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Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United are reportedly eyeing Brazilian goalkeeper John Victor, currently in Botafogo.

With the January transfer window approaching, both clubs seem eager to bolster their goalkeeping options, and the 28-year-old has emerged as a promising candidate.

Valued at around €10 million, Victor is considered a cost-effective addition for Premier League sides. His performances in Brazil have drawn attention, showcasing his reliability and composure under pressure.

At the peak of his career, the Brazilian shot-stopper may see this as the perfect opportunity to make a move to one of Europe’s top leagues.

Tottenham shows interest in John Victor to strengthen goalkeeping options

According to CaughOffside, for Tottenham the interest in Victor is clear. With veteran Fraser Forster nearing the end of his career, Spurs need a reliable backup for Guglielmo Vicario, who has been excellent in goal this season.

Signing Victor would provide Ange Postecoglou with an experienced deputy who could step in when needed and maintain a high standard of play.

Tottenham’s struggles this season have highlighted the need for squad depth, particularly as they aim for Champions League qualification.

Additionally, the team is dealing with rumours surrounding Richarlison’s potential departure, as well as the recent report confirming that Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-match suspension remains intact after the FA rejected Tottenham Hotspur’s appeal.

Meanwhile, Manchester United are also in the market for a goalkeeper. Andre Onana, their current No. 1, has faced criticism for inconsistent performances, and bringing in Victor could create healthy competition for the starting spot.

The allure of playing for a club with United’s history and global stature might be difficult for Victor to resist.

What does John Victor bring to both teams?

Adding Victor to their ranks could not only strengthen their defensive options but also offer a sense of stability in a pivotal role. Both clubs represent attractive destinations, but the role each can offer him differs significantly.

Tottenham would likely position him as a second-choice keeper, while Manchester United could offer a real shot at competing for the No. 1 spot.

At €10 million, John Victor represents a relatively low-risk investment for either club. His arrival in the Premier League could be pivotal, offering him a chance to prove himself at the highest level.

Whether he chooses the steady opportunity at Spurs or the challenge of unseating Onana at United, the next step in Victor’s career will undoubtedly be one to watch.

On Sunday evening, we saw Tottenham Hotspur get back to winning ways in emphatic fashion, as they thrashed Southampton 5-0 at St Mary’s, with all five goals coming in the first half, as attention turned to the big games coming up, with Spurs managing the game in the second half.

 You would be hard pressed to find a single bad performance from this game, but four Spurs players have been singled out in particular, making it into the WhoScored Premier League team of the week for game week 16.

Four players recognised for performances against Southampton

Those four players are; Djed Spence, Pape Matar Sarr, James Maddison, and Heung-Min Son. The skipper is the highest rated player of anyone in the team, with a 9.79 rating. Elsewhere, Sarr has a 9.19 rating, Maddison has a 9.08 rating, and Spence an 8.54 rating – making him the highest rated defender in the team.Â

Something else worth considering is that Son only played 45 minutes of the game, as Ange saved him for games against Manchester United and Liverpool that are coming up this week. In the first half, the skipper managed to score and provide two assists.

Not only are all four players named in the WhoScored team of the week, but they are also all included in the Sofascore team of the week too. With their team, Son comes in at a 9.3 rating, Maddison a 9.2, Sarr an 8.4, and Spence an 8.1

Should Destiny Udogie be fit in time for the upcoming games, it will be interesting to see how Ange sets up in the full-back areas. If the Italian defender is not available, then we are likely to see a pairing of Spence and Pedro Porro. However, if he is – will we see Ange reward the 24-year old for his fine performance, with another start?

Were you to ask the fanbase who should start at right-back against Manchester United, you would likely get a pretty unanimous answer in Spence’s favour. Will Ange see it the same way? Due to the injury Udogie picked up vs Southampton, Porro did not get much rest – which could potentially swing towards Spence being picked.

Albeit a poor opponent, it was good to see Maddison playing with a swagger again. Sure he has had some below par performances, but overall the 28-year old is generally having a fairly good season.

