Hotspur HQ

Spurs fans are writhing with excitement ahead of the club's 25-26 Champions League campaign, and for good reason. Coming off of an excellent performance in the Europa League, and under the guidance of new management, Tottenham seem geared up to carry their momentum into the coming months of competitive gameplay.

However, the palpable anticipation hasn't been without its counterpart, as some Spurs players were handed a disappointing verdict when, on September 3rd, the club announced their official Champions League roster.

Nevertheless, that decision came with careful thought, not nervous scruple. TBR Football's chief correspondent, Graeme Bailey, has revealed Thomas Frank's impetus behind the choice to leave certain players, such as rising Frenchman Mathys Tel, out of the squad.

"In terms of Tel, I am told that he was informed by Frank and was assured it was purely because of the logistics and Spurs losing the three places because of the lack of homegrown players," Bailey stated.

Continuing, he added, "The player is understandably disappointed, but the squad can and will be assessed again heading into the next round, so there is hope for him that he will be involved."

In addition to the homegrown player regulations, as well as the 20-man roster limit, Spurs have also brought in former PSG striker Randal Kolo Muani to beef up the front line. The fellow French international's arrival his certainly won't make Tel's ability to find playing time any easier.

As Bailey mentions, however, the knockout stages present a potential opportunity for Tel to get back onto the big stage.

In terms of sheer experience, Tel boasts 16 Champions League appearances across his fledgling career, with a 2 goals and an assist across those fixtures. Meanwhile, Kolo Muani's 23 fixtures and 3 goals give him a slight boost in the experience department.

Regardless, both Tel and Kolo Muani will look to earn their place on the pitch in a mutually competitive environment that, while at times frustrating, will likely result in growth and development of their abilities during the early phases of what will hopefully come to be long-lasting, productive playing careers under the banner of Tottenham Hotspur.

There were huge fears at the start of August that the now-departed Daniel Levy was going to allow Thomas Frank to enter a new season with a Tottenham Hotspur squad that simply wasn't good enough. The Europa League triumph aside, most of the Spurs squad should have been looking over their shoulders heading into the transfer window.

There were huge departures, with one of the club's all-time greats, Son Heung Min, bidding farewell to the Lilywhites. The early acquistion of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United for £55m lifted spirits but it felt like the same old story of Levy allowing the club to be second best had ensued as we entered the latter stages of the window.

Spurs fans watched big six rivals pick up top attacking talent, with Bryan Mbeumo (£71m) moving to Manchester United for some reason. Joao Pedro (£60m) headed to Chelsea and Liverpool broke their transfer record to sign Florian Wirtz (£116m).

It looked as though it went from bad to worse on the night of August 22 when one of the Premier League's most highly sought after players "let it all work out". We know where this is going and where he was going once Fabrizio Romano dropped that nasty 'here we go', but here's why Spurs will end up lucking out.

Tottenham losing to Arsenal for Eberechi Eze will be a blessing in disguise

Eberechi Eze is undoubtedly one of the most talented attackers in English football, and without him, Crystal Palace would not have won the FA Cup last season. He was inevitably going to be in demand, but it looked for all the world that he was going to be part of Frank's revolution.

The 27-year-old had been linked with Arsenal, the club he started his youth career with, but reputable journalists continuously suggested a move to Spurs was on the horizon. That was until a Kai Havertz injury put the Gunners under pressure to sign an attacker.

There are claims that Eze even called Mikel Arteta to ask if he could join them before making the decision to join the Lilywhites. He opted for the red side of North London and their club media team decided to cringe up an announcement video.

If Spurs had missed out on Eze and ended the window without a new attacker alongside Kudus then it would have been devastating. But instead, Levy's last hurrah was to swoop for Xavi Simons who is the superior talent when you take into consideration age, experience, success and versatility.

Why Xavi Simons is the better deal

The Lilywhites paid £52m to RB Leipzig to bring Xavi Simons to the white of North London. The Dutch attacker was heavily linked with Chelsea, but said that once he got the call from Spurs he wanted the move.

Simons, 22, is a jack of all attacking trades, able to play across the frontline, even as a second striker and in attacking midfield. He put English football fans on notice with his excellent strike in the Netherlands' 2-1 defeat to England at last summer's European Championships.

He is a real talent who has starred at Leipzig and previously PSV Eindhoven where he bagged the 2023 Eredivisie Golden Boot with 19 goals. He was just what Frank needed given the Dane has similarly found success working with versatile forwards such as Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa.

