Football365

“In my opinion yeah [best in the world]. I think he’s just very complete all round, he’s very calm on the ball, has a good pass, can surprise, good aerial, quick – there are a lot of points for me that are really good to have as a centre-half.”

No prizes for guessing which Premier League centre-back this wannabe models their game upon, but gold stars and medals abound for those of you who have worked out which ‘New Virgil van Dijk’ Tottenham are ‘lining up’ to provide cover for Sergio Romero and Micky van de Ven. The headline is admittedly a bit of a giveaway.

Leeds’ last season in the Premier League – the Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia, Sam Allardyce mess which saw them finish 19th – made it difficult to sort the squad wheat from the chaff, and many of us will have failed to avoid the temptation to lump all of those players together as relegation fodder.

But Pascal Struijk had already emerged as significant source of pride at Elland Road having emerged from the club’s academy in 2020, before earning the nickname ‘Virg’ in the 2020/2021 season.

When asked in that breakout season about reaching the heights of Van Dijk, he said: “I’ve seen some things but I’m not there yet and if I want to be there I have a lot of improvements to do.

“They did sometimes call me ‘Virg’ but I prefer my own name.

“I think for me yes [calmness on the ball is important] it’s very important because it shows confidence when someone is on the ball and as well having a good pass on you that can help the team, surprise the opponent.”

The 26-year-old hasn’t made the “improvements” required to match Van Dijk’s level – he wouldn’t still be playing for Leeds if he had. But there’s not a great deal of shame in not being the best centre-back in the world.

MORE TOTTENHAM COVERAGE ON F365

👉 Max Dowman in England XI who staked their World Cup 2030 claim in Carabao Cup on Wednesday

👉 Tottenham boss Frank opens door to Kane return as exit clause is revealed with Spurs given ‘first option’

👉 Premier League player stats: Haaland, Mbeumo most shots; Grealish leads fouls won and assists

And as journalist Graeme Bailey told Leeds United News, with Struijk’s contract expiring in 2027, there are at least three Premier League clubs keeping tabs on the Dutchman, including Tottenham, with left-sided centre-backs “worth their weight in gold”.

Bailey said: “I never got a feeling he was going to leave. Farke made him feel wanted. I don’t think that’ll [new contract] be far off. He’s a fabulous player. He does attract interest. You know, Leeds have to be careful.

“We know the likes of Brighton have looked at him in the past and you know, if they lose a Jan Paul van Hecke, would they look at Struijk? We know that Tottenham looked at him as well.

“Left-sided centre-backs are worth their weight in gold. If Brentford lose Nathan Collins they could come in. Leeds will be looking to extend him because there’s an awful lot of clubs who would take him.”

Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank admits that he “would like to see” Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane return to Spurs as soon as possible.

Kane, who scored 280 goals in 435 appearances for Spurs, left Tottenham in 2023 for Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich without winning a trophy in north London.

After going trophyless in his first campaign with the Bavarians, Kane finally got his hands on his first major trophy last season as they won the Bundesliga.

Kane will no doubt stay at Bayern Munich for this season, where he is likely to win at least one more trophy, but there is the potential he could leave next summer.

German newspaper Bild reported on Monday that Kane has a £56.7m release clause which could be activated from next summer despite previous claims it will be active in January 2026.

There are rumours flying around that he could return to the Premier League with Tottenham – who Sky Sports claim have a ‘first option’ on Kane – and Manchester United interested and now Frank has confirmed that he wants the England international to return.

READ: Harry Kane is £56.7m no-brainer; he has always been only one rung below Messi

Ahead of their League Cup tie against Doncaster Rovers, Spurs boss Frank said of Kane: “There’s a lot of Tottenham fans including myself who would like to see Kane back.

“He’s a top player. Personally, I don’t think he will do it right now, if I’m honest, he’ll probably stay in Bayern and continue performing well. He was top-scorer last year and won the championship, he’s doing fantastic now.

“Top player. I don’t know what he’s thinking. Myself, I’m a traveller, I like to travel, I like to explore things as well. He’s been here for many years so why not enjoy the time at Bayern a little bit more.

“But he’s welcome. If he wants to join us, he’s more than welcome.”

