The Sun

Live Blog

IN AND OUT

Transfer news LIVE: Xavi Simons ‘to Chelsea TWIST’, MAJOR Isak to Liverpool update, Everton ‘step up Grealish interest’

Garnacho agrees Chelsea move

Isak 'AGREES' Liverpool contract

CLUBS are splashing the cash this summer as they look to bolster their squads in the transfer window ahead of the new season!

Alexander Isak has been left furious as Newcastle have reportedly told the Swede that he will NOT be leaving this summer.

Meanwhile, Chelsea's pursuit of RB Leipzig's Xavi Simons has taken a twist as the German side are said to be interested in bringing Christopher Nkunku back to the club.

In other news, Everton have stepped up their interest in a loan deal for Manchester City outcast Jack Grealish.

SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN

Follow ALL the latest news, moves and completed deals with our live blog below...

Coman open to Saudi move

After having their first bid turned down, Al-Nassr are locking in talks with Bayern Munich.

It looks likely the player is now going to make the move.

He will join Cristiano Ronaldo’s side, having been swayed by the huge wages on offer.

North London bidding war fancied

Thomas Frank has given the green light for Tottenham to make their move for Eberechi Eze.

It would spark a bidding war between the bitter rivals.

Spurs had been favourites to sign the winger before The Gunners opened talk with Crystal Palace.

Spurs look to bolster ranks

Tottenham Hotspur will make an approach to sign the 26-year-old Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo next week.

The player is valued at £43 million, and Barcelona are open to selling him.

Chelsea are also rumoured to be interested in the player.

Newcastle cause Spurs problems in pursuit

As Malick Thiaw edges closer to a move to St James' Park, the knock-on effect could cost Tottenham.

AC Milan have a hole to fill in their defence and they have identified Genoa star Koni De Winter as that man.

Spurs have been linked with the player all summer but it now seems the Italian giants could scupper that.

Red Devils to target freebie

Man Utd are considering taking on free agent Dominic Calvert-Lewin as back up to Benjamin Sesko.

This suggests they are definitely looking to get rid of Rasmus Hojlund this summer.

Calvert-Lewin, 28, is a free agent after leaving Everton earlier this summer, ending a nine-year spell at Goodison Park.

During his time on Merseyside, the striker scored 71 goals in 273 games for the Toffees across all competitions.

Jack in the Everton box

Big news for Everton fans as Jack Grealish has approved the switch to Merseyside.

Now it is just for the two clubs to iron out the details of the loan.

After struggling to get players through the door, things are starting to look more positive for The Toffees after the signing of Dewsbury-Hall last week.

Talks advancing with City ace

Fabrizio Romano has tweeted that talks are advancing between Everton and Man City for the loan signing of Jack Grealish.

The midfielder's time at The Etihad seems to be coming to a close.

With no interest in any permanent transfer, Pep Guardiola's side may see a loan move as the only option for the former Villa man.

Price is not right for PSG

There seems to be no movement in contract talks between PSG and Gianluigi Donnarumma.

So much so, that the French giants could be willing to let him leave for as little as £26m.

Man Utd have shown interest in the player, with sources in Italy suggesting the keeper wants the move.

Whether Man Utd could succeed where uber-rich PSG could not, the Italian's wage demands, that remains to be seen.

Deeney has message for Red Devils

Troy Deeney aired his views on talkSPORT about Man Utd target Carlos Baleba.

The former Watford frontman believes Real Madrid could show interest in the midfielder next summer.

“I think United have to get Baleba this window, or they don’t get him.

"If he has another good season, I do think other teams with Real Madrid and the like will come in and go ‘Bosh, we’ll have him’.

"I think if Man United want him…if I’m Ruben Amorim I’m kind of bullish on that.

"I think if Man United want him…if I’m Ruben Amorim I’m kind of bullish on that.

"I’d be saying ‘get this deal done because then I can get you into Europe’.

"If they can sign him, he can move them up 10 spaces (in the Premier League standings).”

Spurs join race for coveted midfielder

Tottenham are rumoured to be interested in Carlos Baleba.

