The New York Times

Earlier this week, Destiny Udogie uploaded a video to social media that showed his Tottenham Hotspur team-mates Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr and Pedro Porro dancing in the dressing room at the training ground.

It was a funny and wholesome moment — but there was a tiny, hidden detail in the video which Udogie unintentionally revealed.

Sarr was dancing in front of a large television screen which briefly displayed the first-team squad’s schedule as they prepare for the coming season. All players were due to go for a swim, it read, then head to the gym. After lunch, they would participate in a session called ‘back-to-back goals possession.’

But if you take a closer look at the bottom of that TV, you might make out a collection of fuzzy words which seem to read ‘long throw auditions’. Naturally, Spurs fans have seized on this. After all, long throws aren’t naturally associated with the game’s most glamorous or successful teams.

Lots of people describe the tactical approach of Tottenham’s new head coach Thomas Frank as pragmatic.

While he was in charge of previous club Brentford, they set up in a 3-5-2 system during their 2021-22 debut season in the Premier League, and one of their main routes of attack was goalkeeper David Raya pumping long balls towards 6ft1in (185cm) striker Ivan Toney. They were a potent threat from set pieces, too.

People who have known Frank throughout his coaching career prefer to call him open-minded.

He is prepared to try different ideas and adapts to the strengths and weaknesses of the players at his disposal. The best example of this is how throw-ins became a valuable weapon for him at Brentford — and he apparently wants to repeat the trick with Spurs after moving across London this summer.

Part of the reason why Frank has this attitude is because Brentford have a long history of employing specialist coaches, including throw-in expert Thomas Gronnemark, sleep consultant Anna West and Bartek Sylwestrzak, who helps players to improve their ball-striking technique. Andreas Georgson spent the 2019-20 season as their set-piece coach and will now perform the same role at Spurs. Keith Andrews, who was in charge of Brentford’s set-pieces last season, has even replaced Frank as their head coach.

Brentford hired all of these specialists out of necessity. When they were in the second-tier Championship, they did not have the money to go out and buy top players, so they focused on improving the talent present within their squad via any means necessary. On the opening day of that 2021-22 season, in Brentford’s first game in the English top flight for 74 years, Christian Norgaard scored from a throw-in routine to seal a famous 2-0 win against Arsenal.

Long throw-ins have become fashionable again in the Premier League but nobody has come close to matching the efficiency of Brentford, who were responsible for six of the 20 goals scored from them in the division last season.

According to The Athletic’s data model, Spurs generated 0.2 xG (expected goals) within 10 seconds of their attacking throw-ins last season — only Chelsea created less. Under Frank’s predecessor Ange Postecoglou, their full-backs tended to wait for James Maddison, Lucas Bergvall or Dejan Kulusevski to offer for the ball from midfield, before playing a quick one-two and recycling possession.

Keane Lewis-Potter and Michael Kayode, Brentford’s starting full-backs towards the end of that 2024-25 campaign, took a lot of their throw-ins, but sometimes centre-back Ethan Pinnock, central midfielder Mathias Jensen or forward Kevin Schade stepped up.

It was a strange sight to see Schade, their third-highest scorer (with 11) behind Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa, drying the ball with a towel on the touchline, but he had one of the most powerful throws in the squad. Maybe Mohammed Kudus or Mathys Tel will become a secret weapon for Tottenham with their throw-ins; this is the whole point of Frank’s auditions.

Brentford generated 5.9 xG from throw-ins last season, which was comfortably the highest figure in the division. Nottingham Forest were a distant second at only 1.4. By way of direct comparison, Brentford attempted 98 more throws directly into the opposition penalty area in 2024-25 than Spurs did.

Do not be fooled into thinking that Porro, Udogie, Djed Spence or Archie Gray will suddenly start aimlessly hurling balls into the box. A lot of planning and creativity went into Brentford’s throw-in moves.

For example, in their penultimate game of last season, they caused west London rivals Fulham a lot of problems. Kayode can propel the ball powerfully across large distances and still retain accuracy. In the 21st minute against Fulham, he shaped his body to throw one into the box but shifted it at the last moment and instead found Lewis-Potter.

He receives the ball just inside Fulham’s half and rolls Emile Smith Rowe before clipping a pass towards Norgaard on the left wing. Brentford have changed the angle of their attack in an attempt to catch Fulham off-guard.

Fulham temporarily clear the ball, but Adama Traore is dispossessed by Wissa. The visitors’ defensive structure is now all over the place, with Calvin Bassey much deeper than his centre-back partner Joachim Andersen, and full-back Antonee Robinson nowhere near Mbeumo.

Mbeumo strides into the box and equalises with a drilled shot low into the corner.

Brentford might not have scored directly from a throw-in in this situation, but it all stems from their desire to be bold in such situations.

Brentford took the lead just before half-time in the same game from another throw-in.

Kayode is in charge again, and Fulham are wary of him picking out Yehor Yarmoliuk on the edge of the area. This unpredictability can create confusion among opposition defences and potentially lead to mistakes.

Fulham have all their outfield players in the penalty area to Brentford’s five, yet Sepp van den Berg manages to rise above everybody to flick the ball on…

… and Norgaard nudges it back across the box to provide Wissa with a simple finish. No Fulham player tracked the midfielder’s back-post run because they were all too worried about trying to win the initial ball.

Brentford are experts when it comes to every kind of set piece. They even scored straight from kick-off in three consecutive games last season. There are charts on the walls in the canteen at their training ground which show how many chances they are creating and conceding from set pieces. (Don’t be surprised if something similar is now introduced at Hotspur Way.)

After they beat his Liverpool side 3-1 in January 2023, Jurgen Klopp said Brentford “stretch the rules”.

“If you singled out every situation, you would find five fouls,” Klopp added. “But because it’s so chaotic, nobody sees it. That’s what they do, and it’s really good; they react to different things.

“They play like this against us, but against other teams, they play football, and it’s fantastic. You cannot defend long balls all the time. They were super-direct. That limits them in some aspects, but in this kind of game they are able to create chaos and they organised that extremely well.”

As more teams became aware of their threat from set pieces, Brentford responded by coming up with new ideas and cleverly disguising their intentions.

It happened in May against Fulham, and there is another example from the 3-1 defeat of Southampton last August.

Here, Mbeumo and Wissa drop off to potentially receive from a Jensen throw-in.

But the Denmark international takes a few steps back, signalling his intention to send it long, so his two strikers turn back and head off towards goal. At the same time, Nathan Collins and Pinnock, Brentford’s centre-backs, have moved from the penalty spot to the near post. Their presence will prevent goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale from catching the ball.

