Planet Football

Following the sacking of Ange Postecoglou, Brentford boss Thomas Frank is set to become the new Tottenham Hotspur manager.

Frank has done an excellent job since taking the Brentford job in 2018, as he’s transformed the Bees into a solid midtable Premier League outfit.

We’ve assessed the current Brentford squad and have picked out five players that he could look to take with him to Tottenham next season.

Bryan Mbeumo

Manchester United are pushing hard to sign Mbeumo, but as of writing, they’ve still not reached an agreement with Tottenham.

It has since been reported by the Daily Mirror that Frank would look to bring Mbeumo with him to Tottenham, if he does land the job.

While Spurs perhaps wouldn’t match United’s lucrative contract offer to Mbeumo, they do have the lure of Champions League football next season.

Given the season he’s just had, it’s safe to say that whoever ends up signing the 25-year-old is getting a cracking player.

Yoane Wissa

With Richarlison likely on his way out of Spurs this summer, the club are going to be in the market for a new number nine.

Given the season that Wissa has just had, Brentford will no doubt be bracing themselves for incoming offers this summer.

Funnily enough, Spurs were reportedly sniffing around the 28-year-old back in January, but nothing came of their interest in the end.

However, with Frank potentially taking over next season, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Spurs rekindle their interest.

The forward scored 19 league goals last season, which was eight more than any Tottenham player managed. He’d be a great asset for them next season, although he won’t come cheap.

Mikkel Damsgaard

Prior to Damsgaard’s switch to Brentford, Tottenham were interested in the Danish midfielder while he was playing for Sampdoria.

Given the way he’s developed over these past few seasons, they probably regret not pulling the trigger for him when they were initially interested.

The 24-year-old provided 10 assists in the Premier League last season and created a total of 63 chances. In the entire Spurs squad, only Dejan Kulusevski created more chances than that during 2024-25.

Getting him out of Brentford won’t be cheap, considering he’s under contract until 2030, but Frank will surely be interested if he does take the Tottenham job.

Nathan Collins

As the long-term future of Cristian Romero hangs in the balance, Frank could turn to Brentford when looking for his replacement.

The Republic of Ireland international already has over 100 Premier League appearances under his belt and still has the best years of his career ahead of him.

Both Newcastle and Arsenal have been linked with the 24-year-old in recent months, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see Spurs enter the race. Watch this space.

Kevin Schade

With Son Heung-min not getting any younger, Tottenham could look at someone like Schade as his long-term replacement.

The 23-year-old is coming off the back of his most prolific campaign yet, where he scored 11 league goals and averaged a strike every 209 minutes.

Frank has consistently spoken highly of Schade since his arrival from Freiburg and the player has developed well under the Danish coach.

“I am convinced he will be a very good player for us in the future,” is what Frank said back in 2023.

“Kevin is a young player that needs a lot of development but he has shown very good signs of what he is capable of.”

READ NEXT: Five Spurs players who loved Ange Postecoglou – & may also leave this summer

Ange Postecoglou has been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur – and several of his Europa League-winning team are unhappy with the decision.

Despite breaking Tottenham’s 17-year trophy drought and being widely popular in the dressing room, Postecoglou lost his job after Daniel Levy decided to make a change.

We’ve identified five Spurs first-teamers who might follow Postecoglou out of the club this summer.

Cristian Romero

Romero was vital during Spurs’ Europa League final victory and was named as the player of the tournament after they beat Manchester United in the final.

Postecoglou had stated he wants to hold on to the Argentina international, saying: “He is a winner. You saw that in all the big games we’ve had and the lads certainly respect him very highly.

But the 27-year-old defender has other ideas.

While answering questions about his immediate future in football, Romero told Los Edul: “I still need to play La Liga. I would love it because it’s the league I’m missing.”

When asked if he intends on returning to Argentina, he added: “If I return, it will be to Belgrano. It will be a family decision.

