The New York Times

Tottenham Hotspur won their fourth straight pre-season match, but their victory over Team K League — the select XI of South Korea’s top division — was not without a few shaky moments.

The Premier League side stormed into a 3-0 lead before half-time thanks to goals from Dejan Kulusevski — starting the game as the central forward — and two from South Korea captain Son Heung-min.

The second half was less of a breeze for Spurs, who looked alarmingly vulnerable to counter-attacks after the break, twice being caught out within 10 minutes of the restart in scenes reminiscent of the second half of last season.

Will Lankshear continued his impressive pre-season with a composed finish, as Spurs eventually ran out 4-3 winners.

The Athletic’s Seb Stafford-Bloor analyses the key talking points…

Have Spurs found the midfield of the future?

Maybe. This was a first start in the same midfield for Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall and it was a fun tease for what may lie ahead. In the first half, Bergvall was more advanced, Gray was much deeper, and Pape Matar Sarr sat between them.

There were positional kinks and that was to be expected given their lack of familiarity. Still, there were signs of natural chemistry. Let’s not overdo it — this was pre-season and we are talking fleeting moments — but the one- and two-touch football and the ease with which the three interchanged made the midfield encouragingly fluid.

Sarr is not quite fit and it has not been his tour. Bergvall’s technique and size are old news; we covered both during the Vissel Kobe game. Perhaps the takeaway from this evening was the range of positions he occupied. There are no heat maps yet to make that point — Opta are still on the beach — but Bergvall’s touches came across the pitch, making him the grease in Tottenham’s gears. It is all about the little things he does.

Gray? He has such poise. Perhaps the most desirable quality in an orchestrator is the ability to disguise the direction of even simple passes. He has it — the little feints that open up space and the darting eyes that keep opponents off balance. He has those traits and used them.

To make the point differently: when the midfield was reconfigured after half-time, Spurs looked terrifyingly porous.

Some of the old issues remain

The mood of the tour has been extremely positive. The new signings have adapted well, in the footballing and social sense, and there is much to be encouraged by.

The second half in Seoul squeezed the brakes on that — it was a reminder that, even against a team who had never played together, Spurs can still be easy to pass through. Team K League attacked the spaces behind their full-backs and created chances. There are some asterisks — the heat, the players in unfamiliar roles, internationals still to return — but it was hard to avoid the conclusion that there are still significant flaws in this squad. Postecoglou is using players and combinations that, ideally, he would not have to depend on, even in the early rounds of domestic cup competitions.

It is a process but it has some way to go.

A first look at Yang Min-hyuk

Consider the pressure on Yang — playing against his new team, in his country’s national stadium, with Son, a national hero, on the pitch. That is a tough task, given that this would have been many Tottenham fans’ first viewing, eager to understand the fuss.

It is important to be measured. Yang had two good moments in his 45 minutes, both of which saw him break into space. The second chance, ending with a fierce drive over Tottenham’s crossbar, came after he blurred his feet and drove hard into the box. He was a nuisance, showing that he could beat defenders off either foot, in both directions.

Remind you of anybody? Just kidding, but there were enough reasons to look forward to January 2025. The K League side were not particularly balanced in the first half and Yang had few supporting team dynamics around him. Given that context, he was not bad at all.

More on Tottenham’s ambitious young signings

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What did Ange Postecoglou say?

On his starting midfield trio: “Yeah, I thought it worked ok. Obviously they are three very young players in that midfield set up and as you said, the first time they had played together.

“But for the most part I thought they handled it pretty well. I think Lucas found it tough physically. It’s a very demanding role in there and it’s gonna take us a while to get him up to speed from a physical perspective, but you can see the quality he has when he’s on the ball.And Archie, he’s what he’s shown the whole time. He’s been very composed, he seems to understand the game really well and, and, you know, for the most part, I thought he was taking up the right positions.

“But again, physically I think we’re gonna have to build him up. And I thought Pape’s running is just unbelievable. He’s a benchmark for us in that midfield area. So, yeah, I think the three of them — considering they’re so young and that’s the exciting bit — if we keep pushing them and improving them, they’re going to be very good footballers for us.”

What next for Spurs?

Saturday, August 10: Bayern Munich, 5.30pm BST (12.30pm ET)

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(Top photo: Han Myung-Gu/Getty Images)

Time has not told on Ben Davies.