Jensen’s delivery spins towards that front post, and Collins nips in front of the Southampton defenders to flick it on. Wissa makes an arcing run towards the back post…

… and is rewarded with an incredibly easy finish.

Southampton were tricked into thinking Brentford would throw the ball short, which meant they were poorly organised for Jensen’s longer effort.

Udogie’s innocent, behind-the-scenes video from Spurs training inadvertently highlighted the biggest difference between Frank and Postecoglou.

The latter largely stuck rigidly to his philosophy and dismissed the importance of set pieces, even comparing them to a rugby scrum. Frank will try anything if it helps his team gain an advantage.

Additional reporting: Thom Harris

(Top photo: Andrew Kearns/Getty Images)

It used to be said of Tottenham Hotspur that they were so keen on finding value in the transfer market they would ignore players who were right under their noses.

When Spurs full-back Danny Rose famously told UK newspaper The Sun in 2017 that he wanted them to sign players he did not “have to Google”, it struck a chord with the fanbase for a reason. This was an era when the club’s transfer business was necessarily constrained by the new-stadium build, a huge billion-plus project they had to pay for themselves, with no hand-outs from anyone else.

What is so striking about Tottenham’s transfer business in this window is how commonplace it is for them to target players who require far less research.

Of course, there is still a hunt for bargains, for young unknowns who can develop and then shine at Tottenham. That was the case when Fabio Paratici was in charge of their recruitment, and even more so now Johan Lange is technical director. The recent purchase of Kota Takai from Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale — not a player many of us had heard of — is the perfect example of this type of signing. A highly-rated youngster with great data who Spurs could beat the competition to. Antonin Kinsky, the goalkeeper signed from Slavia Prague in January, was another example of a similar trend.

Go back slightly further, and the likes of Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall, though highly regarded by those well-versed in global youth football, were hardly household names before arriving in north London. Both ended the 2024-25 season having played a huge role in the club’s Europa League triumph.

But while Tottenham continue to go for players such as Takai and Kinsky — ones you can be forgiven for needing to Google — they have also made a habit of adding players who require no introduction. Which is what we have seen this month with the arrival of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United for £55million, and the attempt — still unresolved — to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest for £60m.

Take a step back, and this is perhaps the defining trend in Spurs’ transfer business in the past few years. And it is not the behaviour of a club shy about making their presence felt in the market.

When Rose made those famous comments eight years ago, it was not quite true that Tottenham never bought from other Premier League sides. For example, they signed Southampton midfielder Victor Wanyama in summer 2016 for £11million. He made an instant impact in elevating the level of the team. Which is what you want when you buy an established player from a team in the same division. And a few weeks after Rose’s intervention, Spurs signed Fernando Llorente from Swansea City for £12m, although in truth the Spanish striker was always a high-level Plan B during his time at the club rather than a guaranteed starter.

After Llorente, however, Tottenham did not sign another player from a fellow Premier League side for another three years. (When Ryan Sessegnon and Jack Clarke were bought in summer 2019, from Fulham and Leeds United respectively, those sides were in the second-tier Championship.) It was not until 2020, when they added Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Southampton and Matt Doherty of Wolves, that they started to buy from their own division again. And neither of those deals involved a big fee either, with each player costing roughly £15million.

It was only really in summer 2022 that Spurs started to behave like they routinely do now.

Remember that this was after one full season of post-pandemic football. Antonio Conte wanted some more experienced additions to his team after finishing in fourth and sealing Champions League football. It was no secret that Everton needed to sell Richarlison before the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) reporting deadline of June 30. Spurs managed to get him for a deal of £50million, plus a potential £10m more in add-ons. It was one of the biggest deals in Tottenham’s history, and a clear change in policy. Later that summer, they signed Yves Bissouma from Brighton & Hove Albion for £25m.

The next summer, when Ange Postecoglou came in as manager, Spurs went again to sign established top-flight players for significant fees. Leicester City had just been relegated, but Tottenham had been tracking their midfielder James Maddison for years. They persuaded him to join and bought him for £40million in late June. At the end of the window, they targeted Brennan Johnson of Nottingham Forest, another club who needed to sell for PSR reasons, and landed him for £47.5m.

In Postecoglou’s second (and last) summer, Spurs broke their transfer record with another big Premier League purchase. Bournemouth were not in quite the same situation as Everton in 2022 or Forest in 2023, but Dominic Solanke had two years left on his deal, and it was their last chance to make money on him. Tottenham picked him up for an initial £55million, with another £10m in potential add-ons.

Put those four deals together — Richarlison, Maddison, Johnson and Solanke — and it establishes a clear pattern. Spurs are not afraid to pay fees that used to be far beyond them for proven Premier League talent. Especially when they know the selling club, for whatever reason, are not in much of a position to resist.

While it may be tempting to suggest these players (and Bissouma) have sometimes flattered to deceive at Tottenham, it is worth remembering all bar Maddison started that Europa League final, and all played a part in that long-overdue trophy win.

Remember too that there is precedent for a strategy like this.

Liverpool — the Premier League’s best case study in how to spend money smartly — built some of the foundations for their recent successes on the signings of players who had been relegated from the Premier League: Georginio Wijnaldum from Newcastle United in 2016, Andy Robertson from Hull City the year after. Sadio Mane — who Spurs also wanted — came in from mid-table Southampton.

But given what we have seen from Tottenham in the past three years, it should perhaps be no surprise that they started their summer by targeting Kudus, given how valuable that money would be to West Ham in the market. And even the move for Gibbs-White, if unexpected, was still consistent with that strategy. Of course, they certainly might have added more established players than they did last summer, and the struggles of the team to compete on multiple fronts can be attributed in part to the fact that Solanke was their only experienced signing.

And transfer fees are not the same thing as wage bills, and it is in salary terms that Spurs have lost ground relative to their rivals in recent years. Even though the club has spent more on fees than ever before, some observers have pointed to the reduced wage bill as being at least as important.

Maybe this window is an attempt to make up for all that, to give new head coach Thomas Frank the tools to compete on multiple fronts. And to give the fans players they do not need to look up in advance.

(Top photo of Gibbs-White and Kudus; Alex Broadway/Getty Images)

Aston Villa midfielder Jacob Ramsey is of interest to Nottingham Forest.

Forest’s interest in Ramsey comes with Tottenham Hotspur bidding for their attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White.

The Athletic previously reported that Tottenham pushed to get Ramsey last summer but could not complete a deal.

The 24-year-old is a Villa academy graduate, representing pure bookable profit for the West Midlands club if he is sold. While Ramsey’s salary is manageable, a sale would further help Villa in their battle to reduce their wage bill below 70 per cent of overall turnover, complying with UEFA’s guidelines and, in July, Villa were fined by UEFA for breaching its financial rules. At the start of the summer, Villa’s wage bill stood in the mid-eighties, though have been gradually trimming this figure since.