MORE ON TOTTENHAM FROM F365…

👉 F365’s 3pm Blackout: Spurs strike gold with £51m star, Potter sack, Wolves f**k Leeds lead and their season

👉 Premier League winners and losers: Liverpool, West Ham, Parker, Villa, Fulham, Arteta, Guardiola and more…

👉 Premier League prize money table revealed with Chelsea taking top spot after November picks

On leaving Tottenham, Kane wrote on social media: “It’s not a goodbye because you never know how things pan out in the future, but it’s a thank you and I’ll see you soon.”

When asked how much it would mean to win a trophy with Tottenham this season, Frank added: “Of course I’d like to win, no doubt about that. For me, I think we probably need to take one game at a time, make sure we get past Doncaster tomorrow and then if we continue progressing then ask me that question when we get to the final.

“Before that, it’s about winning the next one because if we don’t win the next one, there’s no reason to speak about what’s happening maybe in the future.”

Harry Kane’s German adventure has gone pretty much perfectly to script.

It was always likely that a player who scored Premier League goals for fun in a non-dominant team would find Bundesliga goals in a very dominant team fairly straightforward to accumulate.

And it did always feel like three years would be the right amount of time for Kane to go and trophy-pad his CV. Indeed, just about the only shock from his time in Germany is that if, as seems increasingly plausible, he does return to England next summer, he’ll only bring two rather than three Bundesliga medals back with him to go with the amusingly cannon-shaped goalscorer awards.

Go to Germany, spend three years winning pots and pans while scoring a f*ckton of goals, before returning to England for a few years to complete the formalities of Alan Shearer’s record, and then off to semi-retirement in MLS, possibly while trying to become an NFL kicker on the side. That always felt like the plan.

There’s talk of a pretty reasonable £56.7m release clause Kane can trigger next summer, with Spurs supposedly having first dibs from the deal struck with Bayern, with reports saying the Germans are ‘nervous’ the striker might seek a return to England.

Thomas Frank, who is not an idiot, has said “Yes please, if he’s up for it” while also making clear there is nothing imminent planned.

“I think there’s a lot of Tottenham fans including myself who would like to see Kane back.

“He’s a top player. Personally, I don’t think he will do it right now, if I’m honest, he’ll probably stay in Bayern and continue performing well. But he’s welcome. If he wants to join us, he’s more than welcome.”

So… you’re telling us there’s a chance? The departure of Daniel Levy and increased prevalence of the Lewis family – with whom Kane is reportedly close – is another intriguing little detail here, offering a potential removal of one large obstacle that always stood between Kane and a return to his former club: the fact Bayern pay him £400,000 a week and Levy’s Spurs would never do that.

We do get the distinct impression he’s enjoying superclub life more than he maybe realised he would, but our gut still tells us that Shearer’s record sits prominently on that personal to-do list now he’s finally managed to end the Kane Curse, which did prove more potent than any of us imagined.

He might even get to return to the Premier League as a World Cup winner, at which point he would also, one imagines, be doing so as a pretty hot favourite for the 2026 Ballon d’Or. Which brings us to the one thing that has been slightly curious about Kane’s time in Germany.

We knew he’d do well, we knew he’d score goals, and above all we knew he’d do a lot more than just score goals. Because that’s always who he’s been. What we weren’t quite prepared for was the extent to which people would start behaving like this was some kind of new development.

The realities of the Ballon d’Or is that while it is an individual award, you do still have to play for one of the massive clubs to win it. He was never going to win it at Spurs, and that’s fine. But must we actually pretend he’s improved or developed as a player at Bayern?

Don’t get us wrong, he certainly hasn’t got worse. And there is no sense of age catching up to a player who has never relied on express pace.

But it seems to us he’s just doing all the same brilliant things he did for year after year at Tottenham. He’s always defended like that. He’s always picked the ball up from his own defenders. He’s always had that passing range and technique.

He was never ‘just a striker’ at Spurs any more than he was a one-season wonder. People were dimly aware of this, but when it was just silly Spurs there was always a reluctance to truly accept and acknowledge what was very obvious: that here, in these unlikely surroundings, is one of the very best players in the world.