When he meets The Athletic in an air-conditioned room away from the scorching heat of the Japanese leg of Tottenham Hotspur’s Asian tour, he looks like the same 21-year-old who arrived from Swansea in 2014.

The hair is the same. His gentle south Welsh lilt has survived a decade in England. Around him, however, everything about Tottenham has changed — most obviously, the manager (four times, not including caretakers) and the stadium.

Davies has been a steady beat, but the 31-year-old has not simply survived at Spurs. He has quietly and continuously reinvented himself, becoming whatever each coach needed him to be.

An orthodox full-back under Mauricio Pochettino. A third centre-back for Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and, often, Wales. Last season, his first under Ange Postecoglou, he did a bit of everything, becoming an ‘inverted’ full-back along the way.

Is Davies underrated? Yes, but partly because he undersells himself.

“I’ve never been the most physical player in the world,” he says. “I’m not the best athlete, but I’ve had to adapt to different managers, different roles. When I have guidance — when a coach gives instructions — I’m good at understanding why a coach would have that thought process.”

If Tottenham are grateful for Davies’ versatility on the pitch, they also surely appreciate who he has become away from it. He has helped set the squad’s culture, especially as they integrate 18-year-old signings Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall and, from January, Yang-min Hyuk.

“Young players will look up to you as an older player in the dressing room,” Davies adds. “One thing I’ve always tried to do in my career is behave well and do the right things. Don’t be late — I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been late to a lunch or meeting the whole time I’ve been here. These are the little details: the standards in training, the gym, the everyday things that have probably helped me stay at this level for so long.

“Hopefully, it rubs off on these young guys. I hope the new guys see me as someone they can ask advice from if they ever need anything. It can be quite daunting, coming to a big club like Spurs, so having someone to lean on can only help.”

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Davies knows how valuable that can be.

In 2014, he joined a club that was rebuilding under Pochettino after a season of turmoil when Andre Villas-Boas and Tim Sherwood were sacked.

For a player with only two seasons of first-team football to his name at Swansea City, the transfer was a blur and the transition that followed was jolting.

“I was in Chicago with Swans and then Spurs were in Seattle and I flew cross-country, got checked into a hotel on my own and then met everybody at breakfast the next morning. It was quite a whirlwind for a 21-year-old to walk into that dressing room with really senior players.

“When I got on the training pitch I realised this was a step up. Everything: the scrutiny, the intensity, the fanbase. We were in Seattle first, then went to Toronto and all the fans were at the hotel. You’re like, ‘Right, this is different’.”

The conversation turns to the influences upon his career, the players who had a profound impact on him whose effect he wants to replicate. He talks about senior players at Swansea, such as Ashley Williams and Leon Britton, together with Garry Monk, who went on to manage the club.

“I’ll always remember Garry saying, ‘Don’t let anybody criticise you for being busy. You do your career for you. They’ll be the ones who get left behind’,” Davies says. “He was right. When I got to Spurs there were some talented players who probably didn’t take much care of themselves and had gone the other way. It was a bit of a wake-up call.

“But then you see someone like Michael Dawson, who was club captain at the time and was just a brilliant guy. He genuinely cared for and looked after people. He didn’t play long under Mauricio Pochettino, but you could feel his impact around the place.”

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Talking to Davies brings back so many Tottenham memories. When he talks about the Pochettino years and the rise to the Champions League final, his eyes dance with the memory of how powerful and destructive those teams could be, particularly during the final season at White Hart Lane.

“It was just fun, we were all young guys and grew together for a couple of years. We were going on the pitch knowing we were going to win.”

But Davies is not nostalgic. His versatility means he should have years left as a player, but he has already been planning for what happens next. In 2021, he earned a business and economics degree from the Open University. There was no specific goal in mind, he just wanted it “in his back pocket” and began studying for his coaching badges towards the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. He received his UEFA A Licence this year.

He found himself on Zoom calls with former Premier League players including Yohan Cabaye, Yaya Toure and Gael Clichy, who were studying at the same time. In the years after, with the help of Simon Davies, Tottenham’s former head of academy, he worked with the club’s under-16s and under-18s in the afternoons and evenings at Hotspur Way.

He talks of how important it is to keep young players engaged and how the novelty of being a Premier League player quickly wears off if sessions are not designed well enough.

