TEAMtalk

Tottenham are facing further injury issues after Jan Paul van Hecke was forced to leave Netherlands training early on Wednesday, subsequently withdrawing from the squad, with Roberto De Zerbi tipped to spring a selection surprise if the Dutchman is ruled out for any length of time.

Van Hecke has been a mainstay of De Zerbi’s backline so far this season, having joined in a £52million summer deal from Brighton, but has been heavily criticised for some of his performances.

Indeed, his shambolic display in the 3-2 loss to Aston Villa before the international break led to one former Tottenham star calling for Van Hecke to be axed from the side.

That call could now be enforced, however, after the 26-year-old became the latest injury victim of the prolonged international break.

The Netherlands held an open training session in Zeist ahead of their match against Greece and, while footage showed Van Hecke participating in the early stages of the session, he was then seen having a conversation with head coach Xavi before taking a seat in the dugout.

Reports in the Dutch media say he lasted just seven minutes of that session and has now returned to Tottenham for further treatment, meaning he will miss the Nations League clash against Greece on Thursday and then the return meeting with Serbia four days later.

A statement read: “Jan Paul van Hecke won’t travel to Thessaloniki with the squad.

“The defender got injured during the away game against Serbia and will return to Tottenham Hotspur. Get well soon, JP!”

Van Hecke had started next to Virgil van Dijk in the centre of defence in both the Netherlands’ matches so far in this international break, although his performances against Germany and Serbia led to mixed reviews.

Van Hecke could now join Pedro Porro, Dejan Kulusevski and Mykhailo Mudryk on the injury list for the trip to Manchester United after the international break, although there is hope that Porro could return earlier than expected from his hamstring injury.

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De Zerbi tipped to turn to Tosin

As for where De Zerbi could turn if Van Hecke is ruled out for any length of time, the natural assumption is that summer signing Marcos Senesi would be the next man up.

However, the former Bournemouth man struggled in both his starts to date – the season opener at Brentford and the Carabao Cup loss at Liverpool.

The balance of the defence would also be affected if Senesi starts alongside Van de Ven, with both players left-footed and used to playing on that side.

De Zerbi is therefore being tipped to turn to the naturally right-sided Tosin Adarabioyo to replace Van Hecke, if needs be, instead.

The former Chelsea defender was one of Spurs’ better players in the League Cup loss at Liverpool, earning a 7/10 rating from Football.London, who wrote: “A solid full debut from the centre-back. None of the goals were really his fault and he did most of what he had to do pretty well.”

In contrast, Senesi was handed 5/10 for his display, while Tosin also provides a more physical presence to a Tottenham backline that was bullied by Villa frontman Nicolas Jackson last time out.

Whether that will be needed against United will largely come down to whether Benjamin Sesko is fit to start due to his shin injury.

Either way, Tottenham now face a wait to determine the extent of Van Hecke’s injury and how long he could potentially be sidelined for.

Tottenham Hotspur are among the clubs keeping a close eye on Hull City goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis after his impressive start to life in the Premier League, TEAMtalk can reveal.

Tzolakis has quickly emerged as one of the most closely watched young goalkeepers in Europe following his move to East Yorkshire, with his performances attracting interest from several Premier League and European clubs.

The Greek international joined newly promoted Hull from Olympiakos in the summer in a then club-record deal worth £20million plus add-ons, but we understand his form has already caught the attention of some of the biggest clubs in Europe.

The 23-year-old has kept three clean sheets in the Premier League since his arrival and continued his impressive run of form on the international stage, keeping another shutout for Greece against Germany.

Tottenham are one of the clubs to have watched Tzolakis more than once, with Spurs now keeping him on their radar as they assess their long-term goalkeeping options ahead of next summer.

Tottenham handed Antonin Kinsky a new contract in the summer, but the Czech goalkeeper has endured a difficult start to the campaign.

Sources indicate that there are figures within the Tottenham hierarchy who remain unconvinced that Kinsky is currently at the level expected at the club, leading Spurs to look at potential alternatives ahead of 2027.

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Tottenham add Tzolakis to goalkeeper shortlist

Tzolakis is one of the names being considered by Tottenham, but we understand he is not the only goalkeeper Spurs hugely admire.

Brighton’s Bart Verbruggen is another player held in high regard by Tottenham and is understood to be firmly on their radar as they consider their options ahead of next summer.

