Hotspur HQ

Tottenham Hotspur supporters are searching for any good news they can find right now. With 11 matches remaining, Spurs are currently a mere four points above the Premier League's relegation zone, without a win in nine attempts in 2026. So, could the potential return of Pedro Porro on Sunday help Igor Tudor pick up his first points as manager?

Among the numerous problems facing the Lilywhites right at this moment, the most crippling is their enormous list of unavailable players:

Tottenham's current injured and suspended players

A total of 11 senior outfield players sat out last Sunday's North London derby defeat. Cristian Romero still has two more matches to go on his suspension; he can return at Anfield on 15 March. Meanwhile, Richarlison came off the bench against Arsenal, having missed the previous seven fixtures due to a hamstring injury sustained in the FA Cup.

However, could the imminent return of Pedro Porro be a genuine game changer?

Pedro Porro's importance to Tottenham

After last weekend's loss, Tudor confirmed he hoped to have two players available for this Sunday's crucial clash with Fulham, one of which is believed to be Pedro Porro. In the absence of the Spaniard, as well as Romero, Kevin Danso, Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie, the new head coach was forced to deploy a makeshift back five.

João Palhinha as a centre-back and Archie Gray at right-wing-back just isn't going to work, so could Porro's reintroduction into the team be transformative?

Pedro Porro's 2025/26 statistics

Note: Stats via Transfermarkt, FBref & SofaScore.

Micky van de Ven is the only outfielder to have played more minutes than Porro this season, while he also ranks highly for a wide-variety of numbers. The right-back is second only to Mohammed Kudus when it comes to assists, as well as second for big chances created and first in terms of key passes per match.

Porro also ranks highly when it comes to every defensive metric, namely tackles, interceptions and clearances, emphasising that he is key at both ends of the pitch. Assuming Tudor sticks with his favoured back three formation, which seems likely, the 26 year old will be vital in adding balance to the right flank that Gray was simply not able to offer during the derby defeat.

Right now, Spurs make scoring a goal feel impossible, while are simultaneously conceding them far too easily at the other end, shipping 17 goals across their last seven Premier League outings. That is very much a recipe for disaster which could see the Lilywhites' 48-year stay in the top division catastrophically come to an end. The only way they're going to get out of this hole is by injury players coming back, so Tudor really needs Porro's return to be a catalyst for change.

As Tottenham Hotspur continue to lose games this season, fans are walking on eggshells regarding the futures of superstar center backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, who don't seem to be at imminent risk of leaving right now but would not be criticized for saying they have had enough with the incompetence festering inside the walls of the N17. It appears Van de Ven is already thinking of life elsewhere, as contract negotiations reportedly are not going well.

Romero is the most outspoken of the two superstar center backs at Tottenham, but between them, Van de Ven's future may be the more worrisome for Spurs supporters. Not only is he younger, but he's also not the captain of the club and has shown quite visibly with his body language towards the managers and the fans that he is incredibly frustrated with the club.

Some of the world's biggest brands, specifically Real Madrid, have been linked to the newest Dutch superstar center back. Van de Ven's speed, athleticism, and sheer quality on the ball make him a special weapon for any team to covet, and his actual defensive quality is also incredible.

Tottenham are behind in contract negotiations with Micky van de Ven

Tottenham know they need to sign Van de Ven to a lucrative extension before things get out of hand, but it looks like that's not progressing meaningfully. According to a bombshell new report from Sky Sports News, Micky van de Ven is actually "a long way off" from signing a new contract extension with Tottenham Hotspur, and worse yet for the club's supporters, VDV and his employers haven't even had concrete contract talks yet.

It's been more than half of the 2025/26 Premier League season and despite there being rumors from the very beginning of the campaign that Spurs would need to reward Van de Ven with a new contract, Spurs have not made any real headway, nor does it sound like they have even tried to meaningfully engage with their most valuable transfer commodity.

While Tottenham do have Kevin Danso in the squad and both Luka Vuskovic and Kota Takai playing at a high level on loan in the Bundesliga, it would be insane for Spurs not to keep Van de Ven. And by not even locking him down to a new contract, which should have happened months ago, Spurs are only crushing their ability to get more money out of a VDV transfer since they will have no leverage and clubs will also know that he is going to go.

