Hotspur HQ

Tottenham Hotspur hired one of the best up-and-coming managers in the Premier League in Thomas Frank, who brought Brentford from the Championship to European football contention in the most difficult and most competitive league in world football.

However, Frank hasn't been able to bring any of his stars from Brentford with him to Tottenham. His main coach on the field, defensive midfielder Christian Norgaard, abruptly went to North London rivals Arsenal as soon as Spurs showed interest.

The club frustratingly showed minimal interest in his crown jewel, Bryan Mbeumo, who finally signed for Manchester United after drawn out negotiations. And then, Nathan Collins, the star center back, has been untouched by Daniel Levy and the board despite being initially mentioned as a target for Frank, too.

Aside from Mbeumo and his 20 goals, the 19-goal striker Yoane Wissa remains, like Collins, available for transfer. And according to the latest information from Matt Law of the Daily Telegraph, Thomas Frank would still be interested in signing Wissa for Spurs this summer.

Tottenham would have to compete with Newcastle

Wissa has been frustrated with Brentford not engaging seriously in transfer talks to sell him. Brentford have maintained a stance that they are reluctant to sell the 28-year-old striker in his prime after already collecting a big check from Manchester United for the Mbeumo transfer, as selling both players - and nearly 40 total Premier League goals - in one summer would be a deficit that it impossible to make up.

Newcastle already lost out on Hugo Ekitike to Liverpool and now face the prospect of losing their own superstar striker, Alexander Isak, to the Reds, too. So the Magpies have been the ones pushing hardest for Wissa, whose purchase could lead another domino to fall in Isak heading to Liverpool.

Not only could Tottenham use another striker with a 19-goal track record in the Premier League, but they could also benefit from the reigning Premier League champions NOT signing the second-best striker in the league, too. (Though you could also argue that Newcastle are closer to Tottenham in competition right at this moment, so the Magpies losing Isak may help Spurs more).

Regardless, Tottenham have yet to show significant interest in Wissa despite the striker's familiarity with Frank and the manager's desire to bring him to North London. That's likely because Dominic Solanke's status with Spurs is safe, while Richarlison is just about impossible to move at this point, rendering a Wissa transfer largely impracticle.

At long last and after months of doing pretty much nothing to address arguably their biggest need in the squad, Tottenham Hotspur have found their defensive midfielder. Bayern Munich backup Joao Palhinha, who has done approximately nothing since joining the Bundesliga giants, his headed back to where he belongs in the Premier League, where he starred for Fulham as one of the best destroyer profile No. 6's in English football before getting his big move to Bayern.

According to Fabrizio Romano and other reputable insiders, Palhinha is headed to Tottenham, who only accelerated their interest in the 30-year-old Portuguese international within the last 24 hours before securing their second loan deal in as many transfer windows with Bayern.

Their first was, of course, young left winger Mathys Tel, who played a key role in helping Spurs hoist a historic Europa League title in May before officially joining Tottenham on a permanent basis about a month later.

Joao Palhinha is a stopgap for Tottenham

Initially, it didn't look like Tottenham would entertain the idea of keeping Palhinha for more than one season because of his age, but it appears Spurs either had a chance of heart or, more likely, were forced to include an option to buy in Palhinha's loan contract in order to facilitate a move with Bayern.

Die Roten have no future plans for Palhinha, so they would be more than happy to see Palhinha go. Per Romano, there is indeed an option to buy in Palhinha's loan contract with Tottenham despite earlier reporting stating that Spurs were avoiding this clause. It's unclear how much Tottenham would have to pay to make Palhinha's stay permanent.

But the good thing is that it's only an option to buy and not an obligation to buy. So unless if Palhinha plays even better than he did at Fulham and proves he is one of the elite defensive midfielders in the Premier League, he's likely only going to be a one-year stopgap solution alongside the likes of Pape Sarr, Archie Gray, and Lucas Bergvall before Tottenham go for a younger and more playmaking profile in 2026 (Spurs fans will be eyeing Adam Wharton of Crystal Palace).

As it stands, Spurs could do a lot worse than Palhinha, and he's certainly superior to signing nobody at all. Tottenham seemed to be plodding on a deal because they wanted to give Yves BIssouma the axe first, so, perhaps, this Palhinha deal is a tacit indication that Bissouma's exit will be forthcoming.