When Kane, while still at Spurs, spoke of Messi and Ronaldo as the players he was inspired by and to whose levels he aspired, there was mockery. But why? Step back and who else was there in the game for Kane to seek to emulate? He wasn’t as good as those two, perhaps the best two players in the history of the game, but who else in the world was demonstrably better than Kane to the extent he could look up to them?

It’s truly bizarre that it has taken Kane doing exactly the same things he used to do on the regular at Spurs – and still does for England, where far from being appreciated, they often draw actual criticism – while surrounded by better team-mates and weaker opponents for people to finally fully acknowledge what had been so obviously the case for years.

England still don’t. The man has 74 England goals including a World Cup Golden Boot and there is still a reluctance to place him among the true greats of English football, perhaps because none of those goals count. Future generations will watch footage of the celebrations in pubs and beer gardens around the land when Kane was replaced by Ollie Watkins in the Euro 2024 final with genuine bafflement and confusion.

When he returns to the Premier League as he surely will for the couple of years he’ll need to penalty-pad his way past Shearer, whether that’s at Tottenham or elsewhere, he will return as a player perhaps more accurately regarded and rated everywhere else apart from his own country.

And as he’s a player who once scored 30 Premier League goals in a season where Spurs floundered to eighth under Antonio Conte and won the Golden Boot and playmaker awards in a season despite being shackled by Jose Mourinho at his most miserabilist, it’s unlikely that anything he might do upon his return changes the slightly odd perception of a player widely regarded as one of the best centre-forwards of his era yet somehow still weirdly and consistently under-rated and under-estimated.

Harry Kane reportedly has an exit clause in his Bayern Munich contract that could attract the attention of Premier League clubs Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Kane left Tottenham for Bayern ahead of the 2023/24 season and claimed the first trophy of his career in May, lifting the Bundesliga title.

He has scored an extraordinary 98 goals in 103 matches for the German giants and has started this season in terrific form, registering 13 goals and three assists in seven appearances, including a brace against Chelsea in the Champions League last week.

The 32-year-old will hit a century of goals for Bayern in only 104 games with a brace on Friday against Werder Bremen, which would make him the fastest player in Europe’s top-five leagues to reach that milestone. Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland both reached 100 goals in 105 games for Real Madrid and Manchester City, respectively.

READ: Six left-field predictions of players who could win the 2026 Ballon d’Or

Kane has been Bayern’s best and most consistent player since joining for around £100million, and they are reportedly in danger of losing him in the 2026 summer transfer window.

According to German outlet Bild, there is an ‘exit clause in his contract’ worth €65million (£56.8m), though he would have to ‘announce his move in the winter’.

That fee for a 33-year-old represents ‘a lot of money’ but also ‘could be dangerous for Bayern’, the report states.

However, that ‘doesn’t even buy half the price of Alexander Isak’ and even if Kane stays in Germany until he’s 36, ‘a model professional like him would still be tearing the Bundesliga to pieces’.

The report adds:

Kane is said to still be keen to break the Premier League goalscoring record. It’s currently held by Alan Shearer with 260 goals. He himself has 213, all of which he’s scored for Tottenham. Should he return to his homeland in the summer after the 2026 World Cup, at the age of 33, he would have a prime chance of breaking the record.

Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann recently said Kane has a clause in his contract allowing him to leave next summer and backed Manchester United to sign him.

He Adventure Gamers: “I think Harry Kane has a clause that allows him to leave for a certain amount next summer. I believe the reason Bayern Munich wanted to bring Nick Woltemade in this summer was because many within the club think Kane wants to go back to England after the World Cup.

“I can see Harry Kane at Manchester United next season, and I think he’d do well for them,” Hamann added.

“Having said that, I always felt that as a London boy, sometimes they don’t really like to go to the north. Having played for Spurs, obviously Chelsea and Arsenal might be tricky, but then again, you never know, if they give him a chance to win the Premier League.

“I always felt or thought that a London club would be more favourable than a northern club, but obviously United is probably still the biggest club in England, and if they were to ask for his services, I think it would be fantastic to see him as their number nine.”

We are starting a movement: Rafa Benitez to West Ham.