The Dutch international has established himself as one of the Premier League’s leading young goalkeepers, and his profile is understood to appeal strongly to those at Tottenham.

Meanwhile, Hull have no intention of making it easy for any club to prise Tzolakis away in the future.

The Tigers are delighted with the goalkeeper and internally believe his capture was one of the best deals completed anywhere in Europe during the summer transfer window.

Hull view Tzolakis as one of the key players who can help them achieve their primary objective of staying in the Premier League, with his performances so far only strengthening that belief.

The club are therefore extremely happy with their investment and see Tzolakis as a major part of their plans, despite the growing interest in his services.

Liverpool also monitoring Hull City star

We can reveal that Liverpool have also been impressed by Tzolakis and are monitoring his development, although there is currently no indication of a move being imminent. The long-term future of Alisson remains a question that the Anfield giants need to answer.

Interest in Tzolakis also extends beyond the Premier League, with European giants Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid both understood to have admired Tzolakis dating back to his time at Olympiakos.

Both clubs continue to track his progress following his move to Hull, with his performances in England only strengthening his reputation.

Tzolakis only arrived at Hull this summer, but his rapid adaptation to the Premier League has already put him firmly on the radar of some of Europe’s leading clubs.

Tottenham could be set to claim a mouth-watering amount from Manchester City in compensation after the Etihad outfit were found guilty of 114 of the 115 charges levelled against them, according to Football finance expert Kieran Maguire.

The Premier League released an official statement confirming the guilty verdict on Tuesday evening, with City immediately following up and claiming they will be ‘relentless’ in their efforts to prove their innocence.

While no sanctions have yet been handed down, they could be severe, and the Premier League have stated that they will look to be ‘swift’ in bringing the saga to an end.

Tottenham are reported to be among four Premier League clubs who have reserved their right to seek compensation, alongside Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.

Spurs’ claim to compensation is due to the fact that they missed out on Champions League football between 2011 and 2013, when City won the league and then finished second.

And Maguire believes Spurs could claim in the region of £43million, as a result of missing out on Europe’s premier competition.

Speaking to the i News, he said: “Some clubs who finished fifth will be looking at a minimum of £42.96m claim for loss of prize money.

“Then you could legitimately say that instead of hosting Bayern Munich or Real Madrid on a Wednesday night, we ended up hosting the second-best team in Denmark on a Thursday night, so our gate receipts were down. Bonuses from sponsors are down too.

“All of that goes into the claims.”

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Redknapp claims Tottenham ‘cheated’ by FFP scandal

Meanwhile, former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has revealed how he thinks his old club were ‘cheated’ by the City FFP scandal, although he thinks the Etihad outfit should be punished in ‘the years to come’, rather than having titles taken away.

“Manchester City’s guilty verdict handed down on almost all of their Premier League charges is a staggering moment for football,” Redknapp wrote in a column for The Sun.

“It is a huge task to try and wrap your head around just how far this could reach through the sport — all the people who could be impacted.

“There are so many who will feel they have a claim to have some wrongs righted should City fail in their appeal and I am one of them.

‘”During the period City’s charges cover, I was in charge of Spurs and locking horns with them for the Champions League spots over a long run.

“In back-to-back seasons, 2010/11 and 2011/12, we finished one place off qualification.

“The second time around, when City won the title with that Sergio Aguero goal on the final day, we finished fourth but still missed out as Chelsea won the Champions League to take our spot.

“In May 2011, a 1-0 loss to Roberto Mancini’s side saw them qualify for Europe’s biggest competition for the first time and ended our dream of getting in there ourselves.”

Redknapp added: “Who knows what would have happened if those at the Etihad had been playing by the rules like everyone else?

“No one can say for sure but Tottenham fans will not be alone in feeling that they were, in some way, cheated across those seasons.”

Tottenham Hotspur have made some truly memorable signings during the Premier League era, and TEAMtalk has done a deep dive and ranked the top 10.

Going back to the very early days of snapping up Teddy Sheringham during the inaugural Premier League season to the later captures of the likes of Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min, the club have been synonymous with attracting top attack-minded players to north London.

Last week, we looked at the 10 biggest stinkers signed by Spurs in the Premier League era.

But we’re not all about the doom and gloom, as here we have ranked the top 10 signings snapped up by Spurs over the last 30-plus years, and it’s no great surprise that the attacking third is where the majority of that focus lies (although not just yet)…

In a list that is dominated by brilliant attacking players, it’s important to recognise that Spurs did also sign some top defensive talent too – although Vertonghen is the only one that makes this list.

