Hotspur HQ

It's been another rough patch on the injury front for Tottenham Hotspur fans, and while it could always get worse (knock on wood that it does not), coming into the season with lengthy absences for key starters from the Europa League winning side like Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski is never easy.

Compounding that, even the new transfers for Tottenham haven't been able to avoid getting hurt, and the main issue has been the lack of match fitness for striker Randal Kolo Muani. The PSG No. 9 somewhat surprisingly joined on transfer deadline day despite lengthy negotiations with Juventus for another deal, as Fabio Paraici managed to help Spurs swoop in.

With Solanke out for longer after needing another procedure and Richarlison struggling to get anything going in recent weeks, Kolo Muani gracing the pitch has never been more needed than now, and this pesky "dead leg" situation preventing him from debuting has become a frustrating meme for Spurs supporters.

But soon, the dead leg may be no more. Ahead of Saturday's Matchday 7 fixture in the Premier League against tough customers Leeds, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank gave a hint that the French striker may be ready to debut for Spurs soon enough, "Kolo Muani has been on the pitch the past two days so that's a positive. He's not available tomorrow yet for the squad.”

Tottenham can get their man back after the break

So obviously the negative part of that statement is that Kolo Muani won't be out there against Leeds this weekend, but, well, only the most dangerously optimistic Tottenham fan - and it's doubtful there are any such people who exist in 2025 at this point after all the club have gone through - would have even given Kolo Muani a two percent chance of playing against Leeds.

The real takeaway out of that is that Kolo Muani has been on the pitch for two days without disintegrating into dust, which means that his leg isn't all that dead. Which, in turn, means that Kolo Muani should really be a matter of one more match away from playing for Tottenham.

After the Leeds game, Kolo Muani and his Tottenham teammates have the October international period to recuperate - assuming they aren't playing, which RKM almost certainly will not be - and thus there is every reason to expect Kolo Muani to be out there on Oct. 19 for a tough battle against an Aston Villa side with literally everything to prove. And maybe, just maybe, we'll get to see 5-10 minutes from the Frenchman as a tune-up.

Tottenham Hotspur had another disappointing outing at mid-week, drawing 2-2 to Bodo Glimt in the Champions League, needing a late own goal - of all things - in order to salvage a meager point against one of the weakest sides in the competition this year. You know, the same side Spurs beat pretty handily to reach last season's Europa League Final.

Spurs were playing that game without their best player, as world-class center back Cristian Romero was held out of the game - not even traveling to Norway - as a precautionary measure after missing practice with a late injury.

Tottenham looked way worse than expected against Bodo Glimt, totally disjointed without their captain. That speaks volumes about how far Spurs still have to go before Thomas Frank can truly say he has turned things around at the club.

Tottenham get their best man back

On the bright side, Frank confirmed at the press conference on Friday before Saturday's tricky clash against newly promoted Leeds before the October international break (usually a double whammy for Tottenham) that Romero is ready to play again:

“Romero is fit and available and he will start tomorrow. That's positive. It was contact to the foot. The medical staff did well with the turnaround."

Big ups to the medical staff, of course, and it's obviously wonderful to have Romero back after just missing one game. Yet of concern in the back of everyone's mind should be how poor Spurs looked without him for just one game against Bodo Glimt. Now, missing Romero obviously wasn't the only factor in why Spurs lost, but maybe Tottenham are becoming too reliant on the special few to carry the ordinary many to results.

With Leeds looking like a team capable of producing upsets and playing spoiler to bigger sides this season, Tottenham need all hands on deck, and they don't usually have the best track record against underdog opponents. Look no further than these two rather dreary draws against Wolves and Bodo Glimt in the past week alone.

Romero standing next to Micky van de Ven at the back will due wonders - and not just defensively. Tottenham lost so much on the ball in terms of progression, starting from back to front, without the World Cup winning Argentinian international balling out. It will be great to see him out there, but hopefully more players, especially in midfield, can step up for Spurs overall progressive play.

Tottenham Hotspur almost invariably have lousy luck with injuries and thanks to Ange Postecoglou's reckless abandon, Spurs already came into the 2025/26 season with critical injuries, namely multi-month absences for James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, and evidently Dominic Solanke, too.

