Hotspur HQ

The thirst for silverware isn't quite so desperate in N17 anymore, but that special night in Bilbao may have sparked a hunger within the Lilywhites.

The League Cup was our previous trophy success before Ange Posetecoglou guided the club to Europa League glory last term. We've since reached the final on three occasions, and were defeated semi-finalists under Ange.

Thomas Frank's domestic cup record is spotty, to say the least, and whether the Dane can adequately mitigate a demanding schedule remains up for debate. However, the boss has far shuffled his pack smartly enough, and he has an opportunity to hand an array of fringe players chances to impress on Wednesday night, as we welcome League One side Doncaster to our glamourous modern home.

Here's how Spurs could line up for their Carabao Cup third round tie.

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

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Antonín Kinský (GK) – Some still suspect Kinský has a chance of developing into Spurs' No. 1 rather swiftly, and he should make his first start of the season here. However, he may not be particularly busy.

Djed Spence (RB) – There's a distinct lack of options at full-back, with Frank reluctant to use Archie Gray there as Postecoglou did last season. With Pedro Porro deserving a rest, Spence, who replaced the Spaniard late on at the weekend, will start at right-back for the first time this season.

Kevin Danso (CB) – Lucas Bergvall's are fine, but I've missed Danso's missiles into the box from the touchline. Ideally, though, we're not reliant on long throws to cause chaos against a side two tiers below.

Kota Takai (CB) – The Japanese international was set back by a foot injury in the summer, but he's returned to training ahead of this cup tie. The manager's desire to rest his two starting centre-backs means Takai could be thrust into the mix.

Jun'ai Byfield (LB) – I'm not sure where Frank will turn at left-back. He'll want to preserve Destiny Udogie for the weekend, Spence is already in, and Ben Davies is out injured. Can 16-year-old Byfield play there?

Midfielders

Archie Gray (CM) – Frank is an admirer of the young and versatile Englishman, but we've barely seen him since he started the first league game of the season against Burnley. Thus, this is a particularly important outing for Gray.

Pape Matar Sarr (CM) – I thought Sarr would be getting the evening off in midweek, but the manager instead opted to leave him out of his team at the Amex, and the dogged midfielder didn't feature at all. He could be used in a different role than what he's excelled in so far this term.

Xavi Simons (AM) – There could be minutes for the exciting Lucá Williams-Barnett on Wednesday night, given his form for at youth level and, most recently, the U21s. However, Frank may fancy giving Xavi an hour in the No. 10 role after his game-changing cameo on Saturday.

Forwards

Brennan Johnson (RW) – Johnson hasn't looked comfortable off the left thus far, and while he's pretty awkward down the right, the Welshman did much of his damage last term from this side of the pitch.

Mathys Tel (ST) – A 'dead leg' kept Kolo Muani out of action at the weekend, and Frank has confirmed he'll miss Wednesday's cup tie. So, with Dominic Solanke out and Richarlison likely to earn a breather, there will be another chance for Tel to impress. Let's hope Xavi provides him with ample service.

Tottenham Hotspur have been the most improved team in the Premier League through the first five matches of the 2025/26 season, as they are one of the teams in the crowd who are fighting for second place behind Liverpool.

Although Spurs didn't win this past weekend against Brighton, they were the better side in the second half and gave themselves plenty of positives to carry with them into next week. One of those positives is another successful new signing, though it's not the one who has been getting the most mainstream praise.

Defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha has been everything Spurs have hoped for as a ball winner and more. He is leading the team with 3.8 tackles per game, making him one of the best tackling machines in the Premier League, which is exactly what he was in 2023/24 before moving to Bayern Munich.

Obviously, the brunt of the credit goes directly to Palhinha for his own success and quality as a defensive midfielder, but an assist should go to Thomas Frank for building a midfield system and role that has unlocked Palhinha's full potential defensively.

Rodrigo Bentancur has been a key

Although Frank allows Palhinha to spend around half the time playing deeper as a defender and screening for the defense so he can clean up tackles, he also allows Palhinha to play further up and shuttle box-to-box as an 8, winning the ball higher up the pitch in a bit more of a free defensive midfield role.

