Hotspur HQ

Just a day before the Saturday fixture against Leeds United in the Premier League, Tottenham Hotspur announced the contract extension of center midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur, which was a move that was widely reported to happen.

If you told a Spurs supporter before the 2025/26 campaign started that the club would be extending Bentancur some time around October, it's doubtful they would have so much as raised an eyebrow at you. Bentancur came into the season as a pillar of the midfield and pretty much a nailed-on starter as the only stabilizing presence on the ball in the Ange Postecoglou years.

Now, though, Spurs fans were befuddled that Bentancur was being rewarded with a contract extension for multiple seasons at the age of 28 when he's looked slow, uncreative, and downright poor in recent games, including against inferior opponents.

In his first game with the new deal, Bentancur looked the same, which isn't a good thing. He was slow, sloppy on the ball, created absolutely nothing, failed to progress the play, and repeatedly got overrun by the Leeds midfield. While he defended with effort, Bentancur's defending often feels more like a back-to-the-wall job and less like an act of ball-winning aggression like that of his teammates Joao Palhinha, Pape Matar Sarr, and Lucas Bergvall.

Rodrigo Bentancur doesn't play like a veteran footballer

Bentancur attempted just 30 passes against Leeds, which was fewer than goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, the entire back line, and midfield partner Palhinha. While he was certainly more accurate than Palhinha, a pass completion percentage below 87 for someone who was effectively a sideways passer and literally attempted no long balls, through balls, or crosses is hardly worth praising.

The 28-year-old doesn't play like a veteran midfielder, and he definitely didn't play like one against a newly promoted side. Bentancur shies away from the action too often. He doesn't command the ball, he doesn't demand progression, and he isn't wiling to try new things to push for victory.

Tottenham have to be looking at these performances and thinking more critically about the future of this squad. Bentancur somehow started over Archie Gray, Sarr, and Bergvall this weekend and that clearly wasn't on merit, as evidenced by the results we saw.

Had it not been for moments of individual quality from Mohammed Kudus and Mathys Tel, Spurs would have lost this game without any doubt. They were not the clearly better side against a smaller budget team, and a lot of that has to do with how Bentancur set the tone for the team in the middle of the park. He was poor, but, troublingly, that's nothing new this season.

Guglielmo Vicario has proven to be quite the enigma for Tottenham Hotspur supporters to figure out. Equally likely to give away the game as he is to win it with a spellbinding save, Vicario has been a good goalkeeper for Spurs since joining a couple of years ago from Empoli, but whispers about his overall ceiling began at the end of the 2024/25 Premier League season after a series of game-costing howlers.

To start the 2025/26 campaign, Vicario has been just as much of a mixed bag, and Spurs fans have been looking earnestly over to young backup Antonin Kinsky, who is one of the most talented young goalkeepers in the entire world, as a possible alternative should Vicario botch what is now a short leash.

Spurs fans were thus ready with their pitchforks out after another terrible mistake gifted Leeds United an equalizer on Saturday afternoon. Vicario clumsily handled a shot that was fairly close to him, making the cardinal sin of weakly parrying the ball directly into the path of a very, very grateful Noah Okafor.

Guglielmo Vicario spared his blushes

Yet just when Tottenhams fans hopped onto the Twitter machine to let their takes about Kinsky and Vicario fly, the Italian shot-stopper stepped up with two amazing saves. And if we are going to point to the Okafaro goal as a costly howler from Vicario, then, in the same way, we must praise his reflex save with his feet and his late parry to safety as game-saving actions.

Thus, the duality of Vicario and the enigma continues, perhaps more complicated than before. Leeds played well on Saturday, but they are Leeds. In bigger games against bigger opponents, Vicario is going to be tested more, and if you just know that he is going to make a howler or two, then how can you fully trust him in the most important matches? There will always be that seed of doubt with Vicario, even though he is just as capable of saving an entire game for you or having a Player of the Week performance (look no further than the debacle against Bournemouth that Vicario made respectable).

Kinsky is such a talented young goalkeeper, and while VIcario saved himself from any real controversy heading into the break with two big saves, it's not like he fully erased the concerns. People will remember that first error, and the Kinsky supporters will hold onto that one. Though, if Vicario is facing this kind of pressure to form, you can only imagine what Kinsky will feel when he inevitably makes his first series of mistakes. Controversy continues.