Davies does not exist purely within the football bubble, but he is enthused by what he has seen from Spurs in Asia — we are talking before Saturday’s 3-2 win over Vitesse Kobe — and at the prospects for the coming season. Last season had its moments, but it was a year of adaption under Postecoglou. During the Japan leg of the tour, players spoke of a growing understanding of Postecoglou’s methods and instinct for how he wants them to play.

“The feel of the players and the external feeling around the club has got a lot better,” Davies says. “You can feel it when we get good results playing exciting football. There’s just been a weight lifted off of us.”

That positivity drew Gray and Bergvall, the two big summer additions, to the club. For Davies — and this might be an insight into the kind of coach he becomes — the communication from Postecoglou and his staff has played a big part.

“He has a real effect on the team in the meeting room when he lays out his ideas very clearly and sets his standards. There’s no hiding if it’s on the videotape. There’s no harsh judgement or deep criticism, it’s just made very clear what he expects.

“It’s a more corrective style. If you make your mistakes trying to do the right things, that’s completely fine because there’s an acceptance that — just like in real life — mistakes happen. He’s more about how you react to them.”

Son Heung-min is part of that change in mood, too.

Son has become an icon within the sport and one of Tottenham’s modern emblems. But, as with Postecoglou’s personality and coaching style, his egoless captaincy — of a team that is now extremely young — feels like the right chord played at the right moment.

Like Davies, Son will soon celebrate his 10th anniversary at the club and while they outwardly make for an odd couple — the global icon from Seoul and the boy from Neath — they are extremely close. Son is godfather to Davies’ infant son, Ralph.

Son has described Davies as “a family member, someone I can really trust. If I’m struggling, if I need some advice, I’ll always ask Ben”.

Davies’ smile broadens when he talks about Son and, from his description, it’s easy to understand why he entrusted him with such a significant role in his son’s life.

“His public persona is the nicest guy in the world and that’s who he is. He has got a proper heart of gold and he’s really, really down to earth. I know he’s this global superstar who everyone loves, but he’s also the guy that when we’re in the dressing room, we give him stick and treat him like a normal guy. He’s probably got a harder life than most of us given all the stuff he can’t do because of who he is.”

The dimensions of Son’s celebrity in his home country are difficult to appreciate until witnessed first-hand. Davies has, so he can describe how it is difficult for Son to make dinner plans in Korea “in case people accost him”.

“That must be so tough,” he adds. “We probably can’t even relate to how challenging it is, but when he comes to spend time with my family and when we force him to put a cap on and come out with us, his life can sometimes be pretty normal.”

Recently, to celebrate a decade at the club, Tottenham asked players past and present to give their one-word associations with Davies. To a man, they described his dedication to his career, his professionalism and the example he continues to set.

That feels unjust in a way — such praise arguably disregards the quality of Davies’ passing, the sturdy, snappy tackling Spurs have been able to call upon since 2014 and how, for 10 years, Davies has subtly changed the way he plays to maximise his value to the team.

Ask Davies about his best moments at Tottenham and he will not talk about himself. He has played in the Champions League, at the World Cup and spent a decade at the highest point of a ruthless sport — but when he talks of what he remembers, the stories are about the teams he was part of, not what he did within them, and what still might be achieved.

“We’re building towards something special and the fans have been understanding,” he says. “There were times last year when it wasn’t what we wanted. We had a couple of tough results, but they stuck with us and can see that things are growing. Hopefully, we can do something special together.”

‘We’ rather than ‘I’, as always.

(Top photo: Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a deal that will see South Korean winger Yang Min-hyuk join in January.

The 18-year-old will remain at K League club Gangwon FC until 2025 before officially joining up with his new team-mates in the Premier League.

Yang has agreed a deal that will run until 2030. The move is still subject to a work permit and international clearance.

He joins fellow 18-year-olds Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall in signing for the club this summer.

Yang became the youngest K League scorer in 11 years when he netted his first goal for Gangwon in March, and he has gone on to score seven more goals and add four assists in 25 matches.

He has represented his country at Under-16 and Under-17 levels and played in both the FIFA Under-17 World Cup and AFC Under-17 Asia Cup.

Ange Postecoglou’s side, who are currently on tour in South Korea, begin their Premier League campaign at newly-promoted Leicester City on August 19.