However, Ramsey would serve as ‘club-trained’, which Villa need when registering players in this season’s squad for their Europa League campaign. It remains to be seen as to whether Villa would sanction a sale, with Unai Emery a firm advocate of the midfielder’s ability and the club wanting to move on other players, such as Alex Moreno, Leander Dendoncker and Leon Bailey.

Ramsey made his league debut in September 2020 as a 19-year-old and has made 167 senior appearances for Villa. Last season, the Englishman played 45 games across all competitions. He registered one goal and five assists over 29 appearances in the Premier League, having struggled with injuries.

The Athletic reported on July 10 that Forest midfielder Gibbs-White was set for a medical at Tottenham, in line to follow wingers Anthony Elanga and Ramon Sosa leaving the club this summer.

‘Ramsey would perfectly fit Forest’s recruitment model’

Analysis by Nottingham Forest correspondent Paul Taylor

Forest’s need to bolster their attacking arsenal was already increased by the £52m sale of Elanga to Newcastle.

Although it is Gibbs-White who Ramsey would be more of a replacement for. It remains to be seen whether Gibbs-White will complete a move to London, after Forest were upset by the manner of Tottenham’s £60m bid for their most influential player.

But the versatile attacking player, who can play wide on the left or in the number 10 role that Gibbs-White has made his own, would perfectly fit Forest’s recruitment model, as a relatively young player who would still improve.

Ramsey was on the radar of England manager Thomas Tuchel last season and playing regular football at Forest could aid his international ambitions.

The fact that he can play in more than one position would also be an important factor for head coach Nuno Espirito Santo, who values such attributes in his players.

Forest have already bolstered their options in the final third with the addition of Igor Jesus from Botafogo, while they remain keen on Brentford’s Yoane Wissa.

But Ramsey could also be an astute addition, if the club can get a deal over the line.

(Photo: Alex Livesey/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur have signed winger Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United in a deal worth around £55million ($74.7m). The 24-year-old has signed a six-year contract.

As part of this summer’s transfer coverage on The Athletic, in addition to breaking news, tactical analysis and in-depth reads, our Transfers TLDR series (you can read them all here) will bring you a quick guide to each of the key deals.

Give me his backstory in 100 words…

Kudus was born in Ghana and trained at the Right to Dream Academy, which has a direct pipeline to several professional clubs — including Danish Superliga side Nordsjaelland (FCN), who Kudus joined in 2018, aged 17.

In two seasons in Denmark, the forward made 57 appearances across all competitions, scoring 14 goals. He signed for Ajax ahead of the 2020-21 season and spent three seasons with the Dutch side, scoring 27 times in 87 appearances — a total limited by injury problems. West Ham signed Kudus in summer 2023 and he made 80 appearances in two seasons, scoring 19 goals and registering 13 assists.

Cerys Jones

What should and shouldn’t I expect to see?

Kudus’ game is characterised by dribbling. He likes to take players on and is extremely difficult to dispossess. He can hold the ball up and his movement off it is smart, too. In terms of position, expect him to primarily play on the wing, although he has played across the front line and midfield.

One caveat: don’t expect him to successfully finish every chance. His percentage of shots on target is relatively low, so while he can create plenty for himself and his team-mates, it might require some patience to see the end-product.

Cerys Jones

How will he fit in tactically?

Tottenham’s new head coach Thomas Frank will relish having a player as dynamic as Kudus among his options for a variety of reasons.

Chief among them is the Ghanaian’s explosive ability in one-v-one situations. Boasting quick feet and a rapid change of direction, Kudus’ 7.2 take-ons attempted per 90 minutes played trailed only Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku in the Premier League last season.

This should help Spurs break down stubborn low-blocks, but his ball-carrying is an invaluable tool in transition.

They scored 10 goals from fast breaks last season, second only to champions Liverpool (14). While it’s unlikely Frank will maintain the gung-ho, helter-skelter style of Ange Postecoglou, it’s clear that counter-attacking at speed is one of this squad’s collective strengths, and Kudus’ ability will only help amplify this.

Conor O’Neill

What’s his injury record?

As mentioned, Kudus’ Ajax career was peppered with enforced absences. A knee injury kept him out from October 2020 to February 2021 (bar a 10-minute cameo in the January), he missed the beginning of the 2021-22 season with an ankle issue, before a fractured rib ruled him out again from November to February. He was also absent for four games in the following campaign because of a hamstring problem.

Since moving to the Premier League, though, none of those injuries have reoccurred.

Cerys Jones

Someone who knows him says…

Flemming Pedersen, technical director and former first-team manager at Nordsjaelland, told The Athletic in 2023: “He always stayed behind after training, because he had that desire to improve his goalscoring record. I demanded that he improve his offensive ability and I’ve noticed he’s become a lot more clinical with his finishing.

“The most important thing is to give him a lot of trust, and then you get the best version of Kudus. I didn’t try and control him when I was his manager. I tried to get closer to Kudus the person, so he could express himself on the pitch. Just through that extra bit of love, he started doing amazing things with the ball. He played with freedom. Performance-wise, he’s one of the best players I’ve worked with.”

Cerys Jones

What do we know about the finances of the deal?

Kudus has joined Tottenham on a six-year contract, which expires in June 2031. Spurs are paying West Ham around £55million — a big saving on the £85m release clause that was in place should any Premier League club have wished to sign the player before July 10.

Chris Weatherspoon

What impact will this have on both clubs’ PSR calculation?

Assuming agent fees of 10 per cent, plus a four per cent transfer levy, Kudus’ signing will add £12.2million to Spurs’ amortisation costs in 2025-26, then a further £12.5m annually until the end of the 2029-30 season.

Just a further £309,000 will then be booked into their 2030-31 figures, despite Kudus’ contract running to the end of that season. This is a by-product of Premier League (and UEFA) rules, which only allow clubs to spread transfer fees across a maximum of five years.

There will therefore be a disconnect between amortisation costs in Tottenham’s annual accounts and their respective PSR calculations. In the former, Kudus will cost £10.5million annually — £2m per year less than in their PSR (profitability and sustainability rules) submissions.

In total, across the fee paid to West Ham and associated costs, Kudus will set Spurs back an estimated £62.7million. That’s without including his weekly wages. The total cost of buying and employing the Ghana international over his full contract term will almost certainly exceed £100m.

Kudus’ West Ham contract wasn’t due to expire until June 2028, and his estimated book value at the club (again, after some assumed agent fees and the applicable transfer levy when buying him from Ajax two years ago) is estimated at £26.6million.

