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Tottenham have had an average start to the 2024/25 season having acquired just four points from their opening three Premier League games. Ange Postecoglou's side were beaten 2-1 by Newcastle United at the weekend but put in a solid performance at St. James' Park, with Nick Pope making six decent saves to keep the Spurs attack at bay.

"It's obviously a difficult opponent here at home," Postecoglou told reporters after the game. "The crowd create a pretty strong atmosphere for the home side, little things go their way but I thought for the most part we handled that really well.

"Then we gained the ascendancy in the game and we just needed to kill it off and we didn't and a disappointing second goal. I thought we switched off a little bit but the game should have been well over by then. So, another sore one unfortunately where we haven't got the rewards for our play, but ultimately it's three strong performances from the first three games. The results don't reflect it in that way."

A large chunk of the Spurs squad have since joined up with their respective national teams, with the international break meaning the Lilywhites' next game is the North London Derby on Sunday, September 15. A lot could happen between now and then so football.london has taken a look at what a dream international break could look like for Tottenham.

Solanke and Van de Ven return

Dominic Solanke has missed Tottenham's last two games with an ankle injury and Postecoglou will be keen to get the striker back up to fitness in the next week and a bit. The 26-year-old joined from Bournemouth in a deal worth £65million over the summer and made his debut in the season opener against Leicester.

An ankle injury has meant he has missed Tottenham's following games against Everton and Newcastle, however, so in a best case scenario he will return to training at some point this week and regain some match sharpness ahead of the North London Derby. "Dom Solanke is close but we'll err on the side of caution, he won't play on the weekend with the international week, we've made a decision to wait until after that," the Spurs boss said before the clash with Newcastle.

Another player Tottenham will be keen to get back in time for Arsenal is Micky van de Ven. The Dutchman was absent for Sunday's defeat at Newcastle as Postecoglou indicated that the centre-back was "not quite 100%" but he was "close in training" leading up to the game at St. James' Park.

Van de Ven did not join up with the Netherlands squad for their UEFA Nations League games against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany, and the defender now has sufficient time to rest and recover with other members of the Spurs squad at Hotspur Way.

No more injuries

This will perhaps be Postecoglou's main concern heading into the international break. With Solanke, Van de Ven and Richarlison currently out injured for the Lilywhites, Spurs cannot afford anyone else to pick up a knock between now and the clash with Arsenal.

Guglielmo Vicario, Radu Dragusin, Son Heung-min, Yves Bissouma, Destiny Udogie, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Cristian Romero, Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson, Wilson Odobert, Pape Matar Sarr and Ben Davies all received call-ups to represent their national teams this week. Many of those will feature in two games during the international break before returning to London at different points from the middle of next week.

Tottenham have an extremely busy period following the international break with Premier League, Carabao Cup and Europa League games scheduled so having all of the aforementioned players return fully fit would really be a dream scenario for the club.

Transfer agreed

While fringe stars such as Giovani Lo Celso, Bryan Gil and Manor Solomon secured moves away from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium over the summer, one player who failed to depart was Sergio Reguilon. The 27-year-old was expected to leave the club as he is now well within the final year of his contract and is not part of Postecoglou's plans.

The left-back spent last season on loan at Manchester United and then Brentford but failed to find a club before the English summer transfer window slammed shut on August 30. It's still possible Reguilon leaves, however, as transfer windows in Belgium, Poland, Croatia, Greece and Turkey remain open.

For both parties it's probably best if a deal is agreed in the coming days as Reguilon really does need to be playing regular football for the good for his career. Besiktas have been linked with making a move and with the transfer window in Turkey closing on September 13, there is still time for a deal to be struck.

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

Tottenham and other clubs may have been given the green light to make a January move for Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze, with club chairman Steve Parish admitting he was ‘astounded’ by the lack of interest in the summer.

Spurs were one of the clubs linked with the England international in the transfer window, but a concrete move never materialised and he will stay at Palace until at least January.

The Daily Mail have revealed that the midfielder’s £68 million release clause will be active again in January. However, Palace will also be open to negotiations for a potentially lower price.

Speaking after the closure of the window, Palace chairman Steve Parish has now admitted that he was ‘worried’ about losing another key player following the sales of Michael Olise and Joachim Andersen.

"I was really worried from a club point of view of losing Michael and Ebbs (Eberechi Eze) in the same window and we didn't have in Ebbs the interest that I thought we would have," Parish told Sky Sports News .