There was a good batch of 3pm kick-offs in the Premier League this weekend. There was an early-season relegation six-pointer between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leeds United, Brighton & Hove Albion played Tottenham Hotspur in a game we can’t believe isn’t on the tele when Fulham vs Brentford is, Burnley took on Ange Postecoglou’s Nottingham Forest, and under-pressure West Ham boss Graham Potter needed a positive result at home to Crystal Palace.

It’s Football365’s 3pm Blackout…

Wolves 1-3 Leeds: Wolves f**k it on and off the pitch as Farke’s men win six-pointer

Can a club’s fifth game of the season be described as a six-pointer? Well, we’re going for it. Leeds deservedly won a huge game at Wolves, in a result that makes the latter’s hierarchy look rather foolish.

On Thursday, Wolves, bottom of the Premier League with four defeats from four, announced a new three-year contract for head coach Vitor Pereira. On Saturday, it became five defeats out of five as Leeds came from behind to win 3-1 at Molineux.

Wolves badly needed a win from somewhere, and hosting Daniel Farke’s side felt like the perfect opportunity. It started so well when summer signing Ladislav Krejci put them ahead in the eighth minute.

But before half-time, Leeds were 3-1 up thanks to a tidy Dominic Calvert-Lewin header, a world-class Anton Stach free-kick, and a Noah Okafor finish that Jose Sa really should have done better with.

Leeds didn’t have to work particularly hard to keep the scoreline the same after the break. Wolves slung in cross after cross with big strikers Jorgen Strand Larsen and Tolu Arokodare somewhere in there. Marshall Munetsi had one decent chance from an Arokodare knock-down, but other than that Karl Darlow didn’t have much to do. He made some saves, but nothing too complicated.

The result means Leeds have now won two of their opening five Premier League matches — one home, one away — which bodes well for an interesting relegation battle this season, even though Wolves are trying their absolute best to fill the role of the shockingly bad newly-promoted team.

Pereira’s contract extension already looks a poor decision, when it was a baffling one anyway given Wolves’ dreadful start. There is a long way to go and he’s not going to get sacked any time soon, but it could easily come in time for Christmas. And if Nuno Espirito Santo happens to be available then, it does feel written in the stars.

Jason Soutar

Brighton 2-2 Spurs: Simons inspires comeback playing in his *actual* position

If there is a lesson to be gleaned from this week in the history of the Tottenham it’s that Xavi Simons, the very good No.10 signed at great expense this summer, is a very good No.10.

A good left-winger? Not so much, at least not in this team. The contrast between his ineffective performance from the start against Villarreal and the substitute cameo which helped inspire a comeback point against Brighton was stark.

Brighton were as good value for their lead as Spurs were for the recovery. Yankuba Minteh and Yasin Ayari took their goals impeccably, albeit with a helping hand from high lines and the lack of structural integrity in Guglielmo Vicario’s wrist.

Both Spurs goals had an element of fortune about them, from Mohammed Kudus’ mis-hit shot playing directly into the feet of Richarlison and Jan Paul van Hecke nudging a cross into his own goal. But neither side can argue it was not a fair result.

The introduction of Simons marked a real shift in momentum. Only Ayari and Richarlison had more than his three shots and the Dutchman embraced the creative responsibility afforded to him in the middle.

There is no other player, certainly not available, of whom that can be said in this Spurs squad. That’s what £51m can buy.

Brighton’s substitutions after Simons came on tell a story: Milner for Gruda; Welbeck for Rutter; Coppola for Minteh; and Wieffer for Kadioglu. It does not come naturally for this team or manager to shut up shop but they had to try something to resist the Simons effect.

Matt Stead

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace: Hammers are broken and Potter’s time is up

It was a surprise that of the 1,382 words West Ham felt compelled to publish on their official website earlier in the week, “I’m not owned” was not among them.

Yet they did continue to insist, as they slowly shrank and transformed into a corn cob/sham of an institution, that things were fine under Graham Potter because the atmosphere at the training ground was ‘unique’ and ‘intimate’ and the manager’s ‘philosophy’ is ‘built on the values that underpin the identity of our football club – including the importance of creating a pathway to the first team for our young Academy players.’

