Football.London

Tottenham Hotspur are back home from their pre-season tour of Asia to take on Bayern Munich for the second time in the space of a week in the VisitMalta Cup.

Seven days after falling to a 2-1 defeat at the Seoul World Cup Stadium in South Korea, Spurs host the German giants at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The club plans to specially recognise Eric Dier and Harry Kane during a live presentation around 15 minutes before kick-off, marking their return.

It is the 12th time the two teams have met and the fourth in north London. The most recent of those five years ago was one to forget for Tottenham fans, with Bayern winning 7-2 in the Champions League group stages despite Son Heung-Min initially giving Spurs the lead and Kane converting a penalty. Serge Gnabry, who scored four in that game, remains in the opposition squad.

What TV channel is the game on?

TNT Sports 1 is showing the game, with coverage beginning five minutes before kick-off at 5:25pm and scheduled to continue until 7:30pm. Their coverage will also be available on discovery+ and the discovery+ App.

Where else can I watch?

It is the final friendly that will feature on SPURSPLAY , with their stream starting at 4:30pm. Access is not available to watch in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg or Switzerland, and fans in those countries will have to watch FC Bayern TV Plus , which is equally unavailable in Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland, on fcbayern.com and in the FC Bayern app.

How can I watch?

Both are subscription services. SPURSPLAY costs £45 for an annual subscription. Meanwhile, one month of access to FC Bayern TV Plus is available for €4, but note that coverage of this game is not available for viewers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Tottenham's final pre-season game ahead of the 2024/25 campaign takes place on Saturday as they welcome Bayern Munich to north London. It promises to be a very special occasion as Harry Kane and Eric Dier both return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for the first time since departing the football club.

Kane's homecoming comes one year after his big-money transfer to the Bundesliga side, with Dier departing for Bavaria back in January. It is a fixture that Ange Postecoglou will be looking to get one over their opponents as well following their 2-1 defeat against them in South Korea last weekend.

One week on from that loss in Seoul, Postecoglou has received a boost going into the friendly with Destiny Udogie in a position to play again after failing to feature in pre-season so far. Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Giovani Lo Celso and Rodrigo Bentancur are also back following their time away playing international football this summer.

Postecoglou has chopped and changed with his team in pre-season but he could possibly go full strength for the showdown against Vincent Kompany's side. Lucas Bergvall has certainly made a case for more minutes after making a real impression in the second half against Bayern seven days ago, thus possibly leaving the head coach with a decision to make over James Maddison in the process

Tottenham Hotspur end their pre-season preparations today as they take on German giants Bayern Munich in the Visit Malta Cup.

The match takes place at 5.30pm at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Spurs have an eye on their Premier League opener against Leicester City nine days later. Ange Postecoglou’s side have a bit longer to wait due to the game being selected for live TV coverage.

Spurs travel to the King Power Stadium on the Monday night as they look to get their season off to the perfect start. But the extra few days could be good news in terms of getting players back from injury.

Destiny Udogie, Richarlison and Fraser Forster have all missed pre-season through injury, but all three players are closing in on a return. There are also several platers who have now returned after extended breaks following international duty.

Cristian Romero, Giovani Lo Celso, Rodrigo Bentancur and Micky van de Ven all reported back for pre-season training at the start of the week. All four could feature against Bayern Munich.

Here is the latest on the injury front as the new season draws ever closer.

Destiny Udogie

Injury : Thigh

The full-back has returned to full training after recovering from a thigh injury and is expected to get his first minutes of pre-season this weekend.

What Postecoglou has said: "Destiny will get some game time tomorrow.”

Expected return date : Vs Bayern Munich (10 August)

Richarlison

Injury : Foot

Richarlison is closing in on a return after a long-term injury, but is unlikely to feature against Bayern.

What Postecoglou has said : "Richy's only had a week of training so he probably won't get game time but he's had a good week of training so that's the important thing.”

Expected return date : Vs Leicester City (19 August)

Fraser Forster

Injury : Foot

The goalkeeper is also closing in on a return after a long-term injury but is again unlikely to feature vs Bayern.