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(Amphol Thongmueangluang/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Tottenham’s pre-season preparations are quietly ratcheting up on their Asian tour.

A 3-2 victory over Japanese side Vissel Kobe in Tokyo made it three wins out of three for Ange Postecoglou’s squad after previous outings against Hearts and Queens Park Rangers.

But what did we learn from today’s game? We analyse the major talking points.

Match-winner Moore dazzles again

Mikey Moore, the 16-year-old winger, scored Tottenham’s winner in the Tokyo National Stadium, tapping in from close range after a low cross from Jamie Donley.

It was a fitting reward for a fine second-half performance as a substitute, playing with an exuberance that excited the crowd and showed again what a substantial talent he is.

Afterwards, Postecoglou praised Moore’s performance, saying he continues to enjoy first-team opportunities on merit since first joining the senior squad at the end of last season.

“Mikey has been fantastic since we brought him in,” he said. “He’s earned his spot on the roster at the moment — he did at the end of last year. He got a run with the first team because we could see in training that he was handling himself really well and that’s followed through into pre-season training.

“He probably should have had three tonight, to be fair, but he did take his goal well by being in the right areas. All we can do is keep allowing him to develop. We have to remember that last year he had some injuries and he is only 16, but — yeah — super exciting.”

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Can Bergvall handle himself in the Premier League?

Old news first: Lucas Bergvall looks as advertised — a highly gifted technical player who glides with the ball and changes speed and direction with real grace. He came on as a second-half substitute in Tokyo and the crowd was quickly cooing its appreciation.

But he is physical, too. Both in the sense of his stature and his mentality. Sometimes, young players of his profile are quite meek — apologetic for their ability, even. He is not one of them and he thundered into a few tackles after coming on, skittling a few opponents in the process.

When his move to Spurs was announced, it triggered a response among players he faced in domestic Swedish football, who dialled up the rough treatment in matches. By his own telling — and based on how he carried himself here — that might have been a good thing as it forced him to toughen up, preparing him well for the attritional nature of the Premier League in the months before he arrived.

Yes, it’s his skill that will make him popular and, most likely, turn him into one of those Spurs players who draws people to White Hart Lane during the opening nights of the Europa League. But he will not be bullied. He now seems as likely to leave an imprint on his opponents as they are on him.

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Where is Gray’s best position?

Archie Gray has made quite an impression in pre-season since his move from Leeds. Asked about playing centre-back in the two games before this evening, he did what humble young players do and cheerfully said he would gladly play anywhere for his new team.

So far, so smart — and it’s not an act because Gray really is a delight in person.

Currently, he believes midfield to be his best position and this was his first chance to play that role. After another half spent in central defence, he briefly moved to the base of Spurs’ midfield after the break (before being substituted).

It was not really the game in which to evaluate his full range of abilities — his one-on-one defending, for instance, or positioning — but it is Gray’s ease on the ball and faith in his first touch that currently makes him so compelling.

In defence, that showed in the way he moved possession forward. In midfield, it was how he received the ball with his back to goal and under pressure, playing with the kind of one-touch confidence that makes it easy to imagine him becoming a real asset within a team that relies on the quality of its ball movement.

There will doubtless be a hurry to know where his future lies and that is understandable given how much Tottenham have spent to sign him, but for now, it’s just fun to gaze upon his talent.

How does Kulusevski fit into the front line?

What Tottenham’s forward line looks like at the beginning of the season will depend on the business they can do between now and the end of the transfer window.

Dejan Kulusevski played a withdrawn No 9 role in Tokyo, as he occasionally did towards the end of last season, and that was a prompt to consider his role in the future.

Kulusevski prefers the middle of the pitch and relishes the involvement that comes with it. The signature moment of his performance this evening was the languid backheel that played Pedro Porro in for the equaliser. He has had a few similarly decadent, but effective, touches this pre-season and his ability to read and react to that sort of run — vertical, penetrative — is a known strength within his game.

Kulusevski enjoys pre-season. He admits to enjoying the heat (temperatures were still nudging 30C despite the evening kick-off in Tokyo) and the physical challenge of preparing in this kind of climate. No wonder, then, that he was a menace on the counter-attack — even against opponents who are midway through their domestic season.