So of course a few days later, following the planned protests against an ownership accused in no uncertain terms of ‘destroying West Ham United’, Ollie Scarles was the sole homegrown representative as the London Stadium turned toxic in defeat to Crystal Palace.

Mads Hermansen being dropped for Alphonse Areola and James Ward-Prowse remaining an immobile midfield mainstay while Soungoutou Magassa takes notes from the bench was also hardly a resounding endorsement of the vaunted ‘new strategy and approach’ on player recruitment.

But Jarrod Bowen is as willing as ever to sacrifice his peak professional years in the name of this ludicrous club so that’s something.

It’s not nearly enough, neither in this game nor the grander scheme. His headed equaliser from an El Hadji Malick Diouf corner was excellent but Bowen alone cannot counteract an inability to defend such deliveries at the other end or create much of note besides.

This has to be it for Potter. Palace had far less possession, more than twice as many shots, a far clearer plan and complete squad alignment on how that was going to be achieved. The difference in the standard of coaching was absurd.

MORE ON POTTER’S REPLACEMENTS

👉 West Ham ‘considering’ Graham Potter sack with ‘highly respected’ manager available

👉 West Ham plot ‘surprise’ return of manager they sacked in 2017 to replace Graham Potter

What West Ham would give for Oliver Glasner, the architect behind a 17-game unbeaten Palace run which has included more wins than Potter has mustered in this entire sorry reign.

Yet the truth remains that appointing the right manager is barely a fraction of the battle the Hammers face to turn things around. The culture is broken and everything from the stands to the pitch to the boardroom is defined by division.

There is no quick fix. Not even Nuno Espirito Santo, the spiritually obvious successor of the poisoned chalice, who was photographed this week at a restaurant near the owner’s house while dreaded votes of confidence in Potter were presumably still being drafted.

At this point West Ham and David Sullivan should probably just lean entirely into the parody and consummate a marriage they have flirted with for over a decade as they continue the infernal cycle of foreign-Brit-foreign and attacking-focused to defensive-minded.

“People still ask me, ‘Do you want to coach?’ For sure, I do, particularly in England and Europe. I do not want people to think I am finished. I am still evolving,” said Rafael Benitez this week. We’ve got just the job for you…

Matt Stead

Burnley 1-1 Nottm Forest: Postecoglou still winless after calamity from ex-Arsenal man

Nottingham Forest have now failed to win any of their first three games under Ange Postecoglou after blowing the chance to build on an early lead at Burnley.

Arsenal away in Postecoglou’s first game after replacing Nuno Espirito Santo was a free hit for the ex-Spurs boss. Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat at Swansea City, however, was a complete disaster, and failing to win at newly-promoted Burnley only adds to the pressure of getting that elusive first victory.

Next up? Real Betis away in the Europa League, which is about as tough as it gets in the league phase, before a Premier League meeting with Sunderland at the City Ground.

Having replaced a very popular manager, Big Ange has a Big Job convincing the Forest fans he’s the man for the job. So far, so bad. Neco Williams’ deflected effort after about 90 seconds got them off to the perfect start at Turf Moor, but a Lyle Foster equaliser in the 20th minute was all she wrote in terms of goals on the day.

Forest were the side pushing hardest for a winner, with Martin Dubravka making some important saves to protect Burnley’s point. But there’s a clear lack of quality and confidence in the final third. New signing Arnaud Kalimuendo hasn’t got going, and Morgan Gibbs-White looks a shadow of his usual self.

When you’re struggling for an attacking spark, the last thing you need is for a defender to chuck one in his own net. Step forward Arsenal loanee Oleksandr Zinchenko, whose slapstick attempt to clear ended with him falling over and taking the ball into his own goal with him. It was a summary of Postecoglou’s first few weeks in charge.

Jason Soutar

It perhaps wasn’t the triumphant evening Thomas Frank envisaged when idly dreaming of his first Champions League dalliance in a 30-year coaching career. Nor was it the stirring realisation of the shackle-releasing home start of the post-Levy era. But for Spurs, a win on their return to a seat at the top European table represented the bare minimum.