Signed from Dutch giants Ajax for just £9.6million (€12m) in 2012, Vertonghen went on to make 315 appearances for the club in all competitions and was a real mainstay of Mauricio Pochettino’s backline.

Indeed, at a time when Tottenham were challenging for the Premier League title under the Argentine, Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld formed what was arguably the best centre-back pairing in English football.

A class act on and off the field, Vertonghen left Spurs in 2020 as a free agent, joining Benfica, and retired in 2025 after a stint back in his homeland at Anderlecht.

The French wing wizard only spent three seasons in north London, but his impact was spectacular during that time.

Signed from Newcastle in 1997 for just £2.5m, Ginola became an icon at White Hart Lane and was the first Tottenham player in the Premier League era to win the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award in 1999.

Ginola also won the League Cup during his time at Spurs and was inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame in December 2008. He was definitely ‘worth it’.

Arriving as a club-record £2.1m signing in 1992, the former England forward was sensational during his first four seasons in north London, scoring 90 goals in all competitions.

Renowned for having one of the best footballing brains in the game, Sheringham also notched 26 times in 80 appearances when he returned to the club in 2001 after four seasons at Manchester United.

Sheringham was still playing in the Football League in his early 40s, chalking up over 900 senior appearances during his club career, but it was at Tottenham where he emerged as one of the best strikers in the Premier League.

In terms of value for money signings in the Premier League era, there are not many better than Dele Alli, who was signed for an initial £5m from MK Dons during the 2015 winter window.

Dele became such a huge player under Pochettino, forming part of an explosive attacking quartet alongside Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Christian Eriksen.

He scored 67 goals and also chalked up 59 assists in 269 games in all comps before his career sadly fell off the rails.

Another club legend who previously admitted that the best spell of his career came during his first stint at Spurs between 2002-08.

Signed for £7m from Leeds United just before the transfer deadline in 2002/03, Keane chalked up 122 goals in 306 games in two stints in north London, winning the League Cup in 2008.

Keane also won the club’s Player of the Year award three times and was strongly tipped to take over as manager during last season’s relegation scrap before Roberto De Zerbi’s arrival.

It does, however, feel inevitable that he will one day be in charge at his spiritual home.

In terms of an overall impact signing during the early Premier League era, there were few bigger than the splash Tottenham made to bring the renowned striker to north London in 1994, following a World Cup in which he scored five goals for his country.

Spurs spent £2m to snap up the Germany international from Monaco, and he made an immediate mockery of his reputation as a ‘diver’ when he celebrated a debut goal against Sheffield Wednesday by flying through the air and landing a huge belly-flop.

Klinsmann won the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year in his first and only full season at Tottenham, although he did return on loan late in the 1997/98 campaign, scoring nine goals in 15 games to save the club from relegation.

The Danish legend was the one good thing to come out of the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid, with Eriksen one of seven signings made by the club in the summer of 2013 – although we’ll give a little shout out to Erik Lamela too.

Snapped up for just £11m from Ajax, Eriksen went on to produce a combined 157 goals/assists in 305 outings for the club before leaving to join Inter Milan in 2020.

His playmaking ability behind the forward power of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min played a pivotal role during the Pochettino era and he rightly goes down as a club legend.

Eyebrows were raised when Spurs snapped up the lightweight Croat from Dinamo Zagreb for £16.5m after he made a huge impression at the 2008 Euros.

He did struggle with the physical side of the English game initially before his technical wizardry really came to the fore under Harry Redknapp’s management.

Modric had the ability to completely dominate games from the centre of the park at Tottenham, despite his diminutive frame, and has gone on to have an incredible career.

Indeed, he is the only former Tottenham player to have won the Ballon d’Or, as he did with Real Madrid in 2018. He is even still playing at AC Milan now, at the grand old age of 41!

A spectacular time in north London that started with a curse and ended with an £85m sale to Real Madrid, Bale scored some of the most memorable goals in Tottenham’s Premier League history.

It was 24 league outings that Bale featured in without a Spurs victory at the start of his spell at the club, before that curse was finally broken in 2009. After that, the converted left-back went on the rampage as a he destroyed right-backs up and down the country.