But there was subtlety and instinct to his work. Kulusevski is not a natural forward and that showed occasionally here in the looseness of some of his back-to-goal play, but he does move across defenders smartly in the penalty box and that suits Spurs’ cutback-heavy style of attacking.

Tottenham probably need to invest in that area, but with James Maddison available again and Kulusevski sometimes marginalised by playing wide, this was a reminder of some of the utility — and range — he’s able to bring when there are gaps to fill in attack.

What next for Tottenham?

Wednesday, July 31: K-League XI (Seoul, South Korea), noon BST, 7am ET

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(Top photo: AP Photo/Hiro Komae via Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a deal to sign South Korean winger Yang Min-hyuk from Gangwon FC.

The 18-year-old will remain at K League club Gangwon until January before joining up with the Spurs squad.

Yang became the youngest K League scorer in 11 years when he netted his first goal for the club in March, and he has gone on to score seven goals in 24 matches for Gangwon.

He will join fellow South Korean Son Heung-min, who previously had experienced Korean defender Lee Young-pyo in their squad from 2005 to 2008.

Yang is the third 18-year-old arrival at Spurs this summer transfer window following the signing of Archie Gray from Leeds United and Lucas Bergvall’s move from Djurgarden.

Elsewhere, Ange Postecoglou’s side have also extended Timo Werner’s loan deal for the 2024-25 season.

Spurs will play a K League XI side on July 31 at Seoul World Cup Stadium.

They begin their Premier League campaign at newly-promoted Leicester City on August 19.

(Amphol Thongmueangluang/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Let’s take a look at the last five players to be named Player of the Season in Premier League 2, a competition that pits England’s best under-21 sides against each other and provides young players with valuable experience.

Curtis Jones won the award in the 2019-20 season and has gone on to make more than 100 senior appearances for Liverpool and was named in England’s provisional squad for this summer’s European Championship. Liam Delap won it the following year and just joined Ipswich Town from Manchester City for £15million ($19.3m).

James McAtee claimed the award in 2021-22 for helping Man City’s under-21s win the PL2 title. McAtee directly contributed to six goals in 31 top-flight appearances on loan at Sheffield United last season. Within a few months of winning the award in 2022-23, Carlos Forbs was playing for Ajax in the Europa League.

All of this evidence suggests Tottenham Hotspur possess a future star in their ranks. Will Lankshear is the latest recipient of the accolade after scoring 23 times for Tottenham Under-21s, including a brace in the PL2 play-off final against Sunderland. In total, he scored 32 goals in all competitions last season and was awarded a new contract until 2029.

Lankshear has spent the last couple of weeks training with the first team and he scored in a 5-1 victory over Hearts. The 19-year-old has done enough to secure a place in Tottenham’s squad for their pre-season tour to Japan and South Korea — all he has to do now is convince Ange Postecoglou he deserves to stay there permanently.

Lankshear grew up in St Albans, on the outskirts of north-west London. During his childhood, he would play football with his older brother Alex, now a defender at League One side Blackpool. Lankshear is a classic No 9 who takes inspiration from England’s all-time top goalscorer and former Spurs captain Harry Kane.

“It’s (Kane’s) all-round play,” he told Tottenham’s media team this month. “As a striker, I try to go in behind a little bit more as well, but I’m fascinated by his link-up play, the way he gets hold of it and moves it, and then how he gets in the box and scores goals. I try to base my game off him.”

The beginning of Lankshear’s career mirrors that of his idol — they both spent time in Arsenal’s academy before being released. Lankshear left Tottenham’s rivals when he was 15 and searched for a new club who could offer him regular game time.

One source, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect relationships, close to the striker says he benefited from the “care and attention” he received during his 18 months with Sheffield United. The coaching staff there were impressed by his hard work and pushed him in training. It paid off as he scored 38 goals in 48 appearances for the under-18s and under-23s. Lankshear captained the under-18s to the Professional Development League (PDL) North title and they did not lose a single game.

Lots of clubs expressed an interest in signing Lankshear, including Brentford, who agreed a deal with Sheffield United. Lankshear turned down Brentford in favour of Spurs — two years before his new team-mate Archie Gray did the exact same — and officially joined them in August 2022. Lankshear and his camp felt the facilities, support staff and structure at Spurs would give him the best chance of fulfilling his potential.

