The New York Times

It’s safe to say this has so far not been a vintage season for Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester United.

In the past 10 days, Spurs have been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, and for the time being must turn their attention to climbing higher in the Premier League than their current position of 15th. United have at least made it through to the last 16 of the FA Cup, but they too are currently languishing in the bottom half of the league table, one place above Spurs in 14th.

The pair have just three Premier League victories between them over the past two months, and will see winning the Europa League, where both are in Friday’s round of 16 draw, as their only chance of returning to the Champions League next season, and salvaging anything resembling progress on 2023-24.

The Athletic’s Jack Pitt-Brooke (Tottenham) and Carl Anka (Manchester United) discuss what has gone wrong for the two clubs this season, any morsels of optimism that can be gleaned from what’s happened so far, and how confident they are of seeing each other at that Europa League final in the Spanish city of Bilbao on May 21…

What has gone wrong this season?

Jack Pitt-Brooke: It is impossible to ignore the injury crisis that has ripped a hole in the Tottenham squad. For much of the past few months, head coach Ange Postecoglou has been without at least 10 players, and has had to cope with long-term absences for some of his most important ones — Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero among them. This has made it impossible for Postecoglou to rotate his team, thereby exhausting those players who have avoided injury. That has made it impossible for Spurs to play the sort of football Postecoglou wants, and they’ve fallen further down the table than anyone could have expected. We could talk all day about the causes of their injury crisis, but that is the simple reason why Tottenham have done so badly.

Carl Anka: How long have you got? Erik ten Hag, United’s manager for the first three months of this season, spent many a press conference talking about the club’s ongoing “game model”, but it was hard to ascertain what the Dutchman was trying to achieve. Successor Ruben Amorim has been very clear on his tactical approach but also about the fact the current squad lacks the requisite physicality to compete with the best teams in the Premier League. Amorim often uses the word “suffering” when talking about United. He’s in charge of a poorly constructed and expensive squad that lacks many key ingredients for dominating modern football matches. United are often slow when using the ball and second-best when competing for loose balls.

How badly does the manager need a positive result right now?

Pitt-Brooke: The remarkable thing about this season is that Spurs’ record in the Premier League has been worse than anyone ever thought possible. They have lost 13 league games (out of 24 played) already and are only 10 points clear of the relegation places. It has been clear for some time that Postecoglou and Spurs can only have a successful season via the cups, which now means just the Europa League. So their season will hinge on that last-16 tie in early March. That said, Spurs have only won one Premier League game in two months, at Brentford a couple of weeks ago. So victory against United on Sunday would certainly help, if only to stop the mood from getting even worse than it already is.

Anka: Amorim’s 20 matches in charge have yielded 10 wins (one of them on penalties), two draws and eight losses. United fans hoping for a ‘new manager bounce’ to heal some wounds and fire the club back into the Champions League are feeling rather underwhelmed. The 40-year-old is a confident and charismatic speaker, but his repetition of how much players and fans will have to “suffer” in the short-to-medium-term future has gotten people antsy. United aren’t very good right now, so Amorim could do with a positive result (not to mention performance) against Spurs to reassure the fans that things will be improving soon.

How close is the team to playing the way the manager wants?

Pitt-Brooke: The lesson of the past few months is that Spurs cannot play ‘Angeball’ without having something closer to a full-strength squad. They have not played it for almost two months now, since the period in the middle of December when they beat Southampton 5-0 in the league and Manchester United 4-3 in the Carabao Cup. For it to work, they need to be able to build up from the back, which means playing left-footers on the left side of their defence. And they need the physical energy to be able to press high up the pitch. When injured players come back and new signings get settled in, they might be able to do that. But with this exhausted, depleted squad, they simply cannot.

Anka: Amorim’s preferred tactical approach is a tad more bespoke, due to its use of wing-backs and how it asks a trio of centre-backs to take care of early build-up play. The arrival of Patrick Dorgu in January should bolster things out wide. Still, the team lack ball carriers and progressive passers in central midfield, and neither Rasmus Hojlund nor Joshua Zirkzee is in great goalscoring form up front. Amorim’s shopping list isn’t full of diva-ish demands, but it might be a little too lengthy to solve in one summer window, especially at a time when United aren’t flush with spending money.

How far away are they from being a top-six team?

Pitt-Brooke: The strange thing about Tottenham this season is that their top level is easily good enough to make them a top-six team. They have produced a handful of brilliant performances — the two wins against Manchester City, the two against Manchester United, the one against Liverpool — and when they are at their best, they are very difficult to stop. The problem, of course, is that Tottenham have only produced that level of form a few times, and have had far more bad days than good ones. Which ultimately is because of their injury crisis, and having a squad that is too thin to compete on multiple fronts. If they want to get back into the top six, they will have to make sure they have a deeper, more robust player pool, so they can find the consistency they have lacked all season.

Anka: Heart says United will be back by the end of 2025-26. Head says it may take longer. It’s not just that Amorim will need a considerable amount of time, money and luck to improve the side to get them back into the top six. It’s also the fact he might need one or two of their rivals for one of those spots (including Spurs) to all have mini-implosions at the same time to open up space. Manchester City are unlikely to be this bad again next season. Arsenal will probably spend money in the summer. Chelsea with a better goalkeeper are a greater threat. Newcastle and Aston Villa aren’t going away any time soon. Nobody expected Nottingham Forest or Bournemouth to be this good. It’s a slugfest to get into the top six and then stay there season on season now.

How do the fans feel about what is happening off the field?

