dominant 3-0 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday in the Premier League. Up next are Ferencvaros, who currently sit top of the Hungarian top flight with six wins from six games with 12 goals scored and only two conceded.

Postecoglou will deliver an update on the fitness of his captain Son Heung-min, who missed the win at United with a hamstring issue, and the Australian will also provide news on left-back Destiny Udogie, who was substituted at half-time after feeling some soreness in his quadriceps.

The Tottenham boss is expected to hand further minutes to teenagers Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall and there could be more minutes for 17-year-old Mikey Moore, after the young winger came on at Old Trafford, while 19-year-old academy striker Will Lankshear could also make his competitive debut for Spurs at some point during the game.

Maddison will be asked about his impressive form so far this season and his hope of returning to the latest England squad, which will be announced ahead of the upcoming international break.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to the Spurs boss and his midfielder. Scroll down for his latest updates from the press conference at the Groupama Arena in Budapest.

Before you continue

Submitted by daniel on
Picture
Remote Image
Description

If you choose to “Accept all,” we will also use cookies and data to

Develop and improve new services

Deliver and measure the effectiveness of ads

Show personalized content, depending on your settings

Show personalized ads, depending on your settings

If you choose to “Reject all,” we will not use cookies for these additional purposes.

Non-personalized content is influenced by things like the content you’re currently viewing, activity in your active Search session, and your location. Non-personalized ads are influenced by the content you’re currently viewing and your general location. Personalized content and ads can also include more relevant results, recommendations, and tailored ads based on past activity from this browser, like previous Google searches. We also use cookies and data to tailor the experience to be age-appropriate, if relevant.

Four Tottenham changes Ange Postecoglou would love to make vs Ferencvaros

Submitted by daniel on
Picture
Remote Image
Description

Ange Postecoglou will take the opportunity to rotate his team when Tottenham return to action on Thursday evening. Fresh from that convincing 3-0 win at Manchester United on Sunday, Spurs take on Hungarian side Ferencvaros in their second Europa League league phase game.

Postecoglou made a number of changes for last week's 3-0 win over Qarabag and it's likely he will do the same this time around with a tricky game at Brighton & Hove Albion on the calendar for Sunday afternoon. A number of those on the periphery of the starting XI will come into the side but Spurs do actually find themselves light in a couple of positions as things stand.

Radu Dragusin's red card in the opening minutes of the Qarabag game means that he is suspended for the match at the Groupama Arena as his punishment is a one-match ban. There are also question marks over Destiny Udogie's fitness after coming off at half-time in last Sunday's win at Old Trafford.

The possible absence of both leaves Tottenham a tad short at the back, with Djed Spence also not available after his omission from the team's Europa League squad. Spurs do have options galore in midfield as things stand but it's a different story in attack.

Already without Richarlison and Wilson Odobert through injury, Son Heung-min could possibly be missing for the second game in succession but that will all become clear when Postecoglou holds his pre-match press conference on Wednesday evening in Budapest. Due to the lack of options up front, Dominic Solanke looks like he will start once again unless the head coach springs a major surprise and hands Will Lankshear his full Tottenham debut.

Following a busy start to the season and with some players perhaps playing more than Postecoglou would have liked, the 59-year-old may use it as the ideal opportunity to rest some of his first-team regulars even though some of his options are limited. Speaking to football.london immediately after the win over Manchester United, the 59-year-old indicated that Micky van de Ven "played probably more than we wanted him to" against Qarabag due to Dragusin's red card, thus explaining his late substitution at Old Trafford.

The Netherlands international's only real rest this season came in the 2-1 win at Coventry City as he was left out of the matchday squad, with the player also absent at Newcastle but that was simply down to injury. Cristian Romero's return from his European suspension is a boost for Tottenham and there is also one of Archie Gray or Ben Davies to consider at centre-back in order to give Van de Ven the breather he requires.

It would also be wise to leave Udogie out of the team after the left-back felt something in his quad at Manchester United and made way for Spence at half-time as a result. Again, Spurs didn't plan for Udogie to play as much as he did against Qarabag but Dragusin's red card saw them rip up any plans devised pre-match.

The 21-year-old has played every single game for Tottenham this season, completing the 90 minutes in four of his eight appearances. As Udogie only played 45 minutes in total in pre-season due to working his way back to fitness from the quadriceps surgery he underwent in April, it was always important for the player to get as many minutes under his belt once the league had started as he was always playing catch-up with his teammates in terms of his fitness.

Udogie is probably at the point now where a rest would be beneficial, especially considering the injury scare he gave Tottenham during the first half at Old Trafford when he went to ground and looked certain to come off. In terms of Tottenham's midfield to face Ferencvaros, Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma and Lucas Bergvall will be leading the race to start against after doing likewise against Qarabag.

That in turn will see Rodrigo Bentancur, Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison drop out of the XI and have a rest prior to Sunday's game at the Amex Stadium. Postecoglou may not be able to change too much up front, however.

One player he would probably like to rotate is Brennan Johnson. The ex-Nottingham Forest man has started six of his eight Tottenham appearances this campaign and he entered the action very early on at Coventry City due to Odobert's injury.

Those injuries to Odobert and Richarlison have limited Postecoglou's choice in recent weeks and that means Johnson is another who has perhaps played more than the Spurs coaching team would have liked. Mikey Moore continues to get minutes off the bench in a Tottenham shirt and there is an opportunity there for Postecoglou to hand the 17-year-old his full debut on Thursday against Ferencvaros.

Timo Werner would benefit from another go in the starting XI and the lack of fully-fit strikers probably suggests that Solanke will be starting again. In an ideal world for Postecoglou and Spurs, the team can put themselves into a comfortable position early on at Ferencvaros and then replace the big-money signing with Lankshear at some point in the second half.

Rotation was always going to be a big part of Tottenham's Europa League league phase campaign and hopefully that will be the case in the weeks ahead as they target a big year domestically and in UEFA's second club competition. Spurs may have limited options in some positions right now but Postecoglou must find a way of giving Van de Ven, Udogie and Johnson the rest they require in Budapest and the same goes for Solanke if possible.

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