Football.London

Former England, Tottenham and Manchester United striker Teddy Sheringham believes that Dominic Solanke will be Spurs' most important player this season for Ange Postecoglou.

The north London side signed the 26-year-old striker in a £65million deal this summer from Bournemouth only for the England international to pick up an ankle injury in his first game at Leicester. Spurs missed Solanke in Sunday's defeat at Newcastle as they passed up chances galore to win the match at St James' Park by a landslide.

Former Tottenham star Sheringham knows a thing or two about scoring goals in N17 and he believes that Solanke is going to be the main man this season for Postecoglou.

"I think Dominic Solanke will be Tottenham’s most important player this season. He’s the man that Ange and the club have placed a lot of faith in to add the finishing touch to the team. There’s an expectation that he will score the goals we need and will be the difference-maker in games that are tight. He’s joined for a large fee and that adds a certain amount of pressure. He’s also making a step-up in his playing level," Sheringham told Prime Casino.

"With Tottenham playing in Europe this season, it’s going to be a long, tough season. There will be a lot of games and managing that churn of Thursday and Sunday football successfully in terms of winning games, will be determined by the club’s ability to put chances away.

"Tottenham create so many chances. When the games come thick and fast, when the energy levels are low, you need to take those. Tottenham will need to put away the chances they are creating early in games. With the style of football that we play, it’s physically very demanding, Ange won’t want matches going all the way where the team has to keep pressing and working hard to get a 1-0 or nick a result. He’ll want to cruise through games, and the best way to do that, is by taking your chances early. Solanke will need to be ruthless in front of goal. Tottenham will create the chances for him, he has to take them."

Sheringham is also expecting Brennan Johnson to kick on following a season which brought 15 goal involvements for Tottenham after his £50million move from Nottingham Forest.

"I'm expecting better performances from Brennan Johnson this season, more consistent performances. That’s what you expect from your players in their second season at the club," he said. "I’m still not sure what his best position is. Is he a right winger? Is he a centre forward? I'm not really sure.

"He’s a little bit like Marcus Rashford, in that he’s a player that plays wide, but you wouldn’t call him a winger because he doesn't really get that many crosses into the box.

"I think he’s shown glimpses of his potential since joining the club - he’s shown some nice flashes, but now it’s about doing that consistently. When you’re a £50 million player, there’s more expectancy on your shoulders. Now is the time for him to kick on, but he’s definitely demonstrated that there’s a good player in there. The challenge for him is to score more and create more goals. Improve on your numbers from last season. I also want to see him being more positive, taking on and beating players.

"Off the ball, I’d like to see him mastering the art of that deceptive far post run, because if he can do that, he’ll start racking up the goals for Tottenham. Those little tap-ins can really add to your tally, but the movement has to be right to give you the opportunity to put them away. He's got the first season out of the way and he's ready to kick on. I think there's glimpses that there's a good player in there."

The former England star believes that Son Heung-min's hope to become a legend at Tottenham will come to pass soon enough.

"For Son to become a legend at the club, I think he simply just has to keep doing what he's doing. We’ve seen him blossom into a real leader over his time at Tottenham. This is his tenth season, and the fans absolutely love him. He brings good pace and energy to the team as well as top-level quality," he said.

"I loved his first goal against Everton. That was a reward for the hard work he does off the ball, because nine times out of ten, the goalkeeper clears that. He worked tirelessly for that goal, chasing down the first ball and pressing all over pitch. He smelt blood and ruthlessly exposed Pickford - it’s what you love to see from your forward players.

"If he didn’t go full throttle, he wouldn’t have got that. It was a great goal, and it was all down to his endeavour and desire. Sonny is such a popular player. He’s a superstar in Asia, and I think he’s a superstar in Tottenham. For me, in his tenth season, he’s already on the verge of legendary status. I think he’s already up there. Hopefully he can have a special season at the club."