Lankshear had an operation on his knee which forced him to miss six months of his first season at Hotspur Way. When he returned, he helped the under-21s win their first 11 games of the 2023-24 campaign. By November, he was scoring for England Under-19s in victories over Romania, Japan and Mexico.

This year, he scored an 11-minute hat-trick in a friendly against League One side Fleetwood Town. He also found the back of the net twice when the under-21s beat Enfield Town 3-2 a couple of weeks ago. Lankshear’s performances became impossible for Postecoglou to ignore and he was invited to train with the first team. Lankshear’s academy team-mates Mikey Moore, Alfie Devine and Jamie Donley have stepped up into the senior ranks too, which has helped with the transition.

Lankshear came off the bench against Hearts last week and within 10 minutes, demonstrated his quality.

Djed Spence receives the ball in the opposition’s half and plays a quick one-two with Emerson Royal…

The full-back drives forward and it is important to take note of Lankshear’s positioning. He is offside and just on the shoulder of right-sided centre-back Daniel Oyegoke…

When Spence moves closer to the penalty area, Lankshear runs in front of Oyegoke and points to where he wants the ball.

Spence obliges with a wonderful pass with the outside of his right boot that slices through a tiny gap in the defence.

Lankshear reaches the ball ahead of Oyegoke and fires a right-footed shot past Hearts keeper Zander Clark.

Lankshear nearly recorded an assist in the same game but Timo Werner’s shot from inside the box was charged down. Postecoglou was full of praise for Lankshear’s all-round display.

“He had a very good year last year, so it’s about rewarding that,” Postecoglou said. “With all the young guys it’s about the game doesn’t stand still. Whatever you did last year, it’s about coming in this year and making an impact. Our two new signings (Gray and Lucas Bergvall) are 18 so there’s a measure there for our 18-year-olds. Just because you are here doesn’t mean you get any kind of advantage, apart from the fact you are in front of us every day. (Lankshear) deserved his chance today, trained well, took his goal well and I’m pleased for him.”

You can find another example of Lankshear’s intelligent movement from the under-21s’ 2-0 victory over Fulham in April. Dante Cassanova and Rio Kyerematen exchange passes in the centre circle. Lankshear starts the move from an offside position again.

When Cassanova receives the ball back and pops it off to Nile John, Lankshear runs back onside.

John locates Kyerematen while Lankshear takes up a dangerous position in between Fulham’s centre-back Connor McAvoy and left-back Bradley Slade. He is being played onside by Fulham’s defenders on the opposite flank.

Kyerematen slides a pass into space and Lankshear slightly crouches as he starts his run, conscious of not springing forward too early and being flagged offside.

Lankshear powerfully surges away from McAvoy and Slade before slamming the ball beyond Alfie McNally.

Last November, the under-21s faced third-tier side Cambridge United in the EFL Trophy.

They are losing 2-0 when Jamie Donley receives the ball on the right wing. Donley and Lankshear want to take advantage of the huge pocket of space behind Cambridge United’s left-back.

Donley bends the ball around his team-mate George Abbott and Lankshear sets off in pursuit. Cambridge’s centre-back Mamadou Jobe has no idea of the striker’s sneaky run.

Lankshear controls the ball just outside the six-yard box but is under pressure from Jobe and goalkeeper Will Mannion.

He is forced wide but remains calm and finds the bottom corner from a tight angle. It dragged Spurs back into the game but they conceded two late goals to lose 4-1.

Richarlison is the only natural centre-forward in Tottenham’s senior squad. Son Heung-min can play through the middle but he excels at running into space behind defences, not dropping deep to link play. If Lankshear can develop his hold-up skills, he could be a useful alternative to Richarlison in cup competitions. Troy Parrott’s €8m (£6.7m; $8.7m) move to AZ Alkmaar has removed one obstacle in his path towards regular game time but he has been sharing minutes in pre-season with Alejo Veliz and Dane Scarlett.

Tottenham’s coaching staff will need to consider if it is better for Lankshear’s development for him go out on loan. He has received interest from Championship and League One clubs and it might be more beneficial to play regularly at a lower level than sporadically for Spurs over the next 12 months. There is no need to rush, he does not turn 20 until next April, and he could return next year in a better position to make a consistent impact.

Tottenham play four more times in pre-season before starting the new Premier League campaign with a trip to Leicester City on August 19. If Lankshear impresses while he is in Japan and South Korea, he could earn a spot on the bench against Leicester and get one step closer towards making his senior debut.

