Football.London

British rapper AJ Tracey has called on Tottenham Hotspur to offer Son Heung-min a new contract to reward his loyalty to the club.

Son, 32, is out of contract at the end of the season and, as of January 1, has been free to discuss a pre-contract agreement with overseas clubs.

The South Korea international has played over 430 times for Spurs since signing from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, scoring 169 goals.

But in November, Son hinted that this year could be his last at White Hart Lane as he revealed that talks over a new deal had yet to occur.

However, musician and rapper AJ Tracey has called on the club to mirror the loyalty Son has shown during his 10 years in North London and offer the forward new terms.

Writing on X, he said: "Spurs, do the right thing, give Sonny a new contract. Treat one of our best & most loyal players ever how he deserves to he treated. For all he's done for us, he's surely earned the right to end his career however he sees fit. Letting him go this way wouldn't sit right."

Discussing his future in November, Son said: "We haven't talked about anything yet. It is very clear from me," he said. "I am very focused on this season. At this age, every second is like a goal, especially this season, we are in a lot of competitions, it feels like I am taking even more care about this.

"As I say, I am fully focused on this year and just want to win something that everybody at the club - the players, all around - deserves.

"That's what I'm working for. In the future you never know what will happen, but I will give everything for this club because it's been almost 10 years and I give everything.

"I still have a contract with the club which is the very important thing and I just want to give everything until my contract [expires]."

Tottenham will be forced to push through their plans to sign a new left-back after the news that Destiny Udogie is set to miss close to two months with his hamstring injury.

The 22-year-old suffered the injury early in the second half of the 2-2 draw against Wolves on Sunday and the severity was immediately clear in the way the Italian left-back struggled to even walk off the pitch and down the tunnel. Udogie is not expected to return to full fitness and sharpness until late February at the earliest.

It is yet another blow to Ange Postecoglou and his threadbare Spurs squad and the Australian currently has seven players out injured, including four members of his first choice backline, one suspended midfielder in Rodrigo Bentancur and while Richarlison and Mikey Moore are edging closer to a return, it's not a given that they will both be involved on the bench for Saturday's match against in-form Newcastle.

If both are not ready yet after so long out with injury and illness respectively then it will mean another match for Tottenham with the number of unavailable players reaching double figures.

Postecoglou told football.london about Udogie on Sunday: "I think it's a hamstring. We've been relying on a core group of players because we just haven't had the ability to rotate, so at some point, it was going to catch up with us. Unfortunately, it caught up with Destiny."

Udogie has played the fourth most amount of minutes at Spurs with 1,816 to his name. His role is a deeper running one to Pedro Porro's on the other side with the Spaniard using his ball-playing ability to hit early crosses from deep, while Udogie's job is more of a constantly overlapping or inverting one.

Djed Spence will fill in for Udogie in the mean time and his performances in both full-back spots have raised questions over why the 24-year-old was not used more often earlier in the season in order to allow more rotation for Udogie and Porro. Spence was not included in the Europa League squad due to a lack of room but could have been used in the Premier League games around those fixtures.

football.london reported on Monday that Spurs are looking at potential January recruits across a number of positions, including a new centre-back, left-back, midfielder and are considering bringing in a new goalkeeper, while Postecoglou also previously told football.london that a new attacker could be in order if his internal options in the attacking third remain slim.

The decision to sign a new left-back was not taken last summer despite Postecoglou having to play midfielder Oliver Skipp and centre-back Micky van de Ven in the role in the final month of last season while Udogie was out after having surgery on his quadriceps and Ben Davies was also absent with a calf problem.

Davies has been used primarily as a centre-back this season with 18-year-old midfielder Archie Gray having to fill in at times at left-back as well as more recently at centre-back due to the missing faces in the backline. Sergio Reguilon remains at the club and filled in for Udogie with Spence suspended on Sunday but other than that he has only played one minute of football this season. The Spaniard is not part of the club's future and is running towards the end of his contract.