And he's achieved this by pushing Rodrigo Bentancur gradually further and further back than usual, turning the Uruguayan passer into a regista type. Bentancur has been solid defensively as a shielder and reader of the game, and he is still one of several Spurs players averaging more than 1.2 tackles per game in this aggressive Frank defense.

Bentancur, though, is also fifth in the team in total passes and key passes per game with a completion percentage only a couple of ticks below 90. The deeper role suits the cerebral midfielder well, and it enables Palhinha to be fully unleashed defensively because it allows him to focus on winning possession with reckless abandon.

The tweak to play Bentancur deeper to cover and allow Palhinha to focus solely on tackling and running has paid dividends for the entire Tottenham side, both offensively and defensively. It's another example of Frank's keen tactical eye and the impressive way he has learned the unique strengths and weaknesses of his players in such a short time.

Tottenham Hotspur have been off to a successful start in the 2025/26 Premier League season and are one of a few teams fighting for the second spot behind overwhelming league title favorites - and defending champions - Liverpool.

New signings Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus are already the clear stars of the team from an attacking perspective, and they honestly look like they are already going to exceed expectations and their record transfer fees for Spurs.

But if Tottenham want to enter the picture as true Premier League title favorites, they are going to need to add one more top-class attacking player to Kudus and Simons. This past summer transfer window, they were going after a left winger to replace legend Son Heung-min, but that spot remains vacant after Spurs failed to go hard enough for an upgrade.

That dream upgrade, though, may be more available in January. Tottenham were pushing for Savinho from Manchester City, but, per usual, Daniel Levy gave up the minute he received any sort of resistance from a top club, leaving Spurs empty-handed.

Tottenham can give a bigger opportunity

Not only is Levy gone from his post, though, but Savinho now has a reason to push harder for Manchester City to sell him. Simply put, he'd have an opportunity at Tottenham, whereas Manchester City haven't even been using him at all, effectively meaning they held him hostage this summer by not selling to Spurs.

Savinho has played a meager 16 minutes in two Premier League appearances, which is just downright insulting. At this point, it feels like Manchester City are hoarding him on the bench because they fear selling him to a competitor like Spurs, and having lost to Spurs directly 2-0 on Matchday 2 this eason, perhaps they know deep down that Totenham would clearly surpass them with Savinho as their missing piece on the wing.

But by keeping him out of the lineup and stuffing a top 21-year-old talent on the bench, Man City are only provoking Savinho to want out even more, and that can give Tottenham the leverage they need at the bargaining table to finally acquire the young Brazilian star.

Wingers come best in pairs, because when you have two great wingers, the opposing defense can't shift to cover one side more than the other. They are going to get a lot better if they sign Savinho, because Kudus will have even more space to work with. It's a no-brainer deal that Tottenham should make, and as Man City continue to bench Savinho, the chances of the deal increase.

Tottenham Hotspur have been a club stricken by major injuries over the past several seasons, and they have already suffered key injuries to Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski in the 2025/26 campaign.

But Spurs latest injury to an up-and-coming young gem isn't one the club will feel many negative effects from. In fact, this injury can only make Tottenham supporters fall in love with this emerging player that much more.

According to German outlet Mopo, Tottenham center back Luka Vuskovic, who is currently enjoying his time on loan in the Bundesliga with Hamburg, broke a finger in his hand in Saturday's 2-1 win over Heidenheim.

Not long after that, he scored a great goal, volleying it home to put an exclamation point on what has been an idyllic start to the 2025/26 season for Vuskovic, who is starting at the top five European level for the first time in his career - and he's still just a teenager.

A Tottenham youngster with aura

So not only did the injury not impair Vuskovic in the slightest, but the story of how he got it will make Tottenham fans smile. Apparently, Vuskovic suffered the broken finger by slamming the post so hard after missing a chance.

Now, obviously Spurs fans hope Vuskovic's pain is better now and that he'll avoid breaking any bones in the future - out of frustration or otherwise - but this is the best possible injury news they could have gotten. An injured player who won't miss time and isn't even playing for the Tottenham first team right now who got injured by showing pure passion for the game? They'll take that all day.