"I was astounded. Genuinely astounded. I mean, the guy's just an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person."

Palace did, however, resist interest in defender Marc Guehi. The Eagles turned down several offers for the centre-back from Newcastle with the offer reportedly reaching a fee of around £65 million.

Despite their resistance, Parish has indicated that they are willing to sell their players, using the sale of Olise to Bayern Munich early in the transfer window as an example. The club chief has outlined the type of clubs that he is willing to sell to.

"We're proud of the fact that Michael Olise's gone to Bayern Munich," he said. "We want to be selling to the top clubs, or to clubs like Newcastle who've got great aspirations and have recently been in the Champions League.

"So we have to manage all of those things. We won't get really great young talent to come to us if they think they're going to be stuck."

He added: "We want to be playing in the Champions League. The reality is we don't right now. That's what players want to achieve in their career and we respect that and we respect the fact that sometimes we're going to be a pathway to that."

Eze has been with Palace since 2020. The attacking midfielder scored an eye-catching goal in the 1-1 draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge before the international break, it was his 28th goal in 128 appearances for the Eagles.

Sergio Reguilon will be looking to follow Alfie Devine out of Tottenham Hotspur after a Premier League summer transfer window in which both were expected to move on either permanently or temporarily

Spurs have undertaken a huge overhaul of Ange Postecoglou's squad and left-back Reguilon was expected to depart the club as he is now well within the final year of his contract and is not part of the Australian's plans. football.london asked the Tottenham boss on transfer deadline day what would happen to Reguilon and Giovani Lo Celso, who later moved for Real Betis, if they did not get moves.

"They don't have to get integrated back to the squad. It's their decisions. It's pretty clear where they sit in terms of where we are as a squad and where we are as a team, but, you know, I've never been one to force people out," he said. "They've got decisions about their own careers and what they want to do, and if they're still here, they're still here. We'll work around that scenario, but it certainly won't affect the way we work in the first team."

Reguilon, who spent last season on loan at Manchester United and then Brentford, did not find a move before the English transfer deadline day closed and the same was the case for young midfielder Devine.

The 20-year-old situation is different to the Spaniard's in that Spurs have hopes that he can play for the club in the future. Devine is Tottenham's youngest ever goalscorer after his FA Cup goal at Marine as a 16-year-old and he has not been helped by changing circumstances around him this summer.

football.london understands Devine is now set to fly to Belgium on Wednesday as he looks to wrap up a season-long loan deal with Westerlo. He'll link up there with young centre-back Luka Vuskovic, who joins Spurs next year after he turns 18.

A string of interested Championship clubs were initially told that the England U20 midfielder was not available for loan, only for that stance to change later into the window when many had moved on to other targets. Despite plenty of interest remaining from other clubs, nothing concrete came to fruition and Devine was named on the bench for Spurs' Premier League trip to Newcastle on Sunday.

Now he's set to head off to Belgium for regular game time in the Juliper Pro League.

So what options are left for Reguilon? Along with the English, Spanish, German and Italian windows all closing on Friday, the Dutch and Portuguese windows then closed on Monday along with the Saudi Pro League.

The most notable windows that remain open are the Belgian one, which closes on Friday as does the Polish transfer window. Croatia's window shuts the day before on Thursday, but there is more time before the Greek window comes to an end on September 11, with the Swiss one the day after.

The Turkish window is a busy one and still has until September 13 to run. Besikitas have been linked with making a move for Reguilon in recent days. While at Tottenham, Jose Mourinho signed Reguilon and is now the Fenerbahce manager, so could he look at his former player?

The week or so ahead will tell us what happens with the Spaniard and if he does not agree a move, exactly what comes next for him at Tottenham.

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

It's been a mixed start to the season for Tottenham. Fans have had to watch on as their team dominated and toiled hard for results - but ultimately have come into the first international break with four points from a possible nine.

Manager Ange Postecoglou was clear in his disappointment at dropping three points against Newcastle in a match which they were on top in for long stages. However, they were ultimately unable to make a telling breakthrough to seal the points - a theme from their opening-weekend draw against Leicester City as well.

In between those games the team romped to a 4-0 home victory against Everton, showing just how good they can be. But lacking a killer instinct is something which has now cost them in two of the opening three games - and it was an issue the club addressed in the summer transfer window.

