Hotspur HQ

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has, overall, enjoyed a relatively successful start to life in North London, though he has found it more difficult to score goals and imprint an attacking identity on Spurs than he did at Brentford despite Spurs being a bigger club.

And the harsh reality is that Frank doesn't have the goal scoring quality he did at Brentford. He has gone from Kevin Schade, Mikel Damsgaard, Ivan Toney, Bryan Mbeumo, and Yoane Wissa in attack to Randal Kolo Muani, Richarlison, Mohammed Kudus, an adjusting Xavi Simons, and the young duo of Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel.

Since Tel and Odobert are still growing - but promising, of course - Kudus is the only player who has shown a high degree of competency under Frank. Tottenham didn't sign a left winger to replace Son, and the manager's best strikers, Kolo Muani and Dominic Solanke, have been riddled with injuries, forcing Frank to continue to roll with the woeful Richarlison.

So after being unable to keep Brentford stars Wissa and Mbuemo last summer - both joined other top Premier League clubs in Newcastle and Manchester United, respectively - there's been increasing speculation that Frank could try to reunite with another former Brentford star forward in 2026.

Thomas Frank still loves his Brentford crew

Aside from current youngster Schade, there's been increasing transfer rumors swirling around Ivan Toney coming back from Saudi Arabia to join Tottenham Hotspur or even some other big Premier League club.

Unfortunately for Frank, it looks like that proposition is entirely unrealistic, especially for Tottenham. TalkSPORT's Alex Crook reports that Toney is unlikely to return to any Premier League club, much less Spurs. The issue is that while Frank and Spurs would love to have Toney, as would Everton, he would have to lose a lot in taxes and take a financial hit if he were to leave Saudi Arabia just one year after moving to the country.

Furthermore, Crook reports that Toney is unlikely to play for Thomas Tuchel at the 2026 World Cup regardless of whether or not he joins the Premier League this winter. So that advantage would be moot, meaning Toney would be taking a financial hit for nothing.

Now, Toney could potentially move back to England in 2026, but, by then, you'd think that Tottenham would have better options to look at than a 30-year-old at striker who may or may not be better than Kolo Muani or Solanke anyway.

Son Heung-min is the definition of a Tottenham Hotspur legend, and after the role he played in the club winning the Europa League title last season, he may very well go down in history as the greatest legend in the history of this prestigious club.

Spurs waved goodbye to Sonny in the summer 2025 transfer window, as the South Korean icon chose to ride off into the sunset with his head held high as a European champion and Spurs leading goal contributor in the Premier League in his final season.

He's unsurprisingly crushing it in MLS for LAFC alongside another former Spurs legend in goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, and with Tottenham still having a gaping void on the left wing after making no direct signing to replace him, there have been several Spurs supporters pining for a reunion with Son in the winter transfer window.

Aside from that being unfeasible in terms of the footballing calendar, any Spurs fan wishing for a dream reunion with Son has now been dealt a definitive blow against that idea by the superstar forward himself.

Son Heung-min is a man of honor

Speaking to South Korean outlet TV Chosun, Son Heung-min stated that he has no intention of leaving LAFC for any other club on loan and that the suggestion of him doing so would be tantamount to disrespecting his current employers:

“I’ve never spoken to any club about a winter move. Such talk is simply untrue. For me, showing respect to my club and giving everything where I play — that’s what matters most. That won’t change. I won’t leave LAFC this winter, or ever, while I’m here. I respect this club deeply. As long as I’m wearing this badge, there will be no such thing as a loan or a move. Never."

Although Spurs fans will be disappointed by Son shutting down the idea of a reunion with Tottenham, he's not actually talking just about the Lilywhites either. Son has been more concretely linked in the papers with a loan move to AC Milan, so this is him also shutting down the idea of playing with another former Tottenham icon in Luka Modric over in Italy.

Even though Son is turning down Spurs with this quote, he's also showing that same undying loyalty and honor and respect for his club that he showed to Tottenham for more than a decade. And as much as this is a killer blow against any reunion, ultimately, Spurs fans wouldn't have it any other way than Son being his respectful self.

