talkSPORT

Few dismissals in Premier League history have been more cut-throat than Harry Redknapp's from Tottenham.

The popular manager was given his marching orders by chairman Daniel Levy at the end of the 2011/12 season, having just guided Spurs to a second fourth-place finish in three years.

Redknapp's departure brought to an end a progressive four-year spell at White Hart Lane, having transformed the club into regular contenders for European football during this time.

Harsh sackings seem to have become a recurrent theme in north London, with several managers since finding themselves in similar situations.

In 2019, Mauricio Pochettino was relieved of his duties just months after leading Spurs to the Champions League final.

Meanwhile Antonio Conte was shown the door in 2023 with his side sitting in the top four following his infamous public criticism of his players after a draw with Southampton.

And Ange Postecoglou could soon become the next name included in this conversation, with his future in charge very much up in the air.

Despite the Australian guiding Spurs to a first major trophy in 17 years with Europa League glory, talkSPORT understands Levy is still mulling over whether to proceed with his plans to sack him.

An historically bad domestic campaign is the reason behind this, with Tottenham recording a lowest-ever Premier League finish of 17th.

Should Postecoglou ultimately make way for someone new at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, his cold-blooded departure would bear some striking similarities to Redknapp's 13 years ago.

In May 2012, the former West Ham and Portsmouth boss had overseen what was widely regarded as another successful season.

Spurs finished fourth, only missing out on Champions League football due to Chelsea claiming the last available qualification spot after winning the European competition.

Despite his side being cruelly denied a spot among Europe's elite, few could deny the impressive job Redknapp had done at the club.

Having left his role in charge of Portsmouth for Tottenham in October 2008 with his new side bottom of the Premier League, he successfully turned the tide to finish eighth.

The following season, Redknapp guided Spurs to Champions League qualification for the first time in 2010.

Their maiden campaign in the competition was a memorable one, with the Lilywhites reaching the quarter-finals before being knocked out by a star-studded Real Madrid side which included Cristiano Ronaldo.

And while Redknapp narrowly missed out on delivering Champions League football in 2011 with a fifth-place finish, his team bounced back impressively a year later to once again make the top four.

In fact, the Englishman's exploits at White Hart Lane were so widely respected that he emerged as the favourite to become the new England manager when Fabio Capello resigned in February 2012.

But to the surprise of many, Redknapp's achievements weren't enough to keep him in the job, as he was brutally dismissed by Levy in June 2012 after failing to agree on a new contract.

Reacting at the time, the then 65-year-old said: "I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Spurs and am proud of my achievements.

"I have had a fantastic four years with the club, at times the football has been breathtaking.

"I am sad to be leaving but wish to thank the players, staff and fans for their terrific support during my time there."

And Redknapp has since revealed he was unaware of the club's decision to sack him beforehand, admitting he had felt blindsided.

Discussing managers being dismissed without their prior knowledge on The Rest is Football podcast in January, he opened up on the end of his time at Spurs.

The 78-year-old said: “It is disrespectful. I had it at Tottenham at the end. I never had a clue, it [his sacking] was completely out of the blue to me.

"It was going great, we finished fourth and we were in the Champions League, but Chelsea got to the final of the Champions League that year and finished sixth.

“When they won it was a disaster. I’d gone from qualifying for the Champions League, and when I got home I was told that Daniel had a meeting with one or two managers at the time.

He added: “It was quite a shock, but yeah, sadly that was it.”

Thomas Frank has emerged as the odds on favourite to replace Ange Postecoglou as Tottenham manager this summer.

The Brentford manager is priced at 4/6 to make the short trip across London, with the Tottenham hierarchy expected to make a decision on Postecoglou's future in the coming days.

talkSPORT BET - Bet £10 Get £30 In Free Bets - CLAIM HERE*

Just a fortnight after Ange Postecoglou delivered Tottenham their first trophy in 17 years, defeating Manchester United in the Europa League final in Bilbao, it appears a solid possibility the Australian could be given his marching orders out of north London.

