Hotspur HQ

At long last, Tottenham Hotspur closed a deal for a new defensive midfielder, agreeing to terms with Bayern Munich to bring No. 6 Joao Palhinha back to the Premier League from an underwhelming and brief tenure in the Bundesliga.

Palhinha, once a star for Fulham, will join Tottenham on a loan deal with an option to buy, and while he is a good start to bolstering an oft-overmatched midfield from the 2024/25 Premier League season, Spurs should really be looking into another midfield player, too.

Tottenham still have needs in other places in the squad. A few weeks ago, they thought they had a transfer for Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White all wrapped up, but Forest blocked Spurs from completing the deal and eventually took MGW off the table entirely by signing the 25-year-old attacking midfielder to a surprising contract extension.

According to a report from Gary Jacob, Peter Rutzler and Paul Joyce of The Times, Tottenham are interested in signing another forward after the collapse of the Gibbs-White transfer. They are also interested in nabbing another left back to fill out their squad, as Destiny Udogie has been in need of some cover. They discussed the negotiations for Joao Palhinha, which have since been successful, and the interest in Juventus and PSG striker Randal Kolo Muani.

Tottenham need more attacking firepower

It's obvious that if Tottenham were after a 60 million pound Premier League star attacker, then they should be after a similar caliber of player to bolster the front line if that same attacking star didn't actually end up arriving at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

But it's interesting to note that Tottenham haven't forgotten about their need for defensive depth, specifically at left back. They've been mulling center back options, mostly as emergency plans in case Cristian Romero were to leave, but since the World Cup hero isn't exiting Spurs, the focus will likely be on a left back.

Aside from Mathias Olivera of Napoli, there haven't been any top options linked to Tottenham at left back this summer. With Palhinha on the way, perhaps more left backs will be mentioned going forward as Spurs move ahead with left back listed as a secondary transfer need behind another attacking game-changer.

The need for another forward is quite obvious to Tottenham fans, especially if Spurs, as many expect, decide to sell club legend Son Heung-min off to LAFC or another MLS club this summer.

Tottenham Hotspur came into the summer transfer window with rumblings that they could be serious players in the striker market, as Dominic Solanke and Richarlison failed to score 10 goals. So far, Spurs have only signed one new forward to the mix in West Ham right winger Mohammed Kudus, who is more known for his dribbling and playmaking than for scoring goals.

If Tottenham, as many expect, decide to sell club legend Son Heung-min to MLS - or elsewhere abroad - then they will have an even bigger need for goals since Son was still the club's top scorer in the Premier League last season despite his own decline in quality.

Tottenham, though, are backing Solanke to succeed in his second season after he flexed his ability in the big games during the club's triumphant Europa League run. Meanwhile, Richarlison has proven impossible to move, and, in truth, he may be a better option than many of the others at striker on the market right now if he stays healthy. That's just a big "if".

Recently, an option at striker has emerged for Tottenham this summer. Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic has long been whispered as a possible target for Spurs, given Juve seem to be keen to get rid of him, but the other No. 9 in Turin is also of interest to the Lilywhites.

Dusan Vlahovic isn't the only Juventus forward Tottenham want

Per a report from Sky Sport's Sacha Tavolieri, Tottenham are now interested in signing PSG striker Randal Kolo Muani, who joined Juventus on loan last winter and actually usurped Vlahovic as the starter. Juventus have been negotiating to keep Kolo Muani permanently, but since the talks have stalled, Spurs are reportedly lying in wait and looking to steal the French striker.

Per Tavolieri, Kolo Muani's preference is to stay with Juventus. The talented 26-year-old failed to shine in Paris after a whopping 90 million euro move from Eintracht Frankfurt in 2023, but he was solid for an otherwise unimpressive Juve last season, scoring 8 goals in 13 starts to help salvage continued Champions League football for the Bianconeri.

And before all of that in Germany, Kolo Muani was one of the best all-around strikers in Europe for Frankfurt with 15 goals and 11 assists. Although he has less upside and was older than Hugo Ekitike at the time, he did outproduce the current Liverpool star and has a nice all-around game to him.

The thing is, from a Tottenham perspective, that may not be enough to sway them into paying a large enough fee to Paris to both convince PSG to sell Kolo Muani and to also beat Juventus to the punch. After all, Tottenham have a nifty well-rounded profile at striker they invested 65 million pounds in, and he, Dominic Solanke, is a reigning European champion.

Tottenham Hotspur have finally bagged a new defensive midfielder in the summer 2025 transfer market, signing Bayern Munich veteran Joao Palhinha, a former star in the Premier League for Fulham, on a loan deal with an option to buy.

Palhinha brings a steely veteran presence to the Tottenham midfield, but Spurs need more than just Palhinha to compete at the highest levels of the Premier League and Champions League. The former Fulhman man gives Spurs a destroyer profile who can confidently win possession, but Spurs need someone with a little more attacking verve to help the likes of Lucas Bergvall and North London derby hero Pape Sarr out.

One player Tottenham have been looking at quietly over the past couple of weeks is Juventus defensive midfielder Douglas Luiz, who is another former Premier League star who made an unsuccessful jump to one of European football's most historic clubs abroad.

Luiz did not fit Juventus at all in the 2024/25 season, and his recent falling out at the club all but guarantees that he will be transferred. The thing is, Tottenham haven't shown a whole lot of interest in Luiz with most of their focus on Palhinha, and it looks like they will have some serious competition from a Premier League rival.

Tottenham could use another No. 6.

According to a report from transfer insider Matteo Moretto, Nottingham Forest, of all clubs, have shown interest in Douglas Luiz this summer transfer window. They would like to sign him to a loan deal that includes an option to buy, though, reportedly, this loan deal could activtate into an obligation to buy if certain conditions are met.

Tottenham have already signed Palhinha to a loan deal with an option to buy, so signing a second defensive midfielder to a deal with an option to buy may not be in the cards. But when you stack it all up, Luiz is a better athlete and overall player than Palhinha, as he had a clear knack for scoring goals from midfield when he was in the Premier League with Aston Villa.

Back then, Arsenal had Luiz on their transfer wishlist almost every year, and it was actually a bit of a surprise that he went to the more tactical Serie A with Juventus. A return to the Premier League is obvious, and if Tottenham want him, they surely won't want to lose to Nottingham Forest on the transfer market yet again.

Forest blocked Tottenham from signing their star attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, collapsing the transfer and signing MGW to an extension instead. And Spurs are still waiting for their revenge, so this could be a chance to do just that and sign a credible No. 6.

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.