But even the newest additions to Tottenham haven't been able to avoid the injury bug that loves to bite Spurs players. Striker Randal Kolo Muani, who could have a huge role to play this year on loan from PSG, has yet to debut due to a "dead leg", while, quietly, center back Kota Takai has also yet to get any minutes of action due to injury.

Updates from above have been quiet on both fronts, but ahead of Tottenham's Saturday afternoon battle against Leeds United before the October international break, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank finally had a concretely positive injury update on the young Japanese defender.

Frank said, via the official Tottenham website, “Kota is getting better and better. He's trained with the team for 10 days, so that's promising.”

A total unknown for Tottenham

Takai is just 21 years old and a total unknown, having played in Japan before joining the Premier League, and we have almost no sample size of players making this transition. But Spurs have nailed their prospect signings of late, with Lucas Bergvall standing out as a reason to give Spurs the benefit of the doubt here.

Even though Tottenham are still being linked to center back transfer targets for 2026, Takai is already a new face who could get action. When Radu Dragusin comes back, Spurs will be five deep at center back if you include Takai - and a further six if you throw in veteran Ben Davies.

Minutes are going to be hard for Takai to come by, regardless, and Spurs already had to loan the even more promising Luka Vuskovic to Hamburg because of the defensive logjam. But if Takai is coming around the corner health wise, it is an interesting though exercise to try to predict when or if Frank will give him a cup of coffee in the Premier League.

Obviously, Spurs didn't sign Takai with the intention of stuffing him in a drawer for years. The first step for Takai is getting healthy, and with 10 practice appearances under his belt, the preceding injury to his plantar fascia should be coming behind him. But obviously, with so much talent at center back, Spurs are in no rush to risk aggravation either.

Tottenham Hotspur have been disappointing in their most recent matches, as they struggled to get a 2-2 draw with Bodo Glimt in the Champions League on Tuesday after a last gasp 1-1 draw with Wolves in the Premier League over the weekend.

These are the kinds of clubs Spurs should be beating comfortably, and after taking the fight to PSG while blowing out Manchester City weeks later, Spurs have shown that they are capable of playing at a high-end Champions League level.

Thomas Frank is still in the process of figuring out his best XI, and Spurs supporters are in his ear trying to get the Danish manager to give a chance to some of the young guns. Specifically, former Leeds midfielder Archie Gray is someone the fans would like to see getting more starts, including on Saturday afternoon in his former stadium.

It appears Frank may be willing to oblige. Ahead of Matchday 7 against Leeds, Frank waxed poetic about Gray, “He's still a very young man. He played a lot of Premier League minutes [last season], across the defence and in midfield. So many experiences, some tough moments and in those you develop. I really, really like him as a player. He needs to keep doing as he's doing. Came on against Bodo, part of making a difference, he did well against Doncaster and learned a lot. I like everything about him.”

Rodrigo Bentancur had better watch his 6

Of course, Gray will have to show what he can do against bigger opponents than Burnley and Doncaster, but the traits he displayed in these games are translatable anywhere. Especially moreso than current incumbent starter Rodrigo Bentancur, Gray brings bravery in his approach and ball progression as a dribbler and passer.

His work on the ball, as well as his defensive efforts, are much appreciated by the Spurs supporters and lend themselves well to more regular starts. If Frank likes "everything" about Gray and is as smitten with a player he tried hard to sign for Brentford a couple of years ago, then it stands to reason that more minutes should be forthcoming for the English midfielder.

Bentancur has been showing cracks in his usefuleness to Spurs, particularly over the long term, and even a new extension doesn't necessarily mean Frank is going to favor him over Gray when he likes Gray more and if he sees better play from the 19-year-old prospect.

Gray is still very much growing as a player and will have lumps, which Frank himself has obviously acknowledged. But the upside is there and the growth under a much better manager tactically is already apparent just a few games into his sophomore season with Tottenham.

Newly-promoted club. Away from home. Just before the international break. What could possibly go wrong, eh?