Tottenham Hotspur, as it stands, have signed just one new starter for the 2025/26 Premier League season in West Ham right winger Mohammed Kudus, who has the potential to be a transformative piece for an attack that could only help Spurs muster a meager 17th placed finish in the league last season.

Even without Morgan Gibbs-White, Bryan Mbeumo, or, apparently, Yoane Wissa on their way to reenforce the attack this summer, Thomas Frank still has plenty of quality pieces to work with, especially if one of the young wingers like Wilson Odobert or Mathys Tel takes a big step forward in their second seasons with Spurs.

Behind them, though, question marks remain in midfield despite the promise of Lucas Bergvall and the hope that Frank can be the one to get the most out of Archie Gray, which was one of the criticisms of Ange Postecoglou during his second season at the helm of the Tottenham ship.

Tottenham have been linked to concerningly few midfielders in concrete terms. Really, aside from Bayern Munich's Joao Palhinha, Tottenham haven't been in serious contention to sign anyone, and the Palhinha links are both relatively lukewarm and significantly underwhelming in the context of a Tottenham sporting project that needs a long-term holding midfielder with playmaking capabilities.

Tottenham want to sell before buying

Frustratingly, Tottenham appear to be operating under the notion that they need to sell a midfielder before buying, and the onus has been on Yves BIssouma, who both as an expiring contract and is viewed as an inferior option to the others in the middle of the park.

According to a report from La Gazzetta dello Sport, West Ham are interested in signing Bissouma, who has made two rounds around the Premier League with Brighton and Tottenham. The Hammers are eyeing purchasing Bissouma, who could cost just 15-20 million euros at this stage of the summer transfer window with only limited interest in him.

Even the Turkish Super Lig links seemed to have cooled. Bissouma neither has room in Tottenham's present or future midfield plan, and if Spurs can offload the 28-year-old midfielder this summer, that will go a long way in helping them secure a notable upgrade, even if dream signing Adam Wharton appears to be off the table in 2025.

West Ham's midfield situation is even more dire than Tottenham's without the sort of young talents of Bergvall and Gray, so Bissouma would actually make sense for them as a rotational option with Premier League experience - and a Europa League title under his belt. After the Kudus signing, Tottenham would have a lot to be thankful for to their lesser London rivals if they took Bissouma off their hands.

A North London Derby in pre-season simply doesn't feel right, but Thursday's historic bout does offer a once-in-a-lifetime experience for some.

For the first time ever, this fixture is being played overseas. Lilywhites and Gooners from the Far East will descend upon the Kai Tak Sports Park in Hong Kong, as Thomas Frank's side lock horns with the perennial Premier League bridesmaids.

The new Spurs boss was full of praise for our fiercest rivals ahead of Thursday's friendly, labelling them as one of the world's finest outfits. "Unfortunately," as Frank said, it's hard to disagree. Shame about the lack of silverware, though.

Today's friendly won't boast the typical rough and tumble of competitive action, but the nature of the fixture means an edge will undoubtedly be supplied. This isn't your usual pre-season contest, and one you won't want to miss.

Here are the details on how to watch Arsenal vs Tottenham from Hong Kong.

How to watch Arsenal vs Tottenham around the world

Admittedly, the options are slim if you're in the UK or Ireland, because I'm not going to encourage you to give Arsenal any money by buying one of their pre-season passes to watch today's friendly.

You can, however, potentially fund a Morgan Gibbs-White alternative by purchasing a SPURSPLAY subscription, which grants you access to not only this North London Derby, but Spurs' upcoming friendlies against Newcastle and Bayern Munich, too.

The annual subscription costs £45, but season ticket holders and One Hotspur members receive a reduced rate of £35. Other perks include streams for selected Tottenham Hotspur Women and Academy fixtures throughout the season, as well as extended highlights, full match replays and exclusive behind-the-scenes content.

Those in the United States can tune into today's friendly via Paramount+, another subscription service which costs $7.99/month.

Arsenal vs Tottenham

Tottenham Hotspur fans were overjoyed when they heard that their beloved club were being ambitious for a change and signing Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White just hours after inking West Ham's high-risk, high-reward right winger Mohammed Kudus. Together, Gibbs-White and Kudus could have transformed a Tottenham attack that could only help the team finish 17th in the Premier League last season.