Moving into more of a central role late in his time at Tottenham, goalkeepers had no answer to some of the best left-footed strikes from distance that the English top-flight has witnessed over the last 34 years.

A return on loan followed in 2020/21, but it wasn’t quite the same. That being said, Bale goes down as an absolute club legend and one remembered for completely changing the narrative of his career in spectacular fashion.

Speaking about legendary signings of the Premier League era, that brings us to the clear No.1 and one of the most loved Tottenham players of any era in north London – Sonny.

Signed for just £22m in the summer of 2015, the South Korean went on to chalk up 173 goals and 101 assists in 454 games in all competitions. Son is second on the all-time list of Premier League scorers for the club and fifth overall.

Son and Harry Kane formed the most prolific goal-combining duo in Premier League history, connecting for 47 goals before the latter left for Bayern Munich in 2023.

A sure sign of how much he is missed has been the complete lack of productivity from the left flank after he joined Los Angeles FC in the summer of 2025.

Tottenham Hotspur defender Pedro Porro has been working on his recovery from a hamstring injury with specialist fitness coaches back in Spain and is on track for an earlier than expected return as a result.

Having signed a lucrative new contract in north London, the outstanding right-back then tested World Cup glory with Spain in a summer to remember for the 27-year-old.

However, his start to the new Premier League season suffered a significant blow after he came off just 19 minutes into Tottenham’s 3-2 home defeat by Aston Villa before the international break.

While his hamstring issue was expected to keep him out for four to six weeks, it would appear that he could be back slightly earlier than was initially forecast, likely due to a sensible decision on his part.

With Roberto De Zerbi giving all of his players the first week of the international break off, if they were not with their national teams, Football.London reports how Porro took the chance to head back home to his province of Extremadura to ‘work with specialists to ensure he has optimum fitness levels for when he returns while strengthening around his hamstring’.

Heading home, as opposed to staying at Tottenham to work with a medical team that has come in for plenty of criticism over the past couple of seasons, will hopefully prove to be a wise choice for the Spaniard, who will be a big miss the longer he is on the sidelines.

Porro has worked for years with physio David de la Hera, who runs the Badajoz-based Axis Polyclinic and helps a number of international players, and the report adds that the right-back is ‘considered one of the fittest players at Tottenham and in the Spanish set-up’.

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Porro ramping up rehab for early Tottenham return

Last week the duo made their way to SPZ Iron training club, where the CEO Nuno Ferreira is a professor of neuroscience and applies it to sports science, to work on Porro’s recovery.

SPZ documented Porro’s visit and posted on Instagram: “In the making of an elite athlete, there is never a single person behind. There’s a team. At SPZ we have been collaborating with Axis Polyclinic for more than 10 years, sharing work, knowledge and experience with numerous first-level and high-performance athletes.

“And this time we were lucky enough to receive Pedro Porro: world champion, professional footballer, extreme and, above all, a great person. Our colleague David de la Hera contacted our colleague Nuno to coordinate a joint work between different professionals.The goal?

“Evaluate, adjust and optimize different aspects of your preparation, adding perspectives, experience and knowledge to always work in the same direction. Because when multiple professionals share information and work in a coordinated manner, the result goes far beyond a training session. It’s a collaboration. It’s confidence. It’s shared learning. It’s performance.

“At SPZ we will always be at your disposal for our athletes to help them get closer to their goals. Thanks to David de la Hera and the whole team of Axis Polyclinic for counting on us and for allowing us to continue sharing knowledge. I work in a team. Always.”

De la Hera replied: “I don’t get tired of sharing these “special” cases with you my friend Nuno in this it’s not worth he has X injury and we stay in the purely mechanical…. here we have to be finer and there is nothing better than having a suspicion, have someone who understands and shares it and the power to solve it together.

“Time and work will tell if we are right… but at least we squeeze out that part that you love so much and we go beyond. Thank you for being a TEAM to you and to @mivecinojoseq for always giving me a hand with what you also know how to do. We keep going.”

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While Porro is not expected to be fit to face Manchester United when the Premier League resumes on October 10, there is now hope that he could be back for the home clash with Coventry nine days later.

Failing that, it will be the big London derby against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on October 24.

From De Zerbi’s perspective, he just needs one of his best players back as soon as possible to arrest the club’s disastrous start to the season, with the versatile Archie Gray expected to deputise until Porro returns.