Pitt-Brooke: Not great. The mood among the Spurs fanbase has been more negative this season than it has for years. That is largely down to the struggles of the team on the pitch but is not limited to that. Their anger has been largely directed towards chairman Daniel Levy and the board, with chants of ‘Levy out’ becoming louder and louder at every game. On Sunday, there is a march planned outside the ground before the United match from a group calling itself ‘Change For Tottenham.’

Anka: This week saw The Athletic report that co-owner INEOS is continuing with another round of cost-cutting at the club, with over 100 more people set to lose their jobs. There is a growing awareness that United are in a bad way. But also a growing awareness they don’t have much financial wiggle room to get out of that situation. The mood is pretty bleak, with some of our readers getting in touch to ask for reasons to be cheerful.

What is the lesson each club can learn from the other?

Pitt-Brooke: How not to forge an identity

The lesson Tottenham might learn from United is maybe more of a negative than a positive one. United have spent the past 12 years jumping from idea to idea, from personality to personality, without any clear sense of what their ethos is. It has been hugely expensive and has seen their team get worse rather than better. Spurs are not quite there yet but they have now spent five years changing ideas, hierarchies and managers, and have got nowhere with it. They have far less of an identity today than they did when Mauricio Pochettino was in charge. If they are going to avoid making the same mistakes United have, they will need to show more of a consistent strategy, rather than being drawn from one idea to the next.

Anka: How do you best go about moving stadiums?

Spurs’ new home is an architectural masterpiece, taking cues from American sports culture as to how to make your ground an all-day visit instead of a “kick off-to-full time” viewing experience. United have been in contact with Populous – the architectural design firm behind Spurs’ stadium – and have looked at how they might approach either refurbishing Old Trafford or building a new stadium entirely. United fans should be talking to every Spurs supporter they know about what happens when your club moves to a new home, and what mistakes they need to look out for, before the higher-ups at the club wander into any traps.

What are their reasons to be positive for the future?

Pitt-Brooke: Tottenham have a squad including some of Europe’s most exciting young players. Archie Gray has been brilliant this season in different positions and is still 18 years old. Lucas Bergvall has grown into English football since his arrival from Sweden last summer and only turned 19 this month. Mikey Moore, the most talented player to come out of the Spurs academy for a generation, is 17. Even among the more established players, Mathys Tel is 19, Antonin Kinsky is 21, Destiny Udogie and Pape Matar Sarr are 22 and Radu Dragusin, Brennan Johnson and Micky van de Ven are 23. (Not to forget Wilson Odobert at 20, and Luka Vuskovic, who will be 18 when he arrives in the summer). Put them all together and Spurs have a squad that will surely only get better over the next five years.

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Anka: United’s training base at Carrington continues to develop promising young players.

The first daffodils of spring have been spotted around Manchester, indicating this crap winter weather is nearly finished. If you’re reading this and are based in the northern hemisphere, you’ve just got through the six darkest weeks of the year. Onwards.

Confident of these teams meeting again in the Europa League final in May…?

Pitt-Brooke: Not really. Of course, Spurs are good enough that in theory they could beat anyone and make it through three two-leg ties to reach the final in Bilbao. But we have to be honest about the fact they have not played anywhere near their best in months. Yes, players are now coming back from injury, but recent weeks have shown that not everyone who returns will be able to stay in the team. And their core players — Dejan Kulusevski, Pedro Porro and Son Heung-min — are so exhausted now that they cannot play their best football. Maybe these two free midweeks they’re having this week and next will give those players enough of a rest, and Spurs will be a team transformed in March, just in time for their knockout ties. But if you have watched Tottenham playing recently, would you really bet on it?

Anka: Bilbao is an incredible place to watch football. So much so that friends recommend I book my flights and hotel now, regardless of who makes the final. It’s nice that both teams avoided the competition’s play-off round this month and went straight to the round of 16. Unfortunately, they both have obvious flaws and troubling tendencies to play down a level against “beatable” opposition.

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(Top photos: Getty Images)

Ange Postecoglou’s 18-month spell in charge of Tottenham Hotspur has been defined by an uncompromising commitment to a free-flowing brand of football.

When everything clicks, Spurs can produce impressive results — they have beaten Manchester City and Manchester United twice each already this season. Even when things go wrong, they tend to put up a fight. They lost in a chaotic manner to Liverpool and Chelsea in December but still managed to score three times in both those games.

All of this is what makes their 4-0 away defeat against Liverpool in the second leg of a Carabao Cup semi-final last night so difficult to process. Liverpool suffocated Spurs, who barely put up any form of resistance. It was a soulless performance, and the worst possible way to be eliminated from a competition when so close to a Wembley final.

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Tottenham’s passive approach at Anfield was slightly understandable when they were still holding onto their 1-0 lead from the first leg and in the immediate aftermath of Cody Gakpo’s half-volley which cancelled it out on 34 minutes. When Antonin Kinsky brought down Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah converted a penalty to give Liverpool the lead on aggregate five minutes into the second half, there was no response.

Tottenham were missing a lot of key players, including record signing Dominic Solanke up front, first-choice centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero, plus Guglielmo Vicario in goal, playmaker James Maddison and full-back Destiny Udogie.

Liverpool would no doubt have struggled to play with the same fluency without six members of their starting XI but it was the lack of urgency from the visitors which was so concerning. Spurs seemed to lose every 50/50 challenge and be second to every loose ball. Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai was still charging around and crunching into tackles in second-half stoppage time when his team were 4-0 up and assured of that Wembley meeting with Newcastle United on March 16. It is difficult to recall any Tottenham player showing as much hunger and desire, even when the tie was still hanging in the balance.

Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski, their long-serving captain and best player this season respectively, were barely involved.