But instead of signing MGW, Nottingham Forest dug their heels in, blocked Spurs from the move, even threatened legal action, and eventually somehow convinced Gibbs-White to renege on his word to Tottenham and sign a contract extension with Forest out of the blue.

Needless to say, Tottenham fans aren't happy at all with how that deal went down, and while some of that anger is directed internally at Daniel Levy and what looks to be another potentially bleak summer of transfer business - in juxtaposition to the activity of London rivals Arsenal and Chelsea - most of it is directed outwardly towards an increasingly maligned Nottingham Forest.

Well, Tottenham have a chance to replace Gibbs-White with a cheaper, young, and potentially even better attacking midfielder on the transfer market. Better yet, if they sign this player, it would be an act of revenge on Forest for the way the Gibbs-White transfer went down (in flames).

Tottenham could sign him for half the price of Gibbs-White

According to a report from Fabrizio Romano, despite signing Morgan Gibbs-White to a fresh contract extension, Nottingham Forest continue to show interest in Manchester City attacking midfield prospect James McAtee, who is quietly one of the best young players openly on the Premier League transfer market this summer.

Per Romano, Forest actually sent a 25 million pound transfer bid across Man City's desk, but the Citizens rejected the offer. That means McAtee is still on the open waters, and it's worth noting that Tottenham showed interest in the 22-year-old standout earlier in the tranfer window before focusing their efforts on Gibbs-White.

And what makes this all the more interesting is that initial reporting during the peak of the Gibbs-White transfer saga indicated that Forest were interested in using Gibbs-White as part of a swap deal to acquire McAtee. So if Tottenham were to sign MGW per his release clause, they would lose an important makeweight in signing McAtee.

Tottenham could instead be the ones to sign McAtee with a more competitive offer than 25 million pounds. For about half the price of Gibbs-White, Tottenham could sign someone a few years younger with more upside and use McAtee as an understudy to James Maddison in the 10 role before letting him loose in the future.

Thomas Frank has confirmed that summer signing Kota Takai could be out for weeks due to a foot injury, with the Japanese defender among those who weren't included in the manager's touring squad.

Spurs' pre-season kicked off with a 2-0 win at Reading two Saturdays ago, but they head into two challenging friendlies out in the Far East off the back of a pair of draws against League One opposition at the weekend. The goalless stalemate with Luton Town was particularly bleak.

Frank has named a 29-man squad for the club's summer tour, with Takai, Destiny Udogie, Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Dragusin, Manor Solomon and Bryan Gil the injury-enforced absentees.

Thomas Frank confirms Kota Takai out for "weeks" with foot injury

After touching down in Hong Kong on Monday, Frank held his first press conference of the tour alongside Micky van de Ven on Tuesday, 48 hours before we take on Arsenal in the first-ever overseas North London Derby.

The new boss was asked an array of questions, including whether he was okay with "Thomas the Frank Engine" as a nickname (he is, by the way), and reporters were keen to know on the statuses of those he left at Hotspur Way.

On Takai, Frank said: “Kota's got plantar fascia, unfortunately. I don’t know exactly the scale of it, weeks”.

It's not exactly clear when Takai picked up the issue, with the defender spotted in training on multiple occasions since joining the club at the start of the month. He hasn't appeared in any of the friendlies thus far, and his setback might mean he won't feature at all in pre-season with the start of the 2025/26 season just a couple of weeks away.

The 20-year-old isn't expected to play a major role for Frank's side this season, given Spurs' strength in depth at centre-back. However, he might've been a contender to earn a loan move away. His foot injury reduces the likelihood of a club taking him on for the upcoming season.

There will be greater concerns over the knee injury Udogie has sustained, while Dominic Solanke and Kevin Danso reportedly weren't involved in the 11-v-11 training match which took place on Tuesday evening, and finished 0-0 (lol). Solanke is still dealing with a minor ankle injury, according to Alasdair Gold. Moreover, the latest reports regarding Dejan Kulusevski's recovery aren't all that promising.

Welcome to Tottenham, Mr. Frank Engine!

Despite needing to make major upgrades to their attack and snag multiple game-changers to a team that is headed for the Champions League after finishing 17th in the Premier League in the previous season, Tottenham Hotspur have signed just one new player from the 2024/25 season in West Ham right winger Mohammed Kudus.