Eze is unbelievably talented but Simons offers a profile that can help Spurs in several areas. Arsenal are going to lump their new English attacking midfielder on the left because Gabriel Martinelli is so woeful in front of goal.

As Sampha would say, Spurs "let it all work out" and ended up with the better player and the better deal.

After a more active summer transfer window than previous deals, which included the marquee signings of Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus, Tottenham Hotspur have made their biggest move of the summer in September, pushing Chairman Daniel Levy out of the club as they embark on a new era in the club's history.

Levy did do a service to the club in helping them maintain their financial stability and remain relatively successful in the Premier League, growing to become one of the biggest brands in world football. But you could easily argue that anyone could have had similar, if not more, success running a club with the level of passion the fanbase has in the United Kingdom and abroad.

Now that Levy is out, Tottenham fans are wondering if Spurs will be immediately more active in the subsequent transfer windows and able to sign the dream targets that maybe Levy was pushing back against bringing in.

One of those targets is Aston Villa forward Morgan Rogers, who was one of the best young players in the Premier League last season and a massive breakout star. On paper, the intelligent and clinical Rogers looks like a perfect fit for a Thomas Frank system that is still missing another winger with end product.

Tottenham are after Premier League breakout star

According to journalist Paul O'Keefe in an appearance on the Last Word On Spurs show, when Tottenham approached Aston Villa for a Rogers transfer this summer, the Lions unsurprisingly told them at first that the 23-year-old attacker is "unequivocally" not for sale. But then, O'Keefe reports that when Tottenham inquired further on the exact price tag it would take for Villa to listen, the Premier League rivals replied that anything of 80 million pounds or above would.

So if Tottenham submit a transfer bid to Aston Villa above 80 million pounds for Morgan Rogers in the summer 2026 transfer window (it's doubtful Villa would sell such an important player in the middle of the season), then perhaps Spurs can get the ball rolling for their next left winger.

Tottenham didn't sign Ademola Lookman or any other left-sided forward this past summer transfer window, so there is still a big long-term need for a Son Heung-min replacement. Last season, Rogers scored 8 goals with 10 assists, and while he's not a pure goal-scoring left winger, he can play there or anywhere in the front three and do it all as a creator, scorer, presser, and progressor.

There are many Spurs fans who are smitten with Rogers and would be willing to see the team do an 80 million pound deal for him. Tottenham will likely be more aggressive without Levy holding them down, but it is fair to wonder if Spurs should exercise continued caution with some transfers, given how clubs like Manchester United stand out as cautionary tales of the foils of spending exorbitantly without thinking carefully about fit, need, or alternatives.

Tottenham Hotspur made a quartet of high impact signings in the summer transfer window, first snagging Mohammed Kudus from London rivals West Ham before bringing defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha back to London from familiar transfer partners Bayern Munich. Then Spurs landed two more Bundesliga standouts, spending big on Xavi SImons from RB Leipzig before closing out their transfer window business with a last-minute deadline day loan swoop for PSG striker Randal Kolo Muani (an ex-Eintracht Frankfut star).

Overall, it was a highly fruitful transfer window for Tottenham, though Spurs still left a few needs to be addressed at future transfer windows. There is still a depth issue on the defensive flanks, Spurs didn't adequately replace the larger-than-life presence of legendary left winger Son Heung-min, and the long-term solution in the defensive midfield remains open for interpretation.

While Palhinha was an inspired stop-gap signing, the 30-year-old is unlikely to remain in North London beyond the terms of his loan deal. Spending 30 million euros on Palhinha isn't the issue, but unless if Palhinha continues to blow the team away, Spurs may not want to invest heavily in a player who is closer to the finish line when their ethos is to build a young squad.

Archie Gray is one for the future and Tottenham have dreams of Crystal Palace No. 6 Adam Wharton, but given how valuable Wharton will be on the open transfer market, Spurs have to think about alternative plans in the 6 position.

Tottenham need to put the Bundesliga star on their list

Stuttgart's Angelo Stiller is another Bundesliga standout who has made a real name for himself at VfB Stuttgart, as the Bayern Munich-trained midfielder played a crucial role in turning Die Schwaben into a Champions League side.

As per Fabrizio Romano, Stiller has publicly revealed that he has designs on a future move outside of the Bundesliga, “I'm interested in moving abroad at some point. I thought Florian Wirtz's decision to go to Liverpool was cool. But only one thing is certain for me: at the end of my career, I absolutely want to play in the USA”.

