Hotspur HQ

Thomas Frank is fighting for his life as Tottenham Hotspur manager. The Danish coach will remain in charge ahead of Wednesday night's Champions League clash with Eintracht Frankfurt, but pressure is mounting.

Victory at Deutsche Bank Park will secure Spurs' place in the round of 16, but their Premier League form is alarming. On Saturday, the Lilywhites required a stoppage-time equaliser from Cristian Romero to salvage a share of the spoils against Burnley at Turf Moor. That means they've won just two of their last 14 outings, currently without a win in five.

Well, with Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle and then Arsenal their February opponents, the eight-point gap between Tottenham and the bottom three is looking precariously narrow. One consistent performer in this otherwise inconsistent team is Micky van de Ven. The Dutchman broke the deadlock in Lancashire at the weekend, edging close to an all-time club record.

The Spurs record Micky van de Ven is seeking to break

So, how many more does he need to become the highest-scoring Tottenham defender in a single season?

Tottenham defenders to score 6+ goals in a single season (1980-present)

Since 1980, only four Tottenham defenders have managed to score eight or more goals in a single campaign. Sol Campbell, who isn't very popular at White Hart Lane these days, is the most-recent man to do so in 1998/99.

Graham Roberts actually did so twice, mustering ten goals in 1983/84, but the record is held by club legend Gary Mabbutt, netting 11 times in '82/83. The centre-back won both the UEFA Cup and FA Cup during 18 years at Spurs, appearing for the club 611 times, second only to Steve Perryman (866) on the club's all-time list.

Well, van de Ven (81 appearances) is along way of Mabbutt in that regard, but could break his single-season goalscoring record for a defender. Having netted seven times already, who is to say he cannot bag five more before the campaign comes to an end. In fact, Saturday's other scorer Romero has now netted six times in this campaign, meaning both centre-backs could be targeting this accolade.

Every single Tottenham Hotspur supporter knows that Hamburg center back Luka Vuskovic is a special talent, and although he will be back at Hamburg for another season in 2026/27 to wisely continue this upward trajectory, Spurs fans are already dreaming about him joining a center back group that is already among the world's elite with Micky van de Ven, captain Cristian Romero, and big Kevin Danso.

Vuskovic has been a revelation this season, not just as a Spurs loanee but as one of the best players in the Bundesliga overall. He has been the No. 1 center back in the league this campaign, which is just insane considering he is both a teenager and in his first season as a starter at the professional level. He is a shoe in for the Bundesliga Team of the Season and a legitimate dark horse candidate for the Bundesliga Player of the Season with how he has stabilized the newly promoted Hamburg.

With his ability to control the passing game, score bangers, dominant the aerial game, carry the ball progressively, mark athletic strikers out of the game, and read the pitch for interceptions, Vuskovic has surprisingly few weaknesses for a young player.

Tottenham fans need to watch the Bundesliga more

But the other crazy thing is, he isn't even the only Bundesliga center back on the books at Tottenham who is on the verge of a breakout season. Spurs signed the young Kota Takai this summer in a quiet bargain move from the Japanese top flight, and after recovering from an injury, Spurs loaned Takai to another historic Bundesliga club in Borussia Monchengladbach this winter.

After getting his feet wet with a few substitute appearances, Takai earned his first start for the Foals this past weekend. And even though Gladbach got trounced 3-0 by a much more talented VfB Stuttgart side, Takai distinguished himself as a huge bright spot and a potential breakout star as the best player on the pitch in an otherwise dismal day.

To stand out the way Takai did when the defense around you is getting annihilated that badly is incredible, and every Tottenham fan needs to take notice of what the 21 year old center back did over the weekend.

Takai had one tackle, three interceptions, seven clearances, and a block without being dribbled past once on defense. Then as a passer, he somehow had two key passes as a central defender with an insane pass completion of 90.5 on 74 attempts, including five long balls.

If Takai can build on this debut when everything around him was tragically poor, imagine how great he can be. Tottenham may have two more amazing center backs on their hands, and they already have three top players in their first team squad an the pearl of them all, Vuskovic.