Tottenham Hotspur have emerged as admirers of Younes Ebnoutalib after his outstanding start to the season earned him a first senior Germany call-up, TEAMtalk understands.

The 23-year-old has quickly become one of the names attracting growing attention after a remarkable run of form for Eintracht Frankfurt, whom he joined in January from Elversberg.

We can confirm Tottenham are among the clubs keeping a close eye on Ebnoutalib, with Premier League rivals Brighton and Everton also having watched the forward closely this season.

Ebnoutalib’s first few months in Frankfurt colours were disrupted by a knee injury, but he has put those problems behind him in spectacular fashion since the beginning of the current campaign.

The German has scored four goals and supplied an assist across his opening four games, with a hat-trick against Union Berlin proving particularly significant.

That performance was enough to catch the attention of new Germany boss Jurgen Klopp, who moved quickly to include Ebnoutalib in his squad.

Klopp was immediately impressed by what he saw, explaining the impact Ebnoutalib’s performance had on the coaching staff.

“I saw his first game of the season for Eintracht and said to myself, ‘What a player! Where did they find him?’ There was no discussion among the coaching staff. We all immediately agreed: ‘Yes, we have to include him.’”

Klopp subsequently followed through on that decision, handing Ebnoutalib his Germany debut against the Netherlands.

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Tottenham plotting move for German sensation

The call-up also represents a significant international decision for the Ebnoutalib, who had been in line for a Morocco call-up after previously representing the country at youth level.

However, the Frankfurt star is now committed to Germany, the country of his birth, after making his senior debut under Klopp.

His rapid emergence has inevitably attracted attention from clubs monitoring the European market, with his performances for Frankfurt ensuring his reputation continues to grow.

Tottenham are understood to be big admirers of the forward and have been keeping tabs on his progress.

Brighton and Everton have also watched Ebnoutalib closely this term, with the player’s exceptional start ensuring his name is increasingly appearing on Premier League radars.

Having only arrived at Frankfurt in January, Ebnoutalib has wasted little time establishing himself as a player capable of operating at the highest level.

Tottenham Hotspur have been heavily criticised for sanctioning Will Lankshear’s move to Championship outfit Middlesbrough over the summer, alongside the departure of another top talent destined for the top.

The north London club currently sit bottom of the Premier League table after a disastrous start to the 2026/27 season, despite having spent in excess of £300million on new signings.

Indeed, Roberto De Zerbi has been backed more than any other Tottenham manager in recent times, having guided the club away from relegation by the skin of its teeth on the final day of last season.

All areas of De Zerbi’s squad were bolstered, although the addition of an elite striker was clearly a blunder by transfer chiefs, with Spurs scoring their first two league goals of the season against Aston Villa last time out.

One player who could have helped in that regard was Lankshear, who was long-heralded as Harry Kane’s natural successor in north London.

However, Tottenham opted to cash in on the 21-year-old when they sold him to Middlesbrough for £10m in a deal that could rise to £20m with add-ons.

While Spurs have been struggling to find the back of the net in the early stages of the season, Lankshear has been on fire for Boro, scoring eight goals in his first 11 matches for the club.

And Tottenham ‘expert’ John Wenham believes CEO Vinai Venkatesham and sporting director Johan Lange have had an “utter disaster” when it comes to how they dealt with Lankshear.

“It does [look silly] when you exclude Richarlison out of choice as well, because it basically means all we have got now is a Dominic Solanke that’s devoid of confidence, Mathys Tel is devoid of confidence either on the left wing or as a striker, and I think Marmoush is better suited playing as a 10 or off the wing than as a striker,” Wenham told Tottenham News.

“We have actually let go of a striker that is bang in confidence, that’s got the correct build to be a striker, especially in a De Zerbi system.

“He’s English, he supports the club, and he’s scoring goals for fun, it doesn’t just look like a mistake, it looks like an utter disaster to have moved Lankshear on.”

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Tottenham also accused of Vuskovic blunder

Meanwhile, Tottenham have also been criticised for letting Luka Vuskovic leave to join Brighton for £46m, plus a further £4m in add-ons to take it up to £50m.

Vuskovic has been in superb form for a Seagulls side who currently sit third in the Premier League table, having been signed as a replacement for Jan Paul van Hecke, who moved to Spurs for £52m earlier in the summer window.

The contrast between the two could not be more stark, with Vuskovic flying and Van Hecke being heavily criticised for his performances for club and country.