Although Stiller only explicitly mentions MLS, the star defensive midfielder isn't yet 25 years of age, so a move to the United States is more than five years away. In the more immediate term, Stiller may be implying a move "abroad" to the Premier League, following in the footsteps of Wirtz, because the English top flight is generally the big league top young players are aiming to join as a step up in their careers.

Stiller has been a legitimately world-class player in the Bundesliga over the past two seasons, so much so that Hansi Flick at Barcelona and Real Madrid were both watching him this season. Tottenham would be very wise to track his progress this season, because it's now an open secret that he's eyeing a big move in 2026.

Tottenham's summer window of ambition resulted in four excellent additions to bolster Thomas Frank's squad.

There's no denying that, despite the departure of Son Heung-min and injuries to key creators, we are in a better place now compared to when we finished the 2024/25 campaign with a 4-1 home defeat to Brighton.

However, holes do remain within Frank's squad. The versatile defender we reportedly wanted chose Arsenal instead, while Manchester City refused to sell the utopian left-winger target that would've turned a 7.5 window into a 9. Ultimately, we're once again an injury or two away from Ben Davies starting regularly, and some may have concerns over the absence of a clinical touch after Sonny rode off into the Californian sunset.

Moneyballer Brennan Johnson remains on the club's books, but his limitations manifested again during Saturday's 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth. The Welshman's defence-stretching, back post-finishing profile is necessary on occasions, but his role for Frank's side this term must be more sporadic.

After the club failed/opted against landing a star left-winger to complete the summer window, Frank must trust the French starlets he has at his disposal.

Wilson Odobert & Mathys Tel have opportunities to seize this season

Saturday's game was ugly from a Lilywhite perspective. The Cherries, in short, exposed all the flaws within this Spurs squad. We lacked guile in the build-up phase, appeared frantic in the face of pressure, struggled to connect defence and attack, and failed to make the ball stick when it eventually wound up at Richarlison's feet.

Mohammed Kudus single-handedly offered respite at times, but the absence of quality on the opposite flank allowed the visitors to load up their left flank and slow down the Ghanaian's progress.

Johnson, for the duration of his performance, offered very little.

In truth, the second half was merely less worse than the first, but there was an improvement. Wilson Odobert replaced Johnson after 55 minutes, and showed why he should be starting in these sorts of fixtures without dazzling a frustrated home crowd. Odobert wasn't exactly a game-changer, but he's far more natural with the ball at his feet than Johnson. The fundamentals are there.

The young Frenchman lacks a killer instinct. He's so often able to create a yard, but rarely is he able to execute beyond that. We need Frank and Justin Cochrane to work their magic. Perhaps the arrival of old pal Xavi Simons will give him a boost.

The same goes for Mathys Tel, whom I backed as one of the breakout stars under the new manager this term. The 20-year-old is not there yet, but his potential hasn't been sapped in the blink of an eye, even if he was subject to abhorrent abuse after his penalty miss in the UEFA Super Cup.

We all want instant gratification, and there's an expectation that Tel and Odobert should be ready-made contributors, given that we dished out pretty big fees for their services. Some do hit the ground running, but for others, it takes time. Odobert missed a large chunk of his debut season due to a hamstring injury, while Tel has barely been at the club for eight months.

These are two gifted players who have the capacity to eventually blossom in N17. There's a pathway for both to shine this term, even if Randal Kolo Muani's arrival has muddied the waters somewhat. We just need one of them to seize the opportunity with both hands.

Tottenham Hotspur fans, aside from winning the Europa League last season, have not been a happy bunch these last few years. Failed transfers, huge departures have put them in a bad situation on many occasions.

It does help, however, that they were able to improve their squad on a massively impressive scale, addressing almost every dire need in just one transfer window.

They now have a new coach, some potentially world-class talents as the cornerstone of their team, and just a lot of general excitement.

Until the Premier League decided to give them further frustration and trouble.

Tottenham fans will not like this Premier League decision

It was announced on Wednesday that Spurs’ match against Wolves will now be played on the 28th of September at 8pm local time.

This isn't the first time the match has been changed by the Premier League, frustrating the fans even more.Â

It was originally on Saturday at 3pm, but then it was chosen to be on television, which gave it a 2pm kick-off on a Sunday. Now, they have changed it once again back to September 27, a Saturday, but with a late kickoff.

The match would not fall under the Blackout times, so it will be shown on television, and that is one of the reason why this late kick-off was chosen rather than the usual 3pm one.Â

For the fans who have to travel to and from the stadium from afar, this is not ideal at all.Â

The match is in London, but that doesn't mean every fan that's in attendance would be a local. There will be some that travel across the country to see their team play. There will be away fans, too.