Because Guglielmo Vicario has a strong save percentage and makes highlight reel saves with his cat like reflexes, there were many Tottenham Hotspur fans who were defending the Italian international as an asset to the team earlier this season.

Now, it is true that Vicario was somewhat unfairly scapegoated in certain results early in the campaign, and it is also true that he is a great pure saver who can prevent goals better than most Premier League goalkeepers can.

The problem, though, has become evident as the season has gone on. Vicario cannot be trusted. Despite the nice saves he makes, Vicario arguably commits even more errors that prove costly to Tottenham, resulting directly in dropped points in the Premier League table, leading Spurs to have to think more about the threat of relegation than the possibility of salvaging European football.

Tottenham are watching Antonin Kinsky rot

As Tottenham Hotspur supporters watch the arguably even more gifted Antonin Kinsky rot on the bench with rumors of a transfer to West Ham on the table, they are becoming increasingly restless, and the transfer speculation of Inter Milan's interest in replacing a washed up Yann Sommer with Vicario, formerly of Empoli in Serie A, have given Spurs fans an opening to hope that the club will try to upgrade from Vic this summer.

According to journalist Paul O Keefe in an appearance on the new The Whistle Blows podcast, Tottenham are indeed looking to make an upgrade at the goalkeeper position from Guglielmo Vicario this summer transfer window. Per O Keefe, the reasoning is that Spurs are just as alarmed as the fans are about how poorly Vicario has been performing in goal over the past six months.

A few Tottenham reporters have discussed the possibility of Vicario leaving this summer and the fact that Tottenham are considering a move to a new keeper. James Trafford is the only big name concretely linked to Spurs, as Mike Maignan has now taken himself off the table officially by re-signing with AC Milan. Trafford's situation is complicated, but with Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal, it may be difficult for Manchester City to convince him to stay if he knows he could start for Tottenham right out the gate.

Tottenham Hotspur supporters were very excited about the links to Antoine Semenyo at one point before the January transfer window even opened up, as Spurs were apparently showing real ambition and going hard after arguably the best winger in the Premier League for the 2025/26 season. They were even listed as among the favorites alongside the a few of the other Big Six clubs.

However, that optimism did not last long at all, because just a week or two later before the January transfer market even opened, Semenyo had already rejected Spurs and made it clear that he wanted Manchester City, where he has since officially ended up.

Spurs fans then turned their focus to Omar Marmoush and Savinho, and, once again, neither star winger from Man City will be coming to the N17. The Tottenham transfer options on the wing are now barren, even as Spurs have become even thinner on the flanks after selling right winger Brennan Johnson and watching their best forward, Mohammed Kudus, suffer a multi month injury.

Tottenham have very few winger options left

Another Manchester City winger in Oscar Bobb and Monaco standout Maghnes Akliouche are the only achievable winger transfer targets concretely linked to Tottenham Hotspur, but one of them looks close to exiting the list of possibilities himself, too.

According to the latest report from transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, negotiations between Fulham and Manchester CIty for Bobb have now reached the "final stages" after the Cottagers submitted their "initial bid". The fee Man City want for Bobb is 35 million pounds, and if the deal were to go through, it would be a permanent transfer and not a loan.

Fulham have been very proactive lately about signing young wingers with potential. Bobb is probably closer to their level than Tottenham's, so Spurs fans won't be particularly upset with the idea of missing out on Bobb and watching him go to their local rivals, who, by the way, embarrassed them in their last head to head meeting.

The amount of gaffes Tottenham Hotspur have made this season is truly abysmal, and while their biggest, by far, has been sticking with Thomas Frank in the manager's chair despite months and months of futility with no signs of turning it around, Frank is far from the only mishap worth scolding Spurs over.

Tottenham have been holding back a lot of young players from shining, all the while the board has been going after some pretty underwhelming transfer targets while gaping holes that have festered in the squad for years remain unfilled.

All the while, Tottenham are about to risk selling off another talented young player this winter. As rumors spread around Mathys Tel's future at the club as Frank continues to disrespect his biggest attacking gem, Spurs are already prepared to jettison the talented backup goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky to a big rival club.

Tottenham are making a real mistake

Instead of giving Kinsky more minutes while Guglielmo Vicario flails around and costs the club points while blaming the players around him, Tottenham Hotspur are prepared to let Kinsky go to West Ham United, as has been feared for weeks.