Tottenham Hotspur brought in a few high profile players in the summer 2025 transfer window, but, so far, only Mohammed Kudus has made a big imprint on the attack. Xavi Simons has struggled in the Thomas Frank system without the right players to play off of and questionable attacking tactics, while Randal Kolo Muani hasn't really been healthy enough to make a real impact at striker.

Spurs have started to get more out of young forwards Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel, but the absence of Son Heung-min has loomed larged without any new left winger in the summer 2025 window to take his place.

Tottenham were linked with Savinho and Rodrygo Goes, but neither Brazilian international proved to be feasible, as these young star left wingers were not ready to move on from their clubs - and their clubs obviously didn't want them gone just yet.

Well, the Rodrygo transfer rumors have popped back up again, as the young star is disgruntled with his continued lack of minutes under Xabi Alonso - not that he's been playing particularly well when given opportunities either.

It's the same old story for Tottenham

According to a report from Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sports News, the latest transfer rumors linking Rodrygo with a move to Tottenham are, once again, wide of the mark. Although it is possible for Rodrygo to leave Real Madrid for a new club in January, that new club is unlikely to be Tottenham, as they are not willing to meet his wage demands.

Basically, it's same old, same old for Tottenham fans, and as much as the club have been selling this narrative that Spurs will spend more without Daniel Levy, nobody is really buying it. And reports like this one from transfer insiders only support the skepticism from Spurs supporters that the club will start spending more to sign superstar players and meet their wage demands.

Meanwhile, Arsenal have been glued in on Rodrygo, and after their big summer of spending on superstar players like Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi, and Viktor Gyokeres, it's easy to see that there's a gulf in ambition between Tottenham and Arsenal.

Rodrygo isn't coming to Spurs, and any Tottenham fan dreaming of him playing on the left wing across from Kudus needs to get that thought out of their head pronto. It's not happening. And you really have to begin to question if Spurs will even sign a star player on the left wing at all.

"I wanted to be the one to put him on in a Premier League match. Because I know that he will be somebody in a few years," said José Mourinho, beaming with pride and ego in the wake of Dane Scarlett's then-record-breaking league debut in February 2021.

Garnering the endorsement of one of the all-time great managers convinced some that Spurs already had their Harry Kane succession plan in place. Post-Mourinho, the praise for Scarlett refused to slow down.

Nuno Espírito Santo: “We have big, big expectations regarding Dane."

Antonio Conte: "I think that Dane Is working very hard and he is a really good prospect from the academy. For sure in this moment he is the best prospect from the academy."

Ange Postecoglou: "As an aside, I've got to say the assist is the most useless statistic in world football. Seriously, it could come off your backside, fall to somebody on the halfway line he scores, and it's an assist. So it doesn't impress me, but Dane's assist at the weekend was a good one."

Despite Ange disguising his compliment as an anti-statistics tirade, I think you've got the picture. Previous managers have had sky-high expectations for the young striker, yet Mourinho's projection for Scarlett to be one of the stars of the England national team alongside Jude Bellingham hasn't quite come to pass. Now 21, the striker has appeared 23 times for Spurs and scored just once.

He was right about Jude, at least.

Scarlett's loans—to Portsmouth, Ipswich Town and Oxford United—didn't pan out, but the club is yet to give up on the striker almost five years on from his Premier League debut.

Thomas Frank has also engaged in the obligatory Scarlett praise, and there may be no better time for a Spurs boss to trust an academy striker since Tim Sherwood turned to Harry Kane at the end of a car-crash 2013/14 campaign.

Is it time for Thomas Frank to trust Dane Scarlett?

“I think he is a great player, a fantastic finisher, left and right foot. He needs to play minutes and games, and right now, the competition is tough here," Frank commented after Scarlett turned a few heads with his impactful cameo against Copenhagen in the Champions League last week.