It's difficult to understand how Postecoglou or Tottenham were confident enough that there was enough natural left-back options going into this season. Among others, Spurs were linked with Lecce's versatile full-back Patrick Dorgu in the summer but the 20-year-old remained at the Italian club and signed a new deal in October.

With Tottenham needing a new centre-back in January, another option would be to target a versatile defender who can play both centrally and as a full-back to help cover two weakened areas of the squad.

With Postecoglou having such low player availability yet a match every three days until well into next month, he needs transfer help quickly and someone to give Spence a hand at left-back needs to be a priority.

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

Tottenham will be intent on starting 2025 in style when they welcome Newcastle United to north London on Saturday afternoon. Ange Postecoglou's side didn't end 2024 the way they would have liked and now they will be hoping that a new year brings about a change at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

At a time when Spurs go into this weekend's match 11th in the Premier League table after only one win from their seven league games in December, Newcastle have won their last five in all competitions. In regards to their Premier League fixtures, Eddie Howe's side have scored 13 times and not even shipped a single goal in the process.

It is going to be an incredibly tough game for Spurs but it does represent a real opportunity to lay down a marker and start 2025 as they mean to go on. Once again going into a game with a limited number of players available right now, Postecoglou will be forced into making a couple of changes after what happened in their previous encounter at home to Wolves.

So who exactly could come into the team for Saturday's 12:30pm kick-off? football.london takes a look below.

Djed Spence for Destiny Udogie

Djed Spence will be available for selection once again after missing out against Wolves through suspension. The full-back's return is certainly timely after Destiny Udogie went off early in the second half of the Wolves game with a hamstring issue.

That means Spence will immediately come back into the team and play from the left. The ex-Nottingham Forest man has seen his minutes increase in recent weeks and he may now be set for an extended run in the side depending on how long his teammate is out of action for.

Pape Matar Sarr for Rodrigo Bentancur

Whereas Postecoglou is boosted by Spence's return from a one-match ban, Rodrigo Bentancur will sit out the Newcastle match through suspension. The Uruguayan unfortunately didn't get through the Wolves encounter without a booking and he will now sit out one match for obtaining five yellow cards in the first 19 Premier League games of the season.

Pape Matar Sarr was given a breather in Tottenham's fixture but he will very likely come straight back into the side to face Newcastle. Hopefully the rest has done him the world of good as he has been a key player in recent months.

James Maddison for Brennan Johnson or Son Heung-min

James Maddison will be itching to start after having to settle for a place on the bench in the past two games. The attacking midfielder has been incredibly unlucky after registering three goals in his two outings prior to dropping out of the side at Nottingham Forest.

Maddison's potential inclusion would likely see Dejan Kulusevski move into the front three, thus leaving one of Brennan Johnson or Son Heung-min at risk of the axe. Son is probably the player out of the pair who is due a rest but he may be fit and raring to go after having six days to prepare for the visit of Newcastle.

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

A brief pause in play has come at exactly the right time for Ange Postecoglou and his Tottenham squad. Following their return to Europe this campaign, Spurs' calendar has been rather hectic to say the least with games coming every three or four days since the beginning of September.

Needing a big squad to cope with the relentless demands of Thursday-Sunday football, Postecoglou has had limited options to work with over the past two months due to an injury crisis. At a time when the players have required a much-needed breather, the boss has had no option but to continue to play them and that has seen Tottenham suffer in the Premier League as a result.

Not having a full week between games since the end of August, this week Spurs have the luxury of a six-day break going into Saturday's Newcastle United fixture. A rare occurrence for the team in the 2024/25 campaign, it is something that has allowed Postecoglou to give his squad a bit of time off before they reconvene at their training base on Wednesday.

"Yeah, it was always planned," he said after last Sunday's 2-2 draw with Wolves. "We kind of knew this is the first week where we don't have a midweek game, so I think the whole group probably needs a couple of days just to get away from everything and recover, because it's been fairly intense for a real small core group of players, particularly over the last four or five weeks and I think it'll do them good to have a couple of days to themselves with their families and give them a chance to recover mentally as much as physically."

