The Guardian

Daniel Levy could be given the chance to stay on at Tottenham by a consortium seeking to buy the club. The Guardian has learned that a group of Qatari investors are willing to give Levy a long-term contract to continue running Spurs as executive chairman.

Retaining Levy would be a controversial move given the antipathy towards the chairman from many Tottenham fans, but the investors are keen to retain his expertise.

They want control of Spurs but the proposed takeover could take the form of a phased buyout. Under one model being considered by the investors, Levy would be offered a management contract to run the club, which would remain in place even if Enic, that owns 86.91% of Tottenham, becomes a minority shareholder.

Levy has been the most influential figure at Tottenham since 2001, when Enic bought 29.9% of the club from Alan Sugar before gaining full control six years later. Under Levy’s leadership Spurs’s financial position has been transformed, with the 63-year-old masterminding the building of their new stadium and establishing Tottenham as one of the richest clubs in Europe with an annual income of more than £500m.

Tottenham have been open about the fact they are seeking outside investment, with Levy saying last year that the club needed “a significant increase in its equity base”. The financial services group Rothschild has been appointed to advise on investment talks but there is also outside interest in a takeover. Sources at the club insist they are not currently involved in negotiations on a takeover.

Tottenham have been the subject of longstanding interest from potential investors in America and the Middle East, but no one has met the £3.75bn valuation.

The identity of the Qatari bidders is unclear, but the Guardian has been told they are private individuals rather than the government-backed Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) or Sheikh Jassim, who tried to buy Manchester United two years ago.

In recent years Levy has held talks with several Qatari entities without closing a deal. In 2016 Tottenham entered negotiations with QSI about a naming-rights deal for the new stadium, and two years ago QSI approached the club about a minority investment.

The former Newcastle director Amanda Staveley, who brokered the Saudi takeover at St James’ Park four years ago, held talks with a Middle Eastern group about making an offer last year. In 2023 the Financial Times reported that a bid was being prepared by the Iranian-American billionaire Jahm Najafi.

Tottenham fans chanted “Levy out” during much of Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round defeat at Aston Villa. For all the criticism of Levy, he has approved a £550m net spend on players since the new stadium opened six years ago.

Since 2022 Enic and Tottenham have been controlled by the billionaire Joe Lewis’s family trust, which is managed by two independent professional trustees on behalf of beneficiaries that do not include Lewis.

Newsflash: the Tottenham diehards who travelled to Villa Park are rather keen for Daniel Levy to sell up and leave their club. The refrain against the chairman pounded throughout this FA Cup tie. What they would also like is something more from their team.

When Spurs previously faced Aston Villa, they beat them 4-1 at home in early November and it has been pretty much downhill since, just just eight wins in all competitions, a slide from seventh to 14th in the Premier League.

Ange Postecoglou can now reflect on another route to silverware being blocked off, three days after the Carabao Cup semi-final exit at Liverpool. His numerous injured players (11 at present) cannot return quickly enough but what is left of the season?

Spurs can say that they created a few chances and they fought until the end. There was a goal for the new arrival Mathys Tel in stoppage time, which hinted at a ludicrous comeback, but it was just an illusion. Villa were far superior, more cohesive, pleasingly hard-running and they can look forward to an appearance in the fifth round for the first time since 2015 thanks to goals from Jacob Ramsey and the outstanding Morgan Rogers. The only issue for Unai Emery was the profligacy of his team. They could have won by a fistful.

It was an occasion when the tone was set early, Villa flying out of the blocks, Spurs so porous. Try as the visitors did, they could not reverse the flow. The first Levy Out chants were heard in the second minute and by then Spurs were one goal down.

The breakthrough was all about the cut and thrust of Rogers, who swayed around Lucas Bergvall and sprinted up through the lines before going left to Ramsey. From a Spurs point of view, it was too easy for ­Rogers. What Postecoglou really did not need was for his goalkeeper, Antonin Kinsky, to offer a passable impression of a hologram. Ramsey’s shot went through him.

The stadium bounced to a raucous beat, the presence of Marcus ­Rashford in a Villa jersey for the time since his loan signing from Manchester United – albeit only as a ­substitute – a part of it. There were placards bearing his name, demands for his shirt; a tremendous roar when the announcer got down to him on the team sheet.

Emery brought on Rashford in the 66th minute. It was his first action since 12 December and his deep freeze under Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford. Playing as the No 9, he ­clattered Kevin Danso with a stray arm and followed through into Archie Gray as he attempted a shot. In short, Rashford was rusty.