Dominic Solanke was unquestionably the marquee signing of the summer, arriving from Bournemouth for £65million. But he was not available for the draw against Leicester, and picked up an injury in the win over Everton which meant he was unavailable for the trip to St. James' Park at the weekend.

As well as Solanke, the likes of Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert and Lucas Bergvall have all arrived, while South Korean youngster Yang Min-hyeok will join the squad in January. The deals all seem to be pretty sensible from Spurs - but were there any opportunities they missed out on?

Questions are seemingly always asked of chairman Daniel Levy's leadership - but that is probably inevitable after a fifth-placed finish behind Aston Villa, with Spurs having to watch on as Unai Emery's side take part in the Champions League.

And naturally with a do-or-die attitude on the pitch, Postecoglou's tactics came in for scrutiny last season as Spurs narrowly missed out on the top four. Could he benefit from a bit more pragmatism?

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Premier League side Leicester City have won an appeal against a case with the Premier League over Profitability and Sustainability rules (PSRs) meaning they will avoid a points deduction.

The Foxes, who were promoted back to the top-flight last season, have successfully argued that they were no longer members of the Premier League for part of a period in which they were accused of breaching the rules.

An independent appeal board has ruled that the Premier League did not have the jurisdiction to charge the club during the 2023/24 season, one which they were in the Championship for. The club were initially referred to an independent commission for an alleged PSR breach in March.

Now, Leicester have won their legal battle with the Premier League and will not face a points deduction for the three years up to 2023 after successfully arguing that the league were acting outside of their own jurisdiction.

Top flight sides Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur will now take on City without the prospect of a points deduction hanging over their rivals, with Steve Cooper's side winless so far this season.

Leicester's statement reads: “Leicester City has won its appeal against a decision that an independent Commission had jurisdiction to consider an alleged breach by the Club of Premier League Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSRs).

“The Premier League first referred the Club to an independent Commission in March 2024 for an alleged PSR breach relating to the assessment period ending 30 June 2023. The Commission dismissed the Club’s initial challenge to its jurisdiction to hear the case, but the Club’s challenge has now been upheld by an independent Appeal Board, which reversed the Commission’s finding.

“Leicester City welcomes the Appeal Board’s comprehensive decision, which supports our consistently stated position that any action against the Club should be pursued in accordance with the applicable rules.

“To avoid any misunderstandings which may arise in light of the statement which has been issued by the Premier League in response to the appeal decision, Leicester City wishes to emphasise the finding of the Appeal Panel that, when considering the wording which is actually used in the Premier League rules (in accordance with established principles of English law) the Club did not breach the Premier League PSRs for the assessment period ending 30 June 2023.

“In its decision, the Appeal Board (which was made of up a panel of three experienced, senior lawyers, two of whom are former Court of Appeal judges) identifies flaws in the drafting of the Premier League’s rules. In challenging the Premier League’s attempts to charge Leicester City, the Club has simply sought to ensure (in the interests of providing consistency and certainty for all clubs) that the rules are applied based on how they are actually written.”

Lucas Bergvall has explained exactly what happened when he appeared to be struggling to breathe during Tottenham's pre-season friendly against Bayern Munich and what it was like being shouted at by Guglielmo Vicario at Leicester.

The 18-year-old has adapted to life at Spurs well since his £8.5million move from Djurgarden, turning down a switch to Barcelona to make the move, and wowed Ange Postecoglou and the coaching staff. His team-mate Pape Matar Sarr said last week that he believes the Swede will become one of the best players in the world.

However, Bergvall had a scary moment in the pre-season friendly at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last month when he appeared to suddenly go to ground and need to get something out of his throat. His team-mates called on the medical staff to get on to the pitch quickly who started banging on his back. Now the teenager has explained exactly what happened that day.

"First my boot broke completely. It just opened. I took a caffeine chewing gum to get started a bit after that. I forgot to take out the gum and it went into my throat. It was hard to breathe," he said in an interview with Swedish media outlet Aftonbladet. "It never felt like there was anything dangerous. It was more a little uncomfortable. I tried to bring it up, but I was calm. It looked a little worse than it was and felt."

He added: "It was a little uncomfortable. It was a little hard to breathe. That was probably what caused a slight panic.

"[I took the gum] to get a little extra boost. It's probably a bit of a placebo effect too. I use it a little now and then, if I might feel a little more tired some days. If you want a little extra energy, but it's not something I want to get used to. As I said, it's probably mostly a placebo thing."