On what he will do with the time off, he added: "Yeah, I'll just keep going, mate. We've got work to do and try to get some help for these players and our role is to try and give them everything we can, the support we can to perform at their best."

Tottenham need results once they return to action, starting on Saturday at home to Newcastle. So what will be on Postecoglou's to-do list this week now that he has time on the training pitch with his players? football.london takes a look below.

Ensure players are refreshed

The first thing Postecoglou and his coaching staff need to do is ensure his players are feeling refreshed after a couple of days away from Hotspur Way. As important as it is that they physically recover from their punishing schedule, it is also vital that they mentally recover from it as well.

This six-day break between games is only a one-off for Tottenham as January is set to be a very busy month with four midweek games on the horizon. February could also follow suit if the Lilywhites do not finish in the top eight of the Europa League league phase table and instead have to play a two-legged knockout play-off tie for a spot in the final 16 of the competition.

That is why it is vital that the Spurs squad get sufficient rest over the next few days and are not pushed too much with eight games to come in January. The last thing they want right now are further injury issues.

Check on injured players

Postecoglou will be hoping for some positive news on the injury front as Tottenham bid to make a strong start to the year. Admitting last week that Ben Davies has suffered a setback and faces another couple of weeks on the sidelines, it shouldn't be too long until Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven are hopefully in a position to play again.

Postecoglou will also have his fingers crossed that Destiny Udogie does not require a long spell on the sidelines after injuring his hamstring against Wolves last weekend. Some positive news on the injury front, however, is that Richarlison and Mikey Moore are due to return to first-team training this week.

That could potentially mean that they take their place in the matchday squad very soon and give the boss some more options in attack. New signing Yang Min-hyeok could also add to the numbers now that he is a Tottenham player with January 1 officially marking his move to the club.

Decide on midfield trio vs Newcastle

One player Tottenham will unfortunately have to do without against Newcastle is Rodrigo Bentancur. Only just returning from a seven-match domestic ban, the Uruguayan had to avoid a yellow card in the Wolves match to stop him from obtaining a one-match suspension for five yellow cards in the first 19 Premier League games of the season.

It was typical of Tottenham's luck that the midfielder received a yellow card seconds before the full-time whistle against Wolves. Postecoglou now has a decision to make over his midfield trio to face Newcastle with Bentancur having to watch on from the stands.

Pape Matar Sarr will very likely come back into the side after having a rest against Wolves, with James Maddison also hoping to get the nod in the middle of the park. It's a big call facing the head coach as Newcastle are flourishing right now with their midfield three of Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes wowing together.

Stop Isak

Archie Gray could be set for another huge test this weekend with Alexander Isak in red-hot form for Newcastle right now. The Swede has scored in his last six Premier League games, notching eight goals in the process for the Magpies.

Newcastle have some very good attacking options in their side, with Isak chief among them after making a real name for himself in the Premier League since his move from Real Sociedad. Going on the chances that Tottenham do present to their opponents, Isak will be licking his lips at the prospect of adding to his impressive tally on Saturday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Tottenham have no option but to nullify the 25-year-old.

Son confidence boost

Son Heung-min could certainly do with a confidence boost going into this weekend's game after his penalty miss against Wolves. It's just not quite happened for the Tottenham captain this season, with the attacker only managing to register seven goals in all competitions so far.

Postecoglou resisted the temptation of resting Son from the off in the recent games over the festive period and it would be a shock if he now chose to do it against Newcastle, especially on the back of a six-day break. Tottenham need to find a way of returning to form and the same goes for Son.

A pivotal player for the team ever since his move from Germany, Spurs now more than ever need the 32-year-old to return to the top of his game.

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

Tottenham's start to the season has been far from perfect, so Ange Postecoglou may look to bolster his squad in the January transfer window as their hunt for a trophy continues.