What Postecoglou has said : “Fraser is just back into training this week and has had a good block of training but he won't feature tomorrow.”

Harry Redknapp has told Ange Postecoglou to not let Mikey Moore's age put him off from deploying him in the first-team.

The 16-year-old was one of Tottenham Hotspur's standout players over the course of the pre-season. Moore, who only recently sat his GCSE exams, scored against Hearts and found the winning goal in Spurs' 3-2 victory over Vissel Kobe.

His displays with the first team proceeded his electric performances for England in the UEFA Under-17 European Championships. While the potential is there for everyone to see, deploying Moore in the Premier League would still be considered a bold move.

Postecoglou praised the teenager during Spurs' tour of South Korea, but made it clear there is still a lot of room for growth. An ex-academy coach at the club has also compared Moore to Adel Taarabt, who was deemed to be one of the most talented players to emerge from the club.

But while many fans may feel apprehensive about the prospect of using such a young player in the Premier League, Redknapp is a lot more positive. He believes if the youngster continues to stand out for the North Londoners, Postecoglou has to show faith in him.

In an exclusive interview with football.london, Redknapp, who was in Portsmouth to visit Kellogg's Football Camps – a UK-wide summer football programme for local kids – said: "If he's good enough, stick him in.

“The kid who played for Spain in the European Championship final (Lamine Yamal) was only 16. We’ve had Wayne Rooney and Joe Cole, they all came in the team around that age. If he’s as good as everyone thinks he is, hopefully we will see him in the first team this year.”

Moore does already have some experience with the first-team. Last year, he became the youngest-ever player to represent the Lilywhites in Premier League history, when he appeared against Manchester City.

Postecoglou admitted he has been impressed with the youngster this summer. His task now is ensuring the Spurs' environment can bring the best out of him.

During a press conference, he said: “In coaching terms and working with young players, the most important thing is the environment you set up for them and what they came into.

"That means the moment they come into the dressing room, the kind of dressing room you have with the senior players and the way we train and the way we talk.

"We try to teach them as much about life as we do about football because obviously for a lot of them and you mention Mikey Moore, he's only 16. He's got so much growth as a footballer but also as a person.

"We try to provide the environment which allows him to be the best that he can be and then it's up to the player. Once you provide that environment it's up to the player to keep driving on and not be satisfied."

Ange Postecoglou is confident Dominic Solanke will be able to "contribute straight away" and "hit the ground running" once his move to Tottenham from Bournemouth is completed. The Lilywhites made a transfer breakthrough on Friday with the club striking a deal worth £55million plus add-ons for the 26-year-old.

Once Solanke has signed on the dotted line at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium it will bring an end to Spurs' search for a new striker following Harry Kane's move to Bayern Munich one year ago. Tottenham have made some shrewd moves in the transfer market since Postecoglou's appointment as head coach in June 2023 and all will be hoping that Solanke turns out to be a very smart piece of business.

Prior to the news of Tottenham and Bournemouth agreeing on a financial deal for Solanke, Postecoglou was asked about signing a new striker and he revealed that his belief is that if you get the recruitment right then the player coming in can make an immediate impact.

"To a certain extent," said the Australian when asked if the new striker arriving at Tottenham needs to hit the ground running. "I have always felt that if you get the recruitment right then whoever it is hits the ground running. We signed Micky van de Ven three days before the first game last year, against Brentford, and we threw him straight in. He literally hit the ground running.

"We are trying to identify players who fit into our style of football. There will be a bit of adjustment but hopefully they will already have those qualities to come into the group and contribute straight away. That is my expectation when we sign someone - they will be ready to contribute from the moment they arrive."

When it was put to Postecoglou if it will be helpful that Tottenham's new striker won't have to directly replace Kane, he said: "We showed last year that we were still a threatening team going forward without Harry. We are talking about a generational talent here, he was never going to be replaced, but invariably there will always be comparisons.

"It's pretty evident from the way we play that we are never going to be reliant on one player. When we are up and running we can score from many different areas. Hopefully the striker, when he is playing in our system, is a beneficiary of that as well as a contributor."