Postecoglou has high hopes for Bergvall and admitted that after being unsure just how quickly the midfielder would adapt, the teenager, who was called up to the senior Sweden squad this month, has quickly shown that he's ready to contribute now. The youngster is just taking it all in his stride.

"I don't know what my expectations were before, to be honest. I came into a tough but fun pre-season. It was very new. I just wanted to start playing football again after the holiday break. The only thing I knew was that it would be tough," said Bergvall. "It was a motivation when I came to a new league with new people, new team-mates, new coaches, new facilities, diet, training, physical activity, everything.

"It feels like I have taken very big steps these two months. That I get into it more and more and have been able to adapt more to the game that is played in the Premier League.

"The quality of the players and the teams you face. It's incredible quality, everywhere. It is not possible to make that many mistakes or any mistakes at all. You must always be ready. This is the case regardless of where you play, but now it can be punished a little easier."

That leads nicely to Bergvall getting shouted at by his Spurs goalkeeper Vicario, who had to make a flying save after the midfielder gave the ball away on the edge of his own box late on in the opening match of the Premier League season at Leicester.

"Sometimes you do slightly worse things, sometimes you do better things. We were 1-0 up with a fairly comfortable lead. We conceded 1-1 and then that happens [when he lost the ball]," he said. "All is calm now. We have talked about it. Vicario said that there are hot feelings and things like that that happen."

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

It's been a steady start to the Premier League campaign for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal with seven points from their first three games.

The Gunners will feel aggrieved not to have taken maximum points from their most recent outing, having been a goal to the good against Brighton thanks to Kai Havertz's opener, but a red card for Declan Rice changed the dynamic of the game. A second-half strike from Joao Pedro ensured a share of the spoils.

Arsenal know all too well that every point counts having gone so close to winning the Premier League title in the last two campaigns, only to be snared by Manchester City. The international break will give Arteta an opportunity to further work with those in his squad who've not been called up by their respective countries.

One of those being summer signing Raheem Sterling. The 29-year-old is no stranger to Arteta, having spent three-and-a-half years together at Manchester City.

The Gunners' style of play is not too dissimilar to that of Pep Guardiola's side, so it should not take too long for Sterling to get up to speed, despite spending the last 12 months at Chelsea.

With a North London derby on the horizon, followed by a trip to Manchester City, not to mention a Carabao Cup clash with Bolton and a Champions League tie with Atalanta crammed somewhere in between, Arteta will have to make use of the full squad at his disposal.

So how can he get Sterling into the side and up to speed quickly? One suggestion involves shuffling the pack.

David Raya has made an impressive start to the season, as have Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes and Jurrien Timber, so it makes little sense to change a solid base, but with the latter of the defensive quartet forced off with injury against Brighton, Riccardo Calafiori will no doubt come in from the off in the fortnight that follows the international break. If Timber's injury isn't as bad as first suspected, Arteta should stick with the aforementioned defensive base against Spurs.

The suspension to Rice and injury to Mikel Merino means Arteta will have to rethink his midfield plan ahead of an important run of fixtures.

Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard will likely start against Spurs and Arteta must toy with the decision to bring in a like for like midfielder, someone like Jorginho, or opt for a midfield wildcard option. Allow me to explain.

Havertz has started the season in fine form with two goals and one assist to his name, and make no mistake, we're not suggesting dropping him from the side, simply moving him into a deeper midfield role. He may not offer as much defensive cover as Rice, but he'll be able to add a goal threat into the midfield three and impressed there against Bayer Leverkusen and Liverpool in pre-season.

That would create a space in the side up top for Arteta to repeat a well versed Guardiola trick. While it's fair to say a lot of Sterling's best work comes from the wide area of the pitch, he played a number of games up front for Manchester City, with his Gunners team- mate Gabriel Jesus shifted out onto the left.

We won't be able to see an exact repeat of that tactic just yet, given Jesus' absence through injury, but it's an option for the Gunners moving forward. The Gunners forward should be back in contention to face their North London rivals, but they'll want to tread carefully given his recent injury woes.

Bukayo Saka is the first name on the team-sheet for Arteta, with either Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli fighting it out to feature on that left-hand side of the pitch, should the Gunners' boss decide to think out of the box. The Brazilian's pace, alongside both Saka and Sterling, would cause real problems for Spurs' back line.