It's been a mixed first half of the season for Spurs. The Lilywhites are floating around mid-table in the Premier League, but also progressing well in the cup competitions. Postecoglou has come under fire at times this season with Spurs suffering some tough losses at times, but with some big injuries in the squad, his side has been far from full strength at times.

With Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, and Guglielmo Vicario all missing large chunks of the season through injury, Spurs may be tempted to strengthen defensively in the January transfer window, while some attacking additions are always welcome. So, if Postecoglou were to add to his squad in the January transfer window, who could arrive? We simulated the 2025 January transfer window to find out...

Spurs' 2025 January transfer window simulated

To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2024 editor to simulate the 2025 January transfer window, making defenders the priority position for Postecoglou. This is what happened.

Incomings - £109million (£132million including add-ons)

Jorrel Hato (Ajax) - £32million (rising to £43million with add-ons)

Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli) - £37million

Alex Baena (Villarreal) - £40million (rising to £52million with add-ons)

Spurs made three signings in the January transfer window simulation, spending £109million, potentially rising to £132million with add-ons. The biggest incoming was Alex Baena from Villarreal, with the Spanish winger joining the club for an initial fee of £40million.

Two defensive additions were also made, with Napoli's Alessandro Buongiorno signing for £37million. The Italian established himself as a key defender for Napoli, with Spurs paying a little over his asking price to secure a move halfway through the season. Ajax's Jorrel Hato also moved to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with his £32million fee potentially rising to £43million with add-ons.

At just 18 years old, Spurs beat Arsenal, Real Madrid, and Liverpool for the in-demand defender in the simulation.

Outgoings - £13.9million

Sergio Reguilon (Villarreal) - £13million

Will Lankshear (Plymouth Argyle) - Six-month loan (£900k loan fee)

Brandon Austin (Barnsley) - Six-month loan

Not many outgoings were made in the January transfer window, with just one permanent departure taking place. Sergio Reguilon left Spurs to return to Spain, with the defender moving to Villarreal for £13million. Youngsters Will Lankshear and Brandon Austin both left on loan deals for the rest of the season, joining Plymouth Argyle and Barnsley respectively.

Interestingly, Liverpool made an audacious effort to sign Dejan Kulusevski in January, but the Reds saw their £63million bid swiftly rejected by Spurs.

Jack Grealish is said to be a player Tottenham Hotspur are monitoring with the winter transfer window approaching.

Grealish, 29, has made 18 appearances for Manchester City this season, but barely half of those have been starts. The attacking midfielder has only managed two assists, both of which came within a week of each other during September.

His last City goal came over 12 months ago in December last year, with the player scoring three and assisting the same amount in 36 appearances across all competitions last term. However, Grealish got two goals for England this autumn after receiving an international recall under Lee Carsley for the country's Nations League campaign after being omitted from Gareth Southgate 's European Championship squad.

The Mail now reports Grealish is a player who might leave City next month despite manager Pep Guardiola not expecting any departures during January. They claim Newcastle United and Spurs are monitoring his situation in the city, while former Tottenham player Kyle Walker is said to be assessing his options moving forward.

football.london understands Grealish's wages would be huge and believes that any interest would be contingent on City continuing to pay much of the player's salary in return for Spurs helping them out by taking him on loan. He reportedly earns around £300,000 per week, comfortably making Grealish the highest-paid player at Spurs ahead of Heung-Min Son if a move materialised. That would also be the case at Newcastle, where wages are comparable to Spurs.

Two key Newcastle United players will be walking a tightrope in their game against Manchester United on Monday night if they are to take their place in the starting XI to visit Tottenham on Saturday.

Tottenham Hotspur know a thing or two about missing players with a big injury list and suspended stars this month including Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence and Rodrigo Bentancur. The latter has only just come off a seven-game suspension for his controversial comments about Son Heung-min in the summer when he picked up his fifth yellow card of the season in the final minutes of Sunday's draw with Wolves.