There was a steely determination on the face of Scarlett that night, evidently focused on making an impression. A 4-0 lead allowed him to spread his wings amid a party-like atmosphere in N17, and some of us started to learn why José was so bullish on this kid during his teenage years.

He should've been given the opportunity to score his second goal for the club after outmuscling and outwitting Copenhagen right-back Junnosuke Suzuki to win a penalty, but Richarlison asserted rank and crashed his effort against the crossbar.

Still, Scarlett had done enough to garner a social media buzz. Amid Frank's worsening injury woes, there have been calls for the academy graduate to finally get a proper chance at his boyhood club.

With Randal Kolo Muani joining Dominic Solanke on the sidelines, Richarlison and Mathys Tel are Spurs' two sole senior striker options for the club's gauntlet run after the international break.

So, there may well be an uptick in minutes for the youngster, but it'd be unrealistic to project Scarlett as our saviour while Solanke and Kolo Muani are absent. There's an emotional pull at play, given that the 21-year-old is "one of our own", but it's Tel who should be enjoying a greater share of the minutes up top after the break.

If Mourinho is in Scarlett's corner, I'm firmly in the Frenchman's camp. His swivel and finish at the weekend reminded me of Harry Kane's goal at Anfield in 2016. Tel could be our sharpshooting crown jewel, but I'm certainly not against Scarlett, who's overcome his fitness issues, playing a bigger role.

Premier League Teams of the season are of course always open to debate but this Team of the Season So Far from WhoScored might not spring too much of surprise that 9 of the players come from just 3 teams:

GK Robin Roefs (Sunderland); RB Jurrien Timber (Arsenal); CB Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal); CB Nordi Mukiele (Sunderland); LB Nico O’Reilly (Man City); RW Mohammed Kudus (Tottenham); CM Granit Xhaka (Sunderland); CM Declan Rice (Arsenal); LW Jérémy Doku (Man City); CF João Pedro (Chelsea); CF Erling Haaland (Man City)

While it is tough to admit, Arsenal have made an impressive start, particularly defensively. The three Man City players have also been very consistent as they have moved into second. Sunderland have been the welcome surprise so far and it is good to see that recognized.

I would agree Roefs has been the best keeper in the league and Granit Xhaka has been a critical signing for them to help start so well. As good as Pedro has been for Chelsea, I could also argue a fourth Sunderland player, Wilson Isidor, could have featured alongside Haaland in attack.

Did anyone else belong from Tottenham?

Mohammed Kudus is Tottenham’s only player to make the team, and he is deservedly in there. Up until the last two games, I would have put Micky van de Ven in there, too, and I’m sure he will be in the Premier League final team of the season.

Kudus, though, has been great since he moved from West Ham. It was a transfer that was concluded more quickly than most of Tottenham’s signings and a very welcome one. Even though we are among the top scorers in the league, it feels like a stat that is a little misleading. Our attack has struggled, not just with goals but with keeping pressure on and with breaking quickly when the midfield or defenders have won the ball. Kudus has been the exception to that.

He has shown an excellent first touch to bring the ball under control and often it sticks to him so well when dribbling. A couple of times this season, he has brought down long balls almost reminiscent of Dimitar Berbatov’s amazing control during his (too short) spell at Spurs. He also shows a willingness to attack defenders, dribbling directly at that them with great effect. Due to Frank’s tactical decisions, substitutions, or recent injury, we haven’t seen Kudus and Xavi Simons together enough yet, but Simons will benefit from having another creative player on the wing.

Tottenham have a history of wingers who can take people on, and while Kudus brings much more than that, also being effective centrally for example, there is much to be impressed with the way he has started for us. Like the rest of the team, there is more to come from Kudus but, on both the Premier League and Champions League stage, Spurs fans should look forward to seeing his development under Thomas Frank.

Only the most ardent of Tottenham supporters have been keeping a close eye on Luka Vušković's progress at Hamburg since the young defender completed a loan move to the newly promoted Bundesliga club in the summer.