(Top photo: Andrew Milligan/Getty Images)

Marseille have completed the signing of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg from Tottenham Hotspur on loan with an obligation to make the move permanent.

The Athletic reported that the French side had agreed a deal to sign the 28-year-old midfielder in a deal worth €20million (£16.8m).

The Denmark international had entered the final year of his Tottenham contract and had attracted interest from Atletico Madrid before completing his move to Marseille.

Hojbjerg joined Spurs from Southampton in the summer of 2020, having previously spent four years with the south-coast club following a move from Bayern Munich.

During his four years at Spurs, he made 184 appearances, scoring ten goals and providing 16 assists.

Marseille have already completed the signing of Mason Greenwood from Manchester United in a deal worth up to €31.6million (£26.6m).

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Marseille have agreed a deal with Tottenham Hotspur for the signing of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

The transfer will be an initial loan with an obligation to buy. The French club are set to pay their English counterparts a total package worth €20million (£16.8m) to secure the services of the Denmark international.

Should everything go according to plan, the 28-year-old is now set to leave the Premier League after eight seasons in England’s top flight.

Hojbjerg joined Spurs from Southampton in the summer of 2020, having previously spent four years with the south-coast club following a move from Bayern Munich.

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He has one year left to run on his current Spurs contract, and the club had been willing to sanction his departure if the right offer came in. Atletico Madrid were also credited with an interest in him.

Hojbjerg had been a regular for Spurs, but with head coach Ange Postecoglou tending to favour Pape Matar Sarr alongside Yves Bissouma and Rodrigo Bentancur, Spurs are well-stocked in central midfield.

He was a near ever-present in the Spurs side two seasons ago but has since seen his game time limited. Despite making 36 appearances in the Premier League in the previous campaign, much of those came via cameo spells off the bench.

Spurs are preparing for their upcoming season and face newly-promoted Leicester City and Everton in their opening two Premier League fixtures in August.

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For the second game in a row, Djed Spence received the ball just inside the opposition’s half and kicked into gear.

With his dreadlocks flowing down his back, the defender weaved through a series of challenges before slipping the ball into the box with the outside of his right boot on both occasions.

In Tottenham Hotspur’s 5-1 victory against Hearts on Wednesday evening, Spence’s slick piece of skill led to Will Lankshear scoring. They combined again on Saturday against Queens Park Rangers and earned a corner. Spence’s ability to turn defence into attack within seconds is undeniable.

What is in question is his long-term future at Spurs. Most supporters thought they would never see him play for the club again, so it has been a surprise watching him in both pre-season games so far. He is expected to travel with the squad on their tour to Japan and South Korea too.

So, is he being given a genuine second chance or will this turn out to be a false dawn?

Spence moved to north London in July 2022 from Middlesbrough after a successful loan spell at Nottingham Forest. He had thrived under the management of Forest coach Steve Cooper and helped them earn promotion via the play-offs.

Shortly after he arrived at Spurs on a five-year contract, Antonio Conte made his feelings clear.

“Spence is an investment of the club,” Conte said. “The club wanted to do it. I said, ‘OK, this player is young but he showed he can become a good, important player for us’. The club decided to buy him.”

It was not exactly a ringing endorsement and Spence only made six appearances for Tottenham during the first half of the 2022-23 campaign, all of them as a substitute, before he joined French side Rennes on loan. In an interview with The Athletic in March, Spence reflected on his difficult debut season.

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“I didn’t have a great time,” the full-back said. “I went there and I didn’t play, so obviously it was hard for me. When you sign somewhere as a player for a big club, you want to be filled with confidence and welcomed with open arms, as I was, but it just didn’t feel right when I went there. Things didn’t go well as I planned.

“When you don’t get a chance, there’s not much you can do as a player. You get lost, you’re not playing, it’s hard to get a rhythm again. It’s never easy going to a new environment when things don’t go well but it’s part of the game. It’s a learning experience.”

Ange Postecoglou decided Spence was surplus to requirements last summer so he joined Leeds United on loan but failed to win over their head coach Daniel Farke. In a strange twist of fate, Farke preferred to use Archie Gray at right-back, who is now Spence’s new team-mate after leaving Elland Road earlier this month.