That means Bentancur will miss Saturday's home game against Newcastle. All he had to do was make it through two more minutes or so to reach the halfway cut off point of the season after 19 Premier League games when bookings are wiped off. James Maddison and the injured Micky van de Ven reached that point with four yellow cards to their name and will now not receive a ban for their next booking.

However, Newcastle are yet to play their 19th match of the season, which comes on Monday night at Old Trafford against Ruben Amorim's United side.

Eddie Howe currently has two key players hovering on the four yellow card mark - Sandro Tonali and Fabian Schar - and if either picks up a booking in Manchester then they will not be able to face Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham on Saturday.

Midfielder Tonali has been a major presence for Newcastle in the past month or so and a key figure in their resurgence, while centre-back Schar has started every game in the Premier League this season other than the two he missed early on through a red card suspension, including the visit of Spurs to St James' Park in September.

It's worth pointing out that neither Tonali nor Schar has picked up a Premier League booking in almost a month in the former's case and two months for the latter. Threadbare Tottenham might just be hoping that changes on Monday night to go some way to evening out their own absences.

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

Manchester City winger Jack Grealish has been linked with a sensational January switch to Tottenham.

The 29-year-old has struggled to break into Pep Guardiola's starting XI this season, despite the current Premier League champions struggling with injuries. Yet to score a goal in 18 appearances this term, the former Aston Villa man has only been on the pitch 940 minutes and has contributed two assists in that period.

With Tottenham suffering an injury crisis of their own, Daily Mail Plus reports that Ange Postecoglou's side are monitoring the Englishman's situation at Man City. Newcastle are the other side mentioned in the report ahead of the January transfer window opening later this week.

With the likes of Vicario, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison out for long parts of the 2024/25 season, Postecoglou has admitted Spurs are open to strengthening in January. football.london understands that the Lilywhites are looking at potential recruits across a number of positions, including a new centre-back, left-back and a midfielder, while the Australian also previously told football.london that a new attacker could be in order if his internal options in the attacking third remain slim.

"I think, yeah, reinforcement. Like I said a while ago, we've been planning. A lot of it was going to be around where we're at around this time," said Postecoglou earlier this month. "Fair to say we're still a little bit short in a couple of areas and we need to reinforce. But January's trickier in terms of what sort of players you can bring in.

"For us, ideal — for any club, I guess — you want to bring in people who are going to make you stronger. I think the fact that, obviously, we're still in the Carabao Cup semi-final, still got Europe, FA Cup, we're in all the competitions, it's not like our schedule's going to ease up at any stage. So I think it makes sense. We will try and reinforce where and what number we'll have to wait and see."

It's unclear at this stage whether Grealish would be open to moving to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with his big wages potentially one of a number of stumbling blocks. Still, a short term loan deal remains a real possibility and could suit all parties. With this in mind, football.london takes a look below at Tottenham's best starting XI if Daniel Levy does sanction a move this winter.

A number of Tottenham Hotspur players have closed out 2024 with more memorable performances on loan away from the north London club.

The January transfer window is expected to expand the club's loan army, while some of the current batch could switch to new clubs as Spurs have 10 senior players out on loan in the Football League, Spain and Belgium. There's also Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg on loan at Marseille, but with an obligation to move to the Ligue 1 club we're going to only mention him in passing occasionally.

However, we are including Luka Vuskovic in our round-up each week even though he hasn't officially arrived at Spurs yet, because the teenage defender is playing alongside Tottenham's Alfie Devine at Westerlo anyway. Alejo Veliz and Bryan Gil - at Espanyol and Girona respectively - got the Christmas week off due to the La Liga winter break.

So how exactly did Tottenham's other loan stars fare over the festive period? football.london takes a look below.

Jamie Donley and Josh Keeley (Leyton Orient)

We're dipping down a couple of divisions to begin with because what Jamie Donley and Josh Keeley are doing at Leyton Orient in League One deserves star billing.