Man Utd seem to be turning their attentions elsewhere as they feel it would be too difficult to prise him away from a Brighton side not willing to let the youngster depart this summer.

Whether Spurs would be able to match The Seagulls' £104m valuation could be a major stumbling block however.

Cherries secure target to strengthen squad

Fabrizio Romano is reporting of a 'done deal' on the south coast.

Bournemouth complete agreement to sign Bafodé Diakité from Lille for €35m plus €5m add-ons.

The centre-back will fill the void left by Dean Huijsen's departure to Real Madrid.

Darwin-ian theory baffles many

In the Spanish media it has come to light that both Real Madrid and Barcelona showed interest in Darwin Nunez prior to his sealing a move to the Saudi Pro League.

No concrete offers were made by the clubs however.

Both parties were shocked to see the Uruguayan move to Al-Hilal but could not compete with the wages on offer to the Liverpool frontman.

Blues targeting German outfit

Chelsea are considering a move for Bayer Leverkusen's left sided defender Piero Hincapié after Levi Colwill's ACL injury.

The Blues have been previously linked with Hincapie, who started at Stamford Bridge on Friday night, with the 23-year-old still under contract until 2029.

It remains to be seen if Leverkusen will be willing to see any more players leave following the departures of Frimpong, Wirtz and Xhaka already this summer.

Glimmer of hope for Magpies' fans

It has been a disappointing summer for Newcastle and their transfer business so far.

However, according to Sky Sports' Keith Downie, Yoane Wissa has turned down late interest from Liverpool.

The striker is solely focussed on making a move to St James' Park and is not interested in any other club.

This should perk up The Magpies' fans that they can still strengthen before the start of the season.

Spurs lining up Man City swoop

Following the injury to James Maddison, Thomas Frank is keen to bring in reinforcements in the middle of the park.

One such player in the manager's cross hairs is Man City youngster James McAtee.

Rumours are circulating that Tottenham are looking to put in a £40m bid for the player.

This could be too tempting to turn down for Pep Guardiola's side, with it acting as pure profit for the academy player, allowing them to stay within PSR guidelines.

Enzo making demands ahead of campaign

Following the injury to Levi Colwill, Enzo Maresca is keen to bring another centre-back into the club.

Despite this, he has put Renato Veiga up for sale.

The Portuguese defender has only made seven appearances for The Blues since joining the club in 2024.

While the manager seems keen to strengthen in defence, he does not seem keen to hold onto Veiga to use as cover.

Bitter rivals go toe-to-toe

With Arsenal reportedly in talks to sign Eberechi Eze, there could be a spanner thrown into the works from their local rivals.

Following the departure of Son Heung-min to LAFC, rumours are circulating that Thomas Frank's are set to re-ignite their interest.

From a Crystal Palace perspective, this could prompt a bidding war between the North London rivals.

The Eagles would welcome this, allowing them to play the sides off against each other to get the most for their prized possession.

Magnificent Malik

Newcastle are closing in on a move to sign AC Milan defender Malick Thiaw to become their third signing of the summer, according to reports

The Magpies have agreed a £35million deal for the centre-back, with a medical set to take place inside the next 48 hours.

He is currently with the Milan squad as part of their pre-season preparations.

And came off the bench in his side's 1-1 draw against Leeds at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday.

Mila now travel to England to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.

It remains to be seen if Thiaw will be in action having agreed a four-year deal to swap the San Siro for St James' Park.

Concrete talks

Sunderland are reportedly in talks with Getafe for centre-back Omar Alderete.

The fee under discussion for the 28-year-old is around £10.4m (€12m) and Alderete is open to the move.

Alderete, a left-footed centre-back, has three years left on his contract with the Spanish club.

Calvert-Lewin EXCLUSIVE

Ex-Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin will do his own transfer negotiations as he looks for a new club.

The free agent, 28, has ditched his representative and is hoping for a deal at Manchester United.

And SunSport's Alan Nixon went into depth about the developing situation.

Will power

Former Manchester United star Brandon Williams is closing in on a transfer to a Championship club as he bids to rebuild his career.

Williams, 24, has been without a club for more than a year following the expiration of his contract at Old Trafford.