In Kulusevski’s defence, he looks shattered. The Sweden international has been vocal in the past about how his incredible running capacity, he covered the biggest distance (13.36 km/8.3 miles) of any Premier League player in a single match last season during a 2-1 victory over Everton, sets him apart from his peers but even a Lamborghini can be overtaken by a Vauxhall Corsa if there is not enough petrol in it.

Kulusevski has featured in all 38 of Tottenham’s fixtures this season across four competitions and that workload is obviously taking a toll.

There is no excuse, though, for how awful Spurs were in possession.

Liverpool pressed them into passing the ball backwards until it eventually wound up at the feet of goalkeeper Kinsky. The Czech Republic Under-21 international would then have striker Darwin Nunez darting towards him, so repeatedly hit it long where, inevitably, Virgil van Dijk won the aerial duel against Richarlison and Liverpool regained control.

Tottenham were hopeless when they tried to string a sequence of passes together in central areas. Kevin Danso, making his debut after arriving from Lens on loan with an obligation to buy over the weekend, powerfully surged forward out of defence on a couple of occasions. He would drop the ball off to Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr or Rodrigo Bentancur for them to try to build an attack but, within seconds, would be running back towards his own goal to thwart another Liverpool offensive. Bissouma’s misplaced pass to Sarr led directly to Gakpo’s leveller.

Spurs’ midfielders were creating problems instead of relieving pressure. It was no surprise when Bissouma and Sarr were substituted 10 minutes into the second half, with Tottenham now 2-1 down on aggregate, but do not forget that both of them have been struggling for fitness recently. Yet with limited alternative options, they had to play last night.

There is one statistic which neatly encapsulates this lethargic performance.

Tottenham failed to register a single shot on target in a match for the first time since Postecoglou took charge in summer 2023 and finished with an xG (expected goals) figure of 0.18. The closest they came to scoring was Son’s second-half effort which struck the bar.

This squad had the chance to reach a final and potentially win the club’s first silverware since this same competition in 2008. Why then did they approach the game like it was a meaningless dead-rubber tie at the end of a European group stage? Why did they not pose Liverpool any serious problems? Why did they lose in such a meek manner?

“We’ll learn from tonight, but the major lesson to learn is that we can’t go into games like this looking to protect or try to get results in other ways than what’s got us to this point,” Postecoglou said in the post-match press conference. “I’m sure the players will learn from that, I’m sure they’re disappointed by that. As much as we’ve missed an opportunity to get to a final, what probably hurts even more is that we didn’t really give ourselves a chance with our performance.

“We set the team up and our intent was to go out and play the same way we play every week. We were trying to put pressure on them and unsettle them but it never really materialised. We didn’t really have conviction when we had the ball either, which allowed them to get control of the game.”

Reading between the lines, it feels like Postecoglou is admitting either that he decided to deviate from his usual approach in the biggest game of the season or that the players were incapable of carrying out his instructions. If he tweaked his tactics to be more pragmatic, and the starting midfield combination did suggest that’s what happened, then it backfired. If the players are at fault, then it is hard not to come away thinking that they crumbled under pressure.

It felt apt that the final four players to leave the pitch after applauding the travelling supporters then facing the long, late-night trek back to London were Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Djed Spence and Mathys Tel. Last summer’s signings Bergvall and Gray are supposed to be bright-eyed teenagers but they are now weary veterans of a gruelling campaign.

Spence is the former outcast who has become an integral part of Postecoglou’s plans and should have been utilised more at the beginning of the campaign to give others, including Udogie and Pedro Porro, sufficient rest. He was deployed at left-back and, for a brief 15-minute spell, on the right wing against Liverpool. It was a desperate roll of the dice which, unsurprisingly, did not work.

Tel represents the future. The 19-year-old French forward, signed initially on loan from Bayern Munich on deadline day at the start of the week, and Spurs as a whole, have a lot of potential, but are the conditions right for them to maximise it?

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A huge burden is being placed on the shoulders of these four players,

Richarlison’s calf injury which forced him off at half-time last night suggests Tel will make his first start away to Aston Villa in the FA Cup’s fourth round on Sunday. These youngsters should be leaning on the senior players for support and guidance in games of this magnitude, not the other way around.

This was always going to be a huge week for Spurs and Postecoglou. They have failed their first test of it and cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes at Villa Park.

(Top photo: Carl Recine/Getty Images)

The last few days of the transfer window were a whirlwind for Tottenham Hotspur.

On Thursday, Ange Postecoglou was looking forward to welcoming Micky van de Ven back from a six-week absence as their injury crisis showed signs of clearing up. Van de Ven played the entire first half of a 3-0 victory over Elfsborg in the Europa League and was replaced at the break by Radu Dragusin in a planned substitution.

Dragusin hobbled off the pitch 20 minutes later after landing awkwardly and clutching his right knee in pain. The Athletic revealed on Monday that the 23-year-old defender suffered an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.

Van de Ven missed Sunday’s victory over Brentford, while Cristian Romero’s recovery from a quad injury has been described as a “slow burner” by Postecoglou. Spurs were heading into the biggest week of their season, with important cup ties against Liverpool and Aston Villa, once again with question marks over who would play at the back.

They sprang into action over the weekend by hijacking Wolverhampton Wanderers’ move for Kevin Danso and launching an audacious but unsuccessful bid to sign Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi. A proposed move for 19-year-old forward Mathys Tel appeared to have collapsed on Friday, but 72 hours later, it was resurrected and he joined on loan from Bayern Munich with an option to buy for €55m.

Here, The Athletic takes a deep breath and breaks down a manic month…

Was this window a success or a failure?