While Kudus is a splendid signing with legitimately world-class upside under the guidance of manager Thomas Frank, Spurs need to sign more than just Kudus to bolster their attack appropriately for the next season - and that's not even getting into the state of their midfield.

After the Morgan Gibbs-White transfer fell through, Tottenham should have yet another reason to want to go for attacking talents, and if they close the sale of star left winger Son Heung-min to the United States, then that only furthers their attacking hole.

According to a new report from transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, a top-class winger is becoming available now for Tottenham to look at closely in the final weeks of the summer 2025 transfer window. As Lucas Chevalier draws closer to a move away from Lille to PSG, one of their other big talents, Edon Zhegrova, "can leave" Lille, too.

Tottenham have passed on other stars from Lille

Lille have undergone a lot of turnover this summer, and Tottenham were actually linked to their two hottest free agents, English midfielder Angel Gomes and Canadian striker Jonathan David, but they didn't really push hard for either potential solid signing.

Zhegrova is one of the best dribblers in French football and proved his worth on an international stage at last season's Champions League by carving up defending champions Real Madrid to spearhead Eden Hazard's former club to a memorable upset victory.

The 26-year-old star was closely linked with a move to Serie A champions Napoli earlier this summer, but the Partenopei, as Fabrizio Romano reports, backed out of the deal due to Lille's asking price. More clubs are now interested, per Fab, and that may imply that Lille have knocked down their asking price, perhaps to something more palatable to clubs like Napoli - and by extension, Tottenham.

Zhegrova is in the prime of his career and the kind of ball progressor, creator, and exciting dribbler Tottenham could use along witih their current, promising options. Assuming he is priced as affordably as he is underrated by the masses, Zhegrova could be a shrewd signing for Daniel Levy and Co., tough, the caveat is that, like Kudus, he is at his best on the right side of the formation.

And if Tottenham sell Son, they'd be looking more towards a left-sided player. Still, Zhegroav is a serious talent, and he is just as good as a 10 - if not better - and that remains a need after the Gibbs-Whit deal fell through.

Tottenham Hotspur have made just one new signing so far in the summer 2025 tranfer window after the Morgan Gibbs-White deal collapsed, as West Ham right winger Mohammed Kudus is the one true upgrade from the squad that won the 2024/25 Europa League title but also finished a lowly 17th in the Premier League.

Aside from adding one more attacking game-changer besides Kudus to replace the "loss" of Gibbs-White, Spurs absolutely have to upgrade their midfield for new manager Thomas Frank if they want to have a prayer at competing with the big boys like Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City in the Premier League next season.

But it seems like, for some silly reason, if Tottenham want to make the signings they need in the middle of the park, they need to offload an unwanted midfielder. And the midfielder they really want to sell to raise funds and clear space this summer is Yves Bissouma, who no longer has a future at the club.

Tottenham are having trouble making the sale

Despite some links to the Turkish Super Lig, Tottenham have found it difficult to find potential transfer partners interested in Bissouma. Now, though, they have found an opening and the right suitor they need to get in touch with in order to sell the experienced Premier League midfielder for a tidy sum.

According to a report from Give Me Sport's Ben Jacobs, Al-Ahli of the Saudi Pro League are interested in making huge waves in the transfer market this summer to compete with their rivals further up the table. Al-Ahli would reportedly like to sign six to eight new players this transfer window. Their priority is to add more help to the middle of the park, and after showing cursory interest in Morgan Gibbs-White, of all players, Al-Ahli are now looking at Tottenham No. 8 Yves Bissouma as one option in the middle of the park.

There are other two candidates among those on the list are also Premier League players in Leicester City's more attacking Bilal El Khannouss and the Foxes' more defensive - and more experienced - option Wilfried Ndidi.

Saudi Pro League sides have money to burn, and when a club like Al-Ahli is desperate to make sweeping upgrades, there is profit to be made. If Tottenham can somehow sell Bissouma for more than 30 million euros this summer to Al-Ahli, that could go a long way in helping Spurs sign a much better midfielder to revamp their crew.

Tottenham Hotspur are staring down a potentially disastrous summer transfer window, Even though tye won the Europa League last season and hired a new manager in Thomas Frank, Spurs risk falling behind in the Premier League's arm race, which has been favoring a select quartet of big spenders, by only signing Mohammed Kudus to fority a squad that finished just 17th in the Premier League last season.