Although the 59-year-old delivered true on his promise of winning a trophy in his second season in charge, the north London club's domestic campaign left a lot to be desired, with the club ending the season with their lowest league finish since their promotion to the top flight 47 years ago, finishing way down in 17th position, just one place above the relegation zone.

Spurs' shortcomings domestically may leave the board wanting someone else to lead the team next season, which will see them compete in the Champions League for only the second time in six seasons.

Thomas Frank is odds on favourite to be the man to replace the Australian at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, after impressing hugely in his near seven-year tenure in charge of the Bees in West London.

The Dane delivered consecutive top three finishes in the Championship in his first two full seasons in charge, reaching the play-off final on both occasions, securing promotion to the top flight in 2021 for the first time for the club in 86 years.

The 51-year-old has delivered top half finishes in two of their four seasons in the Premier League, including their most recent campaign which saw the Bees finish 10th, the club's second highest league finish since the Second World War.

Tottenham next manager odds (talkSPORT BET)

Thomas Frank - 4/6

Marco Silva - 7/2

Oliver Glasner - 6/1

Carlos Corberan - 10/1

Simone Inzaghi - 10/1

Xavi - 10/1

Roberto de Zerbi - 12/1

BAR - 16/1

See all 'Next Tottenham manager odds' HERE

Another manager in West London, Marco Silva, is another name being linked to the Tottenham manager's job. The Portuguese has been in charge of Fulham for four years now and has only one year remaining on his current deal at Craven Cottage.

The 47-year-old won the Championship title in his first season in charge at Fulham and his gone on to finish in the top 13 in each of his three Premier League seasons since, including an 11th place finish in the recently concluded campaign.

Silva does have experience in managing in the Champions League, having led both Sporting Lisbon and Olympiacos in consecutive seasons in the mid 2010s, winning five of his 12 matches, including a win at the Emirates, but not be able to progress beyond the group stage in either campaign.

Another name being mentioned to become the new man in the hotseat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are current Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, who this season delivered the club's first ever trophy with triumph in the FA Cup final, who is priced at 6/1.

Current Valencia and former West Brom manager Carlos Corberan is priced at 10/1, as is current Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi and former Barcelona boss Xavi, just ahead of current Marseille manager and former Brighton boss Roberto de Zerbi, who is currently 12/1.

talkSPORT BET - Bet £10 Get £30 In Free Bets - CLAIM HERE*

Commercial content notice: Taking one of the bookmaker offers featured in this article may result in a payment to TalkSPORT. 18+. T&Cs apply. Begambleaware.org

Remember to gamble responsibly

A responsible gambler is someone who:

Establishes time and monetary limits before playing

Only gambles with money they can afford to lose

Never chase their losses

Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry or depressed

Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk

Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org

For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.

*18+ New customers only. Opt in & bet £10+ via mobile on any sports at 2.00+ odds within 7 days. No Cash out. Get 3x £10 Free Bets on selected markets. Free bets expire in 7 days. Card payments & Apple Pay only. T&Cs apply, see below. GambleAware.org | Please gamble responsibly

Ange Postecoglou remains in the dark over his Tottenham future, talkSPORT understands.

Brentford boss Thomas Frank is emerging as a strong contender to replace Postecoglou after Marco Silva publicly stated he will remain as Fulham manager next season.

However, chairman Daniel Levy is mulling over whether to proceed with plans to sack Postecoglou after Spurs' Europa League triumph over Manchester United last week.

Before that 1-0 win in Bilbao, sources close to Postecoglou were convinced the Australian would definitely be axed.

More than a week-and-a-half later, no clarity has emerged on what will happen this summer.

Frank has a hefty release clause in his Brentford contract, believed to be in the region of £9million.

The Dane also has a long-standing relationship with Spurs' technical director Johan Lange.

Tottenham's 4-1 defeat at home to Brighton on the final day of the season saw them finish just one place above the relegation zone, losing 22 of their 38 Premier League games, the most by any team avoiding the drop in the competition's history.