The opening 20 minutes were an ordeal for Spurs and it said plenty that the travelling supporters resorted to gallows humour. “We’re fucking shit,” they chanted after an excrucia­ting attempt to play out from the back had failed. There was also: “How shit must you be, it’s only 1-0.”

Villa were rampant in the first half, storming through Spurs’ flimsy ranks time and again. Rogers enjoyed himself in the space behind Donyell Malen, who Emery had started up front. Ramsey got plenty of joy off the left. Villa worked Kinsky on a handful of occasions before the interval, especially during the initial onslaught, and he mixed decent stops with wobbly moments, failing to get the ball away to the side with some of his parries.

How was it only 1-0 at half-time? Even more crazy was that if Son Heung‑min had taken a golden chance on 24 minutes, it might have been all square. Instead he shot too close to Emiliano Martínez after Mikey Moore’s cross. Ezri Konsa had tried to get back with Son only to pull up with what looked like a ­muscle injury, a worrying development for Villa given their fitness issues in ­central defence.

Spurs had flickered towards the end of the first period and they dug out a foothold upon the restart. With Yves Bissouma on for Moore, they had a better balance. Son was denied by a saving challenge from Konsa’s replacement, Lamare ­Bogarde, and there was the moment when Pedro Porro teed up the Spurs captain. Except that Son looked for Bissouma rather than taking the shot himself and the chance went begging. It was another illustration of Son’s tentativeness.

Spurs’ vulnerabilities did not go away. Ramsey was denied one‑on‑one by Kinsky and Villa were two in front by the time Emery sent on Rashford and another glamour loan signing, Marco Asensio, for their debuts. It was Malen playing the give‑and‑go with Leon Bailey and when he crossed and Porro could not clear, Rogers lashed high into the net.

Ange Postecoglou believes he could “destroy” some of his young players’ careers if they are exposed to the spotlight too early given the criticism levelled at his Tottenham side after their 4-0 defeat by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg.

The Tottenham head coach is expecting to field a similar starting lineup against Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday to the team that were thrashed 4-0 at Anfield as he waits for the return of several key players from injury.

The teenagers Dane Scarlett – who is ineligible to face Villa after playing for Oxford in an earlier round while on loan – Oyindamola Ajayi and Mikey Moore all scored in the 3-0 win over Elsfborg at the end of January that secured progress to the last 16 of the Europa League. But, having seen some of his more experienced players singled out for their poor performances against Liverpool, Postecoglou – who will be without Richarlison as a result of the calf injury he picked up at Anfield – stressed he has a duty to protect those who are taking the first steps in their professional careers.

“It’s one thing to put them on late in a European game but I’m not going to expose young players to that … we saw what happened and our players are now getting criticised,” he said of the outcome at Anfield.

“Most of them will be able to handle it but I wouldn’t want to expose a young player to something like that, especially the way the world is today. You know, we don’t want to make determinations in a snap instance and destroy careers. I’m not going to expose young players who I don’t think are ready for that.

“So we don’t have the opportunity to rotate but I think it will be a similar kind of team that rolls out on Sunday. We’ve been doing this for quite a while now for the last three months and we have handled that pretty well at times and that’s what we will try and do on Sunday.”

The new signings Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel both made their debuts at Liverpool, with the latter coming on as a second-half substitute. Postecoglou expects the France Under-21s forward who has joined on loan from Bayern Munich to have an immediate impact.

“We’re going to have to lean on him a fair bit now. But he came here to play,” he said. ““His physical condition is not too bad. He hasn’t played a lot but watching him in training and last night, he was still moving quite well. We have to be careful with him, also. But he came here to play and he’ll get an opportunity to do that.”

Put yourself in Ange Postecoglou’s shoes for a moment. The Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Liverpool at Anfield on Thursday has been trailed for a good while as a kind of personal D-day. There have been questions about whether the Tottenham manager will even reach it – specifically after dismal Premier League defeats by Everton (away) and Leicester (home).

Postecoglou’s job security has been a major talking point as his team have slid to 14th in the table and the first thing to say is that the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, has sacked managers who have been in better positions. The lack of a compelling, available alternative – internally or externally – has helped Postecoglou.

Postecoglou battles on to Anfield, boosted by progress into the Europa League last 16 and the critical league win at Brentford on Sunday, and it is always going to be an emotional occasion for a guy who was in thrall to Liverpool as he grew up in Australia; a devotee of their great teams of the late 70s and early 80s. Spurs are 1-0 up from the first leg and for a romantic like Postecoglou, there is a script to be written.