Vuskovic is the biggest gem Tottenham have right now besides midfielder Lucas Bergvall, and you'll surely find some Spurs fans willing to argue that the young center back is the best prospect even above Bergvall - not just Will Lankshear and Mikey Moore.

While that's a bit hyperbolic for my taste, there is no question that Vuskovic has what it takes to be the next elite center back at Tottenham in the same vein as Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. Vuskovic's goal shows he brings that Sergio Ramos-esque aura of adding more than just great defending to the potluck table, and this great story of him smashing his hand into the post out of sheer hunger only adds to his aura. Spurs fans can't wait to see him back home.

When Daniel Levy's near-25-year reign as executive chairman of Tottenham Hotspur concluded earlier this month, some may have wondered why a large proportion of the fanbase were in such a celebratrory mood.

Spurs have blossomed into a commercial juggernaut under Levy's watch, with his off-field utopia facilitating impressive self-sufficiency while so many others succumb to money trouble. Well, unless you're funded by a Russian oligarch or a Middle Eastern state.

Levy did plenty of good for this football club, and doubtless deserved his flowers in the aftermath of his tenure, but his legacy remains confused as a result of his inability, at crucial junctures, to give several of the managers he hired the best chance of success by delivering them the players they demanded.

While a canny operator for much of his tenure, Levy's hard-nosed negotiating style grated on plenty, and there were many times when a lack of assertion, or erroneous penny-pinching, cost Spurs a superstar.

Here are five of the best players that Spurs almost signed but cruelly slipped from their grasp.

I just had to include this. From memory, this was my first experience of gut-wrenching transfer heartbreak.

This was a time when Fabrizio Romano wasn't a timeline protagonist, with social media in its infancy. It was the summer of 2012 and, if the Aryans had their way, missing out on João Moutinho wouldn't have mattered all that much.

Spurs looked set to complete the signing of the elegant Portuguese midfielder on Deadline Day, with André Villas-Boas, new to the role, desperate to replace Luka Modrić after the Croatian star departed for Real Madrid earlier in the window.

Moutinho had the makings of an impressive coup for Villas-Boas, with the midfielder keen on the move to north London. A record-fee was agreed with Porto, and the club worked tirelessly to get the deal over the line, even earning an extension after the deadline to ensure Moutinho put pen to paper.

However, a third-party owner of Moutinho's economic rights scuppered the move, with the Premier League forbidding third-party player ownership and Spurs not having enough time late in the day to fix the issue. Mousa Dembélé's arrival in the window meant things worked out okay at White Hart Lane, just not for Villas-Boas.

Moutinho was very good all the way up until his twilight with Wolves, but he wasn't a bona fide superstar.

On the contrary, Brazilian forward Rivaldo is one of the most iconic figures to ever play the sport. He perhaps wasn't venerated to the degree that long-time international teammates Ronaldinho and Ronaldo were, but that shouldn't detract from his indisputable legacy.

Rivaldo was on the wrong side of his apex when the opportunity arose for Spurs to sign him as a free agent in 2002, and it would've been nothing short of remarkable had the club pulled this one off. They finished ninth in the Premier League the season prior, and weren't exactly a lucrative draw for a player of the Brazilian's standing.

However, then-manager Glenn Hoddle revealed that we were "so close" to landing Rivaldo, who instead opted to sign a three-year deal with Milan and explained his decision in a letter to Hoddle, which the boss certainly appreciated. A tenth-place finish beckoned in 2002/03, while the Rossoneri went on to win the Champions League and Coppa Italia.

Probably a wise move, to be fair.

My Dad was telling me all sorts of things regarding this 'Eden Hazard' fella, a name he was definitely mispronouncing, at the start of 2012.

The Belgian starlet had lit up Ligue 1 with Lille, and looked set for a big move. Spurs, however, were keen to jump ahead of the rest, supposedly securing a pre-contract agreement with the electric winger.

Unlike the Spurs side Rivaldo opted against joining, Hazard had the opportunity to complement a Lilywhite outfit that may well have put up a stiffer fight for the Premier League title had Levy handed Harry Redknapp just a little bit more than Ryan Nelsen and Louis Saha in the January transfer window.