According to a report from top transfer journalist Matteo Moretto, West Ham are close to securing the loan transfer of Antonin Kinsky from Tottenham. That alone is not the issue, since Kinsky could use minutes if Spurs are not going to play him. But the real issue is that Spurs are apparently going to add an option to buy clause in the deal.

That is insane. Tottenham just lost to West Ham and are honestly at risk of being relegated instead of the Hammers at this rate, especially if Frank continues. By giving them Kinsky, not only are Spurs making West Ham stronger this season since the young Czech international is already better than the rubbish the Hammers have in goal this season, but they could also make their London rivals a lot better for the long term.

Kinsky is a real talent in goal who can be better than Vicario in the future. And worse yet, by loaning out Kinsky now, Spurs will lose their only backup for Vicario, because whoever they add to replace Kinsky probably isn't going to be good, especially not in the winter.

The move is not official yet, but there is more than enough smoke here for Tottenham fans to be very worried that their beloved club is about to make yet another massive transfer misstep. Kinsky could be gone forever and haunt Tottenham badly in the future at West Ham.

Tottenham Hotspur have had a rough go this season with injuries, and the striker position has been one of the areas on the roster hit the hardest. Dominic Solanke missed several months with a foot injury that required surgery and a low recovery, Randal Kolo Muani began the campaign with a dead leg issue after arriving from Paris, and now Richarlison is unsurprisingly back on the injured list for several weeks with a soft tissue injury.

For the most part, Spurs have gotten very little production out of the No. 9 position. Mathys Tel, on the rare occasion he gets to start at striker, was promising. Richarlison had some goals, but the all around quality was severely lacking. And Kolo Muani had a big performance against PSG in the Champions League, beginning his first games at Tottenham promisingly before utterly falling off a cliff.

Now, Tottenham fans want nothing to do with Kolo Muani going forward. Solanke finally made his return to the starting lineup recently, and after scoring against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League while providing much better all around play than the other strikers in the squad, Spurs unequivocally have their best option in the form of their 65 million pound record 2024 summer signing.

Randal Kolo Muani is now a disgrace

Meanwhile, Kolo Muani has effectively disgraced himself to the entire Tottenham Hotspur fan base with a series of lethargic, self centered displays in games that mattered, including an embarrassing cameo appearance against Dortmund despite how well his teammates played.

Kolo Muani is not going to be staying with Tottenham after his loan deal from PSG expires at the end of the season, and, now, it is not taken for granted that he will even end the January transfer window as a Spurs player.

According to a fresh report from Fabrizio Romano, Juventus have actually called up to ask about Randal Kolo Muani's availability in these last 24 to 48 hours. Juve, after all, had Kolo Muani in the 2024/25 season and liked him so much that they tried signing him again on loan this summer. But their negotiations with PSG went so poorly that the Parisians became upset with Juve and instead loaned him to Fabio Paratici and Tottenham on transfer deadline day.

Well, Juve are back in for him, but PSG reportedly do not want to send him back to the Bianconeri because of the existing bad blood between them from the summer negotiations. Meanwhile, Tottenham are reluctant to go down another striker with Richarlison still injured and Solanke only just coming off a big injury of his own.

Tottenham now have a tough question to ask themselves. Is it better to save money on Kolo Muani's wages and even get a bit of extra compensation if they can finagle it from the Old Lady? Or is it better to have the depth, even if Kolo Muani is not necessarily quality depth as he looks mentally checked out of Tottenham? Spurs can't really get much worse than this, so losing Kolo Muani isn't that big of a deal and could make a positive statement that miscreants are not tolerated. But at the same time, RKM is an experienced player, and Spurs do not have a whole lot of quality at baseline in the attack.

Tottenham Hotspur were in fierce negotiations with Liverpool to sign left back Andrew Robertson, and just when it looked like a deal would be able to go through for a few million pounds, it all ended up collapsing all of a sudden over the weekend.

The rationale given was that in order for Liverpool to feel comfortable selling Robertson to Tottenham and losing a left back - their only cover for the young Milos Kerkez - they would need to get their previous backup to Robertson, Kostas Tsimikas, back from his loan to AS Roma.