Tottenham desperately needed defensive reinforcements and a new goalkeeper in this transfer window. They ticked both of those boxes with Kinsky and Danso, but the latter did not arrive until the day before the window closed. Spurs played nine games in all competitions over the past month and, ideally, the 26-year-old centre-back would have arrived from Lens a lot earlier to ease the burden on Archie Gray and Dragusin.

Even with Danso’s acquisition, Spurs are still short of options in defence. Acquiring Guehi from Crystal Palace would have been a statement signing, but they did not come close to pulling it off.

Postecoglou has spoken publicly on multiple occasions about the need for more firepower. Tottenham failed in their pursuit of Randal Kolo Muani early in the window but eventually managed to sign the talented but raw Tel.

Despite completing three deals, Spurs are in a similar position to the start of the window. The squad is full of holes due to their injury crisis and it will be a challenge to perform at a high level in four competitions over the final few months of the campaign.

How much did they spend and how much did they bring in?

Spurs paid Slavia Prague £13.3million for Kinsky, while Danso’s loan deal includes an obligation to buy for €25m in the summer.

Tel has joined on loan until the end of the season, but the move can be made permanent. Tottenham have not actually spent a lot of money in this window but have committed to some big fees in the summer.

They did not raise any money as the only departures were loans, with 19-year-old striker Will Lankshear moving to West Bromwich Albion and Yang-Min hyeok heading to Queens Park Rangers.

Was there a standout signing?

Tel’s career has stalled with Bayern Munich but he is still an exciting prospect, while Danso should slot into the starting XI straight away. Both will hope to make an impact as big and as quick as Kinsky.

He made his debut for Spurs in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against Liverpool. It was a huge challenge for the 21-year-old, who had spent the previous couple of weeks relaxing during the Czech Republic top flight’s winter break. He had just jumped out of the sauna when he received a phone call about Tottenham’s interest in signing him.

Kinsky only trained with his new team-mates twice before he produced a superb performance and kept a clean sheet in an important 1-0 victory over Liverpool that has given them a chance of reaching Wembley.

Fraser Forster had been deputising for the injured first-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario and he looked awkward playing the ball out from the back. Kinsky’s calmness in possession means he is a significant upgrade on Forster and will challenge Vicario long-term.

The Czech Republic Under-21 international has made one or two sloppy mistakes in other games, including the north London derby when Kai Havertz blocked his pass inside the box, but it is important to remember he is a young player who has been thrust straight into an underperforming and injury-ravaged team.

Did they lose anyone they would have wanted to keep?

None of the senior players left as even those who had previously been on the fringes, including Sergio Reguilon and Djed Spence, have received significant game time in the past couple of months.

Are there still any obvious gaps in the team?

The day before Spurs lost to Bournemouth in December, Postecoglou spoke about providing club-record signing Dominic Solanke with more support up front.

“There’s no doubt we need some bolstering in that front third over the next couple of transfer windows,” he said. “Dom coming in has been great, but again, we can’t overload him either because ultimately, you know, even if he stays fit and nothing happens, performance will invariably drop if his energy levels drop. So it’s something we’re aware of and need to plan for.”

Richarlison’s return from injury was supposed to help the situation, but Solanke then suffered a knee injury in training. Son Heung-min has underperformed this season, while Timo Werner has only scored twice in his last 30 top-flight appearances. Werner’s last league goal came in a 4-0 victory at Aston Villa in March 2024. Meanwhile, Wilson Odobert’s first year in north London has been disrupted by a persistent hamstring injury.

Spurs managed to sign Tel to boost their numbers, but it would be unfair to place too much pressure on his shoulders. They still need to sign an elite, peak-age forward who is capable of covering multiple positions.

Are they now strong enough to achieve their goals for the season?

The real question here is: ‘Do Spurs have a strong enough squad to beat Liverpool in their Carabao Cup semi-final second leg on Thursday evening?’

Van de Ven managed 45 minutes on his return from a hamstring injury against Elfsborg but then missed Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Brentford, while Dragusin will not feature again this season.

There is a group of six players, which includes Destiny Udogie, James Maddison and Brennan Johnson, who are due to return in the next week, but might not recover quickly enough to feature at Anfield.

Postecoglou has to decide whether to give Danso his debut against Liverpool or stick with Ben Davies and Archie Gray at centre-back. Solanke’s absence is a blow, but Richarlison has scored twice in his six games since returning from injury.

It is going to be difficult to beat Liverpool, but looking further ahead, when everybody is fit and healthy, they have a squad capable of reaching the Europa League final and progressing deep in the FA Cup.

What is their priority for the summer?

Signing an elite, multi-functional forward who can relieve some of the goalscoring burden from Solanke.

What is their strongest XI now the window is shut?

The full list of ins and outs

Ins:

Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich, loan with option to buy)

Kevin Danso (Lens, loan with obligation to buy)

Antonin Kinsky (Slavia Prague)

Yang Min-hyeok (Gangwon FC)

Outs:

Will Lankshear (West Bromwich Albion, loan)

Yang Min-hyeok (Queens Park Rangers, loan)

(Top photos: Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur have completed the loan signing of Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich until the end of the season. The deal includes an option to buy Tel for €55million (£45.7m; $56.9m) on a six-year contract. Tel is Spurs’ fourth signing of the window after goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, forward Yang Min-hyeok and centre-back Kevin Danso (also on loan).

Our writers — experts in transfers, tactics, data and football finance — have come together to rate January’s senior Premier League transfers. This continues the project we launched last summer, but we have also made some significant tweaks to how we assess each deal.

Gone are the five scores out of 100, and in their place are 10 ratings out of 50. This should allow for much more nuance to be reflected in the analysis and, importantly, much more variability in the overall figure each transfer ends up with. Follow the link below for more background on the changes.