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

Arsenal dropped points at home to Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend but it was Declan Rice's red card which dominated all of the post match talk.

Referee Chris Kavanagh showed the central midfielder a second yellow card in the second half on Saturday after the England international subtly kicked away the ball from a Brighton free-kick by the corner flag to delay the restart. No caution was given to Joel Veltman, who caught Rice in his follow through, and Arsenal failed to hold on with 10-men as Joao Pedro equalised with 58 minutes played and it ended 1-1 in front of a fired up Emirates Stadium crowd.

Rice will now miss the Gunners' next fixture, which happens to be the North London Derby on Sunday, September 15. It is a huge blow to Mikel Arteta, who now must plan for the game at Tottenham without the former West Ham man.

Arsenal will also be without new signing Mikel Merino, who injured his shoulder during his first training session with the club last week. "We have to adapt to that context. That's why we have other players that can fulfil that [role] and [I can] give that opportunity to somebody else," Arteta said on Saturday when asked how big a blow it was not having Rice or Merino for the North London Derby.

Arteta, however, may just have the perfect replacement for Rice at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That player is Jorginho.

The 32-year-old has offered quality and experience in the Arsenal midfield since joining from Chelsea in a deal worth £12million in January 2023. While not a guaranteed starter given the quality at Arteta's disposal, Jorginho still featured 36 times for the Gunners last season and even contributed to three goals.

Jorginho has often been called upon in some of Arsenal's biggest games over the past 18 months and it's fair to say the North London Derby later this month is a huge match for both sides. The Italian has not featured in any of Arsenal's three Premier League matches this season, however, with the Italian an unused substitute in all of them.

Arteta, though, may not be too bothered about that given what happened in the 3-1 win over Liverpool at Emirates Stadium last season. Jorginho had barely featured for the Gunners in the weeks beforehand but was handed a start by Arteta against the Reds, operating alongside Martin Odegaard and Rice. Jorginho was given player of the match by Gary Neville after playing the full 90 minutes.

Asked why he chose to start Jorginho, Arteta said: "It's a game that I had in my mind, that I was imagining how much we were going to need him. They're a team that don't really allow you to put the fifth player in the frontline, the way they play. He's a really intelligent player, his biggest quality is that he makes the people around him better. He connects everybody. I think he was man of the match."

The Spaniard added: "Unbelievable. I always say that he's an example, a role model. He's been in a lot of pain because he's had an issue he's been carrying for months. He didn't want to stop, he's been playing with that.

"He's been training, always the first one in and the last one out. For all the kids at the club, if you want to look at somebody, just look at him. He's won everything but you ask him not to play or play one minute last week he's happy to go there. Ask him to play 90 minutes at that rhythm and he's able to do that. I'm really lucky to have players like this."

Jorginho could very well start against Tottenham alongside Odegaard and Party, with the Italian and Ghanaian offering some defensive stability to the Gunners side. The North London Derby is another 12 days away, though, and a lot can happen in that period.

It won't be long at all until Tottenham are back on the pitch in a European fixture. Ange Postecoglou's Spurs side discovered their Europa League schedule on Saturday evening following the draw in Monaco just over 24 hours earlier.

The Lilywhites start off the newly-formed league phase on Thursday, September 26 with a home showdown against Qarabag before travelling to Ferencvaros the following week. Home matches against AZ Alkmaar and Roma are on the agenda either side of a daunting trip to Galatasaray, with an away game at Scottish giants Rangers the team's final European fixture of 2024.

The expansion of UEFA's club competitions means that Tottenham's league phase fixtures continue into January, seeing them travel to Hoffenheim on Thursday, January 23 a week before their final encounter at home to Swedish side Elfsborg. Spurs supporters are now counting down the days until the first European away trip of the season in what could be a big year for the team in Europe.

Prior to commencing their Europa League campaign, Postecoglou must first name his European squad as Spurs are only permitted to name 25 players on List A before the deadline of 11pm on Tuesday, September 3. The north London club are in a position where they will have to leave a player out and that in turn is going to leave Postecoglou with a big call to make.