For the majority of us, the Croat's German adventure has played out through the medium of social media. Despite his position, Vušković has a knack for virality, and the teenager has been at it again during the November international break.

Filth.

While that rondo moment would be the highlight of many players' breaks, for Vušković, a significant milestone for the national team beckons.

Croatia manager confirms first international start for Spurs' Vušković

The 18-year-old became the third-youngest player to represent Croatia in June, with Zlatko Dalić's side now on the cusp of confirming their spot at next summer's World Cup.

They require just a point to do so, and Dalić is ready to entrust the daring Tottenham loanee with his first start for the national team on Friday against the Faroe Islands. Remarkably, Croatia's upcoming opponents, an archipelago boasting a population of just 55,000, still have a shot of qualifying for the tournament themselves.

At the start of break, Dalić confirmed that a switch to a back three will facilitate Vušković's inclusion in his starting XI.

"Our plan is for Luka Vušković to start the match against the Faroe Islands. We have very good players in the back line, top quality," the Croatia boss said (via The Croatian on X). "We’ve done a great job regarding the World Cup preparations. We’ll try a system with three centre-backs."

I cannot say I have tuned into a full 90 minutes of Hamburg this season, but I'm fully aware of the talent Spurs have on their hands. Given what I've seen and heard of Vušković's Bundesliga venture, the teenager is fully deserving of Dalić's trust.

His excellent start to the season continued with a superb showing in Hamburg's 1-1 draw with Borussia Dortmund at the weekend, where his nose for danger once again came to the fore. The kid ranks in the 99th percentile when compared to centre-backs from Europe's top-five leagues with 2.38 blocks per 90 minutes, 9.75 clearances per 90 and 6.13 aerial duels won per 90.

There's no denying that Spurs have a potential superstar in their ranks, but the teenager himself has admitted he "doesn't know when he'll be back." With Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven unlikely to move on in 2026, it wouldn't be a surprise if Vušković is out on loan again in 2026/27.

What's the rush?

Thomas Frank's Tottenham are in a pretty good place at the November international break, but the Dane knows that there is plenty of room for improvement.

There have been injury issues and tactical concerns, but the most pressing problem is arguably the club's dire home form. Frank is merely the latest Spurs boss to struggle in front of the Lilywhite faithful, with our swanky new home yet to garner fortress status.

The managers who surfaced post-Mauricio Pochettino have each laid out their intentions of building a team that can dominate on home soil, but all, well, apart from Antonio Conte for the first few months of his reign, have come up short.

Our current woes pale in comparison to the end of our stint with the glorious White Hart Lane. In 2016/17, the finest Tottenham side I've ever seen (I'm 24) went through the entire Premier League campaign unbeaten at home.

Our humble and intimate ground facilitated a strong connection between players and supporters, especially when Poch's side veered into flow state. The victories over both Manchester clubs, as well as Chelsea and Arsenal that season, were special occasions. The Lane often rocked and roared, with the atmosphere undoubtedly boosted by the ground's mortality. The idea was for that feeling of imperious unity to be replicated on a grander scale at its state-of-the-art successor.

And while the potential of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium has been teased, it has not yet been fulfilled.

Tottenham are one of the Premier League's worst teams at home

The dire 1-0 defeat to Chelsea two weeks ago was our 41st Premier League defeat at the new stadium since its opening in 2019. That's just five fewer than how many Arsenal have succumbed to at the Emirates, which opened in 2006.

We've also won just three of our previous 20 home league games, and currently sit 19th in the Premier League's home table with a meagre five points from six outings. In stark contrast, Frank's side have amassed the most points on the road in the division, having triumphed at Man City, West Ham, Leeds United and Everton.

Frank's current framework is better suited to playing away from home, when we can afford to be less efficient with the ball and lean more on intangibles such as 'grit', 'desire', and 'resilience'. In N17, there's a greater onus on the players to entertain a crowd that, without trying to alienate every single one of you reading this, is becoming increasingly entitled. The ticket prices are absurd, I know, but when has booing ever helped a group of players?