A fair bit has changed since they were forcibly removed from these premises. Cristian Romero was the only player who started against both Villarreal and in Spurs’ previous Champions League game almost 30 months ago. The transformation on the pitch has been matched by new regimes in the boardroom and the dugout.

Antonio Conte would officially last just 16 more days in charge after limping out of the competition with a goalless draw at home to AC Milan and continuing to lament how the dishonour of coaching this ludicrous football club had somehow befallen him.

“We cannot invite the win or hope for a miracle one day that a trophy goes into our training ground or pitch,” he said after a must-win game in which his final substitution was bringing Davinson Sanchez on for Dejan Kulusevski in the 83rd minute while chasing a goal.

Ange Postecoglou performed that “miracle” in Bilbao four months ago to secure what might forever remain the most ludicrous qualification in Champions League history, and it was that labour of a season Frank enjoyed the first fruits of here.

That was certainly the case for the first half an hour or so anyway, arguably up to half-time for those of a glass-half-full persuasion.

Spurs scored from their first meaningful foray into the opposition half, Villarreal keeper Luiz Junior absurdly fumbling a straightforward Lucas Bergvall cross into his own net. Then they just gradually sort of stopped, descending into a tempo-less mess of sloppy passes in the middle third, last-ditch defending and periodic Arsenal booing just to feel something.

Nicolas Pepe did his utmost to respond with a couple of efforts which curled just wide and a clever pass which Tajon Buchanan ought to have converted. Then Thomas Partey came on for the final ten minutes to underline the inherent difference between a pantomime villain and, well, a named former Premier League footballer in his 30s.

But really it was a deeply existential experience for Europa League winners who are not at all well-versed in the ways of Gazprom. Six players made their Champions League debut and the furthest this coach had gone in Europe before was the fourth qualifying round of the Europa League a decade ago.

It was a learning curve for the entire squad and staff; Villarreal are a capable team with a strong pedigree on the continent who beat Barcelona away at the end of last season to aid their qualification bid and Spurs struggled at times.

Xavi Simons had to be substituted before he was sent off, Micky van de Ven gambled with the mood of the entire evening by bundling over Georges Mikautadze after Villarreal broke through from the second ball from a throw-in, and the biggest cheer was reserved for Richarlison haring down a short goal kick to concede another short goal kick.

At least he started and probably won’t end up publicly calling this season sh*t.

And really for Spurs this was fine. Another win and clean sheet represents definitive progress. The improvements Frank must make beyond that were as clear and obvious as the mistakes in this most curious refereeing performance and the players will be under no illusions that this fell short of the usual required level.

But the magnitude of the occasion and the idiosyncrasies of the tournament format mean that, for their second successive non-Super Cup European game, the result legitimately outweighed the performance in terms of importance for Spurs. Worra trophy.

Tottenham have reportedly sent scouts to watch a trio of stars from the same Ligue 1 side, and one of them outperformed every other player on the pitch.

Spurs had a good summer in terms of recruitment. After finishing 17th in the Premier League last season, they have signed eight players, some of which have immediately bedded into the side.

Mohammed Kudus and Joao Palhinha have played regularly, while Xavi Simons made his first start at the weekend, alongside Mathys Tel.

Tottenham are third in the Premier League, but they already have their sights set on some new signings.

According to TBRFootball, they sent scouts to watch Monaco’s last game – a 2-1 win over Auxerre – in order to watch Maghnes Akliouche, Vanderson and Lamine Camara.

It’s believed Akliouche could be back on the radar after Tottenham wanted both him and Vanderson over the summer – the right-back position which the latter of that pair plays in is now of importance to recruit in, too.

Spurs will be happy with what they saw from both men, particularly Vanderson.

According to Fotmob, he was the best player on the field from either side, returning an 8.2 rating as he assisted one goal and had 12 defensive contributions.

Akliouche’s rating of 7.6 was not far behind, as he got on the front foot often, landing the second-highest expected assists score of any player on his side – even higher than Vanderson’s 0.28, who actually assisted one goal.

MORE ON TOTTENHAM FROM F365:

👉Alan Sugar threatens to sue ‘double barrel idiot’ Redknapp and Sky Sports over Tottenham slur

👉 So easy for Spurs as West Ham wilt to another shameful derby surrender

👉 Premier League mood rankings: 14 places between Liverpool and Man Utd

Camara was given just 12 minutes, and had a 6.7 rating. He is already acquainted with Tottenham star Pape Matar Sarr from the Senegalese national team.