A few more deadlines are coming up for Tottenham over the next week or so as there is still the possibility of a transfer move for Sergio Reguilon and potentially even a late loan switch for Alfie Devine. Seeing the summer transfer window close for business in Netherlands, Portugal and Saudi Arabia on Monday, the windows in Greece and Turkey still remain open for a little while longer.

The Europa League squad registration and further transfer window possibilities are discussed by our Spurs reporters Alasdair Gold and Rob Guest in the latest episode of their Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham podcast. Last Sunday's game at Newcastle United is also a big talking point as the team delivered a good showing but unfortunately couldn't come away with all three points.

You can listen to the show in podcast format on most of the main platforms by heading right here or you can watch it on YouTube by going right here.

Tottenham Hotspur may have to face one of Europe's most talented strikers in their Europa League campaign.

Spurs have endured a difficult start to their Premier League season with four points from their first three fixtures. Sunday saw Ange Postecoglou's team fall to a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United at St James' Park in their final match before the September international break.

Tottenham will now look ahead to the North London Derby in a little under two weeks time as they host Arsenal in their return to Premier League football. After that, attention will soon turn to the return of European football for Spurs with the Europa League.

Postecoglou and Co. will face Qarabag at home in their first league phase fixture of the competition, followed by an away trip to Ferencvaros. Further down the line, in the fourth match of the tournament, Tottenham will travel to Turkey to face Galatasaray on November 7.

It seems that this fixture could see Spurs take on a Super Lig team that has Victor Osimhen in their ranks. Reports on Monday have stated that the Napoli striker is close to securing a season-long loan move to Galatasaray after deals could not be agreed with either Chelsea or Al Ahli last week.

Osimhen is seemingly not in the long-term plans for former Spurs boss Antonio Conte at Napoli, and it seems likely that the striker will be playing his football with Galatasaray if the reports are to be believed.

Should the deal go through, Tottenham will be mindful of facing a striker who has scored 76 goals in 133 appearances for the Serie A club over the last four years.

Despite Mikel Arteta's 'amazement' at Declan Rice's red card against Brighton, the Arsenal manager will be without his midfield lynchpin for the North London Derby against Tottenham after the international break. Unlike previous occasions when his side have gone down to 10 men, there can be no changing the future repercussions of this one.

Rice, who was already on a yellow card having crunched into a slide tackle in the first half, saw referee Chris Kavanagh brandish a second booking on Saturday for what appeared to be an incident that would punish the visitors. After standing in front of Seagulls defender Joel Veltman, the England international nudged the ball out of his path before taking the force of the attempted kick.

Kavanagh did go to his pocket, although not to book Veltman, instead showing Rice a second yellow of the game. Arteta could not believe the decision (although he was facing away from play at the moment it took place), and it has caused a serious stir in the days following.

"I was amazed," the head coach said afterwards "Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be. In the first half, there are two incidents and nothing happens.

"Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan [on the back of his leg], he turns around, he doesn't see the player coming and he touches the ball. By law, he can make that call, but then by law he needs to make the next call, which is [a] red card so we play 10vs10. This is what amazed me. At this level it’s amazing."

Former referee Mike Deans agrees that it was by law the right call, but that it resulted in an inadequate outcome. "Unfortunately for Declan, he's kicked the ball away," he said on Sky Sports' Soccer Saturday.

"He hasn't kicked it far, but they've [players] been told before the season, 'kick the ball away, delay any kind of restart and it'll be a caution'. He's already on a yellow card, he's got no choice but to send him off unfortunately."

Rice himself was shocked, so was John Terry. There is still a feeling that it cost Arsenal three points as they were 1-0 up at the time but then made to deal with mountains of pressure for over half an hour.

The consequences will definitely go beyond Saturday though, with a trip to Tottenham next up. Rice has no choice but to sit this one out as well.

Premier League clubs can appeal red cards, although they are often unsuccessful. The Gunners may well believe that this is an injustice and worthy of a retrospective overturn, but that is not possible.

The only way in which sending-offs issued by two yellow cards can be reversed is if it was a case of mistaken identity. With the help of VAR there has not been any of this in the top flight for a while, especially since the Alex Oxlaide Chamberlain-Kieran Gibbs incident between Arsenal and Chelsea.

Therefore, although feeling aggrieved by the decision, Arsenal have no way of getting out of this one-match suspension. For Rice and his team it is a huge blow.

We are only three games into the 2024/25 Premier League season but the first international break of the campaign is already here. Following Tottenham's 2-1 defeat against Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon, a large chunk of Ange Postecoglou's squad will now jet off across the globe to link up with their respective national teams.

Once the full squad do come together and reconvene once again at Hotspur Way towards the end of next week after their international exploits, Arsenal are next on the calendar for the Lilywhites with the North London Derby taking place at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Sunday, September 15. Perhaps not the ideal preparation going into a game of such magnitude, Postecoglou does still have a decent amount of players to work with over the next fortnight as not everyone got the nod for international football.

One player who will now miss out on playing for his country during September's international break is Micky van de Ven. The Dutchman was absent for Sunday's defeat at Newcastle United as Postecoglou indicated that the youngster was "not quite 100%" but he was "close in training" leading up to the game at St. James' Park.

Following his absence in the north east on Sunday, Netherlands confirmed on their X account that Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke has been called up in Van de Ven's place. The Spurs centre-back will now have the opportunity to get back to full fitness and ensure he is ready to return to the Tottenham XI immediately after the international break.

Rodrigo Bentancur is another Tottenham player who will not be featuring during the international break after receiving a four-match ban for his part in the incident that overshadowed Uruguay's Copa America semi-final defeat against Colombia. That in turn will give Postecoglou and his coaching staff a good period on the training ground with Bentancur, who will next be available for Uruguay in November when they take on Colombia.

Others to miss out on international selection include Richarlison and Dominic Solanke. As the pair are currently on the sidelines through injury, the duo will now have two weeks to work their way back to full fitness for the Arsenal showdown.

James Maddison will also be staying behind after missing out on Lee Carsley's first England squad, with Pedro Porro again not included in the Spain party following his Euro 2024 omission. Fellow Spaniard Sergio Reguilon will also remain at Hotspur Way but the next two weeks could bring about a resolution to his current Tottenham predicament.

Missing out on a Spurs exit prior to last Friday's 11pm transfer deadline, only a few transfer windows across Europe remain open for the time being and that really limits the left-back's options even further. The summer markets in the Netherlands, Portugal and Saudi Arabia close on Monday, with both Greece and Turkey still having over a week to go.

In terms of the players heading off across the globe, Lucas Bergvall joins Dejan Kulusevski on Sweden international duty after getting the call-up to the senior squad for the first time. There is also good news for Destiny Udogie as he is back in the Italy squad following his absence for Euro 2024 through injury.

As ever, players such as Son Heung-min, Brennan Johnson, Cristian Romero, Yves Bissouma and Ben Davies will be playing for their national sides. Wilson Odobert will be representing France's Under-21s this month and Archie Gray, Alfie Devine and Mikey Moore are with England's Under-21s, Under-20s and Under-19s sides respectively.

Here are the Tottenham players who are on international duty this month and those who will be staying behind at Hotspur Way:

National team call-up: 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, Ben Davies, Alfie Devine, Mikey Moore.

Remaining behind: Sergio Reguilon, Richarlison, James Maddison, Timo Werner, Dominic Solanke, Fraser Forster, Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, Rodrigo Bentancur, Micky van de Ven, Brandon Austin, Alfie Whiteman.

With the fixtures ramping up this month and other Tottenham players not taking their chances there is an opportunity for two of the club's brightest academy prospects to stake their claim.

Ange Postecoglou has been impressed by the displays of both Will Lankshear and Mikey Moore during this summer and with the latter also late last season. With the Europa League and Carabao Cup fixtures set to begin this month, the young Spurs duo were always going to start to get minutes in the first team. However, the struggles of others could accelerate their chances this month with more minutes than perhaps originally expected.

Lankshear had a prolific season for the Under-21s with 32 goals to his name across a campaign in which Wayne Burnett's side won the Premier League 2 title and the subsequent play-offs. The 19-year-old striker was brought into the first team fold in the summer and soon wowed Postecoglou and his coaching staff with his displays in both training and matches.

The former Sheffield United youngster was so good, scoring goals against Hearts and Team K League as well as showing strong hold-up play, that he quickly overtook Dane Scarlett and Alejo Veliz in the pecking order. Tottenham turned down approaches from a string of clubs that wanted to take Lankshear away on loan.

Moore, who signed a new three-year-old contract when he turned 17 last month, had already caught Postecoglou's eye last season and was handed his Premier League debut at just 16-years-old against Manchester City before coming off the bench again in the next game against Sheffield United. The winger then shone during the summer, scoring against Hearts and Vissel Kobe in pre-season and providing an assist against QPR.

Both players are now considered part of the first team set-up but will still continue to help out the Under-21s when possible. At the training ground the duo continue to walk in and out of the academy side of the building rather than use the first team reception, a rite of passage for youngsters on the way up.

The duo took a starring role for the Under-21s in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy group stage match against Bristol Rovers last week with Moore netting once and providing two assists, while Lankshear scored a stunning goal himself before going off with a minor hamstring injury which he is expected to return from this fortnight.

It was an unfortunately-timed injury because the teenage striker would have likely been on the bench at Newcastle on Sunday thanks to Dominic Solanke and Richarlison's injury-enforced absences. Tottenham were crying out for a striker to finish off their many moves and Lankshear would have got into the required positions in the six-yard box.

Richarlison's continued injury woes could end up opening the door wider for Lankshear to grab a bigger slice of the action in the weeks and months ahead.

He is one of the best finishers at the club and if he gets an opportunity, the chances are that he will grab it with both hands as he has done this summer already. Many a striker has broken into top flight football after injuries gave them a chance. Marcus Rashford is one of the best examples, having started a Europa League game in February 2016 only after Anthony Martial got injured in the warm-up. Rashford scored twice before doing the same against Arsenal just days later, and began his Manchester United and England career.

For Moore, his chances might come due to the stuttering form of others. In pre-season, the youngster forced the struggling and rusty Manor Solomon down the pecking order and eventually out of the club on loan to Leeds United.

Wilson Odobert, two years older than Moore, was signed for £30million from Burnley, which has provided more competition but Timo Werner could be the next player in Moore's sights. The German has not impressed during his cameos so far in the opening matches of the season and Postecoglou could feel that with Moore the future at Tottenham and Werner a loan player, he could turn to the teenager more often as the weeks pass.

There is no doubting Moore's talent with many considering him one of the best young players to have emerged from Spurs' academy in a long time and many clubs around the Premier League and Europe wanted to take him away in recent years.

Postecoglou was asked about Lankshear on Friday and whether the plan was to get him minutes in the Europa League and the Australian also brought Moore into the conversation.

"Yeah we've been really happy with Will. Unfortunately he picked up an injury in that game against Bristol Rovers, but he should be all right after the window. That's why we're keeping him with us, him and Mikey are the two young players we're going to keep with the first-team and the reason we're going to keep them with the first-team is because we feel like they're going to contribute and play," he said.

"Whether that is Europa, or Carabao Cup or the league, they're part of the first-team and if Richy is out for an extended period of time, then Will will definitely be a part of it. Will and Mikey have done really well in pre-season and we feel they'll benefit from being around the first-team."

The Tottenham boss was asked if Europa League experience will be key for them.

"Well, yeah if they play and play well, mate otherwise it will not be a pleasant experience, but it's like with all these things, with young players it's about performance and actions rather than just experiences," he explained.

"The reason we've kept them with us at the moment is because we feel like them being around the first-team environment, we've seen during pre-season they've thrived in that and that's what we want to continue to do.

"There is always January for us to reassess if they haven't played enough and whether we send them out on loan. Other players have gone out on loan because we feel like they need more first-team exposure regularly. Both Will and Mikey are part of the first-team and like every other player they will get an opportunity to contribute and hopefully they will."

Both young players have bundles of talent and while their progress might come at a cost for others, it could be to the benefit of Tottenham Hotspur.

Yves Bissouma has given an honest Tottenham response to his side's Premier League defeat against Newcastle on Sunday. Despite dominating the bulk of the game, Spurs were beaten 2-1 at St James' Park with Alexander Isak netting the winner.

Harvey Barnes put the Magpies in front against the run of play though an equaliser arrived after Dan Burn punted the ball into his own net after Brennan Johnson saw a shot saved by Nick Pope. The visitors had numerous chances in the second half but were caught at the back and made to pay as Jacob Murphy squared for Isak to tap home into an empty net.

Even with 66 per cent possession and 20 shots, in comparison to Newcastle's nine, Spurs were again left to rue missed chances with Postecoglou certainly surprised to leave Tyneside with zero points. "Very similar I guess to our first away game when we controlled it for the most part, nullified most of the threats that Newcastle have," he said in a press conference.

"It's obviously a difficult opponent here at home. 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."

Up next for Spurs, following the September international break, is the North London Derby against Arsenal with an early advantage for Postecoglou already clear. During the Gunners' most recent clash against Brighton, Declan Rice was sent off and thus he will miss the game through suspension.

One player hoping to benefit from his absence is Bissouma as he aims to win the midfield battle. The Mali international missed the first game of the season because of an internal suspension but he returned against Everton the following week with a stunning goal and dominant performance.

Bissouma showed glimpses of his quality against Newcastle but he could not prevent the defeat. Despite that, Postecoglou will likely be pleased with the responsibility he has shown since then and his message on social media was further proof of that.

On his Instagram story, Bissouma wrote: "Not the result we wanted but will keep going again thanks fans for the support and see you after the international break #COYS [white heart emoji]."

It was the moment that defined Arsenal's clash with Brighton on Saturday. The Gunners were a goal up and looked as though they were on course to add a second - then Declan Rice was shown a second yellow card.

The decision is still the subject of debate today. The near unanimous verdict has been that, while Rice was at fault for touching the ball away when Joel Veltman was looking to take a quick free kick, it was supremely harsh to show him a second yellow for what was a minor offence in the grand scheme of things.

To make matters worse, Joao Pedro avoided a booking for a similar offence in the first half as he kicked the ball away to prevent Arsenal from taking a quick throw in. It was this that irked Mikel Arteta most after the game.

"I was amazed," the Spaniard said in his post-match press conference. "Amazed, amazed, amazed because of how inconsistent decisions can be. In the first half, there are two incidents and nothing happens. Then, in a non-critical area, the ball hits Declan (on the back of his leg), he turns around, he doesn't see the player coming and he touches the ball.

"By law, he can make that call, but then by law he needs to make the next call, which is red card so we play 10vs10. This is what amazed me. At this level it’s amazing."

Arsenal went on to draw the game 1-1, but the implications from Chris Kavanaugh's decision don't stop there. Rice is now suspended for the Gunners' first game back after the international break, which just so happens to be the North London Derby.

With Mikel Merino's injury, Arsenal do not have a natural replacement for Rice in that left eight role. Jorginho could well come in to start, while dropping Kai Havertz back from centre forward or moving Leandro Trossard in from the left wing are options. None are ideal though. The problems don't end there.

Rice has established himself as a crucial weapon for Arsenal from set pieces. The England international picked up two assists during the Emirates Cup victory over Lyon last month from corners and grabbed one during last season's 3-2 win at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. In fact, Arsenal scored from two set pieces on the day as they exploited a weakness in the Spurs' defence.

Dejan Kulusevski believes Lucas Bergvall has the potential to be "huge" for the Swedish national team. After catching the eye for Tottenham since linking up with the squad for the first time earlier this summer, the 18-year-old has been given the nod for his country's upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures.

Firstly travelling to Baku to take on Azerbaijan on Thursday, Sweden then host Estonia in Stockholm on Sunday evening. Bergvall already has one senior cap for his country, which came in the middle of January in a friendly against Estonia in Greece.

The team for that game was mainly made up of players from the Allsvenskan league with Europe's top leagues all in full swing at that point just after the turn of the year. That means that this latest round of games will get to see Bergvall joins forces with players such as Kulusevski, Alexander Isak and Viktor Gyokeres in the national side for the very first time.

Kulusevski believes that his Tottenham teammate thoroughly deserves to be with the senior national team and that he can already help Jon Dahl Tomasson's side as soon as he joins up with the rest of the squad.

"Yeah absolutely. He has been fantastic," the Stockholm-born player told football.london when it was put to him that Bergvall deservedly got the call-up. "He has come in and he's doing really good every day, training hard and learning from the other players. I'm happy for him and I'm happy that I can bring him to the national team with me."

On just how important Bergvall can be for Sweden in the future, he said: "Huge. He's very young but I think he can help us already from tomorrow [Monday], so I'm happy that he's going to be there. Of course he's young but we'll be there to guide him and help him."

Bergvall was introduced for the final eight minutes of Tottenham's Premier League encounter against Newcastle United but he unfortunately couldn't help Spurs register a point following a 2-1 defeat. Losing heavily on their previous two visits to St. James' Park, Ange Postecoglou's men were the better team for the majority of the contest and really should have left Tyneside with points in the bag.

"Very disappointed with the result," said Kulusevski. "I thought the performance was good first half and even better in the second half, so very disappointed not to win the game but I think the team did very well and we're on the right move.

"I thought we played really well and killed their energy in the arena and we were very calm with the ball, everyone showed that they wanted the ball. So it was a big test for us and I think we did very good and I think it is the right way. We're on the right road to what we want to become."

One thing Tottenham did have in the match were chances on goal to win the game. Had Postecoglou had one of Dominic Solanke or Richarlison available for selection then just having that natural striker in the team could have made all the difference.

"Absolutely. We had [chances] but I think the last passes were not perfect in too many circumstances or maybe a couple of shots that got blocked," said Kulusevski. "Of course we can be more dangerous."

The absence of Solanke and Richarlison meant that Kulusevski started the game playing up front after catching the eye in the position during pre-season. Moving back into midfield at the start of the second half with Brennan Johnson introduced in place of Pape Matar Sarr who was on a yellow card, the Swede has stated that he wasn't happy that he couldn't help his team collect all three points.

"It was different, of course it's different," said the 24-year-old on his striker role. "The second half I went back to the midfield where I had much more space and we dominated the game. It was a really good game and I feel very good but I'm not happy I couldn't win the game but we move on and head up."

One thing that was noticeable during the match was Tottenham's set-piece routines. Nick Pope looked set to be called into action on 30 minutes only for Radu Dragusin to inadvertently block Pedro Porro's shot after James Maddison and Son Heung-min had combined from a corner to tee him up.

New assistant coach Nick Montgomery is having a big say on the team's set-pieces - both attacking and defending - and it is something that could really pay off for Tottenham if their hard work on the training pitch at Hotspur Way results in a goal.

"We do it in training, everything we can to score," said the former Parma player. "It was a good thing and almost a goal. We've got to keep working on everything and enjoy."