Despite this new low, Postecoglou was very upbeat at the way the season had panned out for Spurs after the game.

When asked how he'd assess Spurs' season, he responded: "Outstanding."

"We won a trophy, which we have not done for 17 years, and we're in the Champions League.

"Ask any supporter at the start of the season if they'd take that and there wouldn't be a person in the house that wouldn't."

Postecoglou was also in no mood to discuss his future after the match and labelled such talk as 'unnecessary'.

"You know my gut feeling? My gut feeling is I feel right now that I’ve done something that no one believed I could," Postecoglou said.

"And I shouldn’t be sitting here talking about it (my future).

"That’s my feeling, but it is what it is.

"As I said I am and probably I am talking now because I’m tired, mate. I have to [talk] about another game and I just want to go on a break and enjoy my family and reflect on being part of something unbelievably special, unbelievably special.

"I’ve been fortunate to be in this position a number of times, but seeing those scenes Friday and people have reached out and talked to me about how it has affected them what has happened over the last couple of days. It’s a beautiful thing and I just want to enjoy that.

"To be honest, the rest of it? You know I don’t even want to be talking about it. I just think it is unnecessary."

He was in defiant mood during Spurs' Europa League trophy parade on Friday, as he suggested next season would produce more glory than this term has.

Speaking to the club's fans during their open-top bus parade on Friday about his trophy promise, Postecoglou roared: "I told them and they laughed.

"I told them and they didn't believe. And here we are.

"I'll leave you with this, all the best television series, season three is better than season two."

Although he appeared to admit regretting these comments as he said in the pre-match press conference on Saturday: "I should have thought about it a bit more because as somebody rightly pointed out, sometimes they kill off the main character.

"I could be in strife there!

"I said even before the game, I really believe we’re just building something and a significant win accelerates that.

"I really believe that is the case and I am not going to put a limit on what we can achieve.

"I certainly believe it’s exciting the possibilities of next year knowing I’ve got a group of players now and staff and a club that knows how to win and wants more of it."

Postecoglou was hired as Spurs boss in the summer of 2023, replacing Antonio Conte as permanent manager.

A positive first campaign in north London saw Spurs come fifth in the Premier League, but this term has been dismal on a domestic front with Spurs finishing just one place above the relegation zone.

However, their Europa League triumph has given them an historic trophy and also Champions League football for next season.

Three Nottingham Forest stars, a teenage sensation and a centre-back who moonlighted as a winger.

These are some of the selections from our talkSPORT pundits as they revealed who they chose as their Underrated Player of the Season.

In this instalment of our awards series, it's all about the stars who deserved the spotlight this season but never quite got it all to themselves.

But in saying that, some of these stars certainly caught the attention of bigger clubs as a handful are poised to move on to bigger and better.

Before we reveal the selections, find out who Ally McCoist, Jeff Stelling and Andy Townsend named in their Team of the Season here.

The talkSPORT team also named their Player of the Season, although there was an almost-unanimous verdict on who received that award.

But there was far less uniformity when it came to their Manager of the Season.

Without further ado, here's who our talkSPORT presenters named as the Underrated Player of the Season!

His feats could not go unnoticed at the end of the season given he kept the equal-most clean sheets, but Charlie Baker was left in awe of Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Matz Sels.

"I think he's been absolutely amazing," Baker said.

"Save after save after save.

"Every time he plays, it's like he's playing in some FA Cup game and having a brilliant game.

"He makes all these brilliant saves and when they've got to hit people on the break, he does that as well."

For Paul Hawksbee, he couldn't go past a teenager who enjoyed a true breakout season.

Although Tottenham's injury crisis over the course of the campaign cruelled their hopes of a top-half finish, it allowed their young talents to feature far more than they'd have anticipated.

It was a trial by fire, but for Lucas Bergvall, it was one Hawksbee certainly felt he passed.

"Got more time than he would have doen because of all the many injuries and has really stood up," Hawksbee said.

"He missed the end of the season which is a shame, through injury of course. But what a player.

"He's such a good player. In a bad team, he has really stood out."