While Tottenham have enjoyed themselves on their two previous visits to Elland Road, many supporters are preparing for the worst when Thomas Frank's side travel up to Yorkshire this weekend.

The Lilywhites are unbeaten since the previous break, but the quality of performance has declined. Frank's current functionality is barely getting the results, and a defeat on Saturday will doubtless leave a bitter taste while we suffer through another slate of internationals.

There's a sense that the manager doesn't yet know what his best eleven is, and that uncertainty has contributed to the recent malaise. Will Frank get it right this weekend? Here's how we think he'll line up against Leeds United.

Tottenham predicted lineup vs Leeds (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Guglielmo Vicario (GK) – The Italian has hit a bump in the road after a strong start to the season, and I would like Antonín Kinsky to earn a few more chances after the break. However, Vicario will remain between the posts on Saturday.

Pedro Porro (RB) – The Spaniard struggled defensively in Bodø, but a delightful cross helped bring Spurs back into the game. The visitors will need his technical quality.

Cristian Romero (CB) – After missing the midweek flight to the Arctic Circle, Romero has returned to training and looks set to start at Elland Road.

Micky van de Ven (CB) – Van de Ven will relinquish the captain's armband to his partner and assume his typical role at the heart of Frank's defence, having scored his first Champions League goal on Tuesday.

Destiny Udogie (LB) – I'm starting to really dislike Djed Spence at left-back in Frank's current framework. For me, Udogie has to be a shoo-in.

Midfielders

João Palhinha (DM) – Rodrigo Bentancur was criticised for his showing in midweek, but he wasn't the only one shirking responsibility in possession. Nevertheless, Palhinha was one of the starters rested on Tuesday night, and he'll be back in the XI here.

Archie Gray (CM) – Gray's recent performances have earned him a starting berth in a box-to-box role. Frank must trust the teenager at his old stomping ground, having helped Spurs equalise late on in Bodø.

Pape Matar Sarr (CM) – Sarr wasn't great in midweek, but Frank still deems him integral, and I'd be surprised if he dropped out of the side against a physical Leeds engine room.

Forwards

Mohammed Kudus (RW) – Spurs remain a one-man attacking force, and it's Kudus who's still taking on much of the responsibility. He's so good, and Frank's side would be pretty pitiful without him.

Richarlison (ST) – We need more from Richy la’. His nose for goal is undeniable, but if Spurs are to improve in possession, the Brazilian has to be more reliable as a target-man.

Daniel Levy is one of the least popular people in the history of Tottenham Hotspur, as he so often held the London giants back from truly competing with clubs on the same plane of popularity and financial strength because of his stinginess and focus on the bottom line rather than winning.

At the same time, Levy did some positive things for Spurs throughout his time as chairman. He brought some big names to the club, and, yes, keeping Spurs financially stable is an achievement when we've recently seen so many historic European powers delve into threats of outright insolvency (like Lyon and Schalke, to name two).

In his last controversial move, Levy alienated some Tottenham fans by firing the beloved Ange Postecoglou weeks after he brought Spurs their first major trophy in decades, the Europa League title. While the way Levy went about the move could have been handled better without jeopardizing the club's transfer window and making the organization look callous and cruel, ultimately, Spurs fans have to thank Levy for thining about the bottom line.

And the bottom line was this: Tottenham were able to grit through and beat inferior teams on heart alone at mid-week. On weekends in the Premier League with better opponents, Tottenham crumbled. A 17th-placed finish is outright embarrassing, and that historically bad league performance is actually even worse than it looks when you factor in that the three relegated Premier League sides were all historically poor and completely overmatched bounce backs from the Championship.

Tottenham ended up with a clear upgrade

Ange Postecoglou was the worst coach in European football last season from a league standpoint. He had no system, his midfield was shambolic, his teams didn't create chances despite how much they sacrificed structurally, and he was running folks into the ground which could have long-term consequences for the health of players throughout their careers.

He's already been so bad for Nottingham Forest that fans were literally chanting for his imminent sacking after watching more injuries and woeful defending in a 3-2 upset loss to Midtjylland in the Europa League. You know, the competition Postecoglou is hailed as a genius for winning, when, in fact, it was the heroics of players like Dominic Solanke and Cristian Romero that won Spurs the competition.