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Tactical fit — 35/50

Tel brings plenty of admirable qualities to the table. While best suited to the left inside forward role in Ange Postecoglou’s system, he is versatile and can operate across the frontline.

The 19-year-old is an explosive dribbler, capable of causing damage when receiving passes while in motion thanks to his mostly reliable first touch. From a standstill, Tel can be predictable due to his preference to drive inwards on his stronger right foot, but his pace and trickery have allowed him to escape tight areas with ease. Spurs require that injection of pace and Tel can be deadly in transition.

The France Under-21 international moves well off the ball and has decent link-up play, though there is room for improvement.

The issues with Tel are in the rawness of his abilities. As a footballer at the start of his senior career, his decision-making is not the best and he often dribbles forward with the idea of getting a shot away at some point. It results in him missing open team-mates and attempting low-quality opportunities, with Tel averaging just 0.09 expected goals per shot during the 2023-24 Bundesliga season. To his credit, his passing improved in the second half of the season.

Tel is at his best with and without the ball when he is confident, and nothing breeds confidence like regular minutes and reduced pressure. He got neither at Bayern, where expectations sky-rocketed after a fast start under Julian Nagelsmann.

Tel joins Spurs with Son Heung-min on a decent run of form, Wilson Odobert on the verge of return from injury and Mikey Moore making a case for himself. All of that complicates his chances of regular minutes in his favoured position.

As a centre-forward, Tel has the qualities Postecoglou demands but has not played there frequently enough to suggest he can consistently deliver goals.

Tel has plenty of potential, but there are rough edges to sand out if Spurs are to see the best of him during this loan deal.

Injury record — 46/50

Tel has not had any major injuries during his short senior career and has missed just six games due to fitness issues since the start of the 2022-23 season.

Market value — 40/50

A loan deal presents great value for Spurs given Tel has not played enough this season and for Tel as he receives more minutes to aid his development.

Contract rationale – 42/50

While it initially seemed as though Spurs would be signing Tel on a straight loan, they actually have an option to buy built into the deal. Spurs have the rest of the season to assess him, before deciding whether to commit €55million (£45.7m; $56.9m) or tie him down to a six-year contract. This allows them to try before they buy — and the length of the contract they have agreed means they’re tying a young player down for many years if they decide he’s worth the money.

Recent form – 13/50

Tel found himself low on Bayern’s pecking order this season, resulting in just four starts in 14 appearances across competitions and 14 games watched on from the bench. He has just one assist in 458 minutes of action this season.

Gap-filling – 45/50

Spurs’ attack has been decimated by injuries this season. Dominic Solanke, Odobert, Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner are all out injured, while Richarlison, Moore and Son have spent time on the sidelines too.

Postecoglou’s team needed depth and Tel’s versatility gives them a necessary weapon as they aim to rise in the Premier League table and go deep in the cup competitions.

Excitement factor – 27/50

Tel’s initial rejection of a permanent move to Spurs may linger in fan memory but he will likely be welcomed with relief and excitement as he fills an important squad need.

Future-proofing – 38/50

The loan should help Spurs in the short term while giving them evidence on how well-suited Tel is to the Premier League, with Spurs searching for Son’s long-term successor.

Rival impact – 34/50

The Athletic reported that Tel attracted interest from Manchester United, who are Spurs’ rivals in the Europa League and sit just two points above them in the league table, while Chelsea made an enquiry for him too. Spurs will be pleased to have strengthened while preventing two of their rivals from doing so.

Marketability – 12/50

Tel is unlikely to come with too much marketing potential, though another youthful signing is good for Spurs’ overall profile.

Overall rating — 332/500

(Top photo: Sebastian Widmann/Getty Images)

Crystal Palace have rejected a major offer from Tottenham Hotspur to sign Marc Guehi.

The offer for the England international, 24, was for a permanent transfer but was knocked back. Spurs and other clubs are expected to try again in the summer.

Guehi was the subject of four unsuccessful bids from Newcastle United in the summer, with the final one worth up to £65million including add-ons. Palace head coach Oliver Glasner confirmed at the end of August the defender would be remaining at the club.

He has 18 months remaining on his Palace contract, which runs until 2026.

Guehi joined Palace from Chelsea for £18m in the summer of 2021 and has made 134 appearances for the club.

He broke into the England senior squad in 2022 and was a key figure for Gareth Southgate’s side at the 2024 European Championship, starting all but one of his country’s matches during their run to the final.

Guehi was named club captain ahead of the 2024-25 season and has featured 28 times in all competitions for Palace this season, scoring twice.

Palace saw defender Trevoh Chalobah recalled by Chelsea from his loan earlier this month but are set to sign Ben Chilwell — again on loan from Chelsea — pending a medical.

(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

This is the type of game — tight, tense, away from home — that Tottenham Hotspur never win.

This is the type of performance — gritty, canny, efficient — that they rarely produce.

At Brentford on Sunday, Ange Postecoglou’s depleted, patched-together Spurs turned all the perceptions and narratives about them on their head. This might not be Spurs’ best win of the season given the quality of other teams they have beaten, but it might be their most important.

Because they came here on a seven-game winless run in the league. Their last league victory, at Southampton, was seven weeks ago. Since then, they have drifted further down the league table than anyone thought possible.

Because Postecoglou came here without a single senior specialist centre-back available and was forced to play Archie Gray and Ben Davies together. Even Spurs’ fit players are exhausted, worn down by having to carry this club on their backs every Thursday and Sunday for the past few months.