But he is now in line to join Hull after the Tigers won the hunt for the Mancunian amid interest from rivals in the second tier and overseas, according to the Daily Mail.

A trial with the club piqued interest after his form and attitude left key personnel impressed.

And the report adds that Williams now has a medical booked in at the East Yorkshire club next week.

Everton step up Grealish interest

The Toffees are keen on bringing Manchester City outcast Jack Grealish to Merseyside.

Everton have reportedly not been put off by the prospect of having to pay most of the forward's £300,000-a-week wages.

Grealish is also said to be keen on making the switch to Everton as he looks to get back playing regularly ahead of the World Cup next summer.

Forest looking to strenthen squad

Nottingham Forest have sent €13m fixed fee plus add-ons as official bid for Soungoutou Magassa.

AS Monaco want €18m plus add-ons to accept and let the defender go.

Magassa, keen on Nott'm Forest move with Premier League and European football to offer.

Khannouss clause

Bilal El Khannouss is reportedly able to leave Leicester City this summer.

The exciting attacker has gained interest from the likes of Tottenham, Leeds and West Ham following the Foxes' relegation.

It has been reported that he has a release clause worth just £22.5million.

Attention,

Our system has indicated that your user behaviour is potentially automated.

News Group Newspapers Limited does not permit the access, collection, text or data mining of any content from our Service by any automated means whether directly or through an intermediary service. This is stated in our terms and conditions.

If you would like to inquire about the commercial use of our content, please contact crawlpermission@news.co.uk.

Why am I seeing this?

Occasionally, our system misinterprets human behaviour as automated. If you are a legitimate user, please contact our customer support team here help@thesun.co.uk

Error Message

News Group Newspapers prohibits automated access, collection, or text/data mining of its content, including for AI, machine learning, or LLMs, as per its terms. For commercial use inquiries, contact crawlpermission@news.co.uk.

THOMAS FRANK has hinted Tottenham could look to sign a replacement for Son Heung-min before the transfer window closes.

Skipper Son, 33, ended a decade at the club by leaving for LAFC in the MLS this week for more than £20million.

Frank desperately wants a new No10, particularly after James Maddison’s serious knee injury, and would like another centre-back too.

But now the Spurs chief has suggested he may be after a left-winger to fill Son’s shoes, despite having Mathys Tel, Wilson Odobert and Brennan Johnson who can play in that role.

Frank said: “Sonny was a key player for 10 seasons. He has left the club.

“We have both good young players in Mathys and Wilson and they are really promising and can perform. Brennan can also play that side.

“We are in the market. If we think we can find the right one, one who can improve the team, then he will be signed. If we can't, then not.”

Son leaving means Frank also needs to decide on a new captain.

Cristian Romero wore the armband in Thursday’s 4-0 friendly battering at Bayern Munich and is heavily influential in the dressing room.

Other candidates include Guglielmo Vicario, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pedro Porro and long-serving Ben Davies, though he is unlikely to get much regular game-time.

CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS

Maddison would have been in the mix but he is now set to miss most of the season with an ACL.

Asked if he was any closer to naming a permanent skipper, Frank replied: “Closer, yeah, but I haven't taken a decision yet.”

Quizzed on what attributes he’s looking for from the individual he gives the armband, the Dane added: “It's a classic one: a leader. The guy that can be there, the guy that can lead the team on and off the pitch.

“Get the group together and be there in tough times. But there can never only be one. There needs to be more than one because a leader can always have a bad day and others need to step up.

“I think we in general prefer one that can communicate verbally, but it's not enough if you only communicate.”

JAMES MADDISON is to miss most of the upcoming season after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The devastated England midfielder, 28, will have surgery and will likely be out for the next six to nine months.

Maddison sustained the injury towards the end of Spurs’ pre-season friendly with Newcastle in Seoul on Sunday.

He jarred his right knee going in for an innocuous challenge with Anthony Elanga during Son Heung-min’s farewell match for Spurs - and knew something was wrong straight away.

Maddison instantly called over for treatment and had to be taken off on a stretcher.

He was later seen leaving the Seoul World Cup Stadium on crutches looking very downcast.

Thomas Frank said after the game he suspected it was a “bad injury” and confirmed it was the same knee which Maddison had injured in May against Bodo/Glimt.

That was believed to be medial ligament damage then, keeping him out of the Europa League final, and he was only just returning to action from that issue.

A Spurs statement read: “We can confirm that James Maddison will undergo surgery for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee.

“The 28-year-old midfielder suffered the injury during our pre-season friendly against Newcastle United on Sunday in Seoul.

BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS

“His surgery will take place in the coming days and, following that, James will then begin his rehabilitation with our medical team.

“Everyone at Tottenham Hotspur wishes James a full and speedy recovery. We will be supporting him every step of the way.”

Spurs were already looking at signing a new No10 before Maddison’s injury, coming close to capturing Morgan Gibbs-White who ended up signing a new contract at Nottingham Forest.

Now the need is urgent for Frank to bolster in that department before the end of the transfer window.

It remains to be seen whether Spurs will look to revive interest in Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze or if they look elsewhere for a new playmaker.

Tottenham are also interested in signing another centre-back, with Radu Dragusin still needing time to get back to peak fitness following his own recovery from an ACL suffered in January.

A SUPERCOMPUTER has predicted how the 2025-26 Premier League table will finish.

And number crunchers at Opta reckon Manchester United and Tottenham will both have disastrous seasons again.

A supercomputer run by the stats company simulated the campaign a whopping 10,000 times to come to their results.

Liverpool cruised to the title last season, finishing ten points clear of Arsenal at the top of the table.

Mikel Arteta's side have spent big and finally got a striker through the door in the shape of £63.5million man Viktor Gyokeres.

But the Gunners are still expected to fall short for a third season in a row and come just a point behind Liverpool.

The champions have a 28.5 per cent of retaining their crown and Arsenal are said to have a 24.3 per cent chance.

Man City and Chelsea complete the top four ahead of Aston Villa in fifth and Newcastle in sixth.

The statisticians boldly think Crystal Palace will cope with the added Conference League fixtures to come seventh and Brentford will continue to impress despite their departures to finish tenth.

Further down the league and missing out on a top half finish again is Man Utd.

SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN

Ruben Amorim's men have been predicted to flop for the second season running in 12th and total just 49 points - only seven more than they managed in last term's nightmare.

Man Utd have been given a 2.7 per cent chance of ending the campaign in the top four.

Incredibly, their chance of finishing 18th and being relegated is five per cent.

Spurs saved themselves from a nightmare by beating the Red Devils in the Europa League final.

But it will not prove to be a turning point for the club as they have been estimated to come 14th.

That is with just a 4.1 per cent chance of a top six finish and a 5.8 per cent chance of coming 18th.

And for the third season in a row, the three promoted clubs are predicted to go straight back down as Burnley, Leeds and Sunderland fail to avoid the drop.

TOTTENHAM opened their incredible stadium in April 2019.

But many fans still don't know about several of the £1bn structure's remarkable features.

During the latest episode of The Overlap, brought to you bySkyBet, chairman Daniel Levy showed Gary Neville around Spurs' plush home.

Neville, 50, was left in awe several times by the ingenious stadium.

From a micro-brewery on site to links with Tottenham's famous past, no stone was left unturned as the Lilywhites built their new home.

Here, SunSport takes a look around arguably the Premier League's best stadium.

Kane's mega-box

During his conversation with Neville, Levy was keen to show off Tottenham's plush VIP lounges.

And where better to start than the one previously occupied by the club's all-time leading goalscorer prior to his £100million switch to Bayern Munich two years ago - complete with stunning kitchen, comfortable seats and an incredible view.

Levy said: "This used to be Harry Kane's box."

To which Neville exclaimed: "Jeez Harry! My mum and dad would have been happy if they were watching me at United and I gave them a box like this every week!

BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK

"I just got them a couple of seats in the main stand, wow! Harry's got a bigger kitchen than I've got at home in his box.

"I've never been in one of these before and it's absolutely incredible."