He added: "It was a fairly sizeable hole to breach. It would have been referred to a lot more if we had struggled, there's no doubt about that. It suggests we did a pretty good job collectively as a group."

Tottenham are now looking to the future as Postecoglou attempts to get his team competing at the top of the Premier League on a regular basis and also end the club's trophy drought. Mikey Moore looks set to play a prominent role for years to come and the boss wants to create the "best possible environment" so that the 16-year-old can be "the best footballer he can be".

"It’s fair to say, it’s incredible that he’s 16 turning 17," revealed the former Celtic boss. "He handles it really well, and that’s part of the process when you’re a young footballer if you’re going well. We can’t protect him from all of it. But he’s been great.

"We brought him into the first-team environment the back end of last year. He’d had some injuries earlier in the year. Every time he’s played for the Under-18s or Under-21s, he’d had an impact. For a very young guy, he adjusted really quickly.

"He’s come back pre-season and done really well in the games and in training. It’s great for this football club that’s come through our academy and is already showing great promise. But he’s a young man. Our role is to have the best possible environment for him to be the best footballer he can be."

Moore looks set to play a part for Tottenham in the months ahead but a few of the club's youngsters could potentially be departing on loan in order to aid their development. Postecoglou has confirmed that some players will seal loan moves fairly soon and others may have to wait until the end of the transfer window.

"It’s all on an individual basis," said Postecoglou on when Tottenham will make decisions over potential loan moves. "If it’s guys where we feel definitely we need to give them some game time — and there’s a couple in that boat — that will probably happen earlier.

"Others, we might wait a little bit. And until we know who is out as well. And that can happen right up until the end of the window. It’ll be on an individual basis. Some we’ll move early. Others at the back end of the window."

A positive summer for the team so far with four wins and one defeat from their five pre-season games, Tottenham will round off their pre-season schedule with a home showdown against Bayern Munich on Saturday evening. It is a game that will see Kane and Eric Dier make their first return to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium since joining the Bundesliga giants last campaign.

Both played major roles in the team's success under Mauricio Pochettino as they went within a whisker of winning the Champions League and also went close in the Premier League title race. Due to what both contributed to the team in their time at the club, Postecoglou believes that they can be celebrated and their homecoming will be an occasion that all fans enjoy.

"It’s a little difficult because it’s such a dynamic world we live in, where things change," he said. "There’s no doubt that, if it wasn’t this game, at some point after he hung up his boots that Harry would get the acknowledgement at this football club that he deserves. But that’s the nature of football: things move pretty quickly.

"This time last year he was playing for us; a week later he’s going to Bayern Munich. But it is a good opportunity tomorrow for the fans to really enjoy the occasion. I’m sure he’ll get the right sort of acknowledgement and appreciation from a fanbase that adored him as one of their own."

Whereas Kane played no part in Tottenham's 2023/24 campaign, Dier only featured in four Premier League games for the club before his switch to the Allianz Arena. Even when Tottenham were without Cristian Romero and Van de Ven towards the end of last year, Dier was overlooked with Postecoglou opting to utilise full-backs Ben Davies and Emerson Royal at the heart of defence.

Postecoglou has stated that Dier's exit was not due to the fact that he is not a natural high-line defender, instead indicating that his departure was because of the club needing to change and go in a different direction.

"Not necessarily. When I came in there was need for change and you can't have change if you keep all the same players together," admitted the former Celtic boss. "There was a core group of players who had gone very close to the ultimate success at this football club - Champions League final, Premier League runners-up but I thought it was coming to the end of a cycle.

"And when it is coming to the end of a cycle you have to make those decisions. Eric was in the last year of his contract. The first thing you do as a manager is look for the things that are changeable. We had Hugo [Lloirs] and Eric in the last years of their contracts and if I don't move players on I can't bring players in.

"It's not always judgement on a player, it's change - I needed to move some players out to bring in Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie, and give more game time to Pape Sarr and do what we needed to do. It's not always about an inability to play my system."