“God willing, I have several years left in Europe and will think about it later, but yes, I would like to return.”

Son Heung-min

Now aged 32, Son is a player on the decline. Injuries hampered his 2024-25 campaign, and the Spurs legend scored just 11 goals in 46 appearances.

That was Son’s lowest goals return since his first season in north London and he didn’t start the Europa League final.

The South Korea captain is a prime target for Saudi clubs and may choose to leave north London after 10 glittering years as a European champion.

Pedro Porro

Porro paid an emotional tribute to Ange Postecoglou following his dismissal as Tottenham head coach.

“Thank you for everything, boss,” Porro said on his Instagram page.

“For mentoring me early on, helping me settle into the club, and trusting me out on the pitch.

“I’ll always be grateful for the way you led us, defended us, and kept us going through all the highs and lows.

“Above everything, you gave us one of the greatest moments in the club’s history and for that, you’ll always be celebrated. Wishing you all the very best, boss.”

Porro had previously urged the club to retain Postecoglou, but may choose to leave the club with three La Liga clubs (Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Villarreal) all interested in the 25-year-old.

READ NEXT: Postecoglou & 7 other managers sacked straight after winning a trophy

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every player Ange Postecoglou used at Tottenham?

Rodrigo Bentancur

Atletico Madrid have added Bentancur to a list of transfer targets which already includes his Spurs team-mate Romero, according to reports.

The Uruguay midfielder, who joined the club in January 2022, has often struggled with injuries but has shown his class when fit.

With Champions League football on the horizon next year, Spurs would hate to lose a player of Bentancur’s quality, but his contract expires in 2026.

Micky van de Ven

Among many tributes to the outgoing Postecoglou, Dutch defender Van de Ven added: “Gaffer, thank you for everything! Believed in me from the first day I arrived at the club.

“Many ups and downs in the last two years but you kept believing in us and kept pushing us.

“Big part of the success from the club this year, and forever grateful that u made me part of it. All the best.”

Van de Ven endured a frustrating, injury-hit campaign, but remained a key figure in the Spurs side whenever fit.

Despite the setbacks, Van de Ven’s standout performance in the Europa League final capped off a memorable European run, ending the club’s 17-year wait for silverware.

Football Insider previously revealed that he would be open to leaving Tottenham if Real Madrid made a formal approach, with the Spanish giants long-term admirers of the defender.

Liverpool have also been linked with his signature. Watch this space.

Luis Enrique has further demonstrated his world-class credentials as a manager by leading PSG to the Champions League, becoming only the second coach after Pep Guardiola to win a historic treble with two different clubs.

You imagine that there will be a fair few Premier League chairmen kicking themselves and wondering ‘what if?’, having watched the Spanish coach do a superb job to turn PSG into the best team in Europe following the departure of their star player Kylian Mbappe.

We’ve identified four Premier League clubs who considered appointing Luis Enrique… but didn’t.

Tottenham

Cast your mind back to a couple of summers ago.

Luis Enrique’s camp had made it clear he was looking to return to the dugout, half a year after departing Spain following their Round of 16 elimination at the World Cup in Qatar.

He was reportedly very keen on working in the Premier League and a number of top clubs were searching for a figurehead to steer their projects in a new direction. Chief among them Spurs in the wake of a classic Antonio Conte meltdown.

The Athletic reported that Luis Enrique “was always attracted to the idea of coming to manage Spurs” but that Daniel Levy and the Tottenham hierarchy ultimately decided against in part due to his “reputation for rubbing people up the wrong way”.

Reading between the lines, it appears that Levy felt burned by two outspoken, demanding ‘proven winners’ failing to work out in Conte and Jose Mourinho. The decision to go with Ange Postecoglou represented a different approach.

Arsenal

It’s easy to forget now but there was a time in which Luis Enrique was considered the frontrunner to succeed Arsene Wenger at the Emirates. He’d been out of the game after leaving Barcelona but was ready to return to the dugout following a year-long sabbatical.

After Wenger’s announcement, the Daily Mail ran a report that suggested Luis Enrique was “ready to take the reins” at Arsenal: “‘only an unexpected glitch in negotiations, which are well advanced, can prevent now the appointment of the 47-year-old.”

The powers that be evidently favoured a Spanish flavour back in 2018. Mikel Arteta, then Pep Guardiola’s assistant, interviewed for the vacancy but ultimately lost out to Unai Emery. But what happened to the early frontrunner?

The Times stated that the Gunners’ executives shied away from appointing the former Barcelona manager in part due to his salary demands, which were believed to have been in excess of what Wenger was earning.

It’s said he was viewed as “an inappropriate fit to the position” with “a self-absorbed approach to management” which “would not mesh with the London club’s restructuring strategy”.

Ouch. Hasn’t worked out too badly for PSG, has it?

Chelsea

Tottenham weren’t the only club looking for a head coach in the summer of 2023.

After Todd Boehly’s disastrous first year at the helm, ending in the club finishing 12th on just 44 points, Chelsea were in dire need of a change in direction. They decided to go with the relatively safe option of Mauricio Pochettino, who boasted a proven track record in the Premier League.

Slowly but surely, Chelsea’s fortunes did start to turn around under Pochettino. But he didn’t get them back into the Champions League and always felt like an awkward fit with the board, ultimately only lasting one season at Stamford Bridge.

During Frank Lampard’s disastrous interim stint as the search went on, Fabrizio Romano reported that Luis Enrique was “out of the race” to be the club’s next permanent manager after a decision made by the club.

No reason for the decision has come out in the wash, but Blues legend Claude Makelele has questions.

“I think you need to ask the president of Chelsea, ‘Why did you not take him?'” Makelele told Football London, whilst representing Bet365.

“You know, some managers, they come from a different club and it is different. Now, he plays possession, but maybe in the Premier League, where it is all box-to-box, you cannot always have possession. Sometimes, you’d have to play in a different way.”

Manchester United

Unlike the three London clubs on this list, Manchester United never quite had a clear run at Luis Enrique’s signature when he was out of work and actively sounding out Premier League jobs.

Erik ten Hag was in his first season and doing a pretty good job when Luis Enrique became available in the first half of 2023. The stars never quite aligned.

But that’s not to say he never appeared on the Red Devils’ radar. Back in November 2021, following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s sacking, Sky Sports’ Rob Dorsett reported that Luis Enrique was likely considered for the job and “Cristiano Ronaldo’s preferred candidate”.

He was still in the Spain post at that time, and building up to the Qatar World Cup made the timing difficult, but with the value of hindsight you wonder if United showing patience and determination to get him might’ve worked out best for them in the long term.

READ NEXT: 13 remarkable stats from PSG’s historic 5-0 Champions League final victory

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The Europa League Final between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur will kick off at 8pm tonight and TNT has confirmed how fans can watch the game on TV and online.

TNT has the rights to all major European finals this year and will showcase the final on its primary channel, TNT Sports 1.

Available as an add-on subscription on Sky and Virgin Media packages, it is also available as a one-off monthly pass when you add it to your Amazon Prime account.

You can add TNT Sports for a month via the Discovery+ package here and then remove it once the month is up.

The one-off payment costs £31.99, but you also get access to the Conference League final between Chelsea and Real Betis and Europe’s showpiece event, the Champions League final, between PSG and Inter on 31 May.

Alternatively, fans can watch the Europa League final for free on discovery+. All you need to do is register a free account on discovery+ without signing up to a package and you’ll be able to tune in to the game.

The Europa League final kicks off at 8pm UK time at the San Mames stadium in Bilbao and pre match coverage starts from 6pm with two hours of build up in the studio.

Ex-Spurs stars Gareth Bale and Glenn Hoddle will join former United players Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes as pundits for the big occasion as both teams aim to bring home a trophy in what has been a disappointing campaign for both.

Spurs, who beat Bodo/Glimt in the semi final to reach the final, are sat 17th in the Premier League and manager Ange Postecoglou is facing pressure to deliver a first trophy for the club and secure Champions League qualification by winning the Europa League.

United, who dramatically beat Lyon in the quarter final and then breezed past Athletic Bilbao in the semi final, have enjoyed better European form than in the Premier League.

Defeat to Chelsea has left Ruben Amorim’s men in 16th place in a historically poor season for the club.

Champions League qualification for both sides will mean much-needed revenue for both clubs next season and the ability to attract players who want to play in Europe’s top competition.

For Spurs, it would also mean a first trophy since the Carling Cup triumph in 2008 after previously missing out on the Champions League in 2019.

You can watch the final here.

READ NEXT: Where are they now? Man Utd’s XI that lost the 2021 Europa League final

Tottenham Hotspur are one of the most successful clubs in the history of English football – but can you name every team they have played in a major final?

For the purposes of this quiz, we are including both domestic cup competitions, the Champions League, Europa League and Cup Winners’ Cup. The Community Shield and various Club World Cup competitions are excluded.

That still leaves you with 17 different opponents to name, with only the year they faced United as your clue.

Once you’ve completed this quiz, have a go at naming Tottenham’s 25 most expensive sales in history.

If you enjoy our quizzes, head to our new Football Games home where you can search an archive of over 1,000 quizzes and play them all in beautiful full-screen mode.

Good luck, and don’t forget to tweet us your scores at @planetfutebol.

The 2024-25 season has seen several sides across Europe – and one notable player – break long trophy droughts to write themselves into history

There could be more on the horizon. Tottenham Hotspur are aiming to end a 17-year wait for a major trophy in the Europa League final, while trophyless-since-2007 Stuttgart face an Arminia Bielefeld who have never won a major trophy in the German Cup final.

In a season of surprise successes, we’ve looked at four teams and one player who have ended long trophy droughts in 2024-25.

Crystal Palace

Crystal Palace fans could be forgiven for thinking they’d never see their side win a major trophy.

The mercurial club from south London had gone 119 years without lifting a major pot, with two FA Cup final defeats in 1990 and 2016 to their name.

But 2025 proved third time lucky after beating Manchester City 1-0 on a gloriously sunny afternoon at Wembley.

Eberechi Eze’s first-half goal proved decisive, while Dean Henderson saved an Omar Marmoush penalty to keep Palace’s lead intact.

There were unconfirmed of localised flooding in the Wembley area, thanks to the happy tears of Palace fans, and many neutrals wept alongside them.

Palace will play in the Europa League next season, marking the club’s first sojourn into European football.

Newcastle United

Newcastle had their fair share of near misses in the modern era, with agonising runners-up finishes in the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup across the last three decades.

But all that changed on a chilly Sunday afternoon in March, as Eddie Howe’s team beat Liverpool 2-1 in the League Cup final.

Goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak sealed Newcastle’s first piece of domestic silverware in 70 years, sparking wild scenes on Tyneside.

The shadow of Saudi Arabia over Newcastle’s success made what should have been a heart-warming tale feel cold for many neutrals, but the club’s fans understandably didn’t give a solitary eff.

Bologna

Bologna exceeded all expectations last season to secure Champions League football and have defied the exit of head coach Thiago Motta and key players to thrive again in 2024-25.

They have ended a 51-year trophy drought with Coppa Italia success. Dan Ndoye’s 53rd-minute goal was the difference as Bologna beat AC Milan in Rome.

It was a fine moment for head coach Vincenzo Italiano, after Coppa Italia and two Europa Conference League final losses in charge of Fiorentina. They will be in the Europa League next season.

READ NEXT: The best Premier League teams that never won a trophy: Arsenal, Leeds, Newcastle…

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the year these 26 English clubs last won a major trophy?