As reported by The Athletic at the time of that deal, Ajax secured a sell-on clause on Kudus of 10 per cent of West Ham’s future profit. There’s not a huge amount between Spurs’ fee and the money spent to take him to the London Stadium two years ago, so we project the Amsterdam side will bank between £1million and £2m.

Deducting Ajax’s share leaves West Ham’s profit on the deal at around the £27million mark. That’s a good amount, but the east Londoners don’t appear in need of PSR-related boosts, so it’s unlikely this sale has been sanctioned with that as the driving reason; they booked £57m in profit in 2023-24, a figure which remains in their PSR calculation in 2025-26.

Chris Weatherspoon

(Top photo: Alex Broadway/Getty Images)

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How did a footballer on the verge of the big time at Liverpool later find himself at the centre of a massive cocaine bust? We have a first-hand account for you.

Plus: what Arsenal knew about Thomas Partey allegations, Morgan Gibbs-White set for Tottenham medical, and the New York Cosmos are back.

Player to dealer: How ex-Liverpool youth star Cassidy was jailed over £28m drugs plot

Jamie Cassidy made headlines last year when he and his brother, Jonathan, were jailed for their part in smuggling £28m worth ($35.8m) of cocaine into the UK. The case drew attention because Cassidy, now 47, was better known for being a former professional footballer at Liverpool.

Simon Hughes covered the sentencing hearing for The Athletic, and there was an air of finality about his extensive backgrounder. Cassidy received a prison sentence of 13 years and three months. Police first arrested him in 2020 and, having served time in between on remand, he was released on parole last month, which is where this story gets even more interesting.

Upon leaving jail, Cassidy sought Simon out. He had read the coverage of his conviction and wanted to speak about the events which led him to become part of a smuggling network that imported 356kg of cocaine into England from South America, via the Netherlands. Their conversations form the basis of a phenomenally compelling feature, published this morning.

To recap briefly, Cassidy was a supremely gifted, left-footed midfielder who came close to breaking through at Liverpool in the 1990s. Some of his peers, such as Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen, made it big there, and Cassidy believed he would do the same. He made England’s training squad for Euro 1996. A breakthrough was close enough to touch.

How, then, did he spiral from those heady heights to the end of his professional career in his early 20s and a future role in the global narcotics trade? The crux of the matter is injury: a torn ACL from which he never recovered. Cassidy describes himself as “completely lost” during his adult life, something he says he intends to change.

‘It happens over a period of time’

I’m wary of showing Cassidy too much sympathy and, in fairness to him, he’s not asking for any. His interview with Simon is full of contrition. “Nobody put the Encro (EncroChat — an encrypted messaging service used by drug dealers to communicate, which police broke into to bust Cassidy’s operation) in my hand but me,” he says. When the time came to plead, he pleaded guilty.

But there is more than a vague element of misfortune in Cassidy’s story. The demise of his career earned him little emotional support. His father — who stood by Cassidy and who he talks about incredibly fondly, and who died the day after Cassidy was released from jail — responded to the question “why me?” by simply asking “why not you, lad?”. “It was a different time,” Cassidy says. “If there was a problem, you had to try and get on with it.”

Carragher referenced Cassidy in his autobiography, extolling his ability. Cassidy felt so low that he reached the point where he could hardly bring himself to watch Liverpool. He moved into the building trade, where he came into contact with the city’s criminal underworld. Gradually, he found himself crossing the line. “It happens over a period of time,” he says. “In jail, some say lads want to be either a footballer or a drug dealer. Unfortunately, I’ve been both.”

It’s an important story because aftercare for players who chase a career in football but don’t succeed in creating one is a long-standing concern. Cassidy, who worked to support suicidal inmates in jail, says that when he left Liverpool after almost 12 years, “I couldn’t change a plug and suddenly I was out like an old stray dog.” It wasn’t easy for him to know what came next and it will be harder to predict what comes after prison. But to take his comments at face value — and I really would give Simon’s interview your time — he’ll seek to wipe the slate as clean as he can.

Transfer talk: Tottenham sign Kudus for £55m and target £60m Gibbs-White

Have Tottenham Hotspur undergone a personality transplant? For so long derided as a club devoid of adequate ambition — unwilling to spend what needs to be spent in the Premier League — they’re sinking £115m or thereabouts into two back-to-back signings.

Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United is already done. That’s a £55m transfer. But more eye-opening again is Spurs’ £60m approach for Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White, a midfielder who Manchester City gave consideration to buying. No sooner had David Ornstein broken the exclusive than Gibbs-White was booked in for a medical today.

The deals represent concerted backing for new head coach Thomas Frank, and Gibbs-White in particular is a demonstration of how Spurs winning the Europa League, thereby qualifying for the 2025-26 Champions League, gave them a) more pulling power and b) more revenue to dabble with. Suffice to say, they ain’t finishing 17th next season.

Also going down in the livestock ring:

Forest would like to spend some of the funds from Gibbs-White (assuming the sale goes through) on Brentford forward Yoane Wissa. The trouble is, Brentford are playing hardball this summer, as is their prerogative, and Forest are well short of Wissa’s valuation.

Arsenal’s bid for Chelsea’s Noni Madueke looks like it’s on. The clubs are expected to shake hands on a fee worth £52m. That will burn a hole in Chelsea’s pocket, no doubt.

Breaking this morning: two years on from trading Liverpool for Saudi Arabia, Jordan Henderson is returning to the Premier League. Brentford are handing the 35-year-old a two-year contract after his exit from Ajax.

Real Madrid’s long-winded pursuit of Benfica left-back Alvaro Carreras — once of Manchester United — is also getting there. United stand to profit from a 20 per cent sell-on clause.

An interesting one in Major League Soccer: Inter Miami are speaking to Atletico Madrid about midfielder Rodrigo De Paul. He’d be a cracking asset for them.

News round-up

Crystal Palace shareholder John Textor thinks the club will retain their Europa League place, despite the ownership tangle involving one of his other projects, Lyon. So he told a radio station, anyway.

Endrick could do with a change in luck at Real Madrid. The 18-year-old has suffered a recurrence of the hamstring injury that kept him out of the Club World Cup. He might miss the start of the new season.

Ex-Madrid winger Gareth Bale is pushing on with attempts to buy League One club Cardiff City. The consortium he’s part of have upped their offer and want full control. Cardiff are the Welshman’s hometown team. His old Bernabeu team-mate, Luka Modric, is just down the road at Swansea City. Small world.

Hosts Switzerland sneaked into the knockout stages of Euro 2025 by the skin of their teeth last night. A 92nd-minute equaliser squeezed out Finland. Switzerland will most likely meet Spain in the quarter-finals, which should mean curtains for them.