Tottenham Hotspur star forward Dejan Kulusvski has yet to play at all this season after suffering a serious knee injury at the end of the 2024/25 Premier League and Europa League campaign, but there are finally positive indications regarding the status of the Swedish international.

Speaking at the Tottenham press conference to reporters ahead of this weekend's latest London derby matchup against Fulham, Spurs manager Igor Tudor relayed, via Chris Cowlin, that both Kulusevski and team doctors are "positive" about Kulu's status. However, Spurs need to wait a week to hear more about the player's status.

Compared to Thomas Frank, Tudor has been refreshingly a lot more forthcoming about giving inforamtion to fans, including speaking more candidly about injury updates and player returns. So instead of Frank saying nothing about Kulusevski or giving vague, dark updates, we may be able to expect more concrete news from Tudor on the beloved attacking midfielder and winger.

Doctors are 'positive' about Dejan Kulusevski

Kulusevski did take a bit of a step back at times last season, but his absence has revealed just how important he is. Mohammed Kudus made fans forget a bit about Kulu early in the season, but with Kudus injured, too, Kulu's pending return has become an even bigger topic of conversation.

There is no doubt that Kulusevski's knee injury was a serious one, and it has taken him even longer than expected to return, with some Spurs supporters even giving up hope that they would ever see the former Juventus, Atalanta, and Parma star in the Premier League again.

It looks like the biggest pessimists in the fan base can slow their roll a bit, but that being said, it is important to be realistic here. Even if Kulusevski is able to return in a few weeks or at any point in the 2025/26 Premier League (and Champions League!) season, it is totally unfair to expect the 25-year-old star to be 100 percent.

But since it has been so long since Tottenham fans received even a remotely positive sliver of an update on Kulusevski's injury status, Tudor mentioning the words "positive" and "doctors" in the same sentence regarding him is a massive deal.

Meanwhile, Tottenham fans are still waiting to hear back about other injured stars like Destiny Udogie, Lucas Bergvall, James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Kudus, who have all been out for at least weeks and may be out for still weeks more.

Tottenham Hotspur failed to sign a single attacking player in the winter transfer window despite a myriad of injuries and issues with scoring goals, but they may not find it easy to sign a top target this summer either with clubs holding onto top talents in the Premier League like Everton's Iliman Ndiaye,

Spurs were able to bag Mohammed Kudus this past summer transfer window and also added Mathys Tel on a permanent basis, having signed another young potential gem in Wilson Odobert the previous summer. But only Tel is healthy right now of those three wingers, while Brennan Johnson was already sold in the winter after a terrible first half of the season - and even Tel is finding it hard to get in the lineup every week.

Tottenham need more help around top striker Dominic Solanke, and one player fans were keen on signing is Everton breakout star Iliman Ndiaye, who just recently raised more eyebrows around the English top flight after setting a new 2025/26 season high mark with eight dribbles completed in a tough 1-0 loss to a resurgent Manchester United.

Everton won't make it easy to sign Iliman Ndiaye

According to information from transfer insider Ben Jacobs speaking on The United Stand show, clubs in the Premier League interested in stealing Ndiaye from the Toffees are going to have a tough time achieving that:

"Ndiaye isn't your typical left winger, he can play anywhere, and he loves going central, so that's why I'm led to believe that they [Man Utd] are not really pushing on that. Ndiaye may look for a move, but I'm actually under the impression from Everton sources that he's going to be really difficult to get out of that football club this summer, and they might even offer him improved terms."

That versatility is exactly what Tottenham are hoping for, as players like Odobert who can play both sides of the formation are highlly valued. Ndiaye is even more dynamic one-on-one with the explosiveness and creativity that Spurs are missing as another option to help Kudus out, as the Ghanaian international got burned out and injured because of how much he was having to carry the attack.

Ndiaye's numbers this season for Everton are highly impressive with 5 goals and 3.4 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game. Tottenham need all the help they can get, but if Everton are able to re-sign Ndiaye or drive a hard enough bargain, Spurs supporters know better than to trust their club to push hard for a top winger and open their pocket books. They couldn't even do that for affordable Serie A transfer target Ademola Lookman this winter.