Ange Postecoglou's side have been caught out a number of times when playing a high and aggressive defensive line, you need just look at Alexander Isak's winner for Newcastle last weekend to see a prime example of this.

Tottenham Hotspur missed out on qualifying for the Champions League last season after the Premier League was not one of the two European leagues rewarded with an extra place in the competition.

Despite having the second-most coefficient points, only bettered by Serie A, their average was bested by the Bundesliga because they only had seven teams competing continentally last year, rather than England's eight. Champions League group stage exits for Manchester United and Newcastle United were ultimately not offset by the other six clubs reaching the knockout rounds.

However, this season, Germany and Italy have eight teams in Europe. La Liga, Ligue 1 - before Lens lost in Europa Conference League qualifying - and the Premier League boast seven.

How all the Premier League sides perform in their respective competitions will determine how many English clubs will be in Europe again next season. For every win, two points go toward the coefficient, with one point for a draw. But it is bonus points being allocated that make the big difference.

They are also weighted higher towards progressing in the Champions League. Participating in its league phase alone adds six per team and teams receive an additional 0.25 points for every place they finish above 24th. That is the same in the Europa League but reduces to 0.125 in the Conference League before returning to 0.25 inside the top eight.

As such, the maximum number of bonus points, if Chelsea tops the Conference League league phase, is four. It stands at six in the Europa League, should Spurs do the same, and doubles to 12 in the Champions League because of the participation bonus.

Then in the knockouts, teams receive extra points for reaching each round. For the Champions League, it is 1.5, then one in the Europa League and 0.5 in the Conference League.

Victor Osimhen might not be the only shock striker Tottenham face in their impending Europa League charge this season. Ange Postecoglou and his vibrant Tottenham side are preparing for an exciting adventure after finding out their opening phase opponents when the Europa League draw was held last week.

In a revamped competition, the north Londoners will take on Roma, AZ Alkmaar, Qarabağ and Elfsborg in the four home games, while trips to Rangers, Ferencváros, Galatasaray and Hoffenheim await. Galatasaray away is set to be particularly noteworthy after in-demand Osimhen signed for the Turkish giants on loan.

Speculation over the free-scoring Nigerian striker was at fever pitch this summer, and Chelsea were deemed to be the front-runners for his signature. However, with Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain also lurking, the Napoli star was unable to get the dream permanent transfer he wanted.

It meant he had to settle on a loan switch to Galatasaray, and Osimhen, 25, has now arrived in Turkey to wide fanfare. Tottenham might not exactly get the same sort of excitable welcome!

Preparations for Osimhen can wait, even though he poses an obvious threat. That's because there are other plans for Postecoglou and his analysts to make before then, not least in the impending North London Derby showdown that follows the season's first international break.

The schedule is building up for Tottenham and they have 11 other matches - at least - in various competitions such as the Europa League before they head to Istanbul. One of them - against Hungarian club Ferencváros on Thursday, October 3 - sees Tottenham go head-to-head with yet another last-gasp signing.

Brazilian striker Matheus Saldanha has rubber-stamped his €4million move to Ferencváros from FC Partizan, which followed mounting speculation within the Serbian media. Saldanha, 25, has already scored three goals in six games this season before Ferencváros swooped.

His overall record for FC Partizan read 21 goals and five assists from 40 games. The striker initially made his name in his native Brazil and has also played for clubs in China and Japan.

Tottenham's array of loan players got plenty of minutes in the tank and logged some memorable moments already as their seasons really got up and running.

Spurs have 11 players out on loan across the Football League, Spain and France after a packed summer transfer window in north London resulted in a huge overhaul of Ange Postecoglou's squad. Many are gaining experience, some are trying to catch the eye of Postecoglou again while others are looking to earn moves elsewhere or in one case already have them set up.

football.london has taken a look below at exactly how the large group of Tottenham loan players got on over the past week.

Manor Solomon (Leeds United)

Manor Solomon had exactly the start he would have wanted for Leeds with an assist on his debut in front of the Elland Road crowd as they beat Hull 2-0 on Saturday.

The 25-year-old was straight into the starting line up for Daniel Farke's side, wearing the No.14 shirt, and got 74 minutes under his belt. He was a constant threat to Hull and went on one mazy dribble in the second half that brought a blocked shot before providing a lovely assist just after the hour mark.