Finally, in terms of Sarr – what else even needs to be said. Just an absolutely superb footballer, who continues to go under the radar, at least from the external footballing world.

Rodrigo Bentancur’s seven-match suspension remains firmly in place after the Football Association dismissed Tottenham Hotspur’s appeal.

Spurs had hoped to reduce the ban by one game, but the decision by the FA’s independent regulatory commission stands, keeping the influential midfielder sidelined for domestic fixtures.

The ban stems from derogatory comments Bentancur made about teammate Heung-min Son during the summer, a disciplinary issue that has proved costly for Tottenham.

Despite the club's efforts to amend the ruling, the FA confirmed the appeal’s dismissal, leaving Ange Postecoglou without one of his key players for two more games.

Thankfully for Spurs, Bentancur remains eligible for European competitions. The Uruguayan has featured in the Europa League, where his performances have been a rare silver lining amidst his absence from domestic clashes.

On top of that, Tottenham are also enduring a challenging this season, marked by recent transfer speculation surrounding players like Omar Alderete and mounting criticism over the team’s inconsistency on the pitch.

When will Rodrigo Bentancur return to action for Tottenham?

According to The Spurs Web, Bentancur’s return is marked for Tottenham’s Boxing Day visit to Nottingham Forest, and his reintroduction to the squad will feel like a fresh start for Spurs.

Postecoglou will undoubtedly welcome the midfielder’s composure, creativity, and ability to dictate the tempo of matches.

Spurs fans will also be relieved to see Bentancur back in action, especially as the team eyes a crucial push for success in both domestic and European competitions.

However, with two challenging fixtures still to navigate without him, the pressure is on for Tottenham’s remaining midfielders to step up and deliver in his absence.

How has Rodrigo Bentancur performed this season?

Bentancur has already served five of his seven-match ban, sitting out pivotal fixtures, including battles with Manchester City, Chelsea, and Southampton.

Tottenham’s inability to effectively replace his presence has been evident, with the team struggling to progress the ball from midfield to attack.

Here are Bentancur's statistics for the 2024/2025 season:

* Data provided by Sofascore.

The final two matches of Bentancur’s suspension include a challenging EFL Cup quarterfinal against Manchester United and a high-stakes Premier League clash with Liverpool.

Bentancur’s comeback promises to restore balance and leadership to a midfield that has looked disjointed without him. His return could be the key to reigniting Tottenham’s campaign at a pivotal point in their season.

It is also worth highlighting that the team has managed to hold its ground thanks to the collective efforts of players such as Dejan Kulusevski.

Now, the Spurs face a crucial test against Manchester United in the EFL Cup quarterfinals, eager to prove to their supporters that they are ready to rise again.

Ange Postecoglou has personally asked Tottenham Hotspur to complete a transfer for his dream defender, Omar Alderete.

There is a good relationship between Ange Postecoglou and the Tottenham Hotspur hierarchy. Given how Spurs have performed below expectation this season, there has naturally been a lot of external talk which puts Postecoglou under some form of pressure.

However, whenever there has been any official communication from the Tottenham higher-ups, the opposite appears to be true. Indeed, Postecoglou does not officially appear to be under any form of pressure. So, until any communication is made, fans can assume the Aussie is safe in the hot-seat.

Indeed, Ange Postecoglou has already been looking ahead to making his future transfers at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Ange Postecoglou asks Tottenham to complete a transfer for dream defender

According to reports from Spanish outlet AS (cited by Sport Witness), Ange Postecoglou has personally asked Tottenham Hotspur to complete the signing of Omar Alderete from Getafe.

Ange Postecoglou is believed to be a big fan of Alderete's defending capabilities and he believes that the Paraguay international could transform the Tottenham defence into a force to be reckoned with.

Further, the report states that while Alderete is under contract until 2028, there is a €16m release clause which, if met by Tottenham, would skip them straight to the front of the queue and allow for player-to-club negotiations.