Now, everyone has to reschedule their travel times, and it's obvious that since it's a late kick-off, travelling fans will have trouble getting back to their home late at night.

It is also worth noting that this latest change has taken place to also accommodate Tottenham's away game against Bodo/Glimt on the following Tuesday, which would give them an extra day to prepare and travel to Norway.

Either way, this is not a good look for the Premier League. A different game could have been chosen to show on television, if Spurs needed time to prepare for the Champions League clash.

Instead, money was put ahead of the consideration and comfort of the fans once again, leading to countless fans criticising the decision on X.

MORE TOTTENHAM NEWS:

Executive Fabio Paratici is set to officially return to Tottenham Hotspur as the director of recruitment when October strikes, but he is obviously already making his influence and imprint on the building of the 2025/26 squad felt.

Although Paratici was trying to push Tottenham to bring another elite player from Serie A this past transfer window in Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman, he actually ended up signing a different Serie A forward to Tottenham.

Tottenham brought in Randal Kolo Muani from PSG on a straight-up loan deal, and while there is no option to buy for a player who revived his value in his six-month loan spell with Paratici's former flame Juventus in Italy, the move itself still qualifies as a bargain for Spurs.

In fact, Give Me Sport's Danny Rust reports that Juventus were floored at the end of the transfer window when they realized what Tottenham did. See, Juventus were negotiating with PSG for weeks on weeks to try and keep Kolo Muani beyond the 2024/25 season, as they were impressed with how much he helped them in qualifying for the Champions League.

Tottenham made Juventus look like amateurs

Instead, Kolo Muani switched allegiances to North London, and Juve were incredulous that Spurs ended up paying just 4.4 million pounds to PSG in a loan fee. If you aren't sure what to make of that number, Give Me Sport note that Juve were prepared to pay double that figure to PSG, and they still watched him end up in Tottenham.

That's an incredible transfer coup for Spurs, who can negotiate a permanent deal one year later if Kolo Muani shines and is adamant to PSG he wants to leave. Given how poor he was for PSG but how brilliant he was for Eintracht Frankfurt and then was solid at Juventus, he may not find a reason to stay in France if he shines in the Premier League for Spurs, too.

Another comparison point to give you an idea of how sweet this loan deal is, Bayern Munich have spent 13 million pounds on Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson's loan fee, and that's even before you factor in a potential 70 million pound buy clause at the end of the season.

Most players get four of five years on a contract when they make a loan transfer, so five years of Kolo Muani at 4.4 million pounds per year would be 22 million pounds. So when you look at it from that perspective, Paratici proved once again that he is the master of the dark arts on the transfer market by stunning Juventus with this inspired transfer move. Now that's a bit of genius even Daniel Levy can get behind.

Tottenham Hotspur stumbled in the last game of August ahead of transfer deadline day, as their 1-0 loss to a plucky Bournemouth side - a team that honestly deserves a lot more praise as a darkhorse contender this season - could have easily been a much bigger loss for Spurs.

However, that tough defeat does not undo the excellence Tottenham displayed in their first two Premier League matches under Thomas Frank, who did have Spurs competing against the best team in the world (or Europe, at least) for more than 90 minutes in the UEFA Supercup Final in Udine vs. PSG.

Tottenham defeated Burnley 3-0 and Manchester City 2-0 to start the 2025/26 Premier League season, and one of their main protagonists in those two matches (and the aforementioned battle with PSG) was honored as one of the starters in the Premier League Team of the Month from WhoScored, an analytics site that hands out objective ratings to players for their in-game actions.

That man is none other than new right winger Mohammed Kudus, who was Spurs most coveted transfer of the 2025 market before Xavi Simons's arrival ahead of the Bournemouth match. Kudus's shine is only brightened by the addition of the former RB Leipzig No. 10, who will be aiming to make plenty of these teams alongside Kudus once he makes his debut after the September international break.

Tottenham's unsung hero got the nod, too

Alongside the crafty Kudus, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario cracked this starting XI of Premier League giants, and his inclusion is arguably even more deserved. Vicario was brililant in the clean sheet victories to start the campaign, and yet he was actually even better in the defeat to Bournemouth, making countless world-class stops to somehow keep Tottenham in the game.

Since joining Tottenham from Empoli, Vicario has been a star and a proper heir to Hugo Lloris, standing out as one of the better goalkeepers in the Premier League. He and Kudus are far from the only stars worthy of shoutouts this season, as Spurs have also gotten a huge contribution from new defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha through the first three matchdays. Midfield partner Pape Sarr has also been brilliant, and Richarlison was shining in the first two games before going invisible in the third.