And former Everton CEO Keith Wyness has argued that Tottenham were forced to “sacrifice” Vuskovic due to a lack of a “succession plan”.

“It’s early days, and I think we’ve got to stress it is five games in. But there is a feeling that certainly that’s the way it’s going (Brighton better off),” Wyness told Football Insider.

“The weakness from Spurs’ point of view is that they were sacrificing a young generational talent for a 26-year-old who needed to come in because they hadn’t got the succession plan in place for stability in the defence.

“That’s where the fault lies, and it probably is the case that Brighton will have got the better of the deal.

“I think that will probably be the case as we end up at the end of the season and review it. Certainly, we’ve got to believe that’s the case right now.

“It’s the lack of succession, where we know Brighton have been superb in succession planning.

“Here is a gap where Spurs didn’t have the succession planning in place, and now they’ve been made to pay for it, and they’ve had to sacrifice a young generational talent for that.”

Jan Paul van Hecke’s struggles appear to be going from bad to worse, after one Dutch media outlet was heavily critical of the Tottenham Hotspur star’s performance for the Netherlands against Serbia in the Nations League, although there were also some positive comments worth mentioning.

The 26-year-old was one of the first signings through the door for Roberto De Zerbi this summer, arriving in a £52million deal from Premier League rivals Brighton.

Despite the common consensus that Tottenham probably overpaid for Van Hecke, the move did tick some boxes, given that De Zerbi coached the Dutchman during his time in charge at The Amex.

However, just five games into his Premier League career, Spurs currently sit bottom of the table, and it’s been a struggle for Van Hecke to replicate the form he showed on the south coast to date.

What makes his struggles even worse for Tottenham fans is seeing former north London prospect Luka Vuskovic wowing at Brighton, after De Zerbi pushed to sign the more experienced duo of Van Hecke and Marcos Senesi instead of trusting the young Croat to build on his burgeoning reputation.

Van Hecke had by far his worst game in a Spurs shirt during the 3-2 home loss to Aston Villa last time out, being bullied by Nicolas Jackson in a game that he struggled to dominate in the air and also missed some crucial tackles. Indeed, one pundit called for the centre-back to be immediately dropped from De Zerbi’s starting XI after that game.

And his struggles domestically look to have travelled with him on Netherlands duty in the Nations League, having not been at his best in the opening game against Germany and then earning mixed reviews against Serbia.

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‘Sloppy’ Van Hecke still in a ‘slump’

Indeed, Dutch outlet Voetbal Primeur suggested that Van Hecke is still reeling from his early issues in north London, taking them into the Serbia contest.

They wrote, when evaluating Van Hecke’s performance: “He does not yet seem to have shaken off the slump at Tottenham Hotspur with the Oranje. Van Hecke was sloppy in his forward passing on several occasions and was not entirely focused defensively either.”

The mixed reviews then came in from elsewhere, as BD actually suggested that new Netherlands boss Xavi would have been happy with what he saw from Van Hecke.

They added: “The central defender showed sharpness, although he never lets up when it comes to passion and willingness, which is what Xavi emphasizes so much.”

That was echoed somewhat by Sport Nieuws, who also put up a largely positive review.

They wrote: “Van Hecke recovered well from his poor performance against Germany. The defender looked much more confident on the ball and also made a more stable impression defensively.”

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Either way, Van Hecke needs to find the form he showcased on a regular basis down at Brighton, and quick, if De Zerbi’s men are to start working their way up the table.

Tottenham are back in action on October 10 when they head to Old Trafford to face Manchester United in the Premier League, in a game where both bosses are currently under extreme pressure.

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that there could be a Tottenham Hotspur clause in Harry Kane’s new contract at Bayern Munich.

TEAMtalk’s transfer insider, Graeme Bailey, reported on August 10 that Tottenham have made enquiries about a possible deal for Kane.

Kane is a Tottenham legend and left the north London club for Bayern in the summer of 2023 for an initial transfer fee of £86.4million.

The England international striker is out of contract at the Bundesliga champions at the end of the season.

On September 14, Graeme Bailey reported that Bayern are confident that Kane will put pen to paper on a new deal.

Kane subsequently revealed that he is happy at Bayern, and that talks over a new contract are ongoing.

Transfer guru Romano has now brought an update on Kane’s future.

The Italian journalist has revealed that Kane will sign a new deal with Bayern.