But Roma, of course, do not want to give up Tsimikas back to Liverpool so easily, since he is, likewise, important to their depth as Gian Piero Gasperini chases his dreams of getting the Giallorossi back to the hallowed grounds of the Champions League.

Tottenham need Roma to make this move

Tottenham Hotspur may have just gotten a concrete lifeline to reopening the Andrew Robertson transfer, which is not dead yet. According to a report from Fabrizio Romano, an option has just opened up for Roma to acquire a legitimate left back to replace Kostas Tsimikas, who could then, as a result, be freed up to a move back to Liverpool, thus enabling Robertson to move to Spurs.

Per Fab, Roma are going after Wolves left back David Moller Wolfe and have submitted a "first proposal" to the Premier League club as they continue negotiations. Wolfe to Roma looks like it has real legs to it, and because it could lead to so many moving pieces at powerful Premier League clubs, there's a good chance someone makes an extra push to making this happen for a permanent deal.

So Robertson to Tottenham still actually looks more likely than not to happen, because all that needs to be done is for Roma to either let Tsimikas go despite not getting a left back and make do or to sign someone like Wolfe or even another player to replace him.

Spurs, though, have to realize that regardless of whether or not they sign Robertson, they are still in a crisis mode and have to get rid of Thomas Frank, who has badly underperformed as manager. Robertson can help Souza go on loan and make Djed Spence more of a right back (or even left winger again), but as with Conor Gallagher, Spurs need to keep in the back of their minds that there is a reason why Robertson's current club no longer needs him.

Tottenham Hotspur have a few more pressing issues than the goalkeeper position, and their first priority needs to be sorting out the issues in the front office and manager because the employment of both Johan Lange and Thomas Frank has become untenable at this point.

But if Spurs are trying to build a better side in 2026/27 that is closer to the top four than the literal relegation battle, then they need to be ruthless and cut out all the areas of weakness that are costing them major points in the table.

Although Guglielmo Vicario is an excellent pure shot stopper with his reflexes, he is the classic sort of goalkeeper who works better on a small, relegation side in Italy like Empoly than a big club like Tottenham Hotspur.

Tottenham need a better GK

Vicario is literally lacking in everything else besides pure saving ability. His positioning, handling, skills on the ball, and leadership are all woefully lacking compared to an average Premier League goalkeeper. Spurs have literally lost games because of inexcusable mistakes from Vicario, who often flaps aimlessly in the air or makes terrible passes that screw over his teammates - and then he has the gall to yell and flap his arms again, this time directed his bird like motions at them in anger.

Tottenham fans have been quietly hoping for more minutes for young backup Antonin Kinsky, but, instead, Tottenham, in classic Tottenham fashion, seem to be close to sending the young Kinsky to rivals West Ham United on loan than actually giving him a few starts to see what he's got.

Then, they have also been hoping for dream replacement options. With just months left on his contract, AC Milan star Mike Maignan, who had been linked to Spurs rivals Chelsea in the summer transfer window, was the highest on the list of targets.

But Spurs have shown no real urgency or interest in making this obvious, inexpensive upgrade. All the while, AC Milan have been making inroads on extending Maignan and avoiding potentially losing him for free in the summer - or for very little this winter.

Now, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano reports that the Serie A giants have reached a "verbal agreement" with the world class French goalkeeper on a new contract that will keep him at the venerable San Siro through the 2030/31 Calcio season. Although "formal steps" still need to be done before a deal is official, the new contract is already "in place".

So that is the best possible Vicario replacement off the board for Tottenham. Vicario is being himself linked to Milan's rivals Inter Milan as a Yann Sommer replacement. Thus, Spurs do have a way out of the former Empoli man, but they just won't be able to replace him with the superior Magic Mike.

Tottenham Hotspur suffered through yet another poor performance under the guidance of manager Thomas Frank this past Saturday, as Spurs barely got a draw out of a game against Burnley, one of the least talented squads in the Premier League.

And once again, Frank's lineup selection and overall tactical plan were left begging, as Spurs supporters then had to listen to their horrendous manager try to explain that, no, Spurs actually played well by drawing Burnley.