We were so good to watch, and Hazard would've been the perfect succession plan for Gareth Bale, who's ascent to superstardom was complete the following season. The Belgian admitted he was tempted by Redknapp's north London project, but Chelsea's unthinkable Champions League success in Munich thrust us out of UEFA's premier club competition, and Hazard instead took his talents to SW6 as opposed to N17.

I'm sure there are a few supporters that heave at the mention of La Joya.

Tottenham had been defeated in the 2019 Champions League final, and there was a sense that Mauricio Pochettino's team, our best of modern times, had embarked on their last hurrah. Poch spoke of a "painful rebuild" that had to be overseen, and Spurs' window of excitement returned them Tanguy Ndombélé, Giovani Lo Celso and the highly-rated Ryan Sessegnon.

It looked like the club were ready to shift to the next level, and they'd seemingly saved their best work for the very end when we came in for Juventus' Paulo Dybala.

The low-sock donning playmaker was an undisputed star; the sort you never thought would wind up in N17. However, there was a genuine chance for Spurs to land him late in that summer transfer window, with the club agreeing a fee with the Old Lady worth just shy of £65m. Never before have I woke up for a Deadline Day so excited. It felt like Christmas morning.

But, as many of us came to learn during this period of promise but eventual heartbreak, we weren't allowed nice things. A debacle over the player's image rights, whatever they are, meant the deal fell through.

There was initial transfer frustration in the 2019 summer window over Bruno Fernandes, who has just celebrated his 200th Premier League appearance by scoring his 100th Manchester United goal. Thank God he wasn't playing in last season's Europa League final...

While Fernandes isn't unanimously adored, his talent is doubtless appreciated. Had we struck a deal with Sporting CP off the back of our Champions League final defeat, the whole Dybala thing wouldn't have happened and, who knows, perhaps Pochettino is still in the job, with Fernandes leading the Argentine's rebuild of pain in unison with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min by contributing to multiple Premier League title successes.

Alas, some vintage Levy haggling compromised the deal, and there were reports of Fernandes, who had his heart set on a move to the Premier League, being reduced to tears when he heard that his proposed move had fallen through.

There are conflicting reports as to why exactly the transfer didn't materialise, but most suggest that the two clubs failed to settle upon a payment structure that suited both parties.

Even though Tottenham Hotspur will be disappointed that they dropped points to Brighton in the early Premier League title race, there were still plenty of positives to take away from a 2-2 comeback draw on the road against one of the league's toughest teams, especially for Tottenham historically speaking.

Obviously, the biggest storyline was superstar summer transfer Xavi Simons coming off the bench and turning the tide of the game, as Spurs would not have drawn Brighton without his impact off the bench. Simons looked right at home in his first action as the true Tottenham No. 10, and it's a role he won't soon relinquish.

But from start to finish, the Tottenham player who impressed the most and changed his fortunates the greatest, as far as his future in the starting lineup, was young left back Destiny Udogie.

The Italian international has been at Tottenham for a couple of years now, but Thomas Frank didn't get his first real look of action at him until this weekend against Brighton due to injury, with Djed Spence playing pretty well in recurring starts for Spurs as a lockdown one-on-one defender.

A different dimension for Thomas Frank

Udogie, however, offered an entirely different element to the team while Tottenham suffered no real dropoff defensively. He was active and read the game beautifully from a defensive standpoint while offering more ball progression width, and both range and accuracy of passing.

Thomas Frank is going to be a far more pragmatic coach with the expectations Tottenham have compared to Brentford, but he is still going to want to push forward and force the issue on opposing teams with fullbacks who can actively support the attack. Udogie fits the equation better than Spence can, because he offers the technical ability and creativity as a passer that Spence doesn't.

Udogie is such an underrated player. He can push up wide or come inside like a midfielder and do those things to support the attack without sacrificing much defensively, and it's rare to find fullbacks who have that kind of skill set. If Frank didn't already love Udogie for the big impact he had against Brighton or even upon film review before ever stepping foot at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this year, then he will be downright smitten with the young left back in the coming weeks. Udogie is just as much of an impact player to watch going into October as Lucas Bergvall or anyone else.