This is the bit where reality intrudes. In the red corner are the outstanding team of the season so far, chasing four trophies; settled, pretty much all of their players in good physical condition. The Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, has a theory that his squad are getting stronger rather than feeling the fatigue, based on how they are growing under his leadership, understanding him and his methods with exponential levels of clarity.

Winning, of course, breeds confidence. It generates momentum. And a word, too, for Slot’s expert rotation of his admittedly rich playing resources; the courage of his convictions. At Southampton in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup, the tie had threatened to turn when the home team scored on 59 minutes to cut Liverpool’s lead to 2-1. Slot had left a host of key players on Merseyside. Now he doubled down, withdrawing the midfield mainstay, Alexis Mac Allister, and introducing the academy prospect James McConnell. It is just a small example but an instructive one. Liverpool would close out the win.

Postecoglou is without 10 injured players for the Anfield showdown. He has regularly run with a double-digits absentee list over the past couple of months. It is tempting before kick-off to want to mention Dane Scarlett to make it up to a full XI; the striker, recalled from his loan at Oxford, is cup-tied.

Postecoglou includes his outfield signings from the winter transfer window – Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel. Both arrived late and have barely trained with their new teammates. It stands to be a fiery baptism. Elsewhere, numerous players are running on fumes. Playing and training in Postecoglou’s high-intensity style is demanding. When there is little to no respite, the matches coming every three to four days, red zones are entered, breaking points reached.

There are 6,000 masochists in the away end. “Why do we do this?” they ask themselves on the journey north. Because it is what they do; a ritual, a religion. And because of the hope, which Postecoglou is so good at nurturing in those pre-match media conferences. When you listen to him, so convincing and invested, it is as if all of the physical and psychological blows that have rained down will be overcome.

It was interesting to hear Postecoglou talk on the Friday of last week about the home game against Manchester United next Sunday being “a point for us to relaunch our campaign”. It was because he believes he will have at least two or three of the injured players back for it; the majority of them should return over the next fortnight. Spurs have a couple of free midweeks. They go to Ipswich on Saturday 22 February. The flaw in it all is that the season could have a hole blown in it by then.

There was no sign of the cavalry at Anfield, nor will there be for Sunday’s FA Cup fourth-round tie at Aston Villa. And we can now count a full injured XI without Scarlett after Richarlison’s misfortune against Liverpool. He damaged a calf and was forced off before half-time.

Postecoglou has traded heavily on the hope of a brighter future; he has practically tied his continued employment to it. It will be OK. It has to be OK. How can you condemn a manager working under such impossible constraints? He would be able to explain away a defeat against Villa. He plainly needs the United and Ipswich matches. And is there not the tantalising prospect of a run at the Europa League? Win that and the season would be a success, even if they finished 17th in the league.

Can Postecoglou drive the needed improvement after he and the team have fallen so far? There were troubling signs at Anfield, the mitigating factors not withstanding. Postecoglou started with what most people consider as his pragmatic option – in other words, Dejan Kulusevski on the right wing, three more solid central midfielders.

The plan seemed to be to stay compact, not to commit too many runners forward. But that was not it, Postecoglou would reveal. He wanted his team to play as normal – with aggression, putting pressure on the opposition; with boldness in possession. None of it happened.

There was a glaring lack of leadership from the senior players and that started with the captain, Son Heung-min. Above all, there seemed to be a shortage of belief, which was understandable on one level; unforgivable on another. “When the reality of it out there hits you, it’s a bit different to maybe what you envisioned in your head,” Postecoglou said.

The reality of Spurs’s plight is clear and the discussion must surely take in how the high number of muscle injuries are not entirely down to bad luck. A part of it has to be load management. What is equally clear is that Postecoglou cannot dream forever of tomorrow. He needs something today.

Ange Postecoglou mused recently about hope and the inherent futility of it in terms of the way things have gone for Tottenham this season. Every time the manager had seen “light at the end of the tunnel”, he said, it had “usually been an oncoming train”.

He was talking about the club’s injury situation, the crisis that never seemingly ends, and yet the line about the train was an appropriate way to describe Liverpool, who did not so much roll into the Carabao Cup final, their first such showpiece under Arne Slot, as steamroll their way there. They refused to countenance any other outcome. They utterly flattened Spurs.

Who can stop Liverpool this season? It is the question on everybody’s lips as they look down from the summit of the Premier League and eye glory in the Champions League and FA Cup, too. Nobody believed Spurs would do so here, probably not the diehards who made the trip north and possibly not even the players themselves – certainly not once the reality of what they were facing dawned on them.

It was over, really, when Mohamed Salah scored from the penalty spot early in the second half to give them the aggregate lead – his 26th goal of the season. At that point, Spurs were just about still in it but by now absolutely nobody believed they were. The evidence had been mapped out in graphic detail across the Anfield turf where Liverpool were quicker, sharper, hungrier. Simply remorseless.

Spurs could point to a single flicker in front of goal, the moment on 78 minutes when Son Heung-min pulled off a step-over and blasted against the bar from a tight angle. They had just five shots in total; the rest were eminently forgettable. None was on target.

There were the inevitable “Sacked in the morning” chants for Postecoglou from the Liverpool supporters; they have tracked him for weeks and, well, he is still here.

Next up for Postecoglou is Sunday’s FA Cup tie at Aston Villa. What had to hurt him was how little of the adventure and personality he demands were on show. Spurs went with a whimper. And, of course, another injury, Richarlison forced off at the end of the first half to join the 10 players who did not make the trip because of various problems.

It was easy to feel that Liverpool wanted to right a couple of recent wrongs against Spurs from matches in London. There was the Luis Díaz disallowed goal farrago but more pertinently, perhaps, the first leg of this tie, when the midfielder Lucas Bergvall ought to have been sent off rather than allowed to stay on to score the only goal. They did not allow Spurs to play and how they came to do so themselves.

Liverpool turned up the heat as the first half wore on. They dominated possession and their press became an increasing problem for Tottenham. Slot’s team camped in opposition territory and the breakthrough had been advertised, Szoboszlai seeing a goal ruled out for offside from a Salah pass.

When the opener came, it followed a loose Yves Bissouma pass but the error did not happen in a vacuum. This is what Slot’s Liverpool do to you. The ball was worked wide to Salah and when he crossed with the outside of his boot and Darwin Núñez brought a dose of chaos in the centre, it ran for Gakpo. His feet were planted but he was able to summon the power. Should Antonin Kinsky have done more to keep out the shot? Possibly. The goalkeeper was erratic.

Kinsky just about tipped a Salah volley on to the top of the bar in the 44th minute and that was when Richarlison was down at the other end with a calf problem, Liverpool playing on. Richarlison had clashed at the outset with Van Dijk, accusing him of throwing an elbow in his direction. It is fair to say that sympathy from the Kop was in short supply for the former Everton player. Postecoglou introduced Mathys Tel, his new outfield signing, having started his other one, the centre-half Kevin Danso. For both, it was a grisly welcome to the club.

Kinsky was in the spotlight at the start of the second half. Liverpool brought still more intensity and the goalkeeper did well to repel a Szoboszlai header from a corner. And yet moments later, when Salah played a teasing ball into the area for Núñez, it was possible to foresee the disaster. Núñez was always going to be too quick, Kinsky was never going to pull out of the attempt to claim the ball. All he touched was Núñez. Salah picked out a top corner from the spot.

Liverpool were in no mood to preserve what they had. Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch both hit the woodwork before Conor Bradley played in Szoboszlai with a lovely first-time pass. The finish was never in doubt. Nor was that from Van Dijk when he rose to meet a corner. Liverpool march on.

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Updated at 21.28 CET

The corner is cleared and Liverpool break ominously until the ball hits Szoboszlai on the back, allowing Spurs to counter the counter. Sarr’s pass is cut out.

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It’s one of the all-time great debut seasons – not just what he’s achieved but the lightness of touch with which he has done it. As a neutral, I love him. The season isn’t over so we need to reserve a bit of judgement, but there are very few examples of somebody replacing an iconic manager so seamlessly. Joe Fagan is one but he had the huge advantage of being an insider.

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The free-kick is too far out for a shot. Son flips it in and it deflects behind for Spurs’ first corner.

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Kinsky caught Ben Davies while jumping for the ball. Davies had a small cut down his forehead and will need treatment.

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Updated at 21.28 CET

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Liverpool take the free-kick short and work it across the field. Eventually Salah’s deflected shot is comfortably saved to his left by Kinsky.

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Updated at 21.08 CET

Ouch. That last sentence is the most savage twist since Psycho.

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Updated at 21.03 CET

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“Hi Rob!” says Joe Pearson before getting down to brass tacks. “I love you, man, but you keep putting Alisson in the team when you already told us that Kelleher was replacing him.”

Ach! Force of habit. I can confirm Kelleher is in net.

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“Kudos to Spurs for signing Kevin Danso,” says Peter Oh. “Apparently they gazumped Wolverhampton for his services. Personally, I wish he had opted for Molineux, because Danso’s With Wolves would have been box-"office gold.”

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A reminder of the teams

Liverpool (4-3-3) Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo.

Substitutes: Jaros, Endo, Diaz, Mac Allister, Chiesa, Elliott, Jota, Tsimikas, Quansah.

Spurs (4-3-3) Kinsky; Gray, Danso, Davies, Spence; Sarr, Bentancur, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son.

Substitutes: Austin, Porro, Reguilon, Bergvall, Ajayi, Cassanova, Olusesi, Moore, Tel.

Referee Craig Pawson.

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Updated at 20.59 CET

“Tell Phil Moseley that from my point of view, 30 miles or so from him in Durham, North Carolina, the more likely outcome here is a heroic, dramatic Spurs win tonight, followed by an abject, tail-between-legs disappointment at Wembley,” says Gregory Phillips.

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“Is there a case to be made that the League Cup is more enjoyable competition than the FA Cup?” asks Michal Pac Pomarnacki. “It’s over and done with pretty much halfway through the season and unlike the FA Cup it does not take up any full weekends. Most of the games are played in the evenings/late afternoon adding to the spectacle. Maybe it’s me being a Liverpool fan, but I’ve always preferred the League Cup to the more revered FA Cup.”

As a child of the eighties I’ll always have a fondness for … actually both competitions were great in the eighties so scratch that. I guess the FA Cup will always be more prestigious but I see your point about the League Cup being more enjoyable.

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“Come along Mr Mosley, don’t be too fatalistic,” says Dean Kinsella. “The whole thing with being Spursy is that one day they perform much worse than they should and the next they are marvelous (eg the City thrashing in November). Tonight could well be one of those marvellous nights. Why not?”

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A pessimist is never disappointed (part 2)

“Ah, Rob, you had to go and mention the Q-word!” says Matt Dony. “I’m still expecting a sticky patch in the league, and for Arsenal to sneak through. What Slot has done, with essentially last year’s team, is astonishing. Winning just one trophy in his first season would be an achievement. Four trophies is surely too much to hope for, even in the craziest late-night, Stinking-Bishop-and-red-wine-induced reveries.

“Fighting on four fronts is ridiculous. And it has the added complication (which I’m surprised isn’t stressed more) of swapping between four different match balls. We all laugh when a manager gets in a strop over a particular ball, but the fact is they are all different and behave differently. At the pointy end of the season, where Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League games come thick and fast, constantly swapping ball must be a genuine challenge.

“Anyway. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. For now, I’ll just worry about tonight. (Heavy emphasis on ‘worry’. Being a football fan really isn’t as much fun as it should be, is it?)”

Funnily enough Roy Keane made exactly the same point about the balls on Stick to Football this week.

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The winners will meet Newcastle, who completed a 4-0 aggregate win over Arsenal last night, in the final.

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“Good afternoon from Raleigh, North Carolina,” writes Phil Moseley. “Can’t watch the game as I don’t subscribe to Paramount Plus, so relying on you to chart our inevitable pasting by Liverpool, falling at the last or last-but-one hurdle yet again in the Levy Era.”

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Team news: Danso starts

Arne Slot makes four changes from Liverpool’s win at Bournemouth. Caoimhin Kelleher, Conor Bradley, Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez come in for Alisson, the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold, Alexis Mac Allister and Luis Diaz.

Spurs’ new signing Kevin Danso starts in defence, with Mathys Tel among the substitutes. Ange Postecoglou has left out Pedro Porro, which is a surprise. Pape Sarr replaces Mikey Moore in the only other change from the weekend win at Brentford.

Liverpool (4-3-3) Kelleher; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Nunez, Gakpo.

Substitutes: Jaros, Endo, Diaz, Mac Allister, Chiesa, Elliott, Jota, Tsimikas, Quansah.

Spurs (4-3-3) Kinsky; Gray, Danso, Davies, Spence; Sarr, Bentancur, Bissouma; Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son.

Substitutes: Austin, Porro, Reguilon, Bergvall, Ajayi, Cassanova, Olusesi, Moore, Tel.

Referee Craig Pawson.

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Updated at 20.59 CET

Read Jacob Steinberg’s preview

Fresh from overseeing a dogged 2-0 win against Brentford on Sunday, Postecoglou sat down and spoke for 43 minutes before a moment that could define his time in north London. The head coach considered the chance for Spurs “to make a big impact” by going to Anfield and building on their 1-0 win in the first leg. He thought about his captain, Son Heung-min, still being trophyless after nearly 10 years at the club. He seemed energised by sealing deals for the centre-back Kevin Danso and the French forward Mathys Tel at the end of a difficult transfer window.

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Rules and regulations

The tie will go to extra time if necessary, then penalties

There’s no away goals rule

VAR is being used

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Preamble

Evening. Brian Clough, Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola and George Graham have one thing in common, and we’re not talking anatomically. The League Cup was the first of many trophies in their glorious eras at Nottm Forest, Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal respectively. It was also the starting point for Gerard Houllier at Liverpool, Ron Saunders at Aston Villa and Manuel Pellegrini at City.

The elimination of Arsenal last night means somebody will win their first major trophy in English football at Wembley on Sunday 16 March: Eddie Howe, Arne Slot or Ange Postecoglou. Slot and Postecoglou’s teams meet at Anfield tonight for the right to face Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final.

Spurs lead 1-0 from the first leg a month ago – a month! – but Liverpool are understandable favourites given the performances of both teams this season, and the population of their treatment rooms.

Postecoglou’s mood has been improved by consecutive wins, and clean sheets, not to mention the signings of Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel; Liverpool are romping to the league title and are still in contention for the quadruple that eluded them in 2021-22. Then, as now, the League Cup is the only place to start.

Kick off 8pm.

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It seemed that a weight was off Ange Postecoglou’s shoulders. He looked and sounded invigorated before the second leg of Tottenham’s Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool. It was almost as if a different man had spent the past few weeks staring into the microphone following another costly defeat, dealing with a ludicrous injury list and facing question after question about when Spurs were finally going to make an outfield signing.

Fresh from overseeing a dogged 2-0 win against Brentford on Sunday, Postecoglou sat down and spoke for 43 minutes before a moment that could define his time in north London. The head coach considered the chance for Spurs “to make a big impact” by going to Anfield and building on their 1-0 win in the first leg. He thought about his captain, Son Heung-min, still being trophyless after nearly 10 years at the club. He seemed energised by sealing deals for the centre-back Kevin Danso and the French forward Mathys Tel at the end of a difficult transfer window.

There was humour from Postecoglou when he discussed how he wooed Tel, who had been wavering about joining Spurs on loan from Bayern Munich. “There is something to be said for honesty and integrity,” the 59-year-old said. “I think I’ve got a pretty compelling story to tell. When I speak to players, I’m not trying to sell anything that there isn’t plenty of evidence for. I don’t think it’s smooth talking, or selling. I think there’s a real good story here, which I really believe in. I speak from a real strong conviction that what I’m saying will come to fruition. I really believe that. I don’t think I need to do anything special.”

Pressed on his phone manner, Postecoglou said there are times when he speaks to a potential signing and feels a disconnect. With Tel it was about football. The 19-year-old, who will be involved at Anfield, has left Bayern in search of regular football and was not short of suitors. Postecoglou said he wore him down. “It lasted a couple of hours. He was falling asleep by the end.”

Presumably Tel was paying enough attention to know that Spurs have an option to buy him for £50m. Postecoglou was in headline‑writing mood when he insisted that the former Rennes forward will join permanently. “He’ll be a Tottenham player,” the Australian said. “I think he’ll show everyone he’s going to be a Tottenham player in the next six months. I didn’t bring him here for six months.”

Spurs have thought in the long term when it comes to recruitment, placing a heavy focus on signing young players in the past 18 months. Antonin Kinsky, the 21-year-old Czech goalkeeper, also joined last month. “I’ve been a big driver of it,” Postecoglou said.

“When I took over we needed to rebuild a squad. We had some experience here, which has helped. I’ll always make decisions I feel are best for the club. All these decisions, I’m as much a driver of as the club. No one has been thrust upon me who I don’t think is going to fit.”

With doubts hanging over his future, Postecoglou was asked if the flurry of business has made him more secure in his position. “I’m not interested in security. It doesn’t exist in the modern game. Somebody can say: ‘Hey Ange we’re right behind you,’ and then you know … there’s no guarantees about anything, but I don’t care. Being a manager in today’s world, you can feel so isolated and so vulnerable. I don’t feel that. I feel like the playing group is rock solid, the staff are rock solid, I feel supported and that’s all I can ask for. Where that takes us, time will tell. I firmly believe it will take us to success. But there’s no guarantees.”

Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, 18 and 19 respectively, have been rare shining lights during a horrible run of form. But can Spurs rise to the challenge of holding off Liverpool? Can they cope with the Anfield atmosphere? Will it be the same old story: expectation followed by disappointment? Spurs have already knocked out Manchester United and Manchester City. They are struggling in the Premier League but are through to the last 16 of the Europa League and visit Aston Villa in the FA Cup on Sunday. This strange season could have a special ending.

Not that it will be easy. Spurs head to Merseyside with the injured contingent still numerous and Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven unavailable in central defence. Van de Ven returned last week in the win against Elfsborg but is taking precautions with his recovery from a hamstring problem. Even Postecoglou, who could start Danso, knows when not to gamble.

It would be a surprise if Spurs do not at least play with freedom in Liverpool. The odds are against them but they can score past anyone. Son is looking sharper and has “a real focus in his eye”, according to Postecoglou. The vibe is good. The question is whether Spurs can bring it to the pitch when it truly matters.

“It’s very rare that this many clubs call you for a player,” Bayern Munich’s sporting director, Max Eberl, told Kicker last week when talking about the options available to Mathys Tel. It spoke not just of widespread recognition among Europe’s elite clubs of the 19‑year‑old’s quality but of a shift of policy in the Bundesliga leaders’ camp; from shutting their ears to all approaches at the beginning of January to accepting that leveraging a financial advantage out of the situation was the best they could do. A month-long transfer window leaves room for plenty of changes of heart and mind.

Some will snort that Tottenham were a mere backup choice after Tel declined their initial approach, that the forward blinked when faced with the prospect of a second half of the Bundesliga season like his first, given a mere 253 minutes of playing time. More probable is that an especially reflective young man took time to think of what would work best for him rather than what would most suit Bayern. There is little contradictory about the process when you consider Tel is an explosive attacking weapon with the maturity to constantly adapt.

Fiercely ambitious yet humble. Enormously confident in his ability yet grounded. Surrounded by close family after Bayern games, but not stuck in his bubble; when L’Équipe sent a journalist to Munich to interview Tel at the club’s Säbener Straße training centre last year, the young forward arrived to greet him with a smile on his face and a box full of pastries fresh from a local French patisserie.

And frustrated, without doubt, by being the perpetual understudy to Harry Kane but never less than grateful for everything he has been able to learn in the past 17 months from the England captain, who has a high regard for Tel. Backing up Kane, the hyper-reliable superstar who never rests, must be the most infuriating role in world football for a youngster with talent to burn and a barely containable desire to improve. It has also led to Tel being slightly miscast.

You may have already read descriptions of Tottenham’s new man as a winger. His natural gifts – and Kane’s natural indefatigability – may have frequently pushed Tel out wide, but sometimes his natural abilities suggest he is something that perhaps he is not. The pace, the ability to take on defenders and the intelligence to find the right pass for a teammate make him perfect winger material. It’s just, most of the time, that he’s only in these positions to fit around Kane.

Maybe, in time, the way in which Tel has broadened his palette could be considered a belated parting gift from the England captain to his old club. The France Under-21 player’s first instinct has always been to shoot, with the power he has in either foot. Within weeks of Tel’s arrival in Bavaria, Thomas Müller heralded him as “an unbelievable finisher”. That ability to take chances is borne out by his tally of 10 goals last season, despite being given only nine starts across the Bundesliga, DFB‑Pokal and Champions League, with Thomas Tuchel building on Julian Nagelsmann’s experiments in sending Tel on in the closing stages to voraciously attack weary defences.

Yet the really interesting statistic is the six assists that accompany the goals. Rather than having a desperation to catch the coach’s attention with a spectacular individual contribution, Tel regularly underlined his wit and humility to do what the team needed. Take the Champions League win against Galatasaray in November 2023. One-on-one with his future Bayern teammate Sacha Boey, he might have been tempted to cut in and get a shot off to make his mark. Instead, he set up Kane with a precise first‑time pass for an easy tap-in to ice a devilishly difficult game.

That ability and versatility should come as no surprise, given that Tel is from impeccable footballing stock. He was born in the suburbs of Paris but is a graduate of the elite academy production line at Rennes, which has produced players including Yoann Gourcuff, Sylvain Wiltord, Yann M’Vila, Ousmane Dembélé and Eduardo Camavinga. It was Camavinga’s record that Tel broke in August 2021 when he became the youngest player to turn out for Rennes, at 16 years, three months and 19 days. A year later (after a €28.5m transfer) he became Bayern’s youngest scorer, in a Pokal win against Viktoria Köln, eclipsing Jamal Musiala.

Opportunities have become fewer under Vincent Kompany. Whereas Tuchel planned to leave Kane out of games in the Pokal, Germany’s national cup competition, the new coach started Kane at Mainz in late October. Tel entered in Kane’s stead at half-time with Bayern 4-0 up – garbage time, as it would be framed in basketball. The logjam in wide areas – with Leroy Sané, a revitalised Kingsley Coman, the arrival of Michael Olise and sometimes Musiala competing for roles – has left little room for Tel elsewhere in the team.

So off to Tottenham he goes and, whether by accident or design, it feels like the perfect destination. With his preference to play at centre-forward or in the corridor between the centre and the left (a little like his more senior compatriot Kylian Mbappé), the picture appears all set up for Tel to provide Spurs with a succession plan for Son Heung-min. He can contribute in the short term and have the team built around him next. By choosing to leave Bayern, Tel has underlined that he considers now to be his time.

Trent Alexander-Arnold could miss Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Tottenham on Thursday with the injury he suffered at Bournemouth at the weekend, although the right-back is not facing an extended spell on the sidelines.

Alexander-Arnold felt discomfort in his thigh during the second half of the 2-0 win at the Vitality Stadium and was withdrawn in the 70th minute to avoid aggravating the problem. Arne Slot admitted after the game that it was “not a good sign” when the 26-year-old asked to be substituted, but scans have revealed a minor problem that is expected to rule him out for days rather than weeks.

Slot is unlikely to take any risks given Liverpool’s pursuit of four trophies. The head coach has Conor Bradley available to take Alexander-Arnold’s place and Joe Gomez is nearing a return having been sidelined since December’s rout of West Ham with a hamstring injury.

Alexander-Arnold is, therefore, expected to miss the visit of Spurs, who take a 1-0 lead into game, as well as Sunday’s visit to Plymouth in the fourth round of the FA Cup. The England international could return for the rearranged Merseyside derby at Everton a week on Wednesday.

Sunderland, meanwhile, have confirmed Jayden Danns has joined on loan for the rest of the season. A deal for the 19-year-old Liverpool forward was completed before the transfer deadline on Monday but the announcement was delayed due to Sunderland having a key Championship fixture that night at Middlesbrough, which Régis Le Bris’s side won 3-2.

Danns, who signed a long-term contract with Liverpool before agreeing the loan, will not be available for Sunderland immediately due to a back problem. The teenager will continue his rehabilitation at Liverpool’s training ground before joining up with the promotion contenders at a later date.

“This is my first loan move and a chance to prove myself, so I’m very appreciative of the opportunity and grateful to the club for placing their faith in me,” said Danns. “I’m disappointed that I will be unable to do that straightaway, but I’m proud to have joined the club and I will work hard throughout this period to ensure I can return to action and play my part.”

Tottenham are trying to pull off an audacious swoop for Marc Guéhi but have had an opening bid for the defender turned down by Crystal Palace.

It is understood the offer from Spurs for the England international was not far off Palace’s valuation, which is believed to be about £60m. Sources are not ruling out Guéhi making the switch before the transfer window shuts at 11pm GMT, although figures close to the player believe a summer move is likelier. Palace are desperate not to lose to the 24-year-old because they have little time to replace him.

Spurs are looking to bolster their defensive options despite signing Kevin Danso from Lens on Sunday. They had looked at a loan for Axel Disasi but their interest in the Chelsea centre-back was not at an advanced stage. Chelsea want a big loan fee for Disasi, who is keen to join Aston Villa.

Spurs have looked to make a more ambitious move by going for Guéhi, who starred for England during their run to the Euro 2024 final. The former Chelsea defender’s contract expires in 18 months, weakening Palace’s negotiating position. Newcastle tried to sign Guéhi last summer and Chelsea looked at him this month. Liverpool are long-term admirers.

Palace could do without the disruption given that Chelsea have recalled Trevoh Chalobah from his loan and Chadi Riad is a long-term injury absentee. They are close to signing Ben Chilwell on loan from Chelsea and have considered a £35m move for the Milan defender Strahinja Pavlovic. But with the clock ticking they are reluctant to compromise their season by losing Guéhi.

Spurs remain in the market for attacking additions and have targeted the Southampton winger Tyler Dibling, who has interest from clubs in the Bundesliga.