The Israel international beat his man down the left and curled in a left-footed teasing cross around the second defender which Mateo Joseph touched home in the six yard box.

"Solomon has experience in England. He has shown a lot. He was a bit in his rhythm already. I was sure he could deliver with his experience and he did. It was also crucial to give that perfect assist. He looked sharp in training," said Farke after the game.

Former Leeds boss Neil Redfearn said on BBC Radio Leeds: "I thought Manor Solomon was probably the man of the match to be honest. He's got a quality that is better than this level, you can obviously see that. Initially in the first 20 minutes it was like tackling smoke. He was unplayable at times. All those messages are good messages."

Leeds Live gave Solomon a man of the match eight in their player ratings with the review: "What an impact - plenty of energy, dangerous running, and a vital assist."

Bryan Gil (Girona)

Bryan Gil is also making a big impact in his loan move at Girona. The 23-year-old has now played four matches since joining the La Liga club and has started every single one of them, getting more than 80 minutes to his name in each.

The winger scored a great goal against Osasuna with a lunging volley on Thursday night and then was heavily involved again in the 2-0 win against his old side Sevilla on Sunday evening.

Just before half-time he made a break from the left wing and played the ball into the path of the overlapping left-back Miguel Gutierrez and he crossed for captain Ivan Martin to score in the six-yard box. Playing on the right for a spell in the second half, Gil curled in a pinpoint cross that striker Abel Ruiz headed at the keeper before new Girona signing and former Spurs loanee Arnaut Danjuma volleyed over the rebound.

Gil posted on Instagram after the win at his old stomping ground: "Off to the break with a win. This is the way to go. LET'S GO @gironafc. Thank you for the great welcome, it means a lot to me. All the luck in the world @sevillafc."

Alejo Veliz (Espanyol)

The theme of successful loans so far for Tottenham continues with Alejo Veliz who delivered an emotional interview after his first La Liga goal provided a dramatic 96th-minute winner for Espanyol against Real Vallecano.

The 20-year-old sprinted up the pitch to keep up with an added-time breakaway with the score at 1-1, and after an initial Irvin Cardona shot was saved, Walid Cheddira got the ball across to Veliz and the young Spurs forward took a touch before curling a shot on the slide over a defender and into the net to send the home fans into delirium.

After the game, during a tearful interview, Veliz said: "I had a year that honestly wasn’t great for me in terms of football. I just want to thank my family, my girlfriend who always supported me, the coaching staff for giving me the chance to come here and prove myself, and my teammates."

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (Marseille)

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will continue to be part of Tottenham's loan army for a little while as he technically joined Marseille on loan with an obligation to buy last month and that obligation does not kick in until a certain point.

The 29-year-old midfielder was captain for the French side in their 3-1 victory at Toulouse on Saturday, just days after being named as the new skipper of Denmark, taking on the armband from Simon Kjaer ahead of previous vice-captains Christian Eriksen and Kasper Schmeichel.

Hojbjerg is yet to taste defeat as a Marseille player with two wins and a draw in his first three matches with the Ligue 1 side.

Ashley Phillips (Stoke City)

Ashley Phillips got his first two matches for Stoke under his belt during the past week and one involved a trip down memory lane.

First the 19-year-old played 76 minutes and kept a clean sheet in the 5-0 win at Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup second round last Tuesday night. Then on Saturday, Phillips went back to Home Park Stadium where he shone so many times at Plymouth last season in a loan spell which earned him their Young Player of the Season award.

This time he was a Stoke player though and he kept another clean sheet with a 74-minute performance in a 1-0 win.

In Stoke on Trent Live's player ratings the young centre-back received a 7.5 with the review: "League debut. Very big and strong, literally carrying opponents on his back at one stage."

Dane Scarlett (Oxford United)

Dane Scarlett's loan move to promoted Championship side Oxford United is not looking good so far in terms of minutes in the league.

After coming off the bench in his first game at Coventry in the 89th minute, the 20-year-old has been an unused substitute in the two Championship games since.

The young striker did get some game time in Tuesday night's Carabao Cup 1-0 defeat at Coventry with 83 minutes to his name.

The Oxford Mail handed him a six in the player ratings with the write-up: "Couldn't get into the game inside the penalty box, and was forced to drop deep just to get involved."