Tottenham have reportedly agreed a deal with AC Milan to sell Emerson Royal. Spurs have been in talks since the start of the summer with the Serie A side about a move for the 25-year-old, who has struggled for game time under Ange Postecoglou. In fact, Emerson started just 11 Premier League matches last season and made just 24 appearances across all competitions.

But now, Emerson is set to leave Tottenham. According to Fabrizio Romano, a deal is in place for the Brazilian to move to Milan for in excess of £12.8million. The Rossoneri had reached an agreement with Emerson back in May as he only wanted a move to the San Siro, despite four to five other proposals. Travel is being planned for Emerson to fly to Italy and complete his move away from Spurs.

Emerson joined Tottenham from Barcelona three years ago for a fee in the region of £25.8m. He became a regular following the appointment of Antonio Conte and scored his first goal for Spurs during a 5-1 victory over Newcastle in April 2022. Emerson made 77 appearances across his first two years at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but the arrival of Postecoglou appeared to limit his game time.

Despite scoring on the opening day of last season in a 2-2 draw at Brentford, Emerson didn't start any of the next 10 Premier League matches and was firmly behind Destiny Udogie and Pedro Porro in the pecking order. He managed to regain a place in the starting XI after Cristian Romero was sent off and Micky van de Ven suffered a hamstring injury in the 4-1 defeat against Chelsea back in November.

He started three successive games at centre-back, before the return of Romero saw Emerson come back out of the side and reduced to a role on the bench. Emerson was in and out of the starting XI for the remainder of the campaign, and his frustration at a lack of game time has seen him want to leave Tottenham. It had been reported back in June that Emerson simply wants to play regular football, whether that is at the club or elsewhere.

Spurs have signed Archie Gray, who can play at right-back, from Leeds for £40m and that could soften the blow of losing Emerson this summer. Meanwhile, Tottenham are advancing in negotiations over a deal to sign Dominic Solanke from Bournemouth. Postecoglou is eager to sign a new striker and Solanke is the man that has been touted with a move to north London, having scored 19 Premier League goals last season.

The 2024/25 Premier League season officially kicks off next week with Tottenham travelling to Leicester. Ange Postecoglou's side face the Foxes on Monday, August 19 so will have the privilege of watching other teams play before taking to the pitch themselves.

Spurs have one pre-season game remaining, however, as they welcome Bayern Munich to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday. It will be Postecoglou's final chance to give his squad one last run out before the return of competitive matches. Off the pitch the Lilywhites have been equally as busy as they have already brought in Timo Werner, Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray.

There's expected to be plenty more business before the summer transfer window slams shut on August 30. A new striker appears to be on the agenda while a number of attacking stars could depart in the coming weeks. With this in mind, football.london has detailed what Tottenham's dream forward line might look like next season.

Dominic Solanke deal agreed

Tottenham have been interested in signing a striker all summer having not replaced Harry Kane when he left to join Bayern Munich last year. football.london understands the club are now closing in on a deal to sign Bournemouth star Dominic Solanke.

The Cherries have agreed to sell their star striker for a club-record fee, with talks ongoing to finalise a deal. Personal terms are not thought to be an issue with the 26-year-old showing a big desire to play for the club. Solanke, who has a £65million release clause in his contract, had a sensational season on the south coast last term, scoring 21 goals in 42 appearances.

The former Chelsea and Liverpool man's arrival will boost Postecoglou's options and give the Australian his first real No.9 at the club. Richarlison did perform well in the role in periods last season but has struggled to remain fit and has not always shown a clinical edge to his game. The Brazilian will still have a role to play at Tottenham having committed his future at the club, but he may have to impress from the bench if Solanke's transfer is completed.

Son impact

Solanke's arrival will also impact Son Heung-min, who was forced to play through the middle on occasions last season due to Richarlison's injury problems. Despite his best efforts the South Korean did not have the same impact when playing as a striker as he does when playing off the left wing.