So many players have to be just as sick to their stomachs as the collective fan base, who jeered Frank with boos after the game, and no player has more of a right to be utterly disgusted by Frank as his coach than Mathys Tel.

Tottenham cannot sell Mathys Tel

The former Bayern Munich forward has already made it crystal clear to Tottenham Hotspur that he wants out this winter for a loan move, at least as long as Thomas Frank is still coaching this team into the gutter and inexplicably leaving him on the bench.

Thankfully for the fans, Tottenham are not risking losing Tel and have no interest in letting him go right now, but that honestly risks making the situation even worse, especially since the club have been - here is the word of the day - too cowardly to fire Frank. Thus, Tel is stuck rotting away on the bench, and fans cannot blame him - and he has been fully COYS from day one, by the way - for feeling the way he feels right now.

Before the Tottenham vs. Burnley game even started, Frank addressed the Mathys Tel situation with this gem of a quote at the press conference, via Fabrizio Romano, “No more moves out are planned. The players we have in our squad we need to keep, to have enough players to play with and perform with”.

The reason why it's such a precious quote - sarcasm, obviously - is not because Tottenham fans are relieved Frank at least isn't crazy enough to want Tel out. No, it's the absurdity of Frank, on the one hand, saying he wants to keep Tel and that he is needed at the club and then undermining him at literally every turn.

Because here is the kicker. The very next day when Tottenham battled Burnley in a game that, for all intents and purposes, still has Frank's job on the line, the manager left Tel out of the starting lineup and on the bench. And Spurs were, once again, terrible, including attacking wise in the 2-2 draw, as the only goals were scored by the two center backs again.

Frank is talking a big game about Tel, but when it comes time to actually play him, he screws it all up and thus screws over Tottenham because everyone knows Tel should be starting.

For months, Tottenham Hotspur were actively trying to sell Yves Bissouma, and there was optimism that they would be able to sell him off in the summer transfer window. Bissouma had suitors in the Turkish Super Lig and Saudi Pro League, and there were also rumblings of sparse interest around Europe. Due to injury, he could not be sold, and with a year left on his contract, Spurs were worried about not being able to find anyone to buy him at all this winter.

But since coming back from injury, Bissouma has been playing pretty regularly for Tottenham now. It is to a point where there are no conversations about selling Bissouma at all, especially after injuries to Rodrigo Bentancur and now Lucas Bergvall in midfield - both men will be out for months. And the signing of Conor Gallagher is not enough cover for both of them; Tottenham still need a deep lying midfielder to help out, too.

So the narrative with Bissouma has almost completely shifted from a player Tottenham seemed desperate to get rid of, especially after a laughing gas incident earlier this season, to now someone who has become maybe too important to the team.

Thomas Frank did not even hide it

Ahead of Tottenham Hotspur's Premier League showdown on Saturday against Burnley, Spurs manager Thomas Frank heaped lavish praise across the brow of his veteran midfielder. He said, via Football.London's Alasdair Gold, "Bissouma has a great top ceiling. I think his qualities we can all see, on the ball, really wanting the ball, constantly seeking it, looking forward, driving forward. Very good technical abilities. Physical stature. He's a strong player,"

And lo and behold, Tottenham went ahead and started Yves Bissouma against Burnley. Now, Bissouma did not play the full 90 minutes, but it was still wild seeing the Malian international now lining up as a preferred starter for Spurs. Frank discarded Archie Gray for Bissouma. Granted, Pape Matar Sarr and Joao Palhinha were not available still, but it was jarring to see Bissouma as the manager's choice.

What's crazier is that Bissouma actually played reasonably well. He won a combined seven tackles and interceptions to lead the way as a ball winner defensively, and he even completed nearly 94 percent of his passes.

But at the end of the day, Tottenham did not win this game against one of the worst teams in the Premier League, because they themselves are one of the worst teams in the league. And a player everyone wanted gone universally just a month ago is now a starter. Tottenham are headed down a dangerous path with Bissouma, because if this is going to be the standard they want to meet, they might as well pack it in. Bissouma being this important is a big part of the problem, and Frank and the club are on the verge of overvaluing him for real.