There was optimism entering Thomas Frank's debut season in charge that Tottenham Hotspur would re-assert themselves towards the top of the Premier League table after a 17th-place finish the season prior.

Ange Postecoglou ultimately sacrificed our domestic campaign in favour of Europa League glory, and his gamble paid off. The absence of a relegation threat meant we were able to stomach unproductive weekends during the second half of the season as Thursday night fever persisted.

And while the summer wasn't perfect, Spurs at least seemed in a position to build on that magical night in Bilbao, albeit with a different manager at the helm.

What very few foreshadowed was a Premier League campaign akin to Postecoglou's last. Frank's reign was a disaster, to the extent that playing Championship football next season is a frightening possibility.

Thus, as we creep towards the 'run-in', we're not all that interested in who the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United have upcoming, but instead West Ham United and Nottingham Forest. They're our relegation rivals, and that's who we must outperform during the final 11 games of the season to preserve our Premier League status.

How Tottenham's Premier League fixtures compare to West Ham, Nottingham Forest

Our winless start to 2026 continued despite a change in the dugout, with Igor Tudor's reign starting with a 4-1 defeat in Sunday's North London Derby. Despite the recent misery, the number-crunchers at Opta rate our chances of actually going down as very slim. It's fair to say that supporters are much more pessimistic, but that's just in our nature.

Nevertheless, there's reason to believe that everything will be okay. Players are coming back, slowly but surely, and we should benefit from a relatively kind fixture list down the stretch.

Of course, nothing is coming easily for the Lilywhites. "Bad habits" are undermining any chances of success, according to the new manager, and few are looking forward to the weekend's trip to Craven Cottage, where we were beaten three times under Postecoglou.

However, I can confirm that our remaining fixtures, based on current standings and data, are the 'easiest' compared to our fellow relegation-threatened friends. The average position of our remaining opponents is 11th. Nottingham Forest's is 9.45th and West Ham's 8.8th. That doesn't quite work grammatically, but you get my point.

Moreover, the six teams we're visiting have collected an average of 21.83 points at home this season. That total is less than Forest's (23.66) and West Ham's (23.16) six away opponents. Forest have a slightly simpler schedule at home, with the five teams travelling to the City Ground earning an average of 14.6 points on the road. Our opponents have notched 15.4 points away from home, while West Ham's have earned 16.8.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been a happy hunting ground for the rest of the division over the past couple of years, but you'd have to say that Spurs deserve to go down if they can't tally enough points with their remaining fixtures to stay up. Crystal Palace, Forest, Brighton & Hove Albion, Leeds United and Everton all have to visit N17 before the season's end. That's a kind run, no matter how dire we've been this season.

As the 2025/26 Premier League season trudges along, Tottenham Hotspur supporters are becoming increasingly fed up with the Djed Spence experience at left back, and after watching him get torched in another big game by Arsenal on Sunday, the fans have to be wondering what happened to winter signing Souza.

Although Souza is just 19 years of age and not at an age where most players are starting as left backs in the Premier League, he was one of only two winter transfers by Tottenham this year on a team with a roster possessing a laundry list of pressing needs.

And when Souza has played at left back this season, he has shown that he actually already does belong in the Premier League. Watching Spence flounder once more as a right-footed left back in the lineup, it's hard to not to feel that, juxtaposing their displays, Souza is already a superior option to a miscast option.

Tottenham have to bring in Souza for Djed Spence

Spence is much more comfortable on the right side of the formation. On the left, he hamstrings the attack so much that it completely destroys the left winger and makes life harder for the No. 10 and striker both going forward and even tracking back because of how imbalanced the formation gets.

It's anyone's guess as to when Destiny Udogie returns from his latest injury mishap, so Tottenham pretty much have to throw Souza into the fire again at left back. The entire structure collapses with Spence as a left back, and Tottenham have known that this was the problem, which is why they went out and signed a left back in the winter in the first place.

In an ideal world, Spurs would have sigend someone with more experience, and they actually did try to bring in Andrew Robertson from Liverpool to pair with Souza so that the Brazilian teenager could develop. But Spurs don't have that luxury anymore. They paid up for Souza because his potential was too special to pass up on, and now they have to make him learn on the job.