Atlanta United president and CEO Garth Lagerwey is stepping away from the franchise to undergo treatment for cancer.

Partey timeline: When did Arsenal know about rape allegations?

More now on Thomas Partey, the former Arsenal midfielder who earlier this month was charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault. The 32-year-old denies all the charges and is due to appear in court in just over three weeks’ time.

Until he was charged, UK law prevented The Athletic from identifying Partey as the footballer under investigation. While the case is live, there are also strict limits on what we can report. But questions are being asked of Arsenal’s management of him — their decision to continue playing Partey while police looked into the claims against him — and James McNicholas has worked hard to establish what the club knew and when.

It turns out that they were first made aware of a complaint against Partey in September 2021, almost four years before he was charged. They also knew that England’s Crown Prosecution Service was still considering whether to charge Partey while Arsenal were discussing a contract extension with him towards the end of last season. While James’ article makes for uncomfortable reading, it’s an essential piece of work.

Around TAFC

Three years after her last professional appearance, it’s the end of the road for USWNT legend Tobin Heath. A nasty knee injury got the better of the two-time World Cup winner and she announced her retirement yesterday, aged 37. Meg Linehan chased down a lovely interview with her.

In the aftermath of their Gold Cup defeat, Adam Crafton spoke to the USMNT’s Tyler Adams about where the team go from here. They got into the subject of how to attract more U.S. fans to matches.

Don’t miss Nick Miller’s feature on how clubs deal with the tragic loss of a player such as Diogo Jota. Even now, I can remember exactly where I was when I heard the news of the death of Phil O’Donnell in Scotland just after Christmas in 2007. He was only 35.

What’s the score with Jhon Duran? Jacob Tanswell is tackling that question this morning because Duran, for all his wealth of talent, hasn’t managed to settle anywhere. Fenerbahce, with Jose Mourinho, is his latest partnership.

Quiz question: seven players have registered more than 100 goals and assists in the Premier League in the 2020s. Name them for us please. As per, answers here later today and in Monday’s TAFC.

Most clicked in Thursday’s TAFC: PSG’s demolition job on Madrid.

Catch a match

(Selected matches; times ET/UK)

Friday: UEFA European Women’s Championship: Group B: Italy vs Spain; Portugal vs Belgium, both (3pm/8pm) – Fox Sports/BBC.

Saturday: UEFA European Women’s Championship: Group C: Poland vs Denmark; Sweden vs Germany, both (3pm/8pm) – Fox Sports/ITV; MLS: FC Cincinnati vs Columbus Crew, 7.30pm/12.30am (Sunday, UK) – MLS Season Pass/Apple TV; Inter Miami vs Nashville, 7.30pm/12.30am (Sunday, UK) – Fox Sports, Fubo, MLS Season Pass/Apple TV; Chicago Fire vs San Diego, 8.30pm/1.30am (Sunday, UK) – MLS Season Pass/Apple TV.

Sunday: FIFA Club World Cup final: Chelsea vs Paris Saint-Germain, 3pm/8pm – TBS, Fubo, DAZN in US and UK/Channel 5.

UEFA European Women’s Championship: Group D: England vs Wales, (3pm/8pm) – Fox Sports/ITV, BBC; Netherlands vs France, (3pm/8pm) – Fox Sports/ITV.

And finally…

I can’t think of the New York Cosmos — and you won’t either — without thinking of Pele. The majestic Brazilian played for them between 1975 and 1977, back when soccer in the United States was rather experimental. The club all but drifted off the map in the 1980s.

Over the years, various attempts have been made to revive and sustain them. And once again, they’ve found a pulse. In 2026, the Cosmos will compete in League One in the United Soccer League (USL), the culmination of plans to launch a team in New Jersey. Their iconic old badge is on the way back. It’s got wholesome vibes, and it’s what Pele would have wanted.

(Top photo: Cameron Smith – The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

In the long seven weeks since Bilbao, there has been an anxiety among some Tottenham Hotspur fans that they might not get to see Cristian Romero in a lilywhite shirt again.

The trophy parade through north London on May 23 was the last time supporters clapped eyes on him, as he missed what proved Ange Postecoglou’s last game in charge against Brighton & Hove Albion two days later. But on Wednesday, July 9, Romero returned for pre-season, meeting up with Postecoglou’s replacement, Thomas Frank, and his new coaching staff for the first time.

In one sense, nothing is surprising or interesting about that. People turn up for their jobs every day without it making the news. But at the same time, everything that Romero does in the coming weeks will attract interest because there has been so much speculation about his future this year. People want to know whether he will be staying at the club or not. Everyone is waiting for clarity.

And this week, we have inched towards clarity, and not just because Romero showed up at Hotspur Way. Rather, it’s because The Athletic has learned that Atletico Madrid, who had been leading the chase for his services all summer, have decided to stop their pursuit of the Argentina international. They are already starting to look for alternatives in defence. And at Atletico, they believe Tottenham will now try to tie Romero to a new contract.

We should always remember that some of what happens at this time of year should be viewed as negotiation and that the window still has a long way to run until September 1, when it finally shuts. But if Atletico have fully given up on their dream of signing Romero, that is as significant a moment as any in Tottenham’s summer.

Atletico coach Diego Simeone never made any secret of his admiration for countryman Romero, even admitting in public how much he wants him, because he’s a “great player”. Romero’s Argentine team-mate and Atletico striker Julian Alvarez added to the noise, too, saying in early May that he “hope(s) it happens” and that Romero would “help us a lot”.

And it never took a big imaginative leap to see Romero in the Spanish side’s red and white stripes. Perhaps more than any other modern player, he embodies some of the win-at-all-costs qualities that Simeone’s best Atletico teams have had.

But in the end, Atletico never even formally approached Tottenham about the signing.

For his part, Romero never exactly shut down the questions about his future, telling an Argentinian broadcaster in April how much he would “love” to play in La Liga, “the league I’m missing”, having played three seasons in Italy’s Serie A before coming to the Premier League.

As a player heading into the penultimate year of his contract, Romero will know very well that the power dynamic is starting to move in his direction. This summer would be the last chance for Tottenham to sell him for a significant fee before his value in the market starts to diminish. Twelve months from now, Romero would only have a year left on his deal, a lucrative free transfer in 2027 would be on the horizon, and the dynamic would be totally different.

The next question is what Spurs intend to do.

Their position throughout has been that they do not want to lose one of their best players, and, as mentioned above, the view in the Spanish capital is that now, with two years of his current contract left, Tottenham will try to secure Romero’s future with a new deal. And it would be perfectly natural for them to try to do so, rather than to let one of their top assets go into his final year.