If Solanke's deal is finalised in the coming days, it will mean Son is free to play on his favoured left wing role in time for the Premier League opener against Leicester. Postecoglou will also have Timo Werner available who can be a decent option from the bench when required.

Kulusevski and Johnson decision

Perhaps the position in the team that could change throughout the season is right wing. Dejan Kulusevski and Brennan Johnson shared the role in the last campaign and both did a decent job when called upon.

Johnson has been preferred on the right in pre-season, with the 23-year-old starting all five of Tottenham's pre-season games so far. Kulusevski has mostly been deployed in the No.9 role or in the playmaker position just behind the striker, mainly because Postecoglou has not had an out and out striker to call upon in recent weeks.

So it looks like Johnson could get the nod on the right ahead of the Swede, with Kulusevski instead acting as a decent back-up. The former Juventus man should also get plenty of minutes in the No.10 role along with James Maddison.

Four players to exit

Manor Solomon had a frustrating first season at Tottenham after joining Spurs on a free transfer last summer. He had started the 2023/24 campaign in and out of the side under Postecoglou, starting two of their opening seven matches and grabbing two assists in the process.

The Israel international suffered a meniscus problem in his right knee during training in October and a number of setbacks meant he missed the rest of the season. The 25-year-old winger has now returned to fitness, however, and has been involved in pre-season, although he remained an unused substitute last Saturday against Bayern Munich.

With the likes of Son, Werner, Johnson and Kulusevski available to Postecoglou it may make sense for Solomon to go out on loan this season as he just won't get the minutes if he stays at Tottenham. The same probably applies to Dane Scarlett, who was involved at the back end of last season but with Solanke's potential arrival will be pushed further down the pecking order. Scarlett has previously spent time out on loan at Portsmouth and Ipswich and another move to the Championship could be on the cards.

The final two players who could depart Tottenham on loan this summer are Will Lankshear and Jamie Donley. Both were given minutes during pre-season and did well but probably need to depart on loan to further their development. Lankshear in particular is very well thought of at Tottenahm Hotspur Stadium and signed a new deal with the club in July keeping him at Spurs until 2029.

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has spoken about a possible sale of Dom Solanke to Tottenham as Spurs remain in talks with the Cherries over a possible transfer.

football.london understands that Tottenham are closing in on a deal to sign the striker this summer with Bournemouth agreeing to cash in for a club record fee. Solanke has a release clause of £65 million in his contract, but that can only be triggered by certain clubs.

Ange Postecoglou is looking to add to his striking options this summer after the sale of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich this time last year. Solanke scored 19 goals in the Premier League last year and was a key player for Bournemouth.

Speaking to the media, Iraola has confirmed that talks are taking place between the two clubs. But he has added that the player currently remains at Bournemouth.

“I know that talks are ongoing,” he said. “It’s different from the situation when you asked me in the past week, but now he is our player, I cannot tell you much more.

“For us, you know, Dom is a very, very important player. I cannot tell you how this is going to finish.”

He added: “Everyone focuses on the goals, he’s a big person for our goals, but he gives us much more than goals. I think he’s very complete, I’ve said it a lot of times, he helps us in all the phases of the game and he will be a big miss obviously.

“It’s obvious, he’s someone that has been very involved, he played all the games in the past season, he scored a lot of goals. But if this happens, It has happened in other positions, we have to trust the people inside the cub and I’m sure they will be ready, but I repeat again, right now, today, in this moment of the day, Dom continues with us.”

Postecoglou also broke his silence on a deal when asked about the potential transfer earlier in the day. "I can only say that we are trying hard to get the right kind of players into that area,” he said.

"I don’t think we have been looking to replace Harry [Kane]. You can’t really replace a generational player. It’s fair to say that’s an area of the park, the front third, that we are looking to reinforce."

What is your assessment of pre-season so far and this week seeing international players return?

It has been pretty good, pretty solid. Tour was good and well organised, less disruptive than last season's pre-season in terms of training. The games were really good and each game was a little bit more of a challenge for us and conditions were tough. Players got through it really well and like you say we've got the internationals back this week.