Tottenham's defence has not been the best this season. However, we would be remiss not to shine a light on the injury concerns. Spurs have suffered key injuries to both of their main centre backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. If we consider this injury crisis, then Tottenham's defending ability this season could actually be considered impressive.

Radu Dragusin has stepped up to fill a starting lineup position at the end of this calendar year. He has been pretty solid at the back and helped to tighten up the key area of the pitch. He does need to brush up on his ball-playing abilties. Yes, love it or hate it, that is an important part of being a defender these days.

Nevertheless, Ange Postecoglou would like to bring in some more defensive additions. It remains to be seen whether or not they go through the release clause route, but it does give Tottenham a nice option if they would like to strengthen their depth between now and the end of the season.

When speaking recently, president of Fluminense, Mário Bittencourt, has admitted that the club have an interest in re-signing Tottenham Hotspur forward Richarlison. The president said: "What we have concrete today is that we express our formal interest in Richarlison. We know he's interested in returning to the National Team.

I have a great relationship with him and I brought him back there as vice president of football. We made the first document to the English club, asking about the possibility of negotiating."

Richarlison linked with move back to old stomping ground

According to the report, Spurs are not interested in negotiating for now, but are open to listening offers. They further state that the Brazilian side are "optimistic" of securing his services, due to the good relationship they have with the player, and the "several assets" they have that could interest Tottenham.

It is interesting to see who could fit the bill in terms of assets that the club may be interested in. South American football is renowned for having hidden gems at affordable prices. We can be sure it isn't their defensive backbone, made of a 44 year old goalkeeper, and 41+40 year old central defenders.

Looking at the Fluminense squad for potential young players - 18 year old forward Kaua Elias scorred six goals and provided two assists in 1486 league minutes across 2024 (calendar year system). Central midfielder Matheus Martinelli, 23, has also received plaudits for his performances in Brazil.

In truth, would need to know more about their squad, because from face value it looks like most of their players are older, with a few young players - and some of those only on loan. No doubt there is more to it than meets the eye, but there are not options staring in you face that you could see the club being interested in.

Richarlison played for Fluminense for 18 months between 2016-2017, and scored 19 goals in 67 games, before moving to Watford in the summer of 2017, where he spent one season before moving to Everton.

After a tough first season, the 27-year old did have a productive 23/24 campaign, scoring 11 goals and providing four assists in 1510 Premier League minutes. However, in turn, you have the issue. Not even 50% of league minutes played. This season has been even worse, playing just 180 minutes of football in all comps so far. The equivalent of two games. In mid-December.

Good player, good person, but for sure someone the club should look to cash in on, should the chance arise. You can have as much ability as you'd like, it's in vain if you have no availability to go along with it. He would be an asset to Spurs if fit, we saw that against Aston Villa - but he so rarely is - unfortunately.

This move would give him the chance to go home, hopefully stay injury free (although they play an obscene amount of games over there), get firing in front of goal, and play his way back into the national team plans ahead of the 2026 World Cup. He would go back with everybody's best wishes, should a deal happen.

Anyone who has watched Spurs this season will tell you how good Dejan Kulusevski has been so far. So much so, this is a second piece explaining how the numbers back up the eye test - having done the same thing back in October.

The data crunched regarding Dejan Kulusevski's 24/25 season

Once again, DataMB have matched up the 24-year old’s numbers vs those in the top seven leagues, and the data is even better than you may have thought it was.

Incredibly, the Sweden international ranks best in four different metrics; key passes (17), crosses (49), progressive runs (61), and accelerations (21). On top of that, he ranks second for; deep completions, dribbles, offensive duels, and successful attacking actions.

Furthermore, the Spurs number 21 ranks third for passes into the penalty area and touches in the opposition box. He ranks fourth for shot assists and crosses into the goalkeeper’s box (six yard area), and ranks 13th for expected assists. Finally, he is in the 100th percentile for progressive carries.