Leicester City may have been relegated, but for Andy Jacobs, he had a soft spot for goalkeeper Mads Hermansen, who made the seventh-most saves among the Premier League's glovemen this term.

"I think he's had a brilliant season and is a great goalkeeper playing behind a terrible defence," Jacobs said.

"I wouldn't be surprised to see him at a top club next season."

As for Darren Bent, he proved he's still a true member of the striker's union with his selection.

"I'm going Chris Wood," Bent said.

"20 Premier League goals, he's 33 years old as well.

"He's partly responsible for why Nottingham Forest have had the season they've had."

Andy Goldstein did little to hide his Manchester United bias with his selection, as he went for perhaps the boldest shout of the lot.

"I've gone for Harry Maguire," Goldstein said.

"Got a lot of stick, wasn't even part of the first team at United.

"Stuck him up front, he scores a goal. We stick him on the wing, he's like Ronaldinho. He can do no wrong.

"His time at Man United was done. He's come back, a stalwart at centre-half."

As for Andy Townsend, his eye was caught by a winger who shot to prominence and has since been linked with a big-money move to Manchester United.

"Antoine Semenyo, I really, really like him," Townsend said.

I think he's a good player, I really do.

"I can see him popping up somewhere at a team pushing for the top six.

"They would rate him highly down there [in Bournemouth], but across the country, a lot of other fans may not be quite so aware of absolutely everything he does."

Ally McCoist, a former forward himself, followed Bent's suit in terms of sticking with the striker's union.

But he also was a big fan of another certain Forest star that has caught the eye of Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.

"I think [Morgan] Gibbs-White and Chris Wood have been absolutely fantastic," McCoist said.

"In terms of the seasons that both those boys and Forest have had, amazing. Absolutely amazing."

Former Liverpool and Tottenham sporting director Damien Comolli is set to be announced in the same role at Juventus.

The French executive has already made his Toulouse goodbye official, and now Sky Italia report that Juve will confirm his signing in the coming days.

The name comes as a blast from the past for Premier League fans as Comolli worked in England with three different teams.

The Frenchman first operated as a scout at Arsenal and then as director of football at rivals Spurs from 2005 to 2008.

He then returned to the UK in 2010 under new Liverpool owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) where his work as sporting director wasn’t exactly appreciated during his two years.

Comolli had to deal with Fernando Torres’ shock late departure to Chelsea during the 2011 January transfer window and responded with the stellar signing of Luis Suarez but also the far less impressive deal for Andy Carroll.

The towering striker arrived for a then-club record £35million from Newcastle and hugely struggled to find the back of the net before departing after just a season-and-a-half.

Yet surprisingly it was one of Liverpool’s modern legends that got Comolli sacked.

Speaking to talkSPORT in 2016, the 53-year-old revealed that a £12m move for Jordan Henderson from Sunderland was what cost him his job.

“The day I got sacked they [FSG] told me I had made a big mistake on Jordan and he was a waste of money,” he said. “Everybody is entitled to their own opinion, but I think we paid the right price.

“He was a young English, British player and we know very often that British players are overvalued. But we were more than happy to pay the price because we thought he would become an outstanding player.

“I never said it publicly, but I was convinced he would be the future captain. People will say it is easy to say now, but I was convinced at the time that he would become the Liverpool captain.

“I was totally convinced, as was Kenny [Dalglish], that we were doing the right thing for the club.”

Henderson would go on to become Liverpool’s most successful ever captain in terms of trophy count, lifting eight titles with the Reds.

Comolli went on to explain why they were so keen on the midfielder.

“He fitted the profile we were looking for,” he said. “We knew he was an outstanding person, we knew he had leadership skills.

“We knew he was totally dedicated to football, to his passion, and we knew he was someone who wanted to improve on a day to day basis. We knew his physical abilities – his fitness stats were absolutely unbelievable.

“We were looking at statistics and we were going through a lot of midfield players in the Premier League and what amazed me and caught my eye was his ability to create quality chances.