Because this was at Brentford, who had lost only three league games at home this season and seem to embody so many of the values Tottenham have lacked this season.

The strange thing about Spurs’ season is that for all the frustration and disappointment — the 13 league defeats and the painful drift down the table — there have been some remarkable high points: two wins against Manchester City, two against Manchester United and one against Liverpool. They have blown teams away with expansive attacking football and played at a tempo no one can stop. All but one of their league wins before Sunday were by at least three goals.

But life under Postecoglou has been a house of cards. Either it is brilliant or it falls apart. Tottenham could do the thrilling, emphatic ‘statement wins’ when everything clicked into place, but they could not do the other side. The normal wins, ground out against the odds, with their backs to the wall. This is what Tottenham had desperately needed for the past few months, to find a way to win ugly, to win a league game where they did not destroy the opposition but still found a way nonetheless.

Of Spurs’ 13 league defeats this season, 12 of them were by one-goal margins. Only the 6-3 to Liverpool was by more than that. There have been many times when the game was tight and up for grabs for whichever side was cleverer, luckier, or more efficient — and Spurs kept losing. If they are to get out of this mess and start climbing back up the table, they needed to start finding ways to win games like this.

Spurs’ style on Sunday was not what many have come to expect from a Postecoglou team, but then anyone paying attention knows they have not played like that for months. How could they given the fixture schedule and their injury crisis? They have had only one free midweek since club football resumed after the November international break. The same small core of players — Pedro Porro, Dejan Kulusevski, Son Heung-min, Gray — are giving their all twice a week, every week. The game plan had to change to something more conservative, more repeatable, more robust.

There have been plenty of league games recently when Spurs worked as hard as they could but did not get the rewards for their effort. This time, they finally did.

It was built on the solidity of Gray and Davies together at centre-back. Neither is a specialist in that position. Gray is an 18-year-old playing his 15th game on the spin. Davies is 31 and in his 11th season at Spurs, just back from an injury and straight into the firing line. But both of them were exceptional. They constantly headed away crosses (Brentford attempted 37). They were rewarded with Spurs’ first league clean sheet since beating Southampton on December 15.

Then there was Djed Spence, back in the team after three games out. He produced his best performance for Tottenham, shackling Bryan Mbeumo and showing remarkable poise, balance and maturity throughout. He is a supremely gifted footballer and Spurs look much better with him in the team.

In midfield, Rodrigo Bentancur played as well as he has all season. He was everywhere, spotting danger before anyone else and shutting it down. Spurs desperately needed his experience and he provided all of it and more.

Then there was Kulusevski, in midfield in the first half, on the right in the second. He has dug deeper than anyone this season and remains Tottenham’s best way of moving the ball forward when they are struggling to build up.

But the most impressive thing was not just the aggregate performance of the individuals on the pitch, it was the way they did things you might not expect them to do.

Everyone knows Spurs have struggled on set pieces over the years and that Brentford specialise in them. But on this occasion, it was Spurs who took the lead from a corner, as Son curled in a delivery, Brentford goalkeeper Hakon Valdimarsson could not get to it, and the ball went in off Vitaly Janelt.

Brentford bombarded the Spurs box throughout, but Tottenham’s defence was always equal to it. Antonin Kinsky made two good first-half saves, but mainly it was Gray, Davies, Spence and Porro doing the hard work, with Bentancur and Yves Bissouma sweeping up in front of them.

In the second half, Spurs slowed the game down, happily eating up time when required. Richarlison walked off the pitch when substituted for Dane Scarlett. Son took his time over corners to the fury of the home fans. Kinsky never rushed to get the ball back into play from goal kicks.

And having taken the lead from a set piece, Spurs completed the win from a counter-attack. Bentancur found Son, who took advantage of Pape Matar Sarr’s dynamic forward run. He beautifully finished past Valdimarsson. Postecoglou’s celebration told a story of all the pent-up frustration from the past few months.

After the final whistle, all the Spurs players gathered in a huddle in front of the jubilant away end before they went over to take their applause. Maybe it was not a ‘statement win’ in the style of their last league victory (5-0 at Southampton in December), or the one before that (4-0 at Manchester City in November), or the one before that (4-1 against Aston Villa in November), or the one before that (4-1 against West Ham United in October).

But think what made up this win: one set piece, one counter-attack, two stand-in centre-backs, plenty of tired legs, lots of defensive headers, a fair bit of game management, backs to the wall, spirit, nous, intelligence and efficiency. Maybe this is what a statement win really looks like.

(Top photo: Charlotte Wilson/Offside via Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur head coach Ange Postecoglou has said that it remains a possibility that there are no further signings at the club this month.

Spurs completed the transfer of 21-year-old goalkeeper Antonin Kinksy from Slavia Prague on January 5 but have not made any more additions to the squad since then.

Postecoglou’s side take on German side Hoffenheim in their seventh league-phase game of the Europa League on Thursday and are set to be without 14 players as they make the trip to Germany.

When asked if there was a chance that Tottenham would not not sign anybody else this window, Postecoglou said: “Yeah, potentially. The club is working hard to get some help for the players. As far as I know at the moment there’s nothing imminent but things happen quickly in the last week of the window, so still hopeful.”

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The Transfer DealSheet: The latest on your club and the January window

Spurs have an extensive list of unavailable players with Guglielmo Vicario, Destiny Udogie, Micky van de Ven, Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma, Brennan Johnson, Timo Werner, Wilson Odobert and Dominic Solanke all out with injury.

Sarr is the newest addition to the injury list after picking up a knock in a 3-2 defeat against Everton on Sunday. “Pape has a slight knock from the weekend, so he’s out,” said Postecoglou. “He tried to train (today) but he’s still a bit sore from the weekend. We’re hoping it’s not something that will keep him out for too long, he has a chance for the weekend, but the turn around was too quick.”