After five Premier League Matchdays in the 2025/26 season, Tottenham Hotspur sit third in the table on 10 points, ahead of Bournemouth (whom they lost to) on goal difference and just one goal behind eternal rivals Arsenal in terms of the differential.

This past weekend, Tottenham dropped points against Brighton on the road, but they did come from behind at 2-0. Meanwhile, rivals Arsenal also dropped points, drawing Manchester City 1-1 with another listless performance that featured the worst of Mikel Arteta's frustrating and overtly defensive approach. In truth, they were fortunate to have even tied at all.

Watching the uninspiring way in which Arsenal play and scrounge out results has to be galvanizing for Tottenham fans. Whereas Arsenal struggled against Man City, Tottenham beat them 2-0 in Matchday 2. They flat-out dominated City, with Thomas Frank going a totally opposite approach to Arteta and taking the fight to Pep Guardiola instead of setting up his team like a scared child.

As it stands, Tottenham are neck and neck with Arsenal in the table as the main Premier League title contenders behind defending champions Liverpool, who have been the only team to win all five of their games.

Arsenal aren't far ahead of Tottenham

There was nothing impressive about Arsenal against Manchester City. And that performance gives Tottenham fans confidence that they have already arrived in Thomas Frank's first season as legitimate Premier League title contenders just one year after finishing 17th in the league under Ange Postecoglou.

For Spurs, it all has to start with self belief and the idea of "Why not us?" in the Jim Harbaugh vein (for those of you who are NFL fans). Why can't Tottenham compete for the Premier League title? What does Arsenal have that they don't?

Think about it. Tottenham have an elite defense and one of the top Premier League goalkeepers. They now have a solid, stable midfield. Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons give them difference-makers who can make plays, and Dominic Solanke, Randal Kolo Muani, and Richarlison all have the quality to be just as good in the Premier League as Viktor Gyokeres.

And comparing how Tottenham played Manchester City to what Arsenal did and how negative they were, you really have to say that Spurs have a coaching advantage with Thomas Frank. Spurs fans who watched Arsenal have to feel confident that their own weaknesses aren't that much worse than the other big clubs in England, and with a few tweaks, they could be closer to Premier League title glory than outsiders think.

Tottenham Hotspur have been mighty impressive to start the 2025/26 Premier League season despite a pretty tough schedule, and their only loss thus far was a 1-0 downer against a highly underrated Bournemouth side.

Spurs survived a scare at Brighton this weekend, coming from behind to tie 2-2, and the attacking heroes of the second half were none other than Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus, who have both immediately turned the team's fortunes as the major summer transfer investments.

Simons has just entered the picture as a difference-maker for Tottenham, but since the UEFA Supercup Final, Kudus has been the best forward on the team and maybe even the best summer transfer of any Premier League club thus far.

He has tirelessly carried the attack by taking defenders on, progressing the ball, and creating chances. He has been the quintessential dream winger Tottenham fans were begging for, averaging a robust 3.8 dribbles completed and 2.2 key passes per gamewith three assists in five games.

Tottenham can't stack injuries

As Tottenham watch Kudus shine and increasingly rely on him to lead the attack, they have to weigh his importance carefully and be mindful that they cannot play him too much and must utilize the depth in the squad, including Brennan Johnson as an option on the right wing or even further alternatives like a two-striker system or Wilson Odobert experimenting on the right.

Tottenham have found a gem in Kudus and someone who you can build a team around, just like Simons. But just as Tottenham must value that and play Kudus in all the big games, they need to also respect how much wear and tear can get players down and make sure they are giving the 25-year-old forward sufficient rest.

We saw last season how key injuries add up, and Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou paid dearly in 2024/25 for not resting key stars like Son Heung-min, Micky van de Ven, and Cristian Romero. Thomas Frank must learn from his predecessor's mistakes, especially with young, dynamic players like Kudus who are more vulnerable to injury and overload.

It's hard to be envious of modern football managers with all the pressure they are under to win and yet how they have to navigate an increasingly congested schedule. But Kudus is too valuable to run into the ground, so hopefully Tottenham can make use of the rest of the squad, which should put healthy pressure on the likes of Johnson to step it up without Kudus leading the charge.