Levy thought with his brain - and not his heart, because we all know he doesn't have one (I kid, I kid, lest someone actually get mad at me on Frank Gore's Internet) - and bless up that he did. Because another season of Ange would have been intolerable, whereas missing out on the brilliance of Thomas Frank would have been honestly just as stinging as a Muhammed Ali uppercut.

There's no question that Tottenham Hotspur could use another goal-scorer in 2026 when the next transfer windows open up. This past summer, they signed Randal Kolo Muani on loan from PSG to go with the permanent signing of left winger Mathys Tel and the completely new addition of a true star right winger in Mohammed Kudus.

But Spurs are still struggling on the attacking end, even with Kudus looking like one of the signings of the season. Kolo Muani has been unable to debut owing to a "dead leg", while last season's starting striker Dominic Solanke has been out for a prolonged period of time with an injury. And Richarlison is struggling again after a nice few games to start the 2025/26 season.

Tottenham could have signed a permanent solution at striker last summer, and one of the most attractive options was free agent Jonathan David, who was widely seen as one of the best free transfers on the market after a few 15-goal seasons in Lille and his development into one of Europe's better all-around strikers.

David has been decent in Serie A, but his performances in the Champions League for Juventus have been atrocious. He dropped another true stinker in a draw to Villarreal, as the goals from the Biancneri came from a center back and a winger, rather than anything David did up top.

Bigger wages than goal output?

On his new contract with Juventus, David is making a little over 11 million euros per season, which would make him the highest-paid player on Tottenham, even above Cristian Romero and Xavi Simons. There should be no question that Romero and Simons are way, way better players than David. They are true world-class players, whereas David has been good for Lille but is certainly not world-class.

The other aspect to this is that Juve wanted to sign Kolo Muani and largely focused on David because PSG were not giving them RKM. Tottenham, meanwhile, likely chopped David off their transfer wishlist entirely because of concerns of blowing their money on his wages, and while Spurs can be criticized for being too cheap at times, they are very smart to not fall for the "free" part of the free agent moniker and saddle themselves with a bad contract in the process.

David will do better for Juve going forward, but it's clear that for the wages, he's not a great option at striker and is debatably better than any of Spurs options when everyone is healthy. Tottenham should be looking at long-term striker options, but, in the end, they were right for passing up on the Canadian international.

When Tottenham Hotspur made the decision to part ways with Ange Postecoglou after they won the Europa League title for the first time in more than 40 years, the move certainly wasn't popular amongst some sections of the Spurs fanbase.

While most of the criticism had to do with the way in which Daniel Levy went about the change - delaying a move that he seemed to have his heart set on anyway - there were plenty of fans who carried a grudge against Thomas Frank due to their affinity for Postecoglou.

It didn't take long for Big Ange to a get a new coaching job, and he's clearly not endearing himself to Nottingham Forest fans under Evangelos Marinakis - an owner whom Premier League supporters, including Tottenham's, have little love for, especially after the Morgan Gibbs-White transfer ordeal.

Well, as it turns out, Tottenham fans couldn't be more happy with the fact that Big Ange is coaching Forest, or with the fact that Spurs fired him and replaced him with Thomas Frank. Not only are Spurs getting better results in the Premier League and playing competitive football in the Champions League under Frank, but Postecoglou is doing the same old garbage with his new team.

Ange Postecoglou runs players into the dirt

Nottingham Forest fans are enraged at how Postecoglou is running his players ragged, especially star center backs Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic. And that was highlighted by the injury Murillo suffered on Thursday night in a 3-2 loss to Danish side FC Midtjylland.

Murillo is one of Forest's most important players, and Postecoglou negligently rushed him back against the better judgment of everyone. Fans can't believe Postecoglou pushed him to play against Midtjylland and were unsurprised to see him immediately reinjured in the first half of the match, dooming Forest to an utter defensive meltdown.

It's the exact scene Tottenham supporters witnessed at their club over the past two seasons under Big Ange, who seemed to use his players with reckless abandon, especially star center backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero. The two had recurring injuries and were burned out badly by the Postecoglou "system".