The necessary "cohesion" Frank has noted between players and fans, which was so distinct at the Lane in 2016/17, has seldom manifested at the new place. Perhaps there needs to be an acceptance of the team in its current state. There is a playing style which seemingly must be adhered to, although supporters were quick to turn on the ultimate idealist in Ange Postecoglou when the "entertaining" football facilitated a spate of injuries and a dire downturn in form.

A little bit of patience from those in attendance wouldn't go amiss at times, but English supporters are fairly unique in that they're almost solely reliant on action to generate atmosphere. We're not like the relentlessly chanting Europeans. Instead, we celebrate corners like goals and groan when a throw-in decision doesn't go our way.

We're a reactive bunch that craves incident. Frank's football so far hasn't yet supplied the necessary events for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium to emerge as a daunting place to visit, with stylistic evolution and discovering a balance Postecoglou neglected likely the keys to improving Spurs' dreadful home form.

If all else fails, we could just stop playing domestic football and exclusively compete in Europe. Timo Werner was the goalscorer the last time we were beaten on home soil in the continental sphere, with RB Leipzig claiming a 1-0 victory over a José Mourinho-led Spurs in February 2020.

The signals from ENIC in a post-Daniel Levy landscape point towards newfound ambition in N17, but the majority of supporters will gauge the extent of the hierarchy's aspirations from their work in the transfer market.

The summer window was an impactful one for Tottenham, even if a few gaping holes weren't filled. Fortunately, opportunities to improve via external additions come around every few months, and Spurs are expected to conduct further business this winter.

Thomas Frank could do with more depth on the left side of his defence and a more able passer in midfield, but the most pressing need is arguably greater quality in attack. Spurs aren't exactly shy of bodies despite the spate of injuries at the start of the new manager's reign, but the majority believe our current options can and should be upgraded upon.

And perhaps the club will opt for a bold pursuit this winter in a bid to land another statement arrival.

Spurs reportedly willing to match Real Madrid's asking price for Rodrygo

There were only tenuous links to Real Madrid's Rodrygo in the summer, but the Brazilian is bound to be one of the protagonists of the January transfer window.

Rodrygo remained in Madrid in the hope that his minutes would increase under new manager Xabi Alonso, but the Spaniard has so far handed the winger no more than a sporadic role. At the November international break, Rodrygo has started just three games in all competitions, and the rumour mills are starting to churn once more.

Mundo Deportivo and Fichajes (via BBC Sport) are among the Spanish media outlets to link Rodrygo with a move to Tottenham. The latter writes that Spurs are willing to match Madrid's £70m asking price.

The winger has fallen out of favour in the Spanish capital this calendar year, but he's the sort of profile this Spurs team needs. Imagine Wilson Odobert with an extra layer or three. Rodrygo is a supreme technician who operates ever so smoothly with the ball at his feet, and is capable of beating his marker one-on-one via brains and brawn.

He boasts a vintage samba repertoire and the requisite burst of acceleration to keep any defender honest. In pretty much any other team in world football, Rodrygo would be the superstar.

However, I'm not going to wax too much lyrical because, well, it's just not going to happen, is it? Sky Germany's Florian Plettenberg has already put a dampener on things, reporting that the rumours from Spain are "wide of the mark". The player's salary is the big issue, with Capology listing his wage at £276,000 a week.

That would, of course, make Rodrygo Spurs' highest earner by a considerable margin. However, those who are desperate to see a shift in approach from those up top would argue that it's the sort of financial gamble the club must take to bridge the gap with the Premier League's best and help realise the supposed newfound ambition of ENIC.

Although Richarlison did score his fourth goal of the 2025/26 Premier League season for Tottenham Hotspur in an eventual 2-2 draw with Manchester United, the Brazilian international's deflection off his back was far from representative of the torrid afternoon he had against the Red Devils.

Richarlison was chasing shadows, missing easy opportunities, and not getting into the box while leaving the left flank a vapid void of creative activity. It was another lackadaisical and outright sloppy performance from a veteran player who has looked no closer to justifying his price tag as he was last year at this time when struggling through injury.