After a spell out of the squad, Donley, who turns 20 on Friday, has roared back into contention with six consecutive starts and Orient have won five and drawn one of those games during the unbeaten run. The attacking midfielder has two goals and two assists in his past three matches and fired home from close range in Sunday's 2-0 win at home against Cambridge United for the second senior goal of his fledgling career.

Keeley has also been turning heads with his performances at the other end of the pitch and Donley was caught on camera joking to his 21-year-old Spurs and Orient team-mate after Sunday's final whistle that he now has more goals than him following the goalkeeper's dramatic goal against Oldham Athletic in the FA Cup.

Keeley will be quite happy to concentrate simply on the goalkeeping because he set a new club record by keeping seven clean sheets in a row in all competitions.

Both players are flying at Orient right now and Spurs could face key decisions over both next month. football.london understands there is interest in both Donley and Keeley from clubs up the football pyramid while Tottenham have had their own goalkeeper cover issues. Both players now seem settled at Orient and Spurs will have to weigh up whether sticking or twisting is best for their development.

George Abbott (Notts County)

Another dip down the leagues is needed because George Abbott scored an absolute wonder goal on Sunday for Notts County in their 5-3 win at Cheltenham.

A corner was cleared to the edge of the box and the 19-year-old cut across the ball perfectly with a bending half-volley that rocketed in high off the inside of the right-hand post.

That made it goals in back-to-back games for Abbott, who is enjoying a terrific loan spell in League Two with 18 appearances to his name already plus those two goals - his first in senior football - and two assists.

Abbott has played a key role in County's rise up the table to second place among a tightly-packed bunch behind runaway leaders Walsall. Like Donley and Keeley, various clubs are keeping a close eye on the teenage Spurs U21 captain after watching him taking to senior football with ease.

Alfie Devine and Luka Vuskovic (Westerlo)

Both Luka Vuskovic and Alfie Devine got on the scoresheet for Westerlo in their goal-laden Boxing Day defeat at Club Brugge.

Seventeen-year-old Vuskovic made it 2-2 a the 55 minute mark with a remarkable bicycle kick after a deep cross was headed back to him in the Brugge box. The rocket of a shot was the big centre-back's sixth goal of the season.

Devine then scored another equaliser for Westerlo with a clever run, touch, turn and finish inside the left-hand post. The flag initially went up for offside but VAR showed that the Spurs man was onside by a considerable margin.

The 20-year-old midfielder tested the goalkeeper with a shot from out wide in the final 10 minutes but Brugge were awarded a penalty in added time and converted it on the rebound to take the win even after a late Devine cross caused a scramble in front of the Brugge goal.

Manor Solomon (Leeds United)

After Solomon played a big role in Leeds United's 4-0 win over Oxford United with one goal and two assists before Christmas, he took part in two festive away games.

First, he played 76 minutes on the left wing as Leeds won 2-0 at Ashley Phillips' Stoke City on Boxing Day and then 19 minutes from the bench three days later and playing his part as they emerged victorious by a single goal at Derby.

Leeds Live handed the Israel international a seven in their player ratings for the Stoke match with the review: "Should have scored in the first half from James' cross midway through the first half. Was much better on the second half and went close a few times. Did better when told to go direct."

He got the same score for his cameo at Derby with the words: "Added a much-needed spark for Aaronson's goal."

Solomon has three goals and three assists from his 17 appearances in the Championship this season.

Ashley Phillips (Stoke City)

Ashley Phillips is set for his third Stoke manager just halfway through the season after Narcis Pelach was sacked three months into the job, having only replaced Steven Schumacher in mid-September.

The 2-0 defeat to Leeds on Boxing Day proved to be the final game in charge for Pelach and 19-year-old Phillips played the full 90 minutes in that game before getting another 85 minutes under his belt for caretaker boss Ryan Shawcross as Stoke managed to grab a last-gasp Tom Cannon winner against Sunderland on Sunday.

Phillips received a 7.5 in Stoke-on-Trent Live's player ratings with the review: "A couple of loose touches but has the pace and strength to help in recovery. Gave everything. Willing to get stuck in and put himself on the line for the team."