Of course, the reality of the market is that if Romero were to sign a new long-term contract and hand over all of his leverage in doing so, it would need to be financially worth his while. Sometimes players do this in their peak years, such as with Harry Kane in 2018 or Son Heung-min three years later, but generally they do not. Unless the bank is being broken for them.

This could now be one of the questions that hang over Spurs’ forthcoming season.

There is certainly no doubt inside the club about how highly the 27-year-old is regarded. Everyone knows that they have a unique player on their hands, and that going into this, the penultimate year of his contract, coming off the back of last season, his market value is at its peak.

Remember that Romero was not exactly cheap when Spurs signed him in the first place.

It was summer 2021 and Fabio Paratici had just shown up as their new managing director of football. He knew Romero well from Italy — signing him from Genoa for Juventus in 2019, then loaning him back — and believed the then 23-year-old was worth paying a big fee for. Paratici knew that the €55million (£47.4m; $64.3m at current rates) asking price Atalanta set would prove money well spent.

Tottenham also had to move fast that summer because Lionel Messi had been so impressed by Romero as they helped Argentina win the Copa America in the July that he was trying to persuade Barcelona to make him a team-mate at Camp Nou, too. (As it turned out, Messi left for Paris Saint-Germain later in that same window.)

Four years on, that signing looks like one of the best of the Paratici era.

Romero has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in world football. He might not have the consistency and permanent availability of some players, but when he is fit and focused, there is nobody like him. Especially in big games with trophies on the line.

That has been clear enough with Argentina for years.

He has won all three major international trophies has played for, adding the 2022 World Cup and 2024 Copa America to that 2021 triumph in the latter. In those big games in Qatar three years ago especially, with the eyes of the world on him, he seemed to find a new level within himself, playing with a remarkably calm confidence and a refusal to get distracted by anything other than the sport’s ultimate prize.

Up until the past few months, Tottenham fans would justifiably say that they would love to see that Romero playing for them, the ice-cold, win-at-all-costs guy. And the beauty of last season is that those Spurs supporters finally did. It was the return of Romero from four months out with foot and groin injuries, more than anything else, that helped them win the Europa League in May.

He was note-perfect for both legs of the quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt, both legs against Bodo/Glimt in the next round and then integral to Spurs’ triumph over Manchester United in Bilbao. It was Romero most of all who set the tone among the squad in the build-up to that final, Romero who led by example on the pitch, keeping all of his team-mates together and in line with the game plan.

Come the final whistle, Romero had his fourth trophy from the fourth final of his senior career. It is hard to imagine how Tottenham could have done it without him.

At the start of the summer, it felt as if Bilbao and the parade would be the end of the story for Romero and Spurs, that he would wave goodbye, having taken them back to where they wanted to be. But now, with Atletico turning elsewhere, we will likely see him go into his fifth season at the club.

Which is unambiguously good news for a team that cannot afford to lose any more leadership, but who will surely throw up a new set of questions over the next year.

(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur have completed the signing of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United.

The Athletic reported on Wednesday that a deal worth around £55million ($74.7m) had been agreed between the two clubs, with Kudus set to sign a six-year contract. Spurs had an initial bid of £50m rejected by West Ham, as reported by The Athletic on July 5.

The agreed fee is less than the buyout clause inserted in Kudus’ West Ham contract, which was active only for the first 10 days of July. The clause set a price of £80million ($108m) for teams on the continent, £85m for those in the Premier League and £120m for those in Saudi Arabia, while his deal at the London Stadium was valid until the summer of 2028.

The 24-year-old has been a key player for West Ham since he joined the club from Ajax in a deal worth €41m plus €3m in add-ons in 2023. He scored 14 goals — eight in the league — for the club in his debut season, alongside nine assists.

His output slowed in the subsequent campaign, with five goals and four assists in 35 matches as he played across multiple position’s in West Ham’s attack. Two of his goals came under Graham Potter, after the former Chelsea head coach succeeded Julen Lopetegui in January.

Kudus becomes Spurs’ first addition to the squad since the appointment of Thomas Frank as head coach last month. Prior to his arrival, Mathys Tel signed for the club permanently for a fee worth up to €45m following a six-month spell during the second half of the 2024-25 campaign. The Athletic reported on Thursday Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White is to undergo a medical at Spurs as Frank looks to bolster his new squad.

Tottenham have been actively looking to strengthen their attack, having shown interest in reuniting Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo with head coach Frank, but the 25-year-old informed the north London club of his preference to join Manchester United. Spurs also made an inquiry for Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, but the winger extended his contract with the South Coast club until 2030.

‘A significant coup’ for Spurs

Analysis from Tottenham correspondent Jay Harris

Spurs have spent the first few weeks of the transfer window trying to sign a right winger. However, Bryan Mbeumo has made it clear he wants to join Manchester United and Antoine Semenyo signed a new long-term contract with Bournemouth. Kudus might not have been their first-choice target but he is still a significant coup for new head coach Thomas Frank.

Frank loves players who are positionally versatile. Kudus has spent the majority of his time with West Ham United on the right wing but he operates as a No 10 for Ghana. Frank could use the 24-year-old as a threat cutting inside onto his stronger left foot or as a powerful and dynamic dribbler in tight central areas.

Tottenham’s squad struggled to cope with the demands of the Premier League and the Europa League last season so it was crucial that they boosted their numbers this summer. Mathys Tel arrived permanently, after spending the second half of last season on loan from Bayern Munich, but he only turned 20 in April and is still raw. Kudus has a lot of room for growth but is far more experienced and proven.

It will be interesting to see how Kudus’ arrival impacts Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski. Johnson was Tottenham’s top scorer in all competitions last season and he scored the winning goal in the Europa League final. Johnson primarily plays on the right and Frank tried to sign him when he was in charge of Brentford. Will Kudus replace Johnson as the first-choice right winger or will he take over Kulusevski’s playmaking responsibilities in the middle of the pitch? Spurs have a lot of attacking talent at their disposal and it will be fascinating to see how Frank will effectively combine them.

(Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur are set to turn their focus to Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White as work continues to bolster Thomas Frank’s squad for next season.

Gibbs-White is high on the recruitment lists of several leading clubs and Spurs hope to convince him to join them if a deal can be agreed with Forest.

The 25-year-old moved to the City Ground from Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 2022 and has become one of the Premier League’s most impressive players, while also earning recognition at international level for England.

Recently-appointed Spurs boss Frank is a long-term admirer of Gibbs-White and switching to north London would give him a chance to play Champions League football.

Gibbs-White was strongly considered by Manchester City heading into this transfer window, however, they ultimately favoured the acquisitions of Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders.