“For a player who was so young, playing not in a top side, with all due respect to Sunderland, he was producing and creating more quality chances, or at least as much, as top quality players in the Premier League.”

Despite his UK days being in the past, Comolli looks set to continue to be relevant to English football fans.

Sky Italia also claim that Fulham’s Marco Silva is ‘highly appreciated’ by the soon-to-be Juve decision-maker.

They add that Comolli’s predecessor, Cristiano Giuntoli, had previously made contact with Silva before thinking he could get his hands on Antonio Conte.

But with Conte now committing to Napoli, the Silva case will likely be revisited.

A former Tottenham star has gone viral for sneaking into Mikel Arteta’s office at the Emirates Stadium to celebrate Spurs’ Europa League trophy win.

David Bentley couldn’t resist a cheeky dig at the north London rivals over their trophyless season after Tottenham ended their 17-year wait for silverware.

The former midfielder took part in a Sellebrity Soccer charity match game at the Emirates on Thursday night, playing in the same team as Callum Best and football freestyler Jeremy Lynch.

Among the other players were social media influencers, YouTubers, reality TV stars and two former Britain’s Got Talent contestants - comedy act Woody and Kleiny.

And practical joker Bentley - who famously dumped a barrel of cold water all over former boss Tottenham Harry Redknapp - was up to his old tricks again as he roped the two BGT stars into helping him bust into Arteta’s inner sanctum.

“Come with me I’ve got something to show you,” he says, wiggling a finger at the camera, before stopping to yell at his Arsenal-supporting teammates, “Oi, oi, oi, Gooners, come on!

“I love this man,” he says, pointing to Mikel Arteta’s name plate on his office door.

“You know what he’s done for me? He’s only gone and left us a beer.”

Entering the office, which features a large photograph of Arteta lifting the FA Cup as soon as you step inside - obviously - Bentley strolls over to the corner of the room to raid the drinks fridge.

He emerges with two bottles of Camden Hells beer - proud sponsors of Arsenal Football Club - saying: “Thank you, Mr Arteta! Thank you very much!”

He then proceeds to dance a jig of celebration, twirling around to reveal ‘Winners 2025’ written on the back of his Tottenham shirt before singing White Hart Lane favourite ‘Can’t Smile Without You’.

Arsenal fans will have a right to be more than a little annoyed at the scenes, as Bentley came through the Gunners’ academy.

He only made nine senior appearances for the club, though, before moving on to Blackburn Rovers where his superb performances across three seasons caught the attention of Spurs, who he signed for in 2008.

Despite early promise, his spell at Tottenham wasn’t an overwhelming success, with injury issues plaguing his career and seeing him drop down the pecking order at club and country level for England.

He was involved in the Spurs team that secured Champions League football for the first time in the club’s history for the 2010/11 campaign - which then led to the infamous soaking of Redknapp.

But despite spending time on both sides of the north London divide, Bentley has well and truly nailed his colours to the mast by celebrating Tottenham’s Europa title win… at Arsenal’s stadium.

And it appears to have annoyed someone, as the video - posted by Woody and Kleiny across their Instagram, TikTok and Facebook pages - was eventually taken down from all of their social media accounts.

But not before others downloaded it and continued to share it themselves.

Posting on Instagram, the duo wrote on Saturday morning: “Many have been asking where the post of Bentley raiding Arteta's fridge has gone...

“Unfortunately we were asked to remove the video.”

Tottenham Hotspur have announced the release of three players less than two weeks after their famous Europa League win in Bilbao.

Fraser Forster, Alfie Whiteman, and Sergio Reguilon will all leave the club at the end of their contracts this summer.

Meanwhile, Timo Werner will also return to his parent club RB Leipzig as his second loan spell in north London concludes.

It marks the start of Spurs' summer business as they look to strengthen the club ahead of a Champions League campaign in 2025/26.

All four players were involved in the celebrations on May 21 when manager Ange Postecoglou led his team to a 1-0 win over Manchester United in the Europa League final.