While it's still the time for experimentation for Thomas Frank with a new Tottenham Hotspur squad that is still integrating pieces from the summer transfer window, including big names yet to debut under Frank like Randal Kolo Muani, the best players at his disposal should be taking shape in his eyes.

For example, it should be obvious to Frank that Xavi Simons is the starting attacking midfielder, Lucas Bergvall is a starting No. 8 alongside Joao Palhinha as the defensive midfielder, and Mohammed Kudus is the solution on the right wing.

But there's one position where Frank seems to be bouncing between players when he shouldn't be. There's been some competition on the left flank between Djed Spence and Destiny Udogie at left back, as Spence started the season as the main man with Udogie injured.

Now, though, the last few games since Udogie's return should make it apparent that it's time for Frank to leave Spence where he belongs ,and that is on the Tottenham bench. Now, there is nothing wrong with Spence as a player. He is a great one-on-one defender and one of the best backup fullbacks you could hope for.

Tottenham can't believe in a gimmick

But that's all he is. Spence is lacking in just about every other way at left back. His attacking contributions are woeful, and it's time Frank and even some Spurs fans come around to admitting that. A player with 0.3 key passes and 1.3 combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game is not a great starting fullback in the Premier League.

Udogie is so much better technically, and he just understands the game and how to play with the Tottenham wingers better. He is a crisp passer, a superior ball-winner, and just an all-around better fullback than Spence, who is a great backup but is a little gimmicky with how much people just focus on the one-on-one play - which is great but certainly not otherworldly enough to justify starting him over a superior all-around player.

This season, Udogie is averaging significantly more progressive actions per game despite his stats being skewed by only two starts and two substitute appearances in the Premier League. Despite being 22 and already better than Spence at three years younger, Udogie still has fewer than half the number of Spence's Premier League starts this season.

That will - and must - change soon. There's not a single soul who watches Tottenham every week that thinks Spence is legitimately a better footballer than Udogie in any capacity, because they know memes are not real life. Surely, Frank understands the same.

Tottenham Hotspur have been very active over the past few months, moreso than usual, and to this early point in the 2025/26 Premier League season, it's already fair to say that they have made three of the best summer moves out of any club in England.

Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus are real long-term building blocks for Tottenham and already vital to how this team plays. Joao Palhinha, signed on loan from Bayern Munich, has been even better, winning games with goals and playing jaw-dropping defensive like he never left Fulham.

But not every move Tottenham has made is the most ambitious, and their most recent transfer decision is one that Spurs fans could come to regret in a couple of years. According to the official website, Tottenham, as was heavily rumored these past couple of days, have agreed to sign center midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur to a contract extension.

Both Bentancur and fellow veteran midfielder Yves Bissouma came into the 2025/26 season on expiring contracts, and while Bissouma's was never going to be renewed - Spurs actively shopped him in the summer market but found nobody willing to bite - Bentancur was expected to put pen to paper.

Tottenham have four better players in the same position

The thing is, Bentancur hasn't been very good in recent weeks, and Tottenham fans are increasingly pushing for the more impressive, more positive, and more talented Archie Gray to get those starts instead. Plus, with Palhinha balling out, Pape Matar Sarr improving markedly under Thomas Frank, and Lucas Bergvall shining as a No. 8, Spurs may very well have four center midfielders better than the mediocre Bentancur.

There were months left before the winter transfer window when Bentancur could leave on a free contract expiry to another club. So Spurs had more time to wait for Bentancur to step up to the challenge and turn it around, rather than reward him with what is presumably a well-paid, multi-year contract.

At the age of 28, Bentancur has far less upside than Gray, Bergvall, or Sarr, who are all young players. And even though Palhinha is 30, he is playing with more energy and much more quality than Bentancur.

This contract extension is yet another case of Tottenham rewarding a mediocre veteran player, which they have done time and time again, including this past summer with defender Ben Davies, who should be nowhere near the pitch this season anyway with all the quality at center back. The same can be said of Bentancur in a meritocracy if Gray and Sarr continue to outplay him, too.