That's the thing, though, he is the best option they have with Udogie out. At least with Souza, Spurs can move the ball and have a fighting chance as a team. When Spence starts against any sort of competent Premier League team and coach, the opposition feasts on him and uses him as a weakness to completley deconstruct and already flimsy Spurs side.

Tottenham Hotspur spent a boat load of cash on center midfielder Conor Gallagher both in terms of his transfer fee to Atletico Madrid and his wages, but they still can't figure out the basics of his role in the team.

There is going to be a lot of tweaking in the final months of the 2025/26 Premier League season as new, interim manager Igor Tudor looks to pull off another one of his specialties and keep Spurs afloat in the English top flight.

Although Tottenham finished 17th in the league last season, they won the Europa League and were at no threat of relegation with how poor the three newly promoted sides were. That is not the case in the 2025/26 campaign, and after another 4-1 shellacking at the hands of their biggest rivals, Arsenal, Spurs are more worried than ever about the prospect of the dreaded drop.

Tottenham need a real role for Conor Gallgher

Compounding matters is that the only major signing Spurs made in the winter transfer window, Gallagher, has been downright poor. There have been brief glimpses of him showing signs of quality, namely against Manchester City when he assisted in a 2-2 draw with the title contenders, but, by and large, he's been awful and nowhere near the 200,000 pounds per week paid to him.

Gallagher was at his best at Chelsea as a No. 10, but rather than an actual creative playmaker, he was more of a bulldog 10 pressing defenders and causing havoc with his athleticism, scoring goals and assists on pure effort. And that role worked for him even better before that in the Premier League at a smaller club in Crystal Palace.

The thing is, Tottenham already have a much better No. 10 in terms of technique and even athleticism in Xavi Simons. And once James Maddison comes back, they will have two 10's better than him, too. Tottenham, then, signed Gallagher after the Rodrigo Bentancur injury to be a deep-lying midfielder, and with Lucas Bergvall now injured for weeks, Gallagher needs to be the box-to-box bulldog that he was when he was at his best in this league.

Tottenham still need to answer the question of what is the best way to unlock Gallagher's unique qualities. Spurs fans heard all day long from the pundits on their television about Gallagher's leadership skills and work rate, but that doesn't translate into success. Spurs need a plan to harness Gallagher's strengths and mitigate his weaknesses, otherwise he will be another failed transfer on the road to relegation.

Mohammed Kudus is currently out injured, but before he went down, he was a gift from above for Tottenham Hotspur. And while he is extremely quick, he isn't one of the fastest players in the Premier League this season. But his teammate, left back Destiny Udogie, is.

Like Kudus, Udogie has also been out injured, except in his case, injuries have been unfortunately quite common place for the young Italian international. Those injuries are the only reason why there are questions about Udogie long term, because, otherwise, Spurs fans could not dream of a better and more versatile left back to have than him.

The Premier League official web site recently posted a list of the 10 fastest recorded times in the league this season, and it looks like Udogie officially has the third-fastest recorded speed in the league this season and is thus the second-fastest player overall.

Destiny Udogie beats out Chelsea, Liverpool, and Man United stars

That's because the top two speeds were recorded by the same player. Wolves fullback Jackson Tchatchoua finished in first and second with speeds of 37.30 and 36.97 kilometers per hour, recorded against Everton and Crystal Palace, respectively, making him quite clearly the Premier League's fastest man.

Udogie impressively ranks second behind the super human Tchatchoua, speeding along at a blistering 36.42 kilometers per hour, which is a time that was recorded against Brighton on the 20th of September this season.

Some big names are right behind him on the list, too. Newcastle's Anthony Elanga, Manchester United superstar Bryan Mbeumo, Chelsea winger Pedro Neto, Newcastle star forward Anthony Gordon, and another speedy fullback in Liverpool star Jeremie Frimpong are all behind Udogie in order. And then noted speed demons Daniel James and Yankuba Minteh round out the top 10 list.

It feels like Udogie doesn't get much appreciation around world football cricles for his speed, athleticism, technical ability, versatility, intelligence, and even defending. And there are plenty of Tottenham fans who don't seem to rate the Italian properly either, as there are still some people who try to claim that Djed Spence is just as good or better, which sounds blasphemous.