Harry Kane

One of the best goalscorers of his generation, Kane entered his 30s without major silverware after a string of near misses with both Tottenham and England.

Even a move to Bayern Munich in 2023 didn’t initially bear fruit, as the Bundesliga giants lost their league title to Bayer Leverkusen.

But the natural order has been restored this year, with Bayern easing to the Bundesliga crown and Kane scoring 26 league goals along the way.

“It was an amazing experience, to be honest,” Kane told BBC Sport about breaking his trophy duck.

“Obviously I’ve seen celebrations like this from afar but, until you experience it yourself, it’s hard to put into words.

“It was almost like a switch went off, and all of a sudden it was just a lot of emotion, a lot of joy.”

Go Ahead Eagles

Go Ahead Eagles were closing in on a century without a trophy before upsetting the odds to win the Dutch Cup this season.

The Deventer-based outfit knocked out PSV Eindhoven in the semi-finals, before squeezing past AZ Alkmaar on penalties to win their first-ever Dutch Cup.

In a dramatic final in Rotterdam, AZ opened the scoring through Troy Parrot’s penalty before Mats Deijl equalised for Go Ahead Eagles with a spot-kick of his own in the ninth minute of stoppage time.

Unable to be separated in extra time, Go Ahead claimed the cup when Mayckel Lahdo missed for AZ. It was their first major honour since last becoming Dutch champions in 1933.

The Premier League possesses some of the most athletically gifted players in world football, with Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham stars recording some of the top speeds ever seen.

Among the fastest players in the English top flight are wingers, midfielders, centre-backs and full-backs.

Between the top speeds from top to tenth, there’s less than a hundredth of a second. Here, we have assessed the fastest players in Premier League history, after data started being recorded in 2020-21.

=10. Matheus Nunes

Nunes might not have had the chance to show his impressive sprinting skills had he stayed in Manchester City‘s midfield.

He’d played there the majority of his City career before this season, when he’s been deployed at right-back on 15 occasions.

As a wide defender, the Portuguese has had to battle with some powerful wingers, and clocked a highest speed of 36.70 kilometres per hour this term in doing so.

=10. Brennan Johnson

Johnson’s nature as a direct winger has seen him impress at the highest level of English football with both Nottingham Forest and Tottenham.

It was with the former club that he set his fastest Premier League speed of 36.70km/h.

He did so against champions Manchester City in 2022-23, against a back line containing Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and speed demon Kyle Walker.

A footballer so quick that he sometimes decides running normally isn’t effective enough, and decides to start pumping his legs higher as if he’s riding a bicycle, Rudiger is blessed with great physical attributes.

@fifaworldcup Rudiger. 🏃‍♂️💨 #FIFAWorldCup #Germany ♬ original sound – viciousftbl

At Chelsea, this saw him become one of the fastest players in Premier League history – but running more like a normal person this time.

The German defender set a top speed of 36.72km/h against Brighton in the 2021-22 campaign.

There was not an awful lot to shout about from a Burnley perspective in the 2023-24 Premier League season. The Clarets were relegated with a total of 24 points.

Perhaps O’Shea’s blistering pace does little to make their fans feel any better about the campaign, but it at least puts him fairly high up the list of fastest Premier League players.

The Irishman ran at 36.73km/h against Crystal Palace, though it didn’t count for an awful lot, as Burnley lost 2-0.

It’s not massively common to see a central midfielder move as quickly as Liverpool man Szoboszlai’s top speed.

He’s in fact one of only two players in his position in the top 10 fastest Premier League speeds of all time.

The Hungarian travelled at 36.76km/h against Wolves in September 2023, with Reds fans believing that was achieved when Szoboszlai was tracking back from a corner, preventing a 1v1 attack against his side.

Moder spent the first few months of the 2023-24 season sidelined with an ACL injury. But when he came back to action for Brighton, he was clearly in top shape.

The midfielder set a blistering top speed of 36.84km/h, pipping Szoboszlai as the quickest Premier League central midfielder of all time.

One of the most direct wingers in the Premier League, Chelsea man Neto gets most of his success from knocking the ball past full-backs and beating them for pace.

That’s the case now he’s at the Blues, and the same was true when he was at Wolves.

That was where he set the fifth-fastest Premier League sprint of all time – 36.86km/h. He did it against Luton during September 2023.

Elanga has had the most separate sprints in the Premier League’s top 100 during 2024-25 of any player. His most memorable came against former club Manchester United, when the winger was said to have covered 85 metres in nine seconds.

He clocked around 36.20km/h in that sprint, and later in the same game, beat that by travelling at 36.70km/h.

It was the second fastest speed clocked in the league in 2024-25, though he had already gone one better in his career previously, with a top speed of 36.91km/h.

Luton have been featured on this list already, but on the wrong side, with explosive winger Neto putting them to the sword with his electric pace.

But they’ve also possessed some of their own speedsters, with Ogbene the fastest of them. Only two players in the history of the league have clocked a faster pace than the winger’s 36.93km/h, which came a week before Neto scorched Luton’s grass.

To the eye, one of the fastest footballers in the history of the game, and Walker’s stats back it up. At every level, his defending has been helped by his blistering pace, and he’s had an illustrious career because of it.

Frequently helping Manchester City get back quickly in transition, he was on top running form against Everton in May 2023, setting a fastest pace of 37.31km/h, in a game it’s little surprise the Toffees failed to score in.

For years, there was little question that Walker was the fastest player in the Premier League.

But when Tottenham signed Van de Ven from Wolfsburg – a player who had run 36.66km/h in the Bundesliga – there was a chance that status was under threat.

It did not take the Tottenham centre-back long to make his mark in England. On three separate occasions, the Dutchman has run faster than 36.70km/h. One of those was enough to beat Walker’s 37.31km/h.

Van de Ven did so against Brentford in early 2024. Racing back to catch Keane Lewis-Potter, the Tottenham man set a new record as the fastest Premier League player ever – 37.38km/h.

READ NEXT: Crouch? Bellamy? Cole? Finding the ultimate Premier League journeyman

Mikel Arteta has now taken charge of as many Premier League matches at Arsenal as Mauricio Pochettino did at Tottenham. But how do their records stack up against one another?

We’ve taken a closer look at the league records set by two wildly popular figures on either side of the North London divide – and they’re actually remarkably similar.

Arteta and Pochettino never actually locked horns in a North London derby, having just missed out on overlapping. Pochettino was sacked by Spurs in November 2019, just a month before Arteta was appointed by Arsenal.

But the two coaches do have a shared history – having shared a dressing room during their younger days at Paris Saint-Germain.

“He’s one of the most [influential team-mates of my playing career],” Arteta told reporters ahead of a meeting with Pochettino, when he was Chelsea manager, in April 2024.

“I was 17 or 18 in Paris with no experience in professional football. He doesn’t like me saying it but to me he was like a father, he took me under his arm, he gave me incredible advice and protected me, he inspired me and I learned so much in our two years together.”

Like Pochettino, Arteta has had a transformative effect at his club – rebuilding them and turning them into a side that regularly finish in the top four.

“When I had to make a decision I asked him and explained the situation and he gave me some advice and he was needed,” Arteta added.

“I admire what he’s done in his career and he’s someone I’ve looked to because he was impactful to me in the most important stage of my career. As a role model I can’t pick anyone better.

“He doesn’t need to help me about tactics. The best influence he has had on me is the way he speaks about his life, his professionalism, his family and who he was as a figure in the dressing room and the passion and love he has for the game.

“That for me is the most important things which I learnt from him.”

Technically speaking, there is a slight discrepancy in how different stats sites judge Arteta’s total number of Premier League games as a manager.

Arsenal have played 203 matches since he was appointed as their manager in December 2019, but he was forced to miss the Gunners’ 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on New Year’s Day 2022 after testing positive for Covid-19.

For the purposes of clarity, we’ve not counted that match in Arteta’s total tally. But that’s why there might be a slight difference in the numbers you might see elsewhere.

Here’s how Arteta’s Premier League record at Arsenal stacks up against Pochettino’s at Tottenham after the same number of games.

Mikel Arteta’s Premier League record at Arsenal

Games: 202

Wins: 120

Draws: 38

Losses: 44

Win Percentage: 59%

Loss Percentage: 21%

Points: 398

Points Per Game: 1.97

Goals For: 382

Goals Against: 204

Goal Difference: +178

Goals Per Game: 1.89

Goals Conceded Per Game: 1.01

Clean Sheets: 75

Mauricio Pochettino‘s Premier League record at Tottenham

Games: 202

Wins: 113

Draws: 43

Losses: 46

Win Percentage: 56%

Loss Percentage: 22%

Points: 382

Points Per Game: 1.89

Goals For: 376

Goals Against: 206

Goal Difference: +170

Goals Per Game: 1.86

Goals Conceded Per Game: 1.01

Clean Sheets: 69

READ NEXT: 12 incredible North London derby moments: Gazza, Bentley, Henry…

Tottenham Hotspur have a fine reputation for youth development – but not every youngster has made the grade at the club.

Back in 2015, Spurs had a bright and talented squad under Mauricio Pochettino, supplemented by the signing of Son Heung-min from Bayer Leverkusen.

The club also let plenty of players go, including seven youth prospects who headed for pastures new. Here’s where they ended up.

Daniel Akindayini

Akindayini spent a year at then-Championship side Brighton before joining Margate in 2016.

The striker has enjoyed an eclectic career, playing in the Netherlands and Norway, and is now turning out for Haringey Borough.

Jordan Archer

Having left Spurs in 2015, Archer made his biggest impact at Millwall where he won the club’s Player of the Year award in 2015-16 and helped the club win promotion to the Championship.

His career has been dogged by injury since, with the goalkeeper making no more than six league appearances in a single campaign since 2019, and is currently on the books at Portsmouth.

Aaron McEneff

Tim Sherwood remarked that McEneff reminded him of ‘a young Roy Keane’, but that didn’t prevent Spurs from releasing the midfielder in the summer of 2015.

After spells in Scotland with Hearts and two years at Perth Glory in Australia, McEneff is back in his native Ireland and playing for Shamrock Rovers.

Cristian Ceballos

Signed by Tottenham from Barcelona, Ceballos never made it onto the pitch for Spurs in a competitive game before being released to join Charlton Athletic.

The Spaniard only managed five league appearances for the Addicks and now plies his trade for Azerbaijani club Sabah.

READ NEXT: The 18 players to have won a major trophy after leaving Tottenham since 2015

TRY A QUIZ: Can you name Tottenham’s top 30 goalscorers in the Premier League?

Alexander McQueen

McQueen is currently without a club after leaving Oxford City at the end of the 2023-24 season.

But the defender remains a Grenada international and currently has 14 caps for his country, which is pretty cool.

Jonathan Miles

The second player on this list to currently be playing for Haringey Borough in the Isthmian League North Division, Miles is a goalkeeper who has flitted around the lower leagues in the south of England after leaving Spurs.

Lloyd Ross

Following his release by Spurs, Ross moved to America and signed for Franklin Pierce Ravens, a university team in New Hampshire.

Little is known of his career trajectory since and the attacking midfielder appears to have slipped off the footballing map. Fair play, in a way.

Mathys Tel has done a U-turn and signed for Tottenham on loan after reportedly turning down the club in the closing days of the January 2025 transfer window. But the French forward wouldn’t have been the first to decide against a move to Spurs.

For whatever reason, Tottenham have failed to attract the calibre of player needed to ascend to the next level but that certainly isn’t for a lack of trying. Whereas Daniel Levy has been a roadblock with his strict financial dealings, there have been many reasons why players have avoided a move to North London.