It's been another rough patch on the injury front for Tottenham Hotspur fans, and while it could always get worse (knock on wood that it does not), coming into the season with lengthy absences for key starters from the Europa League winning side like Dominic Solanke, James Maddison, and Dejan Kulusevski is never easy.

Compounding that, even the new transfers for Tottenham haven't been able to avoid getting hurt, and the main issue has been the lack of match fitness for striker Randal Kolo Muani. The PSG No. 9 somewhat surprisingly joined on transfer deadline day despite lengthy negotiations with Juventus for another deal, as Fabio Paraici managed to help Spurs swoop in.

With Solanke out for longer after needing another procedure and Richarlison struggling to get anything going in recent weeks, Kolo Muani gracing the pitch has never been more needed than now, and this pesky "dead leg" situation preventing him from debuting has become a frustrating meme for Spurs supporters.

But soon, the dead leg may be no more. Ahead of Saturday's Matchday 7 fixture in the Premier League against tough customers Leeds, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank gave a hint that the French striker may be ready to debut for Spurs soon enough, "Kolo Muani has been on the pitch the past two days so that's a positive. He's not available tomorrow yet for the squad.”

Tottenham can get their man back after the break

So obviously the negative part of that statement is that Kolo Muani won't be out there against Leeds this weekend, but, well, only the most dangerously optimistic Tottenham fan - and it's doubtful there are any such people who exist in 2025 at this point after all the club have gone through - would have even given Kolo Muani a two percent chance of playing against Leeds.

The real takeaway out of that is that Kolo Muani has been on the pitch for two days without disintegrating into dust, which means that his leg isn't all that dead. Which, in turn, means that Kolo Muani should really be a matter of one more match away from playing for Tottenham.

After the Leeds game, Kolo Muani and his Tottenham teammates have the October international period to recuperate - assuming they aren't playing, which RKM almost certainly will not be - and thus there is every reason to expect Kolo Muani to be out there on Oct. 19 for a tough battle against an Aston Villa side with literally everything to prove. And maybe, just maybe, we'll get to see 5-10 minutes from the Frenchman as a tune-up.

Tottenham Hotspur had another disappointing outing at mid-week, drawing 2-2 to Bodo Glimt in the Champions League, needing a late own goal - of all things - in order to salvage a meager point against one of the weakest sides in the competition this year. You know, the same side Spurs beat pretty handily to reach last season's Europa League Final.

Spurs were playing that game without their best player, as world-class center back Cristian Romero was held out of the game - not even traveling to Norway - as a precautionary measure after missing practice with a late injury.

Tottenham looked way worse than expected against Bodo Glimt, totally disjointed without their captain. That speaks volumes about how far Spurs still have to go before Thomas Frank can truly say he has turned things around at the club.

Tottenham get their best man back

On the bright side, Frank confirmed at the press conference on Friday before Saturday's tricky clash against newly promoted Leeds before the October international break (usually a double whammy for Tottenham) that Romero is ready to play again:

“Romero is fit and available and he will start tomorrow. That's positive. It was contact to the foot. The medical staff did well with the turnaround."

Big ups to the medical staff, of course, and it's obviously wonderful to have Romero back after just missing one game. Yet of concern in the back of everyone's mind should be how poor Spurs looked without him for just one game against Bodo Glimt. Now, missing Romero obviously wasn't the only factor in why Spurs lost, but maybe Tottenham are becoming too reliant on the special few to carry the ordinary many to results.

With Leeds looking like a team capable of producing upsets and playing spoiler to bigger sides this season, Tottenham need all hands on deck, and they don't usually have the best track record against underdog opponents. Look no further than these two rather dreary draws against Wolves and Bodo Glimt in the past week alone.

Romero standing next to Micky van de Ven at the back will due wonders - and not just defensively. Tottenham lost so much on the ball in terms of progression, starting from back to front, without the World Cup winning Argentinian international balling out. It will be great to see him out there, but hopefully more players, especially in midfield, can step up for Spurs overall progressive play.

Tottenham Hotspur almost invariably have lousy luck with injuries and thanks to Ange Postecoglou's reckless abandon, Spurs already came into the 2025/26 season with critical injuries, namely multi-month absences for James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, and evidently Dominic Solanke, too.