Even now, the lasting legacy of Postecoglou's brutal approach has lived on with significant injuries to Dejan Kulusevski, Dominic Solanke, and James Maddison, who have all been out for months. Postecoglou is already doing the same exact thing within weeks of his appointment at Nottingham Forest, and his Murillo mistake is only further reassurance to Spurs supporters that the right thing happened this summer.

Tottenham Hotspur will face newly promoted Leeds United on Saturday afternoon, and even though Spurs are fourth in the Premier League table and have made real strides under Thomas Frank in his first six matches at the helm, they are at serious risk of an upset defeat.

There are a couple of historical reasons why Spurs supporters should be worried about more dropped points on Saturday, beyond the fact that they've drawn their last three non-League Cup fixtures against lowly Wolves, Bodo Glimt, and Brighton.

Tottenham have a bad track record against newly promoted Premier League teams, and Leeds have proven to be tough nuts to crack, especially at home. They aren't losing in their own grounds, and, right now, they are actually 12th in the Premier League table and outperforming expectations with more wins than European sides Newcastle, Aston Villa, and Nottingham Forest to this early point in the season.

There's also another wrinkle that makes things interesting for Tottenham but in a bad way. Tottenham haven't won their last seven matches going into an international break, and any Spurs fan will tell you that this team has a rough time going into the breaks.

Thomas Frank must pass this test, too

Now, most of these losses were in the Ange Postecoglou era, and Big Ange had Tottenham toiling away in 17th in the Premier League; they were disastrous on weekends but champions of the mid-week. But even Thomas Frank and Spurs broke up some great performances with their worst of the season against Bournemouth before the September international break.

So without a signature win of late and faced against a stingy, defensive smaller side that is playing better than expected, Tottenham have a tough task on the road. This matchup against Leeds is going to be more difficult than it looks on paper, and even the most optimistic of Spurs fans have to call this a big test for Frank.

Tottenham Hotspur are on the verge of extending veteran center midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, and if you asked Spurs supporters how they would feel about this move roughly six months ago, the majority would probably be all for it. But now, Spurs fans are starting to wonder if keeping Bentancur around for a few more years makes sense at all.

Lately, Bentancur has been earning criticism from fans, and they are absolutely right - and quite sharp at picking out the problem here. Bentancur, especially in juxtaposition to Archie Gray, is playing a lot less positive. He holds onto the ball, he's not really creating anything meaningful, and he plays scared against any sort of pressure.

For a few seasons, Bentancur has been a serviceable player for Tottenham, and when their midfield was at its worst, he was practically a gift from above and was one of the few players who could reliably string some passes together and give Spurs some semblance of a feel of a real midfield under the Wild West that was Ange Postecoglou's reign.

But now that Tottenham are no longer a 17th-placed side in a Premier League with three historically bad promoted teams, Bentancur no longer looks like a savior, but, rather, a mediocre footballer who is, quite frankly, a liability against certain sides.

Rodrigo Bentancur is not a net positive

Juventus fans will see all of these opinions from Tottenham fans about Bentancur and simply chuckle to themselves, because during that bleak 2020/21 Serie A season under Andrea Pirlo when the Bianconeri first lost their hegemony of the venerable Scudetto, the young Uruguayan's stock plummeted.

That's the problem with Bentancur. He's not bad technically, he has experience, and he works hard enough defensively. It's just that he never stands out in any particular area, and he's not got the bravery or the chops to drive the ball forward to the team. He is a net zero, which is good for a team that needs to avoid getting totally run over, but it's useless for a team that wants to start competing at the elite level of European football, which is what clubs like Juventus and Tottenham aim for.

Tottenham are rapidly outgrowing players like Bentancur. The best thing to do is to thank them for their service to the club, politely acknowledge their positive contributions, but also be mindful that their ceiling is capped and that Spurs have to move on to grow as a club. Keeping Bentancur around is stagnation, and while there are a lot of bad things we can say about how Juve are managed, at least they weren't willing to settle for that with Bentancur.