Here are eight players who rejected a move to Spurs during the Daniel Levy era.

Fikayo Tomori

Beginning with a very recent rejection, the AC Milan centre-back was targeted to help end their defensive crisis that has left 18-year-old midfielder Archie Gray to play a significant role in the absence of both Cristian Romero and Micky van den Ven – with the added headache of Radu Dragusin suffering an ACL injury.

Tomori, a star figure in the Rossoneri’s Scudetto triumph in 2022, has started just 10 league games this season in total. Never given a fair chance at Chelsea, Spurs tried to bring him back in January 2025 only to be rejected. The 27-year-old may secure an exit in the summer but it is unlikely to be Spurs he links up with – especially considering he came through Chelsea’s academy.

Willian

“He got the call from Abramovich, and off he went to Stamford Bridge. He hates Tottenham, he hates Tottenham…”

His rejection was so famous that it sparked one of Chelsea’s most memorable chants.

A star at Anzhi Makhachkala and Shakhtar Donetsk before that, Willian had his choice of multiple clubs. He was at Spurs’ training ground, set to put pen to paper when he was told of an offer from Chelsea. He later called it the ‘best decision of his career’ and after winning the Europa League, the Premier League twice, the FA Cup and the League Cup, it’s safe to say he won’t have any regrets.

Marcus Rashford

Having been made available during this window, many clubs were alerted to the news given Rashford’s past form and quality. Spurs inevitably asked the question and hoped to be in the running but fell away in the home stretch as he agreed a deal with Villa, rejecting Spurs.

At this moment in time, with the promise of Champions League knockout football, Villa’s offer was evidently more appealing. If it was a few seasons ago, then Spurs would have surely been the right choice for Rashford. A blow to miss out on a player who you can imagine thriving under Postecoglou.

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Eden Hazard

The Lille winger had every club in Europe after him in 2012 after he had just starred in Ligue 1 for three years. With offers on the table from multiple English clubs, Hazard took his time and evaluated the landscape, even before the summer window had even opened.

Harry Redknapp claimed to have Hazard in his hotel room for over an hour but following Chelsea’s Champions League win, which relegated fourth-placed Spurs to the Europa League and simultaneously confirmed Chelsea’s place in the competition for the following year, he opted to sign for the European champions, confirming his move with a now-famous tweet.

Axel Disasi

Chelsea have been looking to offload the French centre-back in the January window but haven’t been able to find a suitor as of yet. Spurs, needing a centre-back, threw their hat into the ring but the former Monaco defender was quick to dismiss his current employer’s London rivals.

The latest news suggests that there is no wiggle room or chance of a turnaround with Spurs reportedly ending their interest in the defender and Aston Villa moving to sign him on loan. Let’s see if he and Rashford can kick over the next few months under Unai Emery.

Rivaldo

Heading back to 2002, Spurs were looking for a big statement signing and the Brazilian superstar was available on a free transfer. It is said that Spurs were close to completing a deal but he opted for AC Milan.

He even sent a letter explaining why he chose the Italian club, which was a touch of class, but no matter how close he was, this one always seemed like a pipe dream.

David Raya

This is certainly an interesting example of one who got away from Spurs. After being told it was £40million or no deal by Brentford, Raya was then able to leave to join Arsenal for a fee of around £27million.

A frustrating deal for multiple reasons, losing a player of his quality to their North London rivals hurt and it was made all the worse given how Guglielmo Vicario has struggled with injuries across his time at the club.

Randal Kolo Muani

In another recent deal that went askew, the Paris Saint-Germain forward was there for the taking after being told he was allowed to leave in a temporary loan deal by the French club after falling out of favour with Luis Enrique.

He opted for Juventus, a club with strong prestige, a young and progressive manager and a team still in the Champions League rather than join struggling Spurs. Having netted three goals in two games so far, we can’t imagine he’ll be looking back with any regrets.