It's shaping up to be an exciting season for Tottenham Hotspur under new manager Thomas Frank, and Spurs supporters should not be surprised to see Kudus and Vicario making a few more of these Teams of the Month throughout the 2025/26 Premier League season.

Just when you thought you couldn't adore Micky van de Ven any more.

Tottenham's road-runner in defence is one of a kind, and he's established himself as one of Europe's best when his hamstrings allow it. Van de Ven’s imperious speed has proven to be a blessing as much as a curse in north London, but there's no denying that his ability to go from 0-60 in the blink of an eye is what makes him so special.

I'm sure there's nobody in the game who our supporters would trade him for, and one of our exciting new arrivals has revealed that the Dutchman had a role to play in shaping their future.

It seems that Xavi Simons consulted Van de Ven when Spurs jumped ahead of Chelsea in the queue for his desperately-needed services, and the defender did what was necessary to get Simons to N17.

How Micky van de Ven convinced Xavi Simons to join Tottenham

Tottenham were panicking in their pursuit of a playmaker. Morgan Gibbs-White succumbed to Evangelos Marinakis' iron fist, Eberechi Eze opted for Gooner cringe, while Nico Paz was an ambitious move too far.

Continuing the 2025/26 season without James Maddison mitigation would've been nothing short of fatal for Thomas Frank at the start of his tenure. Fortunately, the club stumbled their way to a gem, convincing Simons, who had his heart set on Chelsea all summer, to come around to the idea of superstardom in the less prim and proper north of the capital.

Simons has the makings of a majestic coup for Frank's Lilywhites. He's a player with face of the franchise potential after Son Heung-min's exit, while also filling a distinct tactical need on-field.

Our newest Dutch star has since reported for international duty, where he'll team-up with club mate Van de Ven ahead of a pair of World Cup qualifiers. The pair have represented their country together on multiple occasions, with Simons earning 28 Dutch caps since 2022. Van de Ven has 12 since 2023.

And our Micky was on agent duty at the end of the summer window, helping Simons make up his mind while Chelsea idly lurked in the background.

“Micky van de Ven said, 'We need you, so come here'. And that’s what happened," the 22-year-old revealed in a recent interview with Dutch outlet AD.

Simons also noted Frank's impact during the decision-making process, saying "it's great how he [Frank] sees football" and the Dane supposedly outlined where the Dutch international can improve, which Simons appreciated.

Among the advocates of the player's move is national team boss Ronald Koeman, who labelled Spurs a "fantastic club" and a "wonderful step" in the maverick talent’s career. I've always liked you, Ron. Just don't ever consider stepping foot in the home dugout around here.

Tottenham Hotspur fans would certainly be happy with the number of signings they have made in this transfer window. The board addressed most of the positions that needed addressing, and even though there were a few players who wanted other clubs, this would feel like a success.

They have also made a few sales this summer, and important ones, too. Moving on from the likes of Heung Min Son, whose contract expired in June, was key for growth, as painful as it was.

Little by little, the team they used to have back when Tottenham used to finish in the top three spots, has slowly faded away.

That includes the likes of Harry Kane and Hugo Lloris, too, who are now with different clubs, fighting for different trophies. In there somewhere, there is one player, though, who has not had the same luck as a Kane, or the same career as Lloris.

Dele Alli has not had the best of times since leaving Spurs. Even in his last couple of seasons in London, Dele was slowing down, and his output was nowhere near what it used to be.

Como have just terminated Dele Alli's contract

He then joined Como in 2025 as a free agent, and in just a few months' time, he has exited the club and entered free agency.

Como have released Dele after the player made just one appearance since joining the club, in which he got a red card minutes after coming on.

It is not a good look for him, and I honestly feel bad for him and anyone who thought that he was going to be the next big thing in English football - which was most football fans at the time.

He certainly had the talent for it, but there were other things - well documented challenges in his life - that stopped him from getting to that superstar mentality everyone expected him to get to.

Dele left Spurs in January of 2022, and in the three years since, he has only made 29 appearances for three different clubs - Everton, Besiktas and Como - and he has not been able to find a home anywhere.

The thing is, he is still only 29 years old. The Englishman is supposed to be in his prime at the moment, and yet, he finds himself without a club. One would hope that a club signs him and he is able to kickstart his career once again.

However, after so many failed moves, Dele might even consider retirement. That's just my opinion, and I hope it doesn't happen, but that would certainly be a thought that enters his mind.

MORE TOTTENHAM NEWS: