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Thomas Frank has confirmed Cristian Romero remains Tottenham Hotspur captain, but has "no idea" whether he will still be at the club next season.

Romero made headlines with an Instagram post for the second time in 2026 on Monday when he described it as "disgraceful" that his teammates were left with only 11 available players after he was forced off ill during Sunday's 2-2 Premier League draw at home to Manchester City.

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Whilst Romero's comments are open to interpretation, they followed his strongly worded social media remarks about a lack of communication from key figures at the club in January, but Frank revealed the defender is still captain of the club.

The Spurs boss would not confirm if the Argentina international had been fined or disciplined on Thursday and also refused to give guarantees over Romero's long-term future despite the 27-year-old signing a new deal in August.

Asked if he expected Romero to be at the club next season, Frank said: "That's a question I have no idea about.

"Right now he is the captain, he has a long-term contract and we signed a new contract with him."

The social-media post was liked by Spurs players Xavi Simons, Conor Gallagher and Dominic Solanke, but Frank pushed back at suggestions the squad were in revolt due to the current injury crisis.

Frank added: "It's all contextual. Right now we have a few injuries. Of course injuries don't help but it's part of football.

"I think it's one person speaking up. We don't know if he speaks on behalf of all the players. That's your perception, so we don't know that.

"Secondly, we don't know if that's what he thinks. We can read into a text. I think we have a team and squad to compete but of course we have a few injuries that doesn't help us."

Even though Tottenham have suffered injuries to nine players in 2026, the club were not active on the final day of the winter transfer window.

"In the summer we made two good signings in Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus and a good loan in João Palhinha so it's not as though we don't want to loan players to strengthen the squad," Frank pointed out.

"It was a big signing with Conor Gallagher. I know the club is very ambitious."

Romero's latest social-media post followed January's remarks and last summer when in a tribute to Frank's predecessor Ange Postecoglou, the centre-back referenced "many obstacles that always existed and always will exist" on Instagram.

Put to Frank in general terms whether it matters if an employee is unhappy, as long as they perform, he acknowledged: "I think if you are generalising, as long as everyone does their job, then it is fair enough.

"I am pretty sure there are also some players who don't think I am the best bloke or whatever it is, but as long as they work hard and do everything they can on the pitch then I am happy.

"There is always a line you can't cross or can't cross too many times. I am not talking about the social posting. No matter who you are, what kind of job you do, we all know when we have stepped too far and it's problems."

Manchester United are all set to host Tottenham Hotspur on an emotionally charged afternoon at Old Trafford on Saturday. United will be looking to continue building on their sensational start to life under Michael Carrick and make it four wins in four. Spurs, meanwhile, will be looking to use a superb second half display against Manchester City to resuscitate their injury-hit domestic season, and what better way to do it than deliver a statement performance (and result) against an in-form Manchester United?

Here's everything you need to know about the match:

How to watch

The match will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 in the UK, NBC in the U.S., Jio Hotstar in India and Stan Sport in Australia. You can also follow ESPN's live updates here.

Key Details

Kick-off time: Saturday, Feb. 7 at 12.30 p.m. GMT (7.30 a.m. ET; 6 p.m. IST and 11.30 p.m. AEDT)

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester

Referee: Michael Oliver

VAR: Paul Tierney

Injury News

Manchester United

Matthijs de Ligt, D: DOUBT, back

Mason Mount, M: OUT, knock

Patrick Dorgu, D/M: OUT, hamstring

Spurs

Tottenham Hotspur

Dejan Kulusevski, M: OUT, knee

Ben Davies, D: OUT, ankle

Kevin Danso, D: OUT, toe

Cristian Romero, D: DOUBT, illness

Pedro Porro, D, OUT, thigh

Micky van de Ven, D: DOUBT, knock

James Maddison, M: OUT, ACL

Lucas Bergvall: M: OUT, leg

Rodrigo Bentancur, M: OUT, hamstring

Mohammed Kudus, F: OUT, muscle

Richarlison, F: OUT, hamstring

Talking Points

United and the emotion of February 6

United host Spurs a day after the 68th anniversary of the Munich disaster. The club will, of course, honour the Busby Babes and all those who were on that ill-fated flight pre-match, and playing well on this kind of occasion is something that could drive this team and their head coach closer to their fans.

If they can channel the deep emotion that will be sweeping across Old Trafford on Saturday and set out to play "the Matt Busby Way" -- full of attacking intent and great wing play and that almost stubborn dedication to entertain -- that would be well received as the best tribute. Channel it right, and a win's there for the taking against struggling opposition, a win that would keep them in the top four going out of another weekend. And for Carrick it will lend more credence to calls to make his appointment permanent in the summer.

Let it overawe them, allow Spurs to dominate the game, and the doubts and cracks that are never too far away in this post-Ferguson era could well rise up again from all corners. With the top four (or five) race as tight as it is, that's something United can ill afford happening.

Solanke and Simons give Frank hope

Dominic Solanke's goals and Xavi Simons' guile gave Thomas Frank arguably his best 45 minutes as Spurs manager last weekend, when they came from behind to draw Man City 2-2. Solanke, sidelined for so long with serious injury issues, has been a much-needed boost for Frank's side, who've lacked sharpness up top for vast swathes of this season. That, plus his record against United -- he has scored five goals in his last five appearances against Manchester United in all comps -- will stand Spurs in good stead come Saturday.

More important, though, will be Simons. Playing in a free floating #10 role once the formation shifted from a disastrous three-at-the-back to a 4-2-3-1 in that second half against City, Simons ran the game with a combination of nifty passing and intelligent positioning. With the form that Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo are in, he'll find those pockets much harder to find at Old Trafford, but if he can -- and draw out either Harry Maguire or Lisandro Martínez -- Solanke could well feast ahead of him.

Will Carrick mix things up with Sesko?

The only change Michael Carrick has made to his United XIs over his first three games back has been bringing in Matheus Cunha for the injured Patrick Dorgu last weekend. There is no real reason for Carrick to change up something that's clearly working -- the interplay between the forward line of Amad, Bryan Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes and Cunha/Dorgu has been a joy to watch, but Benjamin Sesko made a real case for starting on Saturday with his cameo, and winner, against Fulham. It was the big Slovenian's fourth goal in four games, and the finish last weekend smacked off a forward with confidence coursing through him.

In his (very) short stint so far, Carrick has shown an ability to keep his attacking players happy even if they start on the bench, but Sesko's physicality and aerial threat provide an alternative that he could well be tempted to unleash from the off.

Can Spurs exploit holes highlighted by Fulham?

As solid as United have been under Carrick, Fulham stood toe-to-toe with them for parts of their last match, especially late in the second half. They did this by having runners in the channels, trying to take up pockets between the central midfielders and the centre-backs and not panicking under the United high press. Bypassing that first layer often left Fulham with favourable numbers in attack.

If Spurs can do that, get Simons on the ball and feed Solanke quickly, they could find some joy. Against Fulham, United conceded 1.94 xG, much more than they did against Arsenal (0.7xG) and Man City (0.45 xG) and theirs is the blueprint Thomas Frank will be looking to take inspiration from.

What do the numbers say?

Tottenham really like playing Man United these days. They've not lost to United in their last six Prem games (W3 D3), and indeed last eight games across all competitions (W5 D3). The last time United went that long without a win in just league competition was between 1914 and 1921. That eight game unbeaten run across all comps, meanwhile, is their longest ever run without defeat for Spurs against United.

Having said that, Spurs are really struggling in the league right now. They've not won any of their last six games (D4 L2)... however they travel to Old Trafford with hope. Five of their seven league wins this season have come away from home.

Michael Carrick, meanwhile, has won all three of his matches since returning as United manager. The last time United won four in a row was in Feb '24, under Erik Ten Hag.

Tottenham captain Cristian Romero has described the squad's lack of depth as "disgraceful" in another thinly-veiled criticism of the club.

Romero was forced off during Spurs' battling 2-2 draw at home to Manchester City with an illness, which also affected the Argentina international in the midweek win over Eintracht Frankfurt.

The withdrawal of Romero took Tottenham's list of absentees well beyond double figures in parallels to last season under Ange Postecoglou, who battled with an enormous injury crisis for months and clinched Europa League glory but also presided over a 17th-placed finish in the Premier League.

It cost Postecoglou his job but it has been a similar story for replacement Thomas Frank, who has struggled without a number of key personnel all season and Spurs have won just two of their last 15 games in the Premier League to increase fears of a potential relegation battle.

Even though Tottenham impressively brought in Conor Gallagher in a £35 million ($48m) move from Atletico Madrid midway through January, they sold last season's leading scorer Brennan Johnson and have lost nine players to injury since the turn of the year to further frustrate a disgruntled fanbase.

Moments after the winter transfer deadline closed, captain Romero said on Instagram: "Great effort from all my teammates yesterday, they were incredible.

"I wanted to be available to help them even though I wasn't feeling well, especially since we only had 11 players available -- unbelievable but true and disgraceful.

"We'll keep showing up and taking responsibility to turn this around, working hard and staying together. All that's left is to thank all of you for being there and for always supporting us, the fans."

Spurs did later announce the loan signing of Hearts teenager James Wilson with the option to make the move permanent, but the forward is a player for the Under-21 squad.

It still proved to be a quiet deadline day at Tottenham after the club resisted the temptation to chase short-term signings, Press Association understands.

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PA also believe Spurs' desire in the winter transfer window was to bring forward summer targets, which resulted in a move for Andy Robertson which ultimately collapsed.

It was a similar story for the successful pursuits of Gallagher and Brazilian left-back Souza, but the club were eager to remain disciplined and stick with a strategic strategy of signing long-term targets.

Significant funds were available from majority shareholders ENIC, PA understands, and this was highlighted in the failed bid to sign Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth.

Yet after Semenyo decided to join Manchester City, Tottenham were comfortable to wait until the summer to land key targets.

Jamie Carragher has come to the defence of Thomas Frank, saying the Tottenham Hotspur manager has been deprived of a number of important players during a difficult first season in charge.

Spurs, who held Manchester City to a 2-2 draw on Sunday thanks in large part to Dominic Solanke's sensational scorpion kick, are currently 14th in the Premier League table.

Of his first 24 league games in north London, Frank has presided over eight draws and nine defeats.

Carragher, speaking to Sky Sports, pointed to the absence of players like Solanke during Spurs' poor run. The striker has missed significant time since undergoing ankle surgery in September.

Currently sidelined for Spurs are the likes of James Maddison -- still recovering from a torn ACL -- Rodrigo Bentancur, Richarlison, Mohammed Kudus, Ben Davies and Lucas Bergvall.

"It's great for Solanke," Carragher said of the striker's acrobatic equaliser. "And also, it's probably great for Thomas Frank, because he's looking at that thinking and saying to his board, and maybe his own supporters, 'I've been without a lot of top players this season.'

"That is fact. There's no doubt about that.

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"There is still obviously a debate, and I understand the frustration of Spurs supporters around the style of football, how they play, how slow first halves are, how poor they are at home. I get all of that.

"I think he [Frank] might be speaking to the people above him, when he gets those players back, 'judge me then.'"

Man City's lingering defensive holes exposed by Tottenham

Signing Marc Guéhi midway through the season was a coup for Manchester City -- but it hasn't solved everything.

Guardiola's best teams would go up two goals and then squeeze the life out of the game. This version of City seems unable to exert the same level of control.

The momentum shift after halftime was drastic, and City couldn't cope. Without Donnarumma in goal they would have lost the match. They can't blame the lapse on Rodri's absence either, although the former Ballon d'Or winner is clearly still learning what his body can and can't do after suffering a serious knee injury.

From City's point of view, both Tottenham goals were avoidable. Solanke's second was a wonderfully creative finish, but Nico González -- freshly on as a substitute -- won't want to see a replay of his role in the buildup.

You could argue this has been coming. City kept clean sheets against Wolves and Galatasaray last week, but both teams had good spells in the second half when they might have scored.

Unlike the other two, Tottenham were able to take advantage of their period on the front foot. -- Dawson

Spurs silence doubters with will to try for the win

This fixture inevitably evokes memories of Tottenham's 2023-24 season when Man City came to town needing a win to stay clear in the title race. Then-Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou admitted his surprise at some home fans appearing to be content their side lost that day as it meant north London rivals Arsenal would be denied a first league title since 2004.

The dynamic was different this time -- City arrived here seven points behind Arsenal -- but it was once again fair to ask how many inside the ground would have been quietly content with a defeat here. There was a notable anodyne atmosphere as a result during a first half City utterly dominated. Boos rang out at halftime but the stadium was more a picture of apathy than anger as the fans watched yet another disappointing home performance.

And yet, the second half could not have been more different. Nobody could question the intent of Spurs' players, who were unrecognizable in the second half and could have even won it late on.

There is a long way to go in the title race -- that game in 2024 came in mid-May -- and so this result won't have felt as decisive to those Spurs fans fearing Arsenal's big day is coming. But Tottenham could easily have folded here, but instead they fought back -- and did their bitterest rivals a precious favor. -- Olley

Cherki proving his addition at Man City was right on target

There were doubts about Rayan Cherki when he arrived from Lyon in the summer. There were questions about his attitude and whether he could fit into Guardiola's system.

It's only February and most of those have been answered.

You can tell in the way Guardiola interacts with him that he's a player who delights and frustrates the City boss in equal measure. He has said before that he wants the Frenchman to work harder out of possession and to be as good at the simple things as he is at the tricks and flicks.

What's not in question, though, is Cherki's output. He's one of only five players from Europe's top five leagues to register more than 10 goals and more than 10 assists since the start of the FIFA Club World Cup. The others are Michael Olise, Lamine Yamal, Fermín López and Luis Díaz. It's not bad company to keep.

Not even a year into his City career, Guardiola will believe he can get much more out of Cherki, but already the £40 million deal to bring him in looks like an absolute steal. -- Dawson

Spurs vs. Man City (1 Feb, 2026) Live Score  ESPN

Tottenham Hotspur welcome champions Manchester City in what could be a massive game in the Premier League title race, and you can follow it all live with ESPN.

Pep Guardiola's side know they'll have to win to cut their deficit to Arsenal back to four points, while Spurs will be desperate to carry over some momentum from midweek and win their first league fixture of 2026.

Noni Madueke admitted Arsenal would be watching on keenly after thrashing Leeds on Saturday, so can their north London rivals do them a favour at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

Follow all the updates with ESPN below.

A rip-roaring second-half from Tottenham saw them fight back from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw at home to Manchester City and boost fierce rivals Arsenal's title bid.

City looked set to cruise to another victory after first-half goals from Rayan Cherki and Antoine Semenyo put Pep Guardiola's men in control.

Spurs had been booed off at half-time, but a controversial 53rd-minute own-goal by Marc Guéhi gave Thomas Frank's misfiring team a lifeline before Dominic Solanke's sensational back heel levelled the scores after 73 minutes.

There was still time for either team to find a winner, but the spoils were shared and Manchester City are now six points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.

It was a timely comeback for under-fire Frank, who has struggled to win over the Spurs fanbase and although this made it only two wins in 15 league fixtures, it prevented another defeat at home.

Arsenal's 4-0 win at Leeds on Saturday increased the pressure on City, but they faced a depleted Tottenham with 11 players absent, including central defender Micky van de Ven.

It meant Radu Dragusin was handed a first start in 12 months following his recovery from a serious knee injury and within 11 minutes the home side were behind.

Not long after Semenyo had tested Guglielmo Vicario, City won the ball back from Yves Bissouma and within seconds Erling Haaland had released Cherki, who worked a yard of space on Dragusin and rifled into the bottom corner.

It was too simple from a Spurs point of view, but the dream start for Guardiola's men and they could have made it 2-0 seven minutes later only for Haaland to lob the ball over the crossbar.

Home fans were already restless when Cherki's twinkle-toes got him into the area and past a hapless Dragusin tackle, but his firm 23rd-minute effort was brilliantly tipped wide by Vicario even though a goal-kick was awarded.

Frank's team did finally show some attacking intent when Solanke teed up Xavi Simons but his shot was blocked, and yet a minute before half-time City made it 2-0.

Dragusin's chipped pass was intercepted by Rodri, who picked out Bernardo Silva and he teed up Semenyo to curl home.

Boos followed at the break and Frank was now without captain Cristian Romero with Pape Sarr introduced, but in a 4-2-3-1 system, Tottenham improved.

Conor Gallagher fired over before Destiny Udogie was superbly thwarted by fellow Italian Gianluigi Donnarumma.

A Spurs goal was coming and it arrived in controversial circumstances in the 53rd minute when Simons produced a wonderful pass into Solanke, who turned Abdukodir Khusanov and kicked through the back of Guehi's leg to make it 2-1.

VAR checked for offside and a foul, but Guehi's own-goal stood and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was alive as Guardiola received a booking from referee Robert Jones.

Frank sensed the momentum with attackers Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel introduced in the 68th minute and three minutes later Solanke caused the stadium to erupt.

Gallagher burst forward down the right and crossed into the penalty area where Solanke produced a sensational back heel finish over the scrambling Donnarumma to make it 2-2.

It was all Spurs now as Simons played in Odobert, but Donnarumma made a vital save before Simons let fly and forced a sprawling save from the City goalkeeper.

Lucas Paquetá has said he ignored calls from Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea before joining Flamengo back in his native Brazil.

Paquetá signed for Flamengo on Thursday for £35.8 million ($49.4m), making him the most expensive player ever signed by a Brazilian club.

The 28-year-old, who had 18 months remaining on his contract at West Ham United, told Flamengo TV that two of his former side's London rivals were interested -- but his heart was set on Flamengo.

"Tottenham called, Chelsea called, and the funny thing is that Tata (his agent) called all excited and said: 'Chelsea's calling, they're gonna make an offer.'

"I replied: 'Okay, but what about Flamengo?' He said: 'Are you serious?'

"I said: 'Yeah, I don't want to know about that. I want to hear about Flamengo,' and that's how it all turned out."

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West Ham had wanted Paquetá to stay until the end of the season to help the club's battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

However, Paquetá had requested to return to Brazil ahead of the World Cup.

Thomas Frank talked up the "big commitment" of Tottenham's owners despite a quiet January and insisted transfers were not as easy as on the video game Football Manager after they missed out on Antoine Semenyo.

Spurs will face Semenyo on Sunday when Manchester City visit and Frank revealed the ex-Bournemouth attacker had been a big target for this winter transfer window before he decided to join Pep Guardiola's title-chasing side.

With only days of the window left, Tottenham have signed Conor Gallagher from Atlético Madrid and teenage Brazilian left-back Souza, but sold last season's leading scorer Brennan Johnson and lost Mohammed Kudus, Richarlison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies and Lucas Bergvall to serious injuries in January.

It led Frank to acknowledge his current squad of players to choose from was weaker than at the start of this month, but he rejected any notion that majority owners ENIC -- run by the Lewis family Trust -- were not committed to this project with Spurs down in 14th in the Premier League table.

Ahead of a daunting run of fixtures in February, which begins with the visit of City, Frank said: "I think we lost, I can't remember, six or seven players inside three weeks in January? That's crazy.

"There were definitely too many, so yeah of course [the squad] it's weaker than we started the first of January.

"I can promise that the Lewis family is super committed to this project. They want to do everything and I would go against my rule, hopefully only once, that there's no doubt it's clear that the club wants to sign Semenyo.

"They did everything. I think that's a clear signal that the Lewis family is very committed.

"That's a big signing with finances and all that, so it's aligned with that. That's the quality players we are looking for to improve the squad."

It was put to Frank that supporters want more actions than words, with a protest planned by fan group 'Change for Tottenham' before and during Sunday's visit of City with the slogan 'it's time to act' after largely quiet business this month.

Frank countered: "The fans just want the best for the club. Just like I want [the best], the owners, the staff, the players, everyone wants the best for the club, but I also think it's fair to say that the transfer window is not Football Manager unfortunately. It is not.

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"It would be a lot easier, but also a little bit more boring. We would not have as many good stories to talk about.

"In the last 30 days, you couldn't go to work basically because there is nothing to write about or talk about. So, it is very difficult the transfer market. It's an art, it's a craftsmanship."