Full-backs Djed Spence and Sergio Reguilon will also be unavailable on Thursday due to not being registered in Tottenham’s Europa League squad. Kinsky and teenage winger Yang Min-hyeok — who joined the club at the start of the month after signing in the summer — are also unregistered.

Postecoglou added that Rodrigo Bentancur is back in the squad after suffering a concussion in his side’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Liverpool. Centre-back Cristian Romero has returned to training but was deemed not ready to feature against Hoffenheim and will be out for “probably another week to 10 days”.

Spurs are enduring a miserable run of form, only winning four of their last 15 games in all competitions and sit 15th in the Premier League, only eight points off the relegation zone. They are ninth in the Europa League table, one place outside the automatic qualification spots for the last 16.

Despite the team’s struggles, Postecoglou was able to see the funny side of the situation when the press conference was paused due to the German translator coughing. “We’ve lost the translator as well, even my translator’s injured!” he joked.

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Watch: Who is to blame for Tottenham's rut?

(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Richarlison has returned to full fitness and could feature for Tottenham Hotspur in Wednesday night’s north London derby against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

Richarlison has struggled with injuries since he joined Spurs from Everton for £60million in July 2022. He missed most of their pre-season tour in Japan and South Korea last summer with a calf problem but came off the bench in their opening two league games.

The Brazilian then suffered a setback and made his return as a substitute in a 4-1 victory over West Ham United on October 19.

A couple of weeks later, the 27-year-old suffered a hamstring injury in a 4-1 win against Aston Villa and has been unavailable since then. The forward has been restricted to seven appearances in all competitions this term and only one of them was as a starter.

“He has been harassing me for the last 10 days to be involved but we have been disciplined with that and he has looked really good in training,” said Postecoglou. “He looks ready to go so really happy to get him back involved.”

Richarlison’s return comes at the perfect time as head coach Ange Postecoglou revealed Timo Werner suffered a hamstring injury in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Tamworth in the third round of the FA Cup.

“Not too bad,” Postecoglou said when asked about the state of his squad after beating Tamworth in extra-time. “It takes a fair bit out of the players so we have done some extra recovery.

“The only one who picked up an injury is Timo. He did a hamstring injury and we are waiting on the results of that scan. Everyone else apart from being sore is okay. In terms of incoming, Richarlison is available.”

After Arsenal, Tottenham visit Everton on Sunday, January 19, before resuming their Europa League campaign away at Hoffenheim on Thursday, January 23.

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Postecoglou says Tottenham will not terminate Werner loan

(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Manchester United would reluctantly consider selling homegrown players, such as Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho, as part of their efforts to comply with football’s financial rules.

The club are not actively looking to sanction the exit of either talent but the reality of their situation means the possibility cannot be discounted if suitable offers arrive.

Having both come through United’s youth setup, midfielder Mainoo, 19, and winger Garnacho, 20, are among those who would represent pure accounting profit if they were ever to be traded. This is why they are not regarded as untouchable and the same applies for most of the first-team squad.

That includes team-mates like Marcus Rashford, 27, although his situation differs in that United are consciously working on exit solutions, plus the out-of-favour forward has said he is “ready for a new challenge and the next steps”.

Full story below

There is also a game tonight, of course! It’s Arsenal vs Newcastle Utd at Emirates Stadium in their Carabao Cup semi-final first leg.

The even better news is that we have full live coverage of the game with our team of correspondents, including my esteemed colleague Max Mathews.

You can catch all the build-up right now — and the action later — in our live coverage here.

Let’s bring you a couple of quick Arsenal-themed lines, starting with a former manager.

Charlotte Harpur reports that Jonas Eidevall has taken over as head coach at San Diego Wave.

The latest National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) boss has signed a three-year contract, having been out of football since parting ways with Arsenal in October.

The Wave had been looking for a new permanent head coach since Casey Stoney departed midway through the 2024 season. Paul Buckle and then Landon Donovan were in interim charge. Here’s Eidevall:

💬 “This is a club with a clear vision for success, both on and off the field, and I am grateful for the trust placed in me to lead this talented team.

“San Diego is a city with passionate fans and a vibrant futbol culture, and I’m eager to contribute to building a winning legacy here.”

Eidevall joined Arsenal from Rosengard in 2021, winning the League Cup in 2023 and 2024.

Transfer windows are usually good for a cautionary tale, so how about this.

Guangzhou FC, China’s most successful football club, won’t be allowed to play professionally during the 2025 season — due to financial issues.

The eight-times Chinese Super League (CSL) winners played their part in the league’s pursuit of top talent at inflated prices a decade ago.

Yet the club’s parent company Evergrande has since fallen into severe financial difficulty and 12 months ago, was ordered to liquidate after amassing over $300billion in debt.

Guangzhou have played their last two seasons in the second tier following relegation from the Super League in 2022.

You will find more on this one from Ali Rampling, below.

There is nothing like a transfer window to start focusing owners’ minds on who their head coach is — and whether they want something else.

That conversation is taking place around Everton now, it seems. But Sean Dyche doesn’t mind it. In fact, he thinks it is exactly what the club’s new ownership — The Friedkin Group — should be assessing.

Here is Dyche, speaking at his media conference just now:

💬 “If you’re a club or business of this size, succession planning should be part of their (owners’) due diligence.

“I’ve got no problem with that at all and think that should be ongoing at every club. It’s how it is in normal business life.

“(We have) got to win games. We haven’t done that enough this season…and it comes down to me, without a shadow of a doubt.”