Udogie ranking among the fastest players in the world is something that sneaks up on you, and seeing him rate so highly on this official list of clocked times only makes the hearts of Tottenham supporters miss him even more. He is truly one of the missing pieces in this starting XI.

There have been whispers about Tottenham Hotspur trying to upgrade on veteran goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, and now Juventus are eyeing the Italian international as a possible summer transfer this year.

Vicario is one of the best pure shot-stoppers in the Premier League, but his saving statistics often overrate him by hiding his biggest weaknesses. Pretty much, Vicario has been poor at everything else. His distribution is lacking, his positioning is one of the worst in the entire Premier League, he makes mistakes at the worst times, and his inability to claim crosses or secure the ball are highly frustrating.

Even Tottenham fans who appreciate Vicario's legendary cat-like reflexes and pure saving quality are becoming increasingly worried about the overall lack of security between the sticks, as Vic has probably costed Spurs more points than he's saved them this year because of the sheer disastrous nature of his inopportune errors.

Juventus want to sign Guglielmo Vicario

Serie A clubs have not lost love for the former Empoli man, who was a regular hero in Italian football by keeping the underdogs alive. Inter Milan have been the No. 1 suitors linked to Vic, as they badly need an upgrade on the declining Yann Sommer, who will almost certainly walk as a free agent this summer transfer window.

But now, according to a report from Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, Juventus are showing interest in signing Vicario as a replacement for Michele Di Gregorio, who was one of the best goalkeepers in Serie A these last few seasons but has suddenly been poor in the 2025/26 campaign.

The Bianconeri are also looking at Liverpool's elite shot-stopper Alisson Becker, as well as another up-and-coming name in the Italian ranks, Atalanta star Marco Carnessechi (an Arsenal target, too, funnily enough).

Alisson is entirely unrealistic, but Vicario should be pretty easy for Juventus to sign. As long as they submit a competitive offer and Tottenham can land a big fish like James Trafford to replace him, Vic should be expendable.

The key for Tottenham is that they have to find an upgrade both in terms of a goalkeeper being younger with more upside and being better immediatley. In Antonin Kinsky, Spurs do have a highly promising prospect, but he is not someone they feel is ready to start in goal at the top Premier League level (not that Spurs are a top Premier League club right now, of course). So in replacing Vicario, Spurs would need a real star like Trafford.

Tottenham Hotspur supporters are increasingly worried that their poor results could lead to key players wanting out this summer transfer window, but Fabrizio Romano doesn't think Micky van de Ven is going to be one of the casualties.

Although Cristian Romero's situation with the club is more tenuous and he already did flirt with leaving Spurs last season after the dismissal of Ange Postecoglou, Tottenham fans are actually more worried about the future of Van de Ven, who is younger and highly coveted by the biggest clubs in the world: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool, and more are all after the Dutchman.

The latest team to be linked closely to Van de Ven is none other than Manchester United, who have been resurgent under Michael Carrick, making Tottenham's ineptitude this season now stand out evne more.

Manchester United aren't pushing for Micky van de Ven yet

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Romano told fans that he doesn't see Tottenham being willing to sell either Romero or Van de Ven this summer. And when it comes to Manchester United, in particular, Fab offered some more reassuring news for the worried Spurs faithful.

Per Fab, while Man United do obviously appreciate the quality of the 24-year-old Tottenham center back, the Red Devils do not have serious interest in the player at this time. Their focus is on signing midfield talent this summer and investing as much as possible there, with a new defender potentially depending on the future of Harry Maguire amidst ongoing negotiations to lower his wages on a new contract.

Now, that doesn't necessarily mean Tottenham shouldn't be worried about Man United trying to swoop for Van de Ven in the future, nor does it rule out more dangerous transfer suitors for the young superstar, like Real Madrid.

However, Fab's report is a reminder that Tottenham are not actively shopping Van de Ven around and that other big clubs in European football know that they will have to open up their check books in order to pry the prized center back away from the N17 this summer transfer window.

Tottenham fans are worried about the present with the threat of relegation looming, and they are increasingly worried about how Romero and Van de Ven feel about this club's serious lack of ambition with their body languages visibly showing frustration. But it is best to leave the worries about the future to the future itself; there is enough for Spurs supporters to be wary of now.