When comparing Kulusevski to Cole Palmer and Martin Odegaard, the Spurs midfielder ranks higher for key passes, defensive actions, and the aforementioned progressive carries. He also ranks higher than Florian Wirtz in all of those categories, as well as forward passes completion percentage.

As you can see, Spurs have a player that can compete with some of the best midfielders in world football. Yet it does not feel like he has the hype to match the performances and the data that he is boasting in these games.

Perhaps it is because his base stats, whilst fine – four goals and three assists in 1231 Premier League minutes – but those who have watched Ange’s side know he has provided far more than just goals and assists.

Even looking at other stats that aren’t as data savvy as those provided in this piece, he has created six big chances, makes over four ball recoveries a game, has scored his four goals from an expected goals of just 2.05, etc etc. By pretty much all metric, he is having a fantastic season.

In addition, as mentioned above, he has had a fantastic season on the eye too, and Spurs fans unanimously see him as the clubs best player so far in 24/25. Even beyond that, he has been one of the best players in the Premier League overall.

However, Kulusevski has not just been key in the Premier League. In the Carabao Cup, he provided the assist for Djed Spence’s equaliser against Coventry City when Spurs were minutes from elimination, with Brennan Johnson going on to score the winner in stoppage time.

Then, he provided both assists in the 2-1 win over Manchester City last time out. Sure, the second one was all about Pape Sarr’s finish, but Kulusevski’s overall performance and assist for Timo Werner was absolutely key for Spurs going through.

Finally, in the Europa League, he provided an assist against AS Roma, and scored against Rangers. Without these contributions, Ange’s side would currently be 22nd in the league phase, only in a play-off spot on goal difference.

What a player, what a season.

So far this campaign, we have seen Son receive a lot of criticism from within the Spurs fanbase. With injuries and a loss of form (perhaps these two things go hand in hand), it has not been the start to the season that the skipper would have hoped for, that much is true.

The numbers behind the Spurs captain's 24/25 season so far

However, his numbers are not too bad at all. In 986 Premier League minutes so far, the 32-year old has scored five goals, provided six assists, and created 12 big chances. From those 12 big chances, 11 have been from open play – which is a (joint) high in the league so far this season.

Those five goals come from an expected goals of just 3.57, with three left foot goals and two right foot – everything there has been what we have come to expect from Son over the years.

There will be people reading this thinking “we have eyes”, and there is no doubt that the skipper’s overall performances have been lacking at times. There should be context applied to that, though – it would be disingenuous not to do so.

As touched on above, Son has had a stop start season with injuries, and it can take a number of games to get back into rhythm, particularly at his age. Usually playing 90 minutes against Rangers would not be optimal for a player in his 30’s, but it really seemed to truly dust off the rustiness in his game.

Furthermore, the criticism of his performance against Chelsea felt very loud. Even if you don’t play too well, nor look easy on the eye – if you score a goal, as well as provide two big chances for team mates – you have had a productive game.

Whilst his performance on the night was not great, he looked back to his old self against Southampton. Yes, sure, not a great opponent. However, his game generally looked a lot sharper, regardless of the other team. He made a serviceable Premier League full-back like Kyle Walker-Peters look terrible on a number of occasions.

As well as pretty base stats like these, the underlying data for Son has been good too. As per the always excellent DataMB, we can see how he ranks up against players around the top five leagues so far in 24/25.

According to their data, nobody (in the top five leagues) averages more chances created a game (1.49), whilst also ranking in the 93rd percentile for Xg+ xA, 84th percentile for non penalty goals, and 90th percentile for assists. Â

With his assist for Pape Sarr on Sunday, Son went level with Darren Anderton for Premier League assists in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt, at 67. Then, his assist for James Maddison at the end of the first half put him on 68, meaning he stands alone as the highest assist provider in Spurs’ Premier League history.

No doubt he is not at his absolute best form, but this just shows how high his standard is. The captain’s floor are other player’s ceiling. Let’s hope Sunday’s performance is the start of a really good run of form.

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