Brennan Johnson scored the only goal of the game in a scrappy match in Spain which ended their 17-year wait for a major trophy.

Of the released players, only third-choice goalkeeper Whiteman was in the playing squad.

The 26-year-old signed for Tottenham in 2015 but throughout his time with the club only made one appearance and that came in the 2020/21 Europa League.

He replaced Joe Hart in the 82nd minute of a 4-0 win over Ludogorets Razgrad.

Fraser Forster leaves after a three-year spell in north London, he had been signed as a backup for Hugo Lloris in 2022/23.

However, due to the Frenchman's poor form in his final season and Guglielmo Vicario's injury this campaign, he managed 34 appearances in his time with the club.

Spanish left-back Reguilon joined Spurs from Real Madrid for £30million in 2020.

He impressed in his first two seasons but gradually fell down the pecking order, leading to loans with Atletico Madrid, Manchester United and Brentford.

This season he played on six occasions, called in to make key appearances when injuries hit Postecoglou's squad in the middle of the campaign.

Former Chelsea forward Werner is the other player exiting the club.

A successful loan at the end of the 2023/24 campaign saw him re-signed last summer.

However, the German was far less effective and struggled to make an impact leading to fan backlash.

He did score a key goal in their League Cup win over Man City, and got an assist in their famous 4-0 win over the same side in the Premier League.

However, dwindling form, including a poor game against Tamworth in the FA Cup, saw his game-time diminish before injury ended his season.

The club have also confirmed that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's loan to Marseille has become a permanent deal as expected.

And centre-back Kevin Danso's loan move from RC Lens has become permanent too.

Tottenham's next job is to identify further arrivals ahead of a huge campaign where Premier League improvement is expected, alongside a Champions League challenge.

Champions League finalist Simone Inzaghi is facing an uncertain future - with two Premier League teams allegedly already holding talks with him.

The Inter Milan manager is in his second European Cup final in three years, looking to correct things against Paris Saint-Germain after defeat to Manchester City in 2023.

The Italian is now considered one of the best coaches in the game, having followed up his cup expertise at Lazio by adding six more titles with Inter.

Yet despite becoming a modern great at San Siro, his future has been the subject of speculation, particularly with a reported big money offer from Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal.

Hilal recently parted ways with serial winner Jorge Jesus, and need a new leader as the sole Saudi team in this summer’s Club World Cup.

Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri confirmed those reports to talkSPORT, but also revealed two other far more interesting teams.

“The situation is that Al Hilal offered him £25million per-season for two seasons,” he said.

“I can tell you that he had advanced contacts with both Newcastle and Tottenham but at the same time, the priority for him is to stay at Inter.”

Newcastle’s interest was likely before Eddie Howe steadied the ship for a first trophy in 70 years and qualified for the Champions League, but Spurs may still be on the lookout.

Ange Postecoglou similarly broke a trophy drought with the Europa League title, but a worst-ever Premier League season has left the Australian in a precarious position.

However, they’re not the only ones in England who rate the Italian, with Palmeri adding two more names.

“Obviously if we talk on a financial level nobody can compete with the salary that Al Hilal are offering,” he explained.

“But the Premier League is always a great temptation and at the same time I must tell you that Inzaghi already rejected Liverpool last summer and Manchester United in October.”

Liverpool conducted an extensive search to replace Jurgen Klopp last summer and eventually settled on Arne Slot and won the Premier League.

United, meanwhile, replaced Erik ten Hag with Ruben Amorim, and things only got worse.

Yet if the Red Devils were to call time on Amorim and come back for Inzaghi, Tancredi has explained what will be decisive in the 49-year-old rejecting any approach, even that from Al Hilal.

“The priority for him is Inter, but things are not done because he will have a meeting, probably on Tuesday, with Inter’s management and he will ask for guarantees about the transfer window,” he said.

“For the whole four years he hasn’t had a proper transfer window - imagine Inter playing the second Champions League final in three years and after all of this - considering who they signed, they cashed in 180 million.