Spence then spent the second half of last season in Italy with Genoa, where he made 16 Serie A appearances. The loan move included an option for Genoa to buy Spence which they did not take up.

Spence’s application away from the pitch has been an issue in the past. He sometimes arrived late to training sessions and team meetings while with Leeds. If he impresses Postecoglou before Tottenham open their campaign against Leicester City on August 19, maybe there is a role for him in the squad.

However, Pedro Porro is the club’s first-choice right-back with Gray, who prefers to play in midfield, as cover there. Emerson Royal is expected to leave but AC Milan’s €10million (£8.4m, $10.9m) bid for the Brazilian has been rejected. The right-back spot is beginning to look crowded although Spence could be invaluable as he is comfortable playing on the left too.

Part of the reason Spence has played in pre-season is out of necessity. Tottenham’s centre-backs, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero and Radu Dragusin, are still on holiday after playing for their countries at major tournaments this summer, while Destiny Udogie is recovering after undergoing surgery in April.

Postecoglou’s options are extremely limited, which means Gray has been partnering central midfielder Oliver Skipp in defence. Jamie Donley, who primarily played as an attacking midfielder for Tottenham’s Under-21s as they won the Premier League 2 title last season, is filling in at left-back.

Playing Spence could also be a tactic to strengthen Tottenham’s hand in negotiations. If he was not involved at all during pre-season, interested clubs could be tempted to ask for a lower price. Selling him would provide extra funds to improve areas of Postecoglou’s squad that require more attention. It will be interesting to see how much game time Spence receives when key players return.

When The Athletic asked Postecoglou about Spence’s performance and if the defender featured in his plans after the victory over Hearts last week, he was non-committal.

“Djed did well,” Postecoglou said. “He has had a tough couple of years. He is training with us and I think, with all of the players, they are here with us at the moment and when they are here with us, I treat them as Tottenham players unless something suddenly changes. He was good tonight. Took his goal well, he contributed well and got an assist.”

Spence maintained that level in Tottenham’s 2-0 victory over QPR at Loftus Road on Saturday. He linked up well with 16-year-old winger Mikey Moore on multiple occasions. Dejan Kulusevski, who was playing in a central midfield role, would drift out to the right wing where he likes to cut inside onto his stronger left foot. This freed up space for Spence to occupy in the middle of the pitch.

At one stage in the second half, Spence appeared to be trapped by the corner flag in QPR’s half. He nonchalantly nutmegged Paul Smyth and drilled a cross into the box which was cleared for a corner. A few minutes later, academy midfielder Tyrese Hall lost the ball while Spence was ahead of him. The full-back made a 40-yard recovery run which ended with him blocking Smyth’s shot.

The talent is undoubtedly there but will Spence be displaying it for Spurs or someone else in 2024-25?

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Everton are close to reaching an agreement with Tottenham Hotspur over a revised payment structure for Dele Alli.

Under the terms of Dele’s transfer from Tottenham to Everton in January 2022, the north London club were due a significant fee if the 28-year-old agreed a new contract at Goodison Park.

Dele is a free agent after his Everton contract expired at the end of last month. Discussions between Spurs and Everton are ongoing over a revised payment structure that would allow the Merseyside club to re-sign Dele should they wish. As part of this deal, Spurs are likely to retain a sell-on clause if Dele departs Everton for a fee in the future.

The Athletic reported in February that Everton and Spurs had been in discussions to amend the terms of the deal that brought him to the club in January 2022. Everton did not have to pay an immediate fee but it was agreed that a sum of £10million ($12.7m) would be due once he reached 20 appearances. He, however, only made 13 appearances across all competitions for Everton before his contract expired at the end of last month.

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Dele has not played for Everton since August 2022 due to various injuries but is back at Finch Farm as he continues his rehab from long-term problems, the most recent of which was a thigh issue.

Although he does not have a contract, Dele is hoping to impress and earn a new one. The possibility of him playing a role in pre-season has not been ruled out.

Dele had a loan spell at Besiktas in 2022 but returned to Everton after sustaining a significant hip injury. He has not played at all since February 2023 and, in the summer of that year, opened up on his mental health struggles and revealed he was sexually abused as a child.

During his time at Spurs, meanwhile, Dele made 269 appearances and scored 67 goals, earning the PFA Young Footballer of the Year twice.

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