Levy's biggest regret

During Neville's tour of the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the former Manchester United star realised just what a hands on approach Levy had taken in the project.

While standing in the 17,500-capacity South Stand, Neville couldn't help but cheekily ask if there was anything Levy would have liked to have done differently, with hindsight.

Levy, 63, beamed as he said: "There's a couple of pillars that I wish weren't there at the moment.

"Pillars when you drive in under the stadium, it's a bit tight."

Retractable pitch

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is not just used for football.

Since opening, the venue has also been used for NFL games, rugby matches and several concerts, including the likes of Beyonce, Kendrick Lamar and Lady Gaga.

Asked about how the surface "transforms" for different events, Levy revealed: "Underneath all the protective measures on the pitch is actually the NFL pitch.

"There's an artificial pitch there. Then above this would be the grass pitch, and when we're in concert mode or NFL mode, the grass pitch goes under the famous South Stand.

"It can stay there for up to 10-14 days. It has ventilation, irrigation, special mowers - so it's pretty unique piece of kit."

Hidden F1 track

In addition to the NFL, Tottenham have also partnered with Formula 1.

Located beneath the South Stand is an F1-branded go-karting track.

The nifty feature has become a popular attraction within London.

Levy said: "When the grass pitch is here, that's a Formula 1 track, for go-karting."

Amazing art gallery

Tottenham boast the largest club shop in Europe, standing at 23,000 square feet.

Within it is a 400-year-old listed building, which the club have restored and turned into an art gallery.

Showing Neville around, Levy said: "There's a very old building called Warmington House. It's about 400 years old. Yep [it's listed].

"We had to keep it, we restored it... and it's now an art gallery. It's a beautiful building that we've completely restored."

Neville was left in awe of the structure, replying: "It's brilliant. I love the integration of the old brick with the modern glass look."

Pieces of history

At the very start of Neville's tour, Levy proudly showed off a link with Tottenham's past.

The Spurs chairman said: "Do you know about this floor? This is the old stadium."

As Neville said "Oh wow," Levy continued: "All crushed. We wanted to have a link with the old, White Hart Lane and the history.

"It's literally crushed concrete and smoothed afterwards."

Within the South Stand concourse, there is also a plaque on the floor, marking where the centre spot within the old White Hart Lane used to be.

Borussia Dortmund-inspired stand

The 17,500-capacity South Stand is Tottenham Hotspur Stadium's most obvious landmark.

Levy takes great pride in the uniqueness of Tottenham's home - but does give credit to another club for the brilliant single-tiered stand.

On inspiration for the new stadium, Levy said: "I wouldn't say there was one stadium that we said 'we need it to be like this'.

"I think Dortmund in terms of our South Stand, the Yellow Wall. That's where we got the South Stand idea from."

Incredible dressing room

In contract to White Hart Lane's more old school dressing rooms, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium features huge, plush modern changing areas.

In awe, Neville said: "Dressing rooms never cease to amaze me now, how good they are.

"Wow. I remember the old White Hart Lane changing rooms."

When Levy said the new dressing rooms were a "bit different" from the old, Neville laughed as he said: "Just a bit!"

The inner bowels of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium also feature huge NFL dressing rooms.

Much bigger than the football changing areas, due to the size of NFL rosters, the larger dressing rooms came in handy during Covid, giving players an opportunity to social distance on matchday.

Beer brewed on site

Tottenham partnered with Molson Coors last month, confirming that Coors, Madri, Rekorderlig and Cobra will be on the menu at home games next season, as well as Pravha.

Fans will still be able to get Beavertown products, brewed especially on site.

Showing Neville the micro-brewery, located between the South and East Stands, Levy explained: "We're very conscious with what we do with the local community.

"One of our ideas was to have a craft beer, so we teamed up with a company called Beavertown, which was a craft beer company that was based locally.

"We then said to them that we would like to brew our own beer in the stadium. So this is our brewery, in a joint-venture with Beavertown."

When Neville asked if Spurs had bought into Beavertown, Levy said: "We didn't buy into it... unfortunately"

At this point both men laughed as Levy rued the missed opportunity.

The Tottenham chief then added: "But we did a joint-venture, in terms of all the beer sold in the stadium."

Attention,

Our system has indicated that your user behaviour is potentially automated.

News Group Newspapers Limited does not permit the access, collection, text or data mining of any content from our Service by any automated means whether directly or through an intermediary service. This is stated in our terms and conditions.

If you would like to inquire about the commercial use of our content, please contact crawlpermission@news.co.uk.

Why am I seeing this?

Occasionally, our system misinterprets human behaviour as automated. If you are a legitimate user, please contact our customer support team here help@thesun.co.uk

Error Message

News Group Newspapers prohibits automated access, collection, or text/data mining of its content, including for AI, machine learning, or LLMs, as per its terms. For commercial use inquiries, contact crawlpermission@news.co.uk.

SON HEUNG-MIN broke down in tears after what is expected to be his final Tottenham appearance following a decade at the club.

Son, 33, announced his exit in an emotional press conference a day before Spurs locked horns with Newcastle in South Korea on Sunday.

And what a fitting farewell it might have been while playing in front of his most ardent fans back in his homeland.

The Spurs captain was given an impromptu guard of honour by his team-mates and Newcastle players when subbed off in the 64th minute.

The crowd in the Seoul World Cup Stadium went wild as their hero hugged everyone on the Spurs bench and wept as the full impact of his goodbye hit home.

And the Spurs admin immediately tweeted: "Cheers Son's crying, nice one 😥."

Son instantly became teary eyed when his No7 was put up on the board with new signing Mohammed Kudus coming on to replace the forward.

The club legend was embraced by Spurs midfielder James Maddison and North London winger Brennan Johnson.

Premier League goalkeeper Antonín Kinský also ran up to take part in the tributes, as both sets of players lovingly slapped Son's back.

Newcastle's Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes got involved in the action, hugging the Tottenham ace.

BEST ONLINE CASINOS - TOP SITES IN THE UK

It marked a huge change in temperament after Guimaraes somehow escaped a red card for strangling Cristian Romero in the first half.

But Son's tribute was marred with a shock injury to Maddison 19 minutes later following a routine challenge with Anthony Elanga.

Son was among those looking very concerned watching on after the England star was stretchered off in the 85th minute.

Son is widely-tipped to move to America, where MLS side LAFC want to make him their new marquee player.

Actor Park Seo-Joon, star of Oscar-winning Parasite and a close pal of Son, gave a touching tribute to his mate before kick-off from the centre circle, claiming the people of South Korea could not sleep after his exit-plan announcement.

A banner in the 66,000-strong crowd read ‘Sonny the Spurs legend’, while the man himself got choked up on the bench, presumably as the full impact of his exit dawned on him.

Brennan Johnson did Son’s trademark ‘camera pose’ celebration after netting opener inside four minutes.

But Harvey Barnes’ banger levelled the score, three minutes before Romero and Guimaraes’ scuffle.

Meanwhile, other fans were in disbelief by the amount of mistakes being made during the game.

Spurs will kick off their Premier League campaign away to Burnley on August 16.

SON HEUNG-MIN’S emotional farewell for Spurs was overshadowed by a serious-looking injury to close pal James Maddison.

The story of the day had been club legend Son breaking down in tears after being subbed off in what is expected to be his final appearance for Tottenham following a decade at the club.

But then good friend Maddison sadly became the focus after being carried off on a stretcher towards the end of the friendly against Newcastle in Seoul.

Son was among those watching on, looking very concerned for the England star, who had sustained the problem in a routine challenge with Anthony Elanga in the 83rd minute.

It was unclear if Maddison had even made contact with the Swede but instantly knew something was wrong as he put his hands on his head, waved to the bench and then crumpled in a heap, before being carted away.

Spurs boss Thomas Frank will be praying the injury is not as severe as it looked for Maddison, who is only just coming back from a knee ligament problem sustained in May.

The former England international was pictured on crutches after the match.

And Frank said: "We're pretty sure it was the same knee he injured before.

"I think sometimes in life and football things can be both beautiful and brutal. That's what we got today.

"It looks like with Madders a bad injury and then on the other side unbelievable scenes for Son from his team-mates and the respect from the Newcastle players.

"First we had the walkaround and then the team-mates gathered around and he was emotional. In the changing room it was more of the same.

"I just said a few things but not much because it's about Sonny and then he said a few things. It was beautiful."

Maddison had only just come off the bench shortly before his injury but the sub had to be replaced by South Korean youngster Yang Min-hyeok.

Compatriot Son, an idol to Yang and so many, had dropped a bombshell the day before the game by announcing his intention to quit the North Londoners this summer.

He is widely tipped to move to America, where MLS side LAFC want to make him their new marquee player.

The press conference revelation meant this friendly against Eddie Howe’s Alexander Isak-less Toon was always going to be more about a Son love-in than the action on the pitch.

It looks like with Madders a bad injury and then on the other side unbelievable scenes for Son from his team-mates and the respect from the Newcastle players.

Thomas Frank

Actor Park Seo-Joon, star of Oscar-winning Parasite and a close pal of Son, gave a touching tribute to his mate before kick-off from the centre circle, claiming the people of South Korea could not sleep after Son’s exit-plan announcement.

Chairman Daniel Levy shook Son’s hand as the two teams lined up, along with all the players, while Magpies star Anthony Gordon gave the Spurs skipper a big hug.

A trumpet in the crowd played the tune ‘Nice one Sonny’ song, to which the 66,000 fans added the words, while ‘Hey Jude’ was belted out over the loudspeaker, allowing fans to change the eponymous words to ‘Sonny’.

Brennan Johnson even did Son’s trademark camera-shot celebration after giving Spurs an early lead, much to the delight of his outgoing team-mate.

The hope had been that Son could cap the occasion with a goal, but unfortunately, he did not have any chances to make it happen, as Harvey Barnes’ banger on 38 minutes sealed a draw.

Son’s number was up in the 64th minute and the players on both sides formed an impromptu guard of honour as he came off.

The 33-year-old, who capped ten years at the club in May by finally winning a trophy with the Europa League triumph, hugged everyone on the Spurs bench as he came off.

Frank revealed: "I think it's very likely Sonny's last game because it's very close."

A banner in the 66,000-strong crowd read ‘Sonny the Spurs legend’, while the man himself got choked up on the bench, presumably as the full impact of his exit dawned on him.

Maddison, who had not taken to the pitch at that point, was among those to applaud and embrace his beloved team-mate.

But unfortunately, shortly afterwards, the England man became a talking point from the draw itself as he sustained his worrisome injury.

Son was crying again as he did a lap of honour in front of his most ardent fans after the final whistle.

With the capital of his homeland being a fitting location for his final game.

But being the nice guy so many of his team-mates have portrayed him to be, no doubt Son’s first thoughts will have been stricken-friend Maddison.

FOOTIE fans were left in disbelief by consecutive gaffes in Tottenham's pre-season friendly match with Newcastle.

The Premier League rivals locked horns in a Seoul showdown on Sunday afternoon.

Spurs took an early lead in the fourth minute through winger Brennan Johnson.

And they should've doubled their advantage in the 17th minute through Mathys Tel.

Tel was set through on goal by a neat ball from Pedro Porro.

Toon defender Matt Targett should've cut out the pass but failed to do so.

Targett, hilariously, fell to the pitch as he tried to cut out the ball.

Tel bore down on goal and had the net, which was being guarded by Nick Pope, at his mercy.

But he produced the tamest of finishes, which was easily saved by the outstretched foot of Pope.

Footage of the incredible string of gaffes spread like wildfire on social media.

SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET £50 BONUS WHEN YOU JOIN

One footie fan said: "Mathys Tel recreating Sonny's iconic miss vs Man City to stop Arsenal from winning the league.

"Class from Tel."

Another said: "Just lob the goalie. So much space."

And another said: "I’m in disbelief at what I’ve just seen."

One remarked: "Surely Targett must be in breach of contract for incompetence."

Another chimed in: "Christ alive."

Spurs will kick off their Premier League campaign away to Burnley on August 16.