“He’s been doing miracles, but he’s been saying ‘After we lose I’m blamed, I want to be given the proper tools to fight to go forward in every competition, maybe then we’ll lose, but give me a proper transfer window’.”

Christopher Nkunku will leave Chelsea this summer, talkSPORT understands.

Nkunku would welcome a move back to Germany to Bayern Munich and is also open to staying in the Premier League.

Tottenham Hotspur have also enquired ahead of a potential shock move to keep him in London.

Bayern made an initial approach for Nkunku in January and the Frenchman was understood to be keen on a move.

However, the German side was put off by Chelsea demanding north of £50million for the winger.

Nkunku is believed to be open to joining the Bundesliga champions but is equally receptive to remaining in the Premier League.

The 27-year-old finished the 24/25 campaign with 14 goals and five assists from 42 appearances across all competitions.

However, only three of those goals came in the Premier League.

Nkunku also started only nine of the 33 league matches he was involved in.

He was an unused substitute in the Conference League final as Chelsea thrashed Real Betis 4-1.

When Blues boss Enzo Maresca hauled off Cole Palmer in the 88th minute, he opted to bring on Spanish teenager Marc Guiu instead of Nkunku.

Nkunku arrived at Stamford Bridge in the summer of 2023 from RB Leipzig in a £53m deal.

The Blues were desperate to snap up Nkunku following his 47 goals in 119 Bundesliga appearances for RB Leipzig.

However, he had to wait until December 19 to make his Chelsea debut after he picked up a knee injury during a pre-season fixture against Borussia Dortmund.

Nkunku subsequently underwent surgery which left him sidelined for 'an extended period of time'.

He ultimately featured just 14 times in total during the 2023/24 campaign and scored just three goals.

Speaking last November, Maresca insisted he 'absolutely' wanted to keep Nkunku going into the January window.

However, the Italian acknowledged the forward would struggle to break into his starting team.

"We know that Christo's best position is between the line as a 10," Maresca said at the time.

"Cole [Palmer] is playing there. We will not play many games with Cole and Christo, or Cole and Joao [Felix].

"They are all fantastic players and will play, but not every game.

"The same issue we mention many times with Joao.

"If you play with Cole, Joao, Christo, Noni - who is defending?

"Their skills is not defending, it is to attack. We love them, we want them but we need balance."

Heung-min Son remains a target for the Saudi Pro League, talkSPORT understands.

The Tottenham Hotspur captain has been on the league's radar since 2023, with another attempt to sign him likely.

Clubs in the Saudi Pro League are keen on finding players from new nations as well as signing stars this summer.

It comes as part of a move to bring in new audiences and sell international TV rights.

The approach was a factor in Al Nassr's bid for Brighton and Japan winger Kaoru Mitoma in January.

Meanwhile, Saudi clubs have also attempted to sign Egypt's Mohamed Salah, Colombian winger Luis Diaz and Victor Osimhen of Nigeria in recent windows.

This summer's transfer window in Saudi Arabia is not set to open until after the Club World Cup.

Clubs will have between July 20 and October 8 to complete their business.

Teams in the top-flight are also limited to a maximum of eight overseas players in their squads.

Son would need to change his mind if a move to Saudi Arabia was to be completed, though.

He currently wants to remain at Spurs, where he has a year left on his contract.

The 32-year-old is currently out of contract at the end of next season, having signed a new deal in January.

Since joining the club a decade ago, Son has made 454 appearances for Spurs, the seventh most in their history.

Across those matches, he has scored 173 goals and provided 101 assists.

His goal tally leaves Son as the club's fifth highest scorer of all-time.

Meanwhile, he has finally lifted a trophy with Spurs after their Europa League triumph last week.

The victory also secured Champions League qualification despite finishing 17th in the Premier League.

Ange Postecoglou's side will enter in the league phase as one of six English clubs.

Should Son remain at Spurs, he could get his hands on more silverware with his side to face either Paris Saint-Germain or Inter Milan in the UEFA Super Cup later this year.

The Stadio Friuli in Udine, Italy will host the showpiece match on August 13.