Jamie Donley and Josh Keeley (Leyton Orient)

Jamie Donley continues to get plenty of minutes for Leyton Orient in League One. The 19-year-old has now played four matches for the Londoners, although he was only called upon for the final nine minutes of the 1-0 win at Millwall in the Carabao Cup last Tuesday night.

That's because the teenager is the creative hub of Orient's league side but it was a tough day at the office for the team in their 3-0 defeat at Shrewsbury.

Donley provided plenty of quality and looked for the ball constantly and when he had to switch to left-back later in the game, he continued to raid forward trying to help Orient find a way back into the game. However, he was caught out of position for Shrewsbury's final goal, finding that perhaps Orient are as used to covering flying full-backs as his team-mates are at Tottenham.

Spurs goalkeeper Josh Keeley has joined Donley at Orient after signing a new three-year deal with Spurs before his loan move, although the weekend's match came a little too soon for him with his contract signed after the team had departed for Shrewsbury.

"I'm absolutely delighted to get the move over the line. I couldn't be happier and I hope to achieve some really good things here. The team looks really strong, and I've watched some of the games so far this season. There are high goals for this squad and I can't wait to get going," said the 21-year-old.

"I love to play with the ball at my feet, that is definitely one of my main strengths. I want to get involved with play with the outfielders and start attacks. I know Jamie (Donley) and Ollie (O'Neill), and they've said really good things about the place, so I'm really excited to get going."

Orient boss Richie Wellens said: "We're really pleased that Josh will be part of our squad for the 2024/25 campaign. He will come in to provide some real competition in our goalkeeping department. It's an important next step in his career, and we know that he will come in and give his all for the club. He's highly rated by Spurs, and also has international experience, as well as having a successful loan spell at Barnet last season. Financially, it's a really good deal for us, and we're excited to have Josh on board."

Director of football Martin Ling added: "Josh is a young, up-and-coming goalkeeper, who has had a good loan at Barnet and international experience at Irish youth level. He is very well thought of at Spurs. Dean Brill is the goalkeeping coach at Tottenham, and he is someone who I trust a lot, and he speaks very highly of Josh. He will provide more competition for that number one shirt, and we feel that our goalkeeping department is in a very strong place for this season."

Matthew Craig (Barnsley)

Matthew Craig was back in action for Barnsley after a minor calf injury with a full 90-minute showing in the 3-0 win at Crawley Town on Saturday in League One.

The 21-year-old made four tackles and played one key pass in a busy performance that earned him a 7.5 in WhoScored's stat-based player ratings.

George Abbott (Notts County)

The versatile 19-year-old Spurs U21s skipper made his debut in the final eight minutes of Notts County's League Two 2-0 win at Swindon Town.

Abbott got a great ovation from the travelling fans after the final whistle when pushed in front of them by his new team-mates.

County's transfer supremo Richard Montague said: "We’re really excited to welcome a young player of George's calibre. He’s incredibly well thought of at Spurs, as reflected by their decision to give him a new three-year deal this summer.

"George also has a growing reputation at international level, having represented England’s Under 19s and 18s. His natural position is defensive midfield, but he’s also comfortable at full-back or in central defence.

"He gives us real strength in depth in several areas and, as well as tremendous quality in possession, he brings athleticism and a determination to succeed in his first full season in men’s football. We’re really pleased to have the opportunity to contribute to his development and have every confidence he will make a big impact in his time with us."

Abbott added: "[Notts play] a similar way to how I’ve played at Tottenham [in the academy] so there shouldn’t be too many big changes for me personally and I think I will fit in quite nicely for that reason.

"I know they like to keep the ball a lot and not go long too much which suits my style of play. I’m a defensive midfielder, but I see myself as being quite versatile and can play in multiple positions if needed. I like to get on the ball and progress the play forward and link the defence to the attack. Winning titles at U17, U18 and U21 level [with Tottenham] was good, but that doesn’t compare to men’s football which is always a big step up but it is something I’m really looking forward to."

Carey Bloedorn (Aveley)

Nineteen-year-old Tottenham goalkeeper Carey Bloedorn is currently on loan at National League South side Aveley.

The teenage stopped has slotted in well between the sticks for the team and on Saturday played his part in a 1-1 draw at Torquay and then in a quick turnaround on Monday night Bloedorn almost kept a clean sheet against Dorking Wanderers only for the visitors to score a 95th minute tap-in consolation goal as Aveley ran out 3-1 winners despite going down to 10 men for the second half.

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