Akliouche is able to play either as a winger or an attacking midfielder, and in four games this season he already has two goals and an assist.

Transfer insider David Ornstein recently revealed a feeling within those in the know in football that he can go very far in the game.

“If they pursued a deal for somebody like [Akliouche], I speak to a lot of people in football who think he’s going to be one of the best attacking midfielders around and has outrageous potential,” he said.

Tottenham have been told they “have to” land a midfield star from a European giant, who Thomas Frank wants to secure “as soon as possible.”

Spurs have mad a good start to the Premier League season and some of their summer signings are to thank for that. Indeed, they are currently third in the league, after three wins and one loss from four games.

Mohammed Kudus assisted twice on his league debut for Tottenham, and Joao Palhinha then scored his first goal for the club the next game – a 2-0 win over Manchester City.

Kudus was signed for £55million, while Palhinha is on loan from Bayern Munich, though there’s an option for Spurs to buy him for £27million.

Former Tottenham scout Bryan King thinks the permanent signing has to be made, and it will be great one for the club.

“Palhinha is someone that they have to bring in permanently,” King told Tottenham News.

“He’s such a good player, and it’s been a great bit of business to bring him in on loan.

“When you get a loan player, it’s always a case of whether he will settle and fit into the system. Top players can handle these situations, and he certainly has.

“I would imagine that the £27m would be money well spent. I think they’ll try and get that deal done as quickly as possible, to then get another couple of seasons out of him.”

MORE ON TOTTENHAM FROM F365:

👉Alan Sugar threatens to sue ‘double barrel idiot’ Redknapp and Sky Sports over Tottenham slur

👉 So easy for Spurs as West Ham wilt to another shameful derby surrender

👉 Premier League mood rankings: 14 places between Liverpool and Man Utd

The 30-year-old could have some good seasons ahead of him, and doesn’t seem to be losing his edge.

Palhinha made the most tackles in the Premier League for two seasons in a row while playing for Fulham prior to his move to Bayern, and now back in England, he’s just four behind the leader Moises Caicedo at the moment, but in 116 fewer minutes.

That Palhinha also scored a crucial goal against City suggests he’ll continue to be effective in different facets for Spurs.

He will play his first Champions League match for them against Villarreal on Tuesday, making it his fourth season playing in the competition, after two campaigns with Sporting Lisbon and one with Bayern.

Former Tottenham scout Bryan King has suggested it’s likely one of the club’s summer signings will be loaned out already, as he hinted at a rift between him and manager Thomas Frank.

Spurs made eight signings in the summer, with Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus the biggest coups. Among their other signings were the permanent additions of last season’s loanees Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso.

There was an obligation for them to buy Danso, while Tottenham negotiated a £30million deal for Bayern Munich forward Tel after his loan.

Since his permanent move to north London, the Frenchman is yet to score in four games and has been left out of the club’s Champions League squad.

According to former Tottenham scout King, a loan exit might be likely as soon as possible, while a poor relationship with manager Frank could be why Tel isn’t getting opportunities.

“I could see Tel making a loan move,” King told Tottenham News.

“I can’t see the point of paying £30m for a player and then not including him in the Champions League squad.

“There’s obviously more there than what we’ve seen for Frank to make a decision like that. Something’s obviously not right between the two of them.”

Ange Postecoglou was the man who first brought Tel to the club, but he was Frank’s first signing, so he must have signed off on the deal.

MORE ON TOTTENHAM FROM F365:

👉Alan Sugar threatens to sue ‘double barrel idiot’ Redknapp and Sky Sports over Tottenham slur

👉 So easy for Spurs as West Ham wilt to another shameful derby surrender

👉 Premier League mood rankings: 14 places between Liverpool and Man Utd

Fellow Tottenham News insider John Wenham has suggested Tottenham might now be thinking twice about their decision to sign Tel permanently.

He said: “Is there a feeling of hindsight that maybe they should have approached Bayern to take him on loan for a second season rather than committing to the purchase?