What will be of interest for Tottenham fans is that, according to Romano, there could be a Premier League return clause in Kane’s new contract as well as a clause specific to Spurs.

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Tottenham Hotspur clause in new Harry Kane Bayern Munich contract

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “For Harry Kane, the negotiations and talks between Harry Kane, his brother Charlie, and Bayern over new deal are proceeding very well.

“So, what now they are clarifying, according to my information, rather than the economical side, financially, the agreement is very close between Harry Kane and Bayern.

“It’s about the length of the contract, how many years, how to sort that clause Harry Kane had in his contract for a Premier League return, for Tottenham matching rights.

“So, they have something to clarify in terms of clauses, in terms of length of the contract, but already being almost there financially there, I think it’s a big news for Bayern, so really, really getting closer.

“I think it’s happening.

“It’s very close.

“Again, they need to clarify these points, and we will keep you update on that, and then, we will see what’s going to happen on that situation.”

Harry Redknapp has revealed how he thinks his old club Tottenham Hotspur were ‘cheated’ by the Manchester City FFP scandal and why he thinks the Etihad outfit should be punished in ‘the years to come’, rather than having titles taken away.

The footballing world was left stunned on Friday after it emerged that Man City had been found guilty on 114 of the 115 Premier League financial regulations they were accused of breaching.

The verdict came off the back of a four-year investigation into the club’s financial practices carried out between 2009 and 2018.

The eight-time English champions are expected to launch an appeal in due course, with no timeline for City’s punishment as it stands. Indeed, there are fears the process could still drag on for some time.

While a hefty points deduction remains the likeliest course of action, there has even been talk of relegation to the EFL, who are expected to back the Premier League in that scenario.

The potential knock-on effects of City’s misconduct also brings countless other clubs into the picture, one of them being Tottenham, who Redknapp managed when the two teams were scrapping to secure Champions League places in the early 2010s.

But, while his side missed out on dining with Europe’s elite by one place in successive seasons in 2010/11 and 2011/12, Redknapp feels it would be madness to start trying to rewrite history.

“Manchester City’s guilty verdict handed down on almost all of their Premier League charges is a staggering moment for football,” Redknapp wrote in a column for The Sun.

“It is a huge task to try and wrap your head around just how far this could reach through the sport — all the people who could be impacted.

“There are so many who will feel they have a claim to have some wrongs righted should City fail in their appeal and I am one of them.

‘”During the period City’s charges cover, I was in charge of Spurs and locking horns with them for the Champions League spots over a long run.

“In back-to-back seasons, 2010/11 and 2011/12, we finished one place off qualification.

“The second time around, when City won the title with that Sergio Aguero goal on the final day, we finished fourth but still missed out as Chelsea won the Champions League to take our spot.

“In May 2011, a 1-0 loss to Roberto Mancini’s side saw them qualify for Europe’s biggest competition for the first time and ended our dream of getting in there ourselves.’

Redknapp added: “Who knows what would have happened if those at the Etihad had been playing by the rules like everyone else?

“No one can say for sure but Tottenham fans will not be alone in feeling that they were, in some way, cheated across those seasons.”

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Man City punishment should focus on present, not the past

Though teams at both ends of the English top flight may have grievances and cases to make over the whole scandal, Redknapp insists he has ‘no interest’ in the Premier League returning to previous seasons to take points or titles away from City.

He continued: “Champions League football over those two years could have changed so much for Spurs but I have no interest in the Premier League going back and deducting points from those seasons or deducting titles from City.

“This whole process has been one almighty, drawn-out mess, but we are still a long way off from it being finished.

“Just imagine the can of worms we would be opening if the suits were to start going back and altering league tables which have long been finalised.

“Where do you start and where do you draw the line? Not only are the clubs at the top impacted by titles, Champions League places and huge revenue missed out on – but those at the bottom will all have claims, too.”

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Indeed, Redknapp feels that if the Premier League does look back at past seasons, it could end up doing ‘incredible damage’ to their standing across the world.

“Opening up all those previous seasons would do incredible damage to a league which is the envy of the world,” the 79-year-old added.

“City obviously need to be punished, to be made an example of, but it makes much more sense for everyone involved if those penalties cover the years to come.

“They should be hit hard when all is said and done but, as wronged as we all might feel by what happened, it would be madness to go back and start messing with results from the past.”