Tottenham manager Thomas Frank came into the season hoping that he'd coax the best out of Richarlison, who was once one of the biggest stars in the Premier League as the savior of Everton. Now, he's the chief reason for Spurs attack not meeting expectations, and when he is able to get into the box, he misses so many clear cut chances that he is skewing the actual extent of Spurs attacking troubles.

While Richarlison is far from the only player on Tottenham, attacking or otherwise, who isn't playing well enough, he's certainly been the most disappointing over the last few weeks, again, given the fact that you'd expect him to be playing well vs. players like Djed Spence or even Brennan Johnson.

Richarlison is hurting his own rep

As Tottenham enter the November international break, Richarlison is doing damage to his reputation internationally, too, as Carlo Ancelotti and the Brazil national team can't be looking at his performances in Lilywhite and thinking that this is the kind of player who should be representating the Selecao attack at the World Cup when he's busy falling over himself.

The harsh reality for Richarlison is that he doesn't give Spurs a better chance of winning than a healthy Randal Kolo Muani or Dominic Solanke. And as Mathys Tel showed the world against Leeds and Man United in one smooth motion, Richarlison isn't better than the young Frenchman right now either. Funnily enough, he may not be better than Dane Scarlett.

Even when Tottenham play well as an attack, such as in their 4-0 win over Copenhagen, Richarlison isn't able to distinguish himself positively. That tells you all you need to know about how far his stock has fallen, and with a pause in club play, Richarlison has to sit there and face the reality that he has played himself to the very bottom of the Tottenham depth chart, in a position so irredeemably low that even the optimistic Frank may be on the precipice of giving up on him for good.

Tottenham Hotspur head into this November international break on less positive terms than they did last month following their 2-1, Mathys Tel fueled win over Leeds United. Because while Tel again was good in front of goal with a lovely strike to give Spurs hope against Manchester United this past Saturday and fellow young forward Wilson Odobert seemingly helped the team on to a win, Spurs simply collapsed in the waning moments to drop more points in a game they should have won.

That's been the story of the 2025/26 season so far for Spurs, and while they are clearly in a better spot this year under Thomas Frank than they were in the 2024/25 Premier League season under Ange Postecoglou, there's still a lot of work to be done.

There are three players, in particular, who need to step up more as we take stock of the entire Tottenham squad heading into this natural break point at the November international fixtures. And all three of them were unsurprisingly horrid in the 2-2 draw with Man United.

The worst of those players this season has been Brennan Johnson. Tottenham were forced to start the right winger against Manchester United with Mohammed Kudus injured, and, once again, Johnson proved to be only a fraction of the winger that the Ghanaian international is.

Brennan Johnson is on the verge of being booted out

His clutch goal in Bilbao against the Red Devils will forever live in Tottenham hearts, but this most recent performance against Man United was, unfortunately, more reflective of the player. Johnson has not blossomed under Frank as many had hoped, but, rather, he's been even more exposed as a one dimensional player who will likely rapidly play himself out of Tottenham entirely once Dejan Kulusevski is back from his injury to more adequately back Kudus up.

Richarlison has been just as poor and perhaps even more disappointing overall, given what we have seen from the Brazilian in the past. Like Johnson, Richarlison came to Tottenham with a high price tag, and while he does have his moments, his four goals and two assists this season have been more down to fluke than skill, as evidenced by his deflected goal against Manchester United.

The 28-year-old has not been strong all-around for Tottenham, and the sooner Thomas Frank discards him entirely from the Tottenham forward rotation, the better off this team will be in so many ways.

Behind him on Saturday against Man United, Djed Spence was equally poor, and he's been as bad as any fullback in the Premier League this season. He's not a left back at all, which is obvious, but you'd still expect more from any starter in the Premier League than what Spence is offering going forward. His defending isn't as good as he'd like people to think either, and Spurs have to seriously consider if he's even a good option to back Pedro Porro on the left either.