The teenager has been linked with a move back to Tottenham amid their defensive injury crisis and when asked about recalling Phillips a fortnight ago, Postecoglou said: "We will look at all the January contingencies. That is all happening in the background, but it will not help us for the next five games. That is where my focus is right now. Johan, we’ve had our chats and he knows a lot of it will be state of play with where we’re at come the new year."

Dane Scarlett (Oxford United)

Dane Scarlett has been in and out of the Oxford starting XI in recent weeks following that run of goals for United and England U21s across October and November.

Like Phillips, Scarlett has encountered managerial changes with Gary Rowett now in charge after replacing Des Buckingham this month.

The 20-year-old striker was left on the bench unused in his first game - the 3-2 Boxing Day home win against Cardiff - and then came on for the final minutes of the 2-0 victory against Plymouth on Sunday.

Scarlett will be hoping to convince his new manager that he deserves more minutes in the weeks ahead as Rowett looks to take Oxford up the table.

Matthew Craig (Barnsley)

Matthew Craig has not started a match in League One under manager Darrell Clarke since early October and after being left out of the past two Barnsley matchday squads, Clarke admitted talks will take place over the 21-year-old's next steps with reports that Tottenham could recall the midfielder and send him on another loan.

“I am in regular contact with Matty," he told the Barnsley Chronicle. "He’s a great pro and a good lad. It’s an area of the pitch where there is serious competition. He’s a good option. There are ongoing talks because players want to play. We will assess it at the start of January."

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

Brennan Johnson says he is 'not going to lie' about the current difficult moment that Tottenham are going through.

Spurs sit 11th in the table as they battle through a period packed with games with a threadbare squad. Ange Postecoglou went into Sunday's match against Wolves with eight first team players out either injured or suspended and lost another to injury during the game in Destiny Udogie and then Rodrigo Bentancur to a one-match suspension for picking up his fifth yellow card of the season.

With double figures of missing players in some recent games, including his first choice centre-back and goalkeeper, the rest of the squad have been racking up the minutes with matches every three days and Tottenham looked jaded in the second half against Wolves, having got themselves in front with goals from Bentancur and Johnson, only to concede a late leveller from Jorgen Strand Larsen.

"Yeah, exactly [we're giving everything]. I'm not going to lie and say that we're all buzzing, but it's been tough and the minimum we can do is give our all, and I think that's what we are all doing, to be fair," said Johnson after the game in his club interview. "I don't think I can doubt anyone's belief and work rate to the cause. So, obviously we want to work hard, but yeah, it's just disappointing when results like that happen so late on."

He added: "It was a tough game, they'd come in off a really good result against Man United, but I think we showed enough to get through the game. I think we weren't at our best as we have been in this season, but we definitely created enough chances to win that game, so it's disappointing.

"It's a massive kick in the teeth. To get ourselves from behind, back in front the way we did and definitely had enough chances to maybe get another, but it's just in those games where we have to really grit our teeth and get a result and it's sickening when that goal goes in because it's like everyone's worked so hard and we haven't been at our best, but I think we've really worked hard to get a result and for them to score at the end just, yeah, it's a massive blow."

The 23-year-old is the club's top scorer this season and his 11th goal of the campaign was a clinical effort after some great interplay with first Bentancur and then Dejan Kulusevski.

"I think it was a nice move," he admitted. "Rodri picked up the ball and found me in a more inside position and then I found Deki in that kind of half space. He's so good in those positions, he stays really cool and once he lifted his head back up, I knew I was in a good position to have a really good chance and it's just about getting a good contact on it."

With a rare fixture-free midweek, Postecoglou has given his players two days off to recharge both mentally and physically before they must report back to Hotspur Way on Wednesday to prepare for Saturday's game against Newcastle. Later on Sunday evening, Johnson began his rest period by joining Tottenham team-mate James Maddison just three-and-a-half miles down the road from the stadium at the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

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