But even the newest additions to Tottenham haven't been able to avoid the injury bug that loves to bite Spurs players. Striker Randal Kolo Muani, who could have a huge role to play this year on loan from PSG, has yet to debut due to a "dead leg", while, quietly, center back Kota Takai has also yet to get any minutes of action due to injury.

Updates from above have been quiet on both fronts, but ahead of Tottenham's Saturday afternoon battle against Leeds United before the October international break, Tottenham manager Thomas Frank finally had a concretely positive injury update on the young Japanese defender.

Frank said, via the official Tottenham website, “Kota is getting better and better. He's trained with the team for 10 days, so that's promising.”

A total unknown for Tottenham

Takai is just 21 years old and a total unknown, having played in Japan before joining the Premier League, and we have almost no sample size of players making this transition. But Spurs have nailed their prospect signings of late, with Lucas Bergvall standing out as a reason to give Spurs the benefit of the doubt here.

Even though Tottenham are still being linked to center back transfer targets for 2026, Takai is already a new face who could get action. When Radu Dragusin comes back, Spurs will be five deep at center back if you include Takai - and a further six if you throw in veteran Ben Davies.

Minutes are going to be hard for Takai to come by, regardless, and Spurs already had to loan the even more promising Luka Vuskovic to Hamburg because of the defensive logjam. But if Takai is coming around the corner health wise, it is an interesting though exercise to try to predict when or if Frank will give him a cup of coffee in the Premier League.

Obviously, Spurs didn't sign Takai with the intention of stuffing him in a drawer for years. The first step for Takai is getting healthy, and with 10 practice appearances under his belt, the preceding injury to his plantar fascia should be coming behind him. But obviously, with so much talent at center back, Spurs are in no rush to risk aggravation either.

Tottenham Hotspur have been disappointing in their most recent matches, as they struggled to get a 2-2 draw with Bodo Glimt in the Champions League on Tuesday after a last gasp 1-1 draw with Wolves in the Premier League over the weekend.

These are the kinds of clubs Spurs should be beating comfortably, and after taking the fight to PSG while blowing out Manchester City weeks later, Spurs have shown that they are capable of playing at a high-end Champions League level.

Thomas Frank is still in the process of figuring out his best XI, and Spurs supporters are in his ear trying to get the Danish manager to give a chance to some of the young guns. Specifically, former Leeds midfielder Archie Gray is someone the fans would like to see getting more starts, including on Saturday afternoon in his former stadium.

It appears Frank may be willing to oblige. Ahead of Matchday 7 against Leeds, Frank waxed poetic about Gray, “He's still a very young man. He played a lot of Premier League minutes [last season], across the defence and in midfield. So many experiences, some tough moments and in those you develop. I really, really like him as a player. He needs to keep doing as he's doing. Came on against Bodo, part of making a difference, he did well against Doncaster and learned a lot. I like everything about him.”

Rodrigo Bentancur had better watch his 6

Of course, Gray will have to show what he can do against bigger opponents than Burnley and Doncaster, but the traits he displayed in these games are translatable anywhere. Especially moreso than current incumbent starter Rodrigo Bentancur, Gray brings bravery in his approach and ball progression as a dribbler and passer.

His work on the ball, as well as his defensive efforts, are much appreciated by the Spurs supporters and lend themselves well to more regular starts. If Frank likes "everything" about Gray and is as smitten with a player he tried hard to sign for Brentford a couple of years ago, then it stands to reason that more minutes should be forthcoming for the English midfielder.

Bentancur has been showing cracks in his usefuleness to Spurs, particularly over the long term, and even a new extension doesn't necessarily mean Frank is going to favor him over Gray when he likes Gray more and if he sees better play from the 19-year-old prospect.

Gray is still very much growing as a player and will have lumps, which Frank himself has obviously acknowledged. But the upside is there and the growth under a much better manager tactically is already apparent just a few games into his sophomore season with Tottenham.

Newly-promoted club. Away from home. Just before the international break. What could possibly go wrong, eh?

While Tottenham have enjoyed themselves on their two previous visits to Elland Road, many supporters are preparing for the worst when Thomas Frank's side travel up to Yorkshire this weekend.

The Lilywhites are unbeaten since the previous break, but the quality of performance has declined. Frank's current functionality is barely getting the results, and a defeat on Saturday will doubtless leave a bitter taste while we suffer through another slate of internationals.

There's a sense that the manager doesn't yet know what his best eleven is, and that uncertainty has contributed to the recent malaise. Will Frank get it right this weekend? Here's how we think he'll line up against Leeds United.

Tottenham predicted lineup vs Leeds (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper & Defenders

Guglielmo Vicario (GK) – The Italian has hit a bump in the road after a strong start to the season, and I would like Antonín Kinsky to earn a few more chances after the break. However, Vicario will remain between the posts on Saturday.

Pedro Porro (RB) – The Spaniard struggled defensively in Bodø, but a delightful cross helped bring Spurs back into the game. The visitors will need his technical quality.

Cristian Romero (CB) – After missing the midweek flight to the Arctic Circle, Romero has returned to training and looks set to start at Elland Road.

Micky van de Ven (CB) – Van de Ven will relinquish the captain's armband to his partner and assume his typical role at the heart of Frank's defence, having scored his first Champions League goal on Tuesday.

Destiny Udogie (LB) – I'm starting to really dislike Djed Spence at left-back in Frank's current framework. For me, Udogie has to be a shoo-in.

Midfielders

João Palhinha (DM) – Rodrigo Bentancur was criticised for his showing in midweek, but he wasn't the only one shirking responsibility in possession. Nevertheless, Palhinha was one of the starters rested on Tuesday night, and he'll be back in the XI here.

Archie Gray (CM) – Gray's recent performances have earned him a starting berth in a box-to-box role. Frank must trust the teenager at his old stomping ground, having helped Spurs equalise late on in Bodø.

Pape Matar Sarr (CM) – Sarr wasn't great in midweek, but Frank still deems him integral, and I'd be surprised if he dropped out of the side against a physical Leeds engine room.

Forwards

Mohammed Kudus (RW) – Spurs remain a one-man attacking force, and it's Kudus who's still taking on much of the responsibility. He's so good, and Frank's side would be pretty pitiful without him.

Richarlison (ST) – We need more from Richy la’. His nose for goal is undeniable, but if Spurs are to improve in possession, the Brazilian has to be more reliable as a target-man.

Daniel Levy is one of the least popular people in the history of Tottenham Hotspur, as he so often held the London giants back from truly competing with clubs on the same plane of popularity and financial strength because of his stinginess and focus on the bottom line rather than winning.

At the same time, Levy did some positive things for Spurs throughout his time as chairman. He brought some big names to the club, and, yes, keeping Spurs financially stable is an achievement when we've recently seen so many historic European powers delve into threats of outright insolvency (like Lyon and Schalke, to name two).

In his last controversial move, Levy alienated some Tottenham fans by firing the beloved Ange Postecoglou weeks after he brought Spurs their first major trophy in decades, the Europa League title. While the way Levy went about the move could have been handled better without jeopardizing the club's transfer window and making the organization look callous and cruel, ultimately, Spurs fans have to thank Levy for thining about the bottom line.

And the bottom line was this: Tottenham were able to grit through and beat inferior teams on heart alone at mid-week. On weekends in the Premier League with better opponents, Tottenham crumbled. A 17th-placed finish is outright embarrassing, and that historically bad league performance is actually even worse than it looks when you factor in that the three relegated Premier League sides were all historically poor and completely overmatched bounce backs from the Championship.

Tottenham ended up with a clear upgrade

Ange Postecoglou was the worst coach in European football last season from a league standpoint. He had no system, his midfield was shambolic, his teams didn't create chances despite how much they sacrificed structurally, and he was running folks into the ground which could have long-term consequences for the health of players throughout their careers.

He's already been so bad for Nottingham Forest that fans were literally chanting for his imminent sacking after watching more injuries and woeful defending in a 3-2 upset loss to Midtjylland in the Europa League. You know, the competition Postecoglou is hailed as a genius for winning, when, in fact, it was the heroics of players like Dominic Solanke and Cristian Romero that won Spurs the competition.

Levy thought with his brain - and not his heart, because we all know he doesn't have one (I kid, I kid, lest someone actually get mad at me on Frank Gore's Internet) - and bless up that he did. Because another season of Ange would have been intolerable, whereas missing out on the brilliance of Thomas Frank would have been honestly just as stinging as a Muhammed Ali uppercut.