Gibbs-White signed a contract until June 2027 when he joined from Wolves for a fee of up to £42.5million (now $57.6m) including bonuses.

The Englishman starred for Forest in 2024-25, registering seven goals and 10 assists as Nuno Espirito Santo’s side secured a seventh-place finish in the Premier League and qualified for the Conference League next season. He has 18 goals and 28 assists in 118 matches during his three years at Forest, where he has captained the side on occasion.

Spurs, meanwhile, have already agreed a £55m deal to sign West Ham United’s Mohammed Kudus and have completed the signing of Japan international defender Kota Takai. Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso have also joined permanently following loan spells last season. They qualified for the Champions League after beating Manchester United in last season’s Europa League final.

Worrying news for Forest fans

Analysis by senior writer Danny Taylor

There is no denying the fact that, if you are a Nottingham Forest supporter, this is exceedingly worrying news.

Fresh from the news that Anthony Elanga is joining Newcastle United for £52m, most Forest fans might have been forgiven for thinking that would end any further discussion about the possibility of losing another of their other key performers.

That, however, is not the case and the prospect of losing Gibbs-White will be hard to take given his emergence as a high-calibre Premier League player, winning England recognition in the process.

Why are Spurs trying to sign him? Well, the bottom line here is that he would be an ideal wearer of the club’s colours. And the advantage for Spurs, of course, is that they can offer him Champions League football as well as a substantial pay rise.

Yes, we are talking about a side that finished 17th last season, ten places behind Forest, but this is still an exciting period for the side under Frank.

If they can arrange a deal for Gibbs-White in addition to the one they have struck for Kudus, they have even more reason for optimism that they can re-establish himself themselves as a top-six club.

An exciting move for Spurs – but would it be the right one?

Analysis by Tottenham correspondent Jay Harris

Ange Postecoglou must be looking on with envy at the moves Spurs are making in the transfer window this summer. Last year, the only player they signed who immediately improved the starting XI was Dominic Solanke in a club-record deal worth £65m. They spent the rest of their money on talented teenagers Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Wilson Odobert but it left their squad light in lots of areas.

It feels like they have a completely different attitude in this window under Frank. They should complete the signing of Ghana international Kudus by the end of the week and landing Gibbs-White would only make their fanbase even more optimistic about the future with Frank.

When Frank was in charge of Brentford, they were interested in signing Gibbs-White before he joined Forest. Frank mainly used a 4-2-3-1 formation at Brentford last season and Mikkel Damsgaard thrived as the No 10, recording 10 assists which was the joint-fourth best record in the league. Gibbs-White could perform a similar role for Spurs or sit slightly deeper alongside a defensive midfielder.

With the expanded version of the Champions League on the horizon, Spurs need to bulk up their squad but it is already packed with attacking talent. Gibbs-White possesses the quality to start every week but where does that leave James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski? Kudus can play on the right but operates centrally for Ghana. It would be an exciting move but some Spurs fans might argue that the priority should be sourcing an upgrade on Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur at No 6.

(Top photo: Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)

Winning the Europa League was a huge moment for Tottenham Hotspur. On May 23, the first-team squad paraded the trophy through the streets of north London in front of thousands of emotional supporters who were united by a first piece of silverware in 17 years.

But two months after those jubilant scenes along Tottenham High Road, nearly all of the coaching staff who masterminded that famous victory in Bilbao have gone. Ange Postecoglou was sacked two weeks later and replaced by Thomas Frank. Assistant coaches Nick Montgomery, Mile Jedinak and Sergio Raimundo departed at the same time. Ryan Mason left to take the West Bromwich Albion job last month, and goalkeeping coach Rob Burch left at the beginning of this week, which means Matt Wells is the only survivor.

There has been significant change within the medical department too, as director of performance services Adam Brett and head of sports science Nick Davies have both left.

Frank has brought five staff members from Brentford with him. Fabian Otte, Andreas Georgson and Cameron Campbell are external hires. Stuart Lewis and Dean Brill have been promoted from the academy. In less than 60 days, Spurs’ backroom staff has completely changed and increased in size.

So, who are all these new faces and how will they complement each other?

Justin Cochrane, who supported Frank for three years at Brentford and is part of Thomas Tuchel’s England staff, will plan the training sessions and primarily work with the attacking players. Wells will remain in charge of the defence. He could be spotted in the warm-ups before matches last season leading the back four through defensive drills.

Head of performance Chris Haslam will lead the physical part of training. He can be spotted running alongside the players in the video below as they take part in a one-kilometre test on the first day of pre-season. They had to run the length of the pitch multiple times and complete the distance as quickly as possible. Joe Newton has followed Frank from west London too. Newton is a coach-analyst who will provide a link between the two groups.

Georgson spent last year as Manchester United’s set-piece coach, a role he previously held at Southampton, Arsenal and Brentford. He worked at Brentford during the 2019-20 season when Frank led them to a third-place finish in the Championship but they lost the play-off final to Fulham. He also spent a year as technical director of Swedish side Malmo.

Spurs did not have a specialist set-piece coach last season but Montgomery could often be seen giving players instructions from the touchline at corners and free kicks. Georgson’s official title is assistant coach but set pieces and restarts, which include kick-offs and throw-ins, will fall under his remit. Brentford scored straight from kick-off in three consecutive games last season, including in a 3-1 defeat to Spurs in September.

Georgson will be responsible for looking after the team’s culture too. During Frank’s time at Brentford, this task fell to Kevin O’Connor. The former midfielder would organise team-bonding events including go-karting, axe-throwing and clay-pigeon shooting. He also ran an event at their training ground which was inspired by speed-dating.

“The plan was to get everyone in front of each other and say two non-football-related facts about yourself,” O’Connor told The Athletic in January. “Then we had a small competition to see who could remember the most. It’s just to get people talking. Thomas absolutely loved it. At one point, he was talking to the cleaner. It’s good fun and I’m just trying to think of ways to keep the staff engaged.”

Campbell is the most interesting addition because he has been appointed to the newly created role of first-team individual development (IDP) coach. Campbell started his career as an intern in Aberdeen’s academy and spent four years with them before he joined the Right to Dream academy, who are based in Ghana and have a partnership with Denmark’s Nordsjaelland. Although Mohammed Kudus, who Spurs are close to signing after agreeing terms with West Ham, started his career with Right to Dream, he had moved to Nordsjaelland shortly before Campbell arrived.

In an interview with the Scottish Football Association earlier this year, Campbell spoke about his time with Right to Dream. “In Ghana, they constantly produce players who are strong in one-v-one situations because they play a lot of street football in challenging conditions,” he said. “In Scotland, a lot of the top players excel in releasing skills, like passing and shooting but we aren’t as strong in one-v-ones, so this is an area I’ve looked to put an increased onus on as part of players’ development since I returned from Ghana.