Tottenham Hotspur were staring down the barrel of a 2-0 defeat against known bogey team Brighton this weekend, as they were completely listless and devoid of any sort of real attacking threat for the majority of the match.

Enter Xavi Simons. For some inexplicable reason, the most expensive Spurs summer signing spent the opening stanza on the sidelines, but he immediately rectified that mistake by spurring the comeback.

Simons was, by far and away, the most dangerous player on the pitch, and his inclusion opened up the entire offense, helping bring the best out of star right winger Mohammed Kudus as Spurs finished the match with a 2-2 draw.

After the game, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank spoke a little bit about his new star attacking midfielder, and it's pretty clear that he's learned his lesson about utilizing the former RB Leipzig star.

The proof is in the pudding for Thomas Frank

Here's what Frank said, via Football.London's Alasdair Gold, "I'm very, very pleased with that. I think Xavi came in and did exactly what we thought he could do in that 10 position."

Tottenham initially played Simons on the left wing, which was frustrating to watch. Simons's impact on the game was vastly curtailed out wide, and it was patently obvious to Spurs supporters that Simons is not a solution on the left wing.

Spurs fans were excited to see Simons back at the 10, but they had to wait until around an hour into the Brighton game to see that transpire. But after the way Simons dazzled in his appearance off the bench and literally changed the game for Tottenham, Frank surely won't make the same mistake twice.

In fact, there are two mistakes it appears Frank has learned from. The first is simply not playing Simons at all in an important game against a top team like Brighton. And the second is his initial mistake of shoehorning Simons as a left winger instead of giving him the keys to the kingdom in the middle of the park as the No. 10.

Even if Mathys Tel and Wilson Odobert are flawed youngsters and still very much growing, it would be preferable to roll the dice on one of those two on the left wings instead of losing the game-changing abilities of Simons as a progressor and creator in central areas.

Frank is an amazing manager, but he's still learning how to fit his ideas into the team and how his player play. He just arrived. But he learns quickly, as evidenced by his thoughts on Simons's big day at Brighton.

While it wasn't a banner game for Tottenham Hotspur by any means, getting a point out of a road trip to Brighton is something many Spurs fans will gladly take, especially when the alternative before Xavi Simons's inclusion into the game was a defeat at the hands of the Seagulls.

Tottenham are now amongst the mix of contenders battling behind overwhelming favorites and defending champions Liverpool in the Premier League, and with a couple of more true breakout stars in the attack from their sea of young talents, Spurs may not be far off from truly competing with the star-studded squads of the English top flight.

In Thomas Frank's bid to unearth the next Tottenham gem, he handed a start on the left wing to big summer 2024 transfer Wilson Odobert, rewarding the Frenchman for his excellent performances in training.

While Odobert was a statistical dud with no chances created or even dribbles completed in an anonymous display on the left wing, Frank believes he saw enough encouraging signs from the young winger and praised the potential playmaker highly for the performance vs. Brighton.

Thomas Frank liked what he saw

Frank said, via Football.London's Alasdair Gold, "Happy with it, I must admit. I thought he looked lively. Clearly, it looked like they were a little bit afraid of him. So he got time to turn and run forward. I think he produced some crosses, some good opportunities. He was also involved in a goal, worked hard. So a good first start."

Odobert joined Spurs from Burnley for 25 million pounds last year, and there are high hopes that the 20-year-old attacking midfielder and winger can become a star in the Premier League. He was such a clutch player in the Championship, and even in his first sason with Tottenham, he showed flashes of being a game-changer with his classy touches and skillful dribbling in tight areas.

Frank thinks Odobert has what it takes to transition to being a class Premier League winger and be more than just a 10 between the lines. Odobert obviously has a long way to go and plenty to prove, but we've seen Frank turn unknowns into stars at Brentford.

Odobert is far from an unknown, as he already gets starts and impresses at the youth level for the French national team, which is the most difficult team to break into with all the talent they have. Frank sounds higher on Odobert's displays than most, but the ball coach also knows a lot more than we do. We should take his thoughts on Odobert with interest, because it looks like the U21 forward is the next guy Frank wants to focus on as a breakout star for Tottenham.