We've had a really good week of training with them back, they help with the quality and intensity of our training. The key thing for us is getting up to date. We've got 10 days to go, we've put in a good block of work and for the most part everyone is pretty healthy which from our point of view is the most important thing.

Do you feel in a better place now compared to last year?

I feel better prepared for sure because this time last year there were still a lot of things happening, comings and goings. Like I said, our pre-season tour was pretty disruptive and we probably didn't have the games we wanted to. It was little bit of a leap into the unknown whereas I think it feels like we're better prepared.

The training sessions have gone up a notch this year compared to last year and that's because of player familiarity and the coaches we have. I think everyone thinks they've had a fantastic pre-season but until we get to that first game none of us really know. As I sit here right now, I think we're well prepared.

Is there any truth in the Dominic Solanke talk and is there anything you can add from your side that he's maybe the player or striker you've been looking to bring in since Harry Kane left the club last year?

I don't think we've been looking to replace Harry. I think I said a number of times last year you can't replace a generational player and there's a reason they stand apart. It's fair to say front third is an area we really believe we need to reinforce this year. We've been working hard to try and get the right kind of players into those areas we need for another challenging season ahead.

We're back in Europe, which means more games, and the one thing coming out of last year when we had disruptions in terms of injuries or suspensions there was a real drop off and we want to sort of try and mitigate that this year by having a stronger squad to cope with everything we do.

Emerson Royal potentially might be moving to Italy, is there truth behind that or is he someone you're willing to let go?

I think me speculating around these things is a bit like the treasurer or what do you call them here, the [chancellor of the] exchequer, Twitter or X could into meltdown if I speculate, like stock market could crash, if I speculate about things.

Fair to say those kinds of things will get resolved. It is a bit difficult for me as I don’t have control over it. Like I said, I am hopeful over next few days been some resolutions for ins and outs.

Richarlison maybe had a bit of a uncertain future but he's come out and said he wants to stay at Tottenham, how do you feel about him saying that and where does his future lie with what's going on?

Yes, not really sure where the uncertain future comes from. Not on my behalf. When he was fit, he played all the time and he played well. But it was quite evident when he was missing, we had to play Sonny in there and cover areas. This is not about replacing Richy, for us, it is about adding to our squad.

We want to get stronger from every transfer window we’ve had and from my perspective I’d say Richy is part of what we want to build here. Last year, when he played, he was very, very good for us and hopefully this year we keep him healthy and he plays more. Having more quality and depth in that front third means we hopefully protect our players a bit more and cover our absences when they are not there.

Can Richarlison thrive with another No.9 in the squad?

I don’t see why that would hamper him. I’d like to see us strong as a team and I am sure every player here wants us to get better. If you want to be a club that challengers for trophies, you need to be a strong squad and that means having good quality players all over the park. I certainly, as I said, saw evidence last year that absences cost us and I want to try to mitigate that.

Players who face uncertain futures such as maybe Oliver Skipp and Manor Solomon, how are they dealing with it and how do you expect them to deal with it?

A lot of those things are kind of in the player’s hands, where they see themselves and what they want from their careers. I have always had the same sort of thought process on those things. When they are with us, they are with us. That doesn’t mean things will change and you have to embrace and accept that as a manager that things change, while they are here, they are here.

A lot of things dictate themselves and I do think that depending on the individual players, they’ve got a career that they have to manage themselves. Whether they think that this is the right place to keep progressing. I’ve always respected that a lot of those decisions also come down to them.

What are expectations from the fans and from yourself for this year?

The fans expectations every year are they want to see their club winning and being successful. I don't think that should change or diminish just because of change. Particularly at this football club, it is a big football club and has been there or thereabouts for a very long time.

I would like to think our fans are optimistic about the season ahead, but for me it still comes down to the basic core principles of we need to improve on last year. On the areas where we fell short and build on the areas where we did really well because what we do know in the Premier League is the competition doesn't stand still. The teams ahead of us and the teams around or behind us don't stay in the same place necessarily, they improve so for us, if we don't improve, we lose ground from where we are.

We need to try to improve at a greater rate than the opposition and that's what we want to do. We want to push on from last year and if we can improve our football, be more consistent then I think it will put us in a decent place.

Harry Kane played one and only game for you this time last year, scored a hat-trick, did it give a glimpse into what he could do?

I think he score more than a hat-trick, I think he got four or five and people were questioning whether I could fit him into my system! I reckon he did alright in that game. Look, he's a quality player and he proved that last year, went to the Bundesliga and broke records. Outstanding player and I hope it is a good day for him tomorrow in terms of before the game, not during the game, because he is a generational player.

These players, sometimes it is not in a nice, neat bow where they can say goodbye and get acknowledged in the right way. So, I am sure our fans will give him the welcome he deserves and I am sure he will appreciate it. Yeah, it should be a good day for him until the whistle goes and then hopefully we make it a bit more miserable for him (smile).

What's the latest on the injury front and is Richarlison back in training yet?

The main three injuries we had through pre-season were Richy, Destiny [Udogie] and Fraser Forster, they missed the back end of last year and have all come back at different stages. Destiny has had a good two-week block of training so he will play a part tomorrow, which is a positive for us.

Richy and Fraser have got back into training this week and both had a good block of training. They won't feature tomorrow but with another week's training before the start of the season hopefully they'll be in a good place. Everyone else has had a pretty good pre-season.

Are the internationals who have just returned in a position to start tomorrow?

They'll play. It is probably not ideal but we'll get them a game before our first fixture and they've come back in a good condition. They've all looked after themselves and again they have had a good week of training. They'll get some minutes tomorrow, unlikely to start the game but we'll try get them some minutes tomorrow and our first game is Monday night so we'll have a few extra days of training.

Alfie Devine's had a good pre-season is the plan for him to stay with squad or loan him out again?

We'll have a look at it really closely. I agree, Alfie has had a really good pre-season and again compare it to last year and he's definitely developed. Part of that is probably because he's played senior football last year on loan. A lot of them will be judged with what outs we have between now and the start of the season.

I wouldn't want to keep him with us unless I really felt he can get some significant game time because I don't want to startle his development because he is a player that can make an impact here at Spurs. Fair to say him and the other younger guys, Jamie Donley, Will Lankshear have made an impression both in the way they have trained and the way they have played games. We'll have a close look at what the next steps are.

Tottenham Hotspur are edging closer to completing the signing of Dominic Solanke, and Spurs fans can start to dream of the striker donning Lilywhite.

A year after selling Harry Kane to Bayern Munich, Tottenham have a replacement who is said to be desperate to make a move. Solanke will seemingly slot straight into the side for their opening match of the Premier League season against Leicester City.

Head coach Ange Postecoglu has always played with an out-and-out number nine and belatedly has one in north London. However, Solanke will have to convince Richarlison to vacate that shirt number if he is to take it, as the Brazil international has seemingly decided to stay amid interest from Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal.

Solanke may not necessarily replace Richarlison as the Spurs player wearing No. 9, but the summer signing will seemingly supersede him as the starting centre-forward this season, meaning the Brazilian may have to settle for a rotation role this season. That should mean two of the front three are set, with Son Heung-Min still Postecoglu's first name on the teamsheet playing from the left.

Brennan Johnson looks the most likely player to start on the opposite flank, as Dejan Kulusevski has mainly featured as a striker during pre-season. Manor Solomon and Timo Werner will likely deputise out wide, with the Sweden international potentially playing more centrally.

In that area, James Maddison has also remained a mainstay this summer, but Lucas Bergvall has also been impressive in that position, and Giovani Lo Celso could be another option. Behind them, Pape Matar Sarr and Yves Bissouma seem set to maintain their partnership in the middle. However, Rodrigo Bentancur could displace one of them over the coming weeks, and Archie Gray can equally come into that equation.

The summer signing is also an alternative to Pedro Porro at right-back. In the centre, Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven should remain Postecoglu's partnership of choice, while Destiny Udogie's return to training is a welcome boost on the left. Guglielmo Vicario remains the undisputed number one.