“Given FC Nordsjaelland’s model is to play youth and develop players, it was a fantastic place to work and there’s not many clubs in the world where the first-team manager is as bought-in to the project as the technical director and head of academy. When they sell a player, they know that the next player is going to come from the academy and not from the outside world. That strategy really helps the motivation of not only the players, but all of the staff and you can constantly see the pathway when you’re on the training pitch.”

Campbell spent just under two years with Right to Dream before becoming Rangers’ under-18s head coach in August 2020. Campbell left Rangers after nearly four years to join RB Leipzig as their head of player development. During his time in Germany, Viggo Gebel and Faik Sakar both made their first-team debuts for Leipzig aged 16.

Frank worked with an IDP coach at Brentford. Steven Pressley, who took charge at Dundee in June, looked after the youngest players in the first-team squad, including Kim Ji-soo and Yehor Yarmoliuk. He would analyse and provide feedback on their performances. He also helped Ukrainian Yarmoliuk and South Korean Kim to settle into a new country and environment as part of his role.

Since Johan Lange became sporting director in November 2023, Spurs have focused on signing talented young players including Mathys Tel, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall while the academy has produced Mikey Moore and Jamie Donley. All of Campbell’s experiences mean he is the perfect candidate to give them tailored advice while Frank focuses on the team’s overall performance.

“(An IDP coach) was a big wish from Johan and I,” Frank said in an interview with Lange on the club’s website. “It’s something we spoke about and thought was crucial. Not many clubs have nailed that. We have tried that in the past, so hopefully we can take that to the next level.”

Campbell will probably work closely with Lewis, the new first-team academy transition coach. Lewis has been promoted from his previous role as head of the under-18s. He guided Spurs to victory in the Under-17 Premier League Cup in April, with Luca Williams-Barnett scoring a hat-trick in the final against Charlton Athletic. Williams-Barnett does not turn 17 until October but was named on the bench in the Europa League and Premier League last season. It will be Lewis’ responsibility to help Williams-Barnett and other academy stars smoothly transition into the first-team set-up and permanently stay there.

“We are very fortunate as a club that we are able to attract some of the best specialist coaches in the world,” Lange said. “We want players of all ages to have that development mindset but to strengthen even more the bond between the first team and the academy. It’s something we have worked on for a number of years and with this new hire of Stuart coming into a new role, we believe it will be even stronger in the years to come.”

Otte has replaced Burch as goalkeeping coach and will be assisted by Brill. The 34-year-old has worked with the United States’ men’s national team (USMNT), Burnley, Borussia Monchengladbach and helped Liverpool to win the title last season. Otte has a PhD from the University of Cologne and produced a study titled Skill Acquisition Training Methods in Modern Football Goalkeeping.

During his time with Burnley, Otte used unorthodox methods to help the goalkeepers improve. “We use a lot of equipment — like special glasses which cut off part of the player’s vision, or eye patches. We use iPads for visual work to get them thinking,” he told The Athletic in December 2020. Last year, he gave Liverpool’s goalkeepers noise-cancelling headphones in pre-season under Arne Slot.

There has been a huge turnover of staff at Spurs, but the good news is that everybody was in place for the start of pre-season. Frank brought some of his closest allies with him and he has been surrounded by club appointments who went through a formal hiring process. Frank has a big supporting cast but hopefully it means players will receive special attention and it will lead to better performances.

“It’s very important to have (…) clear role descriptions for the coaches so they know what they are in charge of so it’s not like, ‘What are we doing today?’,” Frank said.

“They know their roles, what they need to execute and be on top of. They need to be able to overlap each other and help but the most important thing is the training out there is world-class.”

Top photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur have reached an agreement for Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United for a fee of around £55million ($74.7m).

A medical is scheduled to take place on Thursday ahead of Kudus signing a six-year contract at the north London club.

The Athletic reported on July 5 that Tottenham had made a £50m offer for the 24-year-old, which was turned down as talks continued.

The Ghana international is prioritising a move to Spurs if he leaves West Ham and personal terms are not expected to be an issue.

Kudus’ contract runs until 2028 and has a buyout clause that is only active for the first 10 days of July, valued at £80million ($108m) for teams on the continent, £85m for those in the Premier League and £120m for those in Saudi Arabia.

Kudus registered five goals and four assists in 35 Premier League games for West Ham last season, his second after joining for €41.5m from Ajax in the summer of 2023. That output was slightly down on that from his debut league campaign in England, when he managed eight goals and nine assists.

Tottenham have been keen to add forward options to their squad, as well as securing a permanent deal for Mathys Tel, who spent the second half of last season on loan from Bayern Munich. Tel, 20, has signed a six-year contract after moving for a fee worth up to €45m.

Spurs have shown interest in Bryan Mbeumo in a move that would reunite the Cameroonian with his former head coach at Brentford, Thomas Frank. But Mbeumo, 25, has informed the north London side that he wishes to join Manchester United, who are working to complete a deal after seeing two bids turned down.

‘A significant coup’ for Spurs

Analysis from Tottenham correspondent Jay Harris

Spurs have spent the first few weeks of the transfer window trying to sign a right winger. However, Bryan Mbeumo has made it clear he wants to join Manchester United and Antoine Semenyo signed a new long-term contract with Bournemouth. Kudus might not have been their first-choice target but he is still a significant coup for new head coach Thomas Frank.

Frank loves players who are positionally versatile. Kudus has spent the majority of his time with West Ham United on the right wing but he operates as a No 10 for Ghana. Frank could use the 24-year-old as a threat cutting inside onto his stronger left foot or as a powerful and dynamic dribbler in tight central areas.

Tottenham’s squad struggled to cope with the demands of the Premier League and the Europa League last season so it was crucial that they boosted their numbers this summer. Mathys Tel arrived permanently, after spending the second half of last season on loan from Bayern Munich, but he only turned 20 in April and is still raw. Kudus has a lot of room for growth but is far more experienced and proven.

It will be interesting to see how Kudus’ arrival impacts Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski. Johnson was Tottenham’s top scorer in all competitions last season and he scored the winning goal in the Europa League final. Johnson primarily plays on the right and Frank tried to sign him when he was in charge of Brentford. Will Kudus replace Johnson as the first-choice right winger or will he take over Kulusevski’s playmaking responsibilities in the middle of the pitch? Spurs have a lot of attacking talent at their disposal and it will be fascinating to see how Frank will effectively combine them.

(Julian Finney/Getty Images)