Spurs supporters want to see the club go after some marquee attacking options before the window closes, especially if they are to sell club legend Son Heung-min to MLS side LAFC or some other suitor in the Saudi Pro League or Turkish Super Lig.

The biggest name to be linked to Tottenham on the wings is Real Madrid star Rodrygo Goes, who has found himself increasingly marginalized and outside the bubble at the club. He already couldn't play in his favored position before Kyilan Mbappe's arrival, but the signing of the Frenchman pretty much doomed Rodrygo, who himself turned in his worst season in the last three on an indivudal level.

Even with the hire of Xabi Alonso, Rodrygo is expected to leave Madrid, with Premier League clubs circling to sign him. Liverpool, Arsenal , and Chelsea have all lined up with interest, and the Reds, in particular, may be more interested after selling star left winger Luis Diaz to Bayern Munich.

Not big enough? Make it make sense

But it looks like anyone hoping for Tottenham to be in the mix should get rid of those thoughts quickly. Foot Mercato's Santi Aouna has reported that despite the transfer rumors, Rodrygo Goes has "no interest" in joining Tottenham Hotspur this summer. Worse yet, Aouna left in a little jab at Spurs, stating that Rodrygo wants to join a "bigger club" than Tottenham as his next step after Real Madrid.

Well, there have been plenty of players who left Real Madrid for Manchester United thinking that the change would help them only to find themselves finished. United haven't been in the mix for Rodrygo and already signed Premier League Brazilian star Matheus Cunha and one-time Tottenham right wing transfer target Bryan Mbeumo, so they are more focused on a No. 9.

But the point is that Tottenham are not a small club and this idea of "small vs. big" club when deciding among the Premier League top six is really a moot point. The most important thing a player should think about is their fit and opportunities.

Rodrygo can shine wherever he goes. Tottenham, in all reality, aren't interested in Rodrygo not because of his age, quality, or expected value but rather because Daniel Levy is a cheap man who won't compete with other elite clubs to sign a player for 100 million euros plus potentially 15-20 million euros per season in wages.

Tottenham Hotspur looked like they were going to be serious buyers at one point this transfer window, because after a slow start wherein their only "addition" was signing Mathys Tel permanently from Bayern Munich, they snapped up West Ham star Mohammed Kudus out of nowhere and then seemingly signed Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest just as quickly.

But now that the Gibbs-White deal has collapsed, Tottenham have gone quiet on the transfer market, and their only new addition is Kudus. Tottenham fans are staring down the barrel of another transfer window under Daniel Levy with more false promises than tangible upgrades.

Now, Tottenham supporters have to focus again on young talents departing the club, as Spurs are in talks to loan away uber-talented wide playmaker Mikey Moore and top backup goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky so that they can get the minutes they need to develop into possible world-class talents.

The Moore loan is understandable, and while Kinsky would benefit from more playing time, the tough part for Spurs is that losing him would severely curtail the team's depth at goalkeeper with no top backup for Guglielmo Vicario.

The goalkeeping carousel in France

Kinsky has been linked with a move to Lille as Lucas Chevalier's replacement if the talented goalkeeper were to move French clubs to giants PSG, whose elite goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is being linked with a potential move to the city of Manchester.

Now, according to a report from Fabrizio Romano, PSG are "now close" to signing Chevalier from Lille and reaching a "full agreement" for the young French shot-stopper. Paris already have an "agreement done" with Chevalier, and they are in the "final stages" of negotations with their Ligue 1 rivals for a permanent transfer.

That means Lille are also close to signing a replacement, and Kinsky is seen as their priority as a loan signing, thus replacing one of Europe's best young goalkeepers with another in Kinsky, who is even more underrated than Chevalier despite plying his trade at a well-followed club in Tottenham Hotspur.

Loaning away Kinsky will be a divisive move for Tottenham fans, but even Daniel Levy won't entertain the idea of selling the talented 22-year-old Czech goalkeeper. Even he knows that Kinsky is far too valuable to sell, as the shot-stopper is tabbed as the heir to the starting goalkeeper position and Vicario's eventual replacement - the true heir to the post between the sticks once occupied by Hugo Lloris.