“Is there a feeling that the characteristics and style he’s got are quite similar to what we already have in Wilson Odobert, who we’d committed to buy the year before?

“So Tel will have to just knuckle down and work hard now, but obviously, the frustration was there with the level and quality of those finishes for France. And then you watch the disappointing penalty in the Super Cup. It’s frustrating.”

Tottenham return to the Champions League on Tuesday night as Villarreal make the trip to north London for their opening group game.

Thomas Frank’s men head in with confidence after a 3-0 win at West Ham, continuing a strong start that has seen them collect three victories from four Premier League matches.

New arrivals are starting to make their mark, while a defence that has already banked three clean sheets looks a clear strength.

Villarreal slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid at the weekend, though earlier wins over Oviedo and Girona showed their ability to trouble weaker opposition.

It is only three years since they reached the Champions League semi-finals, but consistency has been harder to find since then.

This is the first competitive clash between the clubs, and Thomas Partey’s return to the capital adds extra spice. The former Arsenal midfielder is unlikely to get a warm reception if he plays.

The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will expect another big European night, and Frank will be keen to show his side belongs at this level.

Tottenham team news

Thomas Frank is still waiting on Dominic Solanke, who has been nursing an ankle injury and may only make the bench.

James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Dragusin, and Yves Bissouma are out, while Mathys Tel is ineligible after being left off the squad list.

Even so, Spurs looked comfortable without them in Saturday’s win over West Ham.

Pape Sarr and Lucas Bergvall both found the net, and Cristian Romero’s return at the back has strengthened the defence.

Richarlison or new signing Randal Kolo Muani will likely spearhead the attack, with Xavi Simons expected to stay on the left after making an instant impact on his debut.

Tottenham expected line-up

(4-3-3) Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Bentancur, Bergvall; Kudus, Richarlison, Simons

Villarreal team news

Marcelino is without long-term absentees Willy Kambwala, Pau Cabanes, and Logan Costa, while Gerard Moreno’s hamstring problem makes him a serious doubt.

Ayoze Perez is also struggling and could miss out.

That places more responsibility on Nicolas Pepe, who has started the season in strong form and was recently named La Liga’s Player of the Month.

His direct running will be key if Moreno is unavailable.

Former Spurs defender Juan Foyth should line up at the back, and summer signing Georges Mikautadze is pushing to establish himself up front.

Villarreal expected line-up

(4-4-2) Junior; Mourino, Foyth, Veiga, Cardona; Pepe, Gueye, Parejo, Moleiro; Perez, Mikautadze

How to watch and listen

Tottenham vs Villarreal will be shown live in the UK on Amazon Prime Video, with coverage starting from 7pm ahead of the 8pm kick-off.

BBC Radio 5 Live will provide live commentary for UK listeners.

Tottenham vs Villarreal stats

– This is the first meeting between Tottenham and Villarreal in European competition.

– Spurs have won just one of their last 13 games against Spanish opposition in Europe.

– Villarreal have never beaten an English club in the Champions League, drawing six and losing eight.

– Tottenham have won their last two Champions League openers at home, against Marseille and Dortmund.

– Villarreal’s last Champions League match was a semi-final loss to Liverpool in 2022.

– Juan Foyth made his Champions League debut for Spurs in 2017 and now faces them with Villarreal.

Tottenham vs Villarreal predictions

Tottenham return to the Champions League in good shape, but this is the first real test for Thomas Frank on the European stage.

Three victories and three clean sheets in the league underline Spurs’ progress. The defence looks stronger and new signings such as Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani are beginning to bed in.

Villarreal’s domestic form has been mixed, but Nicolas Pepe has started superbly. Two goals, an assist, and a Player of the Month award make him the standout threat.

Both teams have enough in attack to trouble each other. Spurs should create plenty at home, but Villarreal’s front line is lively and difficult to contain.

Pepe’s numbers also catch the eye. He is averaging three shots per game in La Liga, and with Gerard Moreno doubtful, he is likely to be the main outlet again.

Spurs are favourites, but they are missing depth, and this is a big step up for Frank’s side. Villarreal have enough experience to make it awkward and could pinch a result.