We have already touched on the ongoing, remarkable situation at Barcelona with Dani Olmo. Well, now one of his team-mates has gone public on it all.

Olmo and Pau Victor have both been de-registered from Barca’s first-team squad — leading to the club planning to file a complaint to the Spanish government in their final attempt to make room for the pair long-term.

Well, now Raphinha has spoken on the topic ahead of the Spanish Super Cup semi-final against Athletic Club tomorrow in Riyadh.

Asked about whether the situation would put off potential January and summer signings, he said:

💬 “Yes, it can have an impact, I can’t say the opposite. If I was in another club seeing the situation they are going through, I would probably wonder if coming here is the best option.

“When I signed for Barca I knew the situation the club was going through. I saw a chance to play for this shirt and I waited until the very last moment. I don’t regret at all my decision”.

You will find more on this one from Pol Ballus and Colin Millar with the link below.

Tottenham host the Premier League leaders tomorrow night, although Liverpool will be visiting in the first leg of a Carabao Cup semi-final.

There will be some big calls for Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou there, especially given this may well be his best route to another piece of second-season silverware — something he highlighted was a recurring theme at the clubs he manages.

Antonin Kinsky is their new goalkeeper signing from Slavia Prague, while Fraser Forster is back in training too. So who will Postecoglou opt for? Here’s what he said today:

💬 “He (Kinsky) arrived on Sunday. He’s had a couple of days training. He is registered and eligible. We still have to do a couple of things with him and then we will see.

“He is one we had earmarked for the summer. We’ve tracked him all season and he is definitely someone we are really excited about.

“Obviously, with our current goalkeeping situation we explored the possibility of bringing him in this January. It wasn’t easy because he was doing very well for his club, his club is doing well, they are in Europe and top of their league.

“The club worked really hard to get the deal done and it is a huge benefit to us; it adds real quality to our goalkeepers.”

This could be one to watch.

There is plenty of interest across a wide range of clubs including Manchester City, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur in RC Lens defender Abdukodir Khusanov.

David Ornstein reports that Lens are looking to do a deal in excess of €40million for Khusanov, who is an Uzbekistan international.

That price could rule some clubs, namely Spurs, out of the battle for Khusanov this month but expect competition for a promising young talent.

Read more on the clubs in the running on The Athletic's Transfer DealSheet.

Ok, so this is not strictly transfer-related but it is too fun not to share.

When Wolves' and Ipswich Town's game in December ended with heated clashes between staff and players from the two sides, Mateus Cunha's involvement saw him handed a two match ban.

The written reasons for the Wolves forward's suspension have now been published after he was spotted elbowing an Ipswich staff member in the head before pulling his glasses from his face.

A report from the independent regulatory commission that handed out the ban and an £80,000 fine to Cunha included a letter of apology and an offer for the Brazilian to pay for replacement glasses for the Ipswich staff member.

For more about the findings of the commission and the fallout from the ugly scenes after Wolves' 2-1 defeat, click the link below.

Any club interested in Athletic Club’s Nico Williams know his price — his release clause is around €60million.

That figure will fluctuate somewhat with inflation but reflects the potential of one of the most highly-rated young players in European football.

The 22-year-old Spanish international was under consideration by Liverpool in the summer and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta would like to sign him this month.

However, the finances of the deal make that unlikely at this stage.

Read more about Williams’ Bilbao future and potential destinations on The Athletic’s Transfer DealSheet below.

The announcement of new signing Julio Soler earlier today will excite fans but it will do little to soften the blow of news of Evanilson's metatarsal injury for Bournemouth.

He has been central to Andoni Iraola's side in their climb to seventh in the Premier League, contributing five goals in his 19 appearances this season.

Bournemouth confirmed that the 25-year-old had “undergone a successful procedure to repair a fractured metatarsal” after he scans confirmed extent of the injury sustained during Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Everton.

With only Enes Unal now fit as a recognised senior striker in their squad, could Bournemouth's hand be forced this month as Evanilson enters a period of rehab and recovery?

They have already dipped into the market twice, for left-back Soler and centre-back Matai Akinmboni.

“Football is full of surprises,” says Neymar Jr, which is one way of describing a potential reunion with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Neymar has been speaking to CNN about the possibility of playing with his former Barcelona team mates again, when the trio were dubbed 'MSN' for their goal scoring exploits as a front three between 2014 and 2017.

Though he insists he is happy at current club Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, the Brazilian has floated the idea of getting the band back together.

Messi and Suarez are team mates at Inter Miami in MLS these days so two thirds of the job of reviving MSN is already done.

💬 “They are my friends. We still speak to each other. It would be interesting to revive this trio,” Neymar said.

Mic drop.

As the Premier League becomes ever more transitional, it is easy to see why Randal Kolo Muani is attracting interest from Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Although his minutes at PSG have been limited, Kolo Muani thrived in end-to-end games for former club Eintracht Frankfurt, enjoying his freedom at the top of an expansive team.

Despite standing at 6ft 1in (1.87m), he is quick enough to play across the front line, and caught the eye on the flanks throughout his youth career due to his blend of trickery, pace, and a rangy running style.

His shot map shows a range of finishes across the width of the box, able to both rise high for headers, but also sort out his feet and get good contact on crosses and cutbacks on either side.

Kolo Muani’s best seasons — in terms of outperforming his expected goals (xG) — have come in the campaigns where he has had a consistent run of minutes to build up a scoring rhythm.

Confidence is understandably low at present, but there is potential for the team that can provide Kolo Muani a new home.

We heard from Arne Slot earlier that he’s happy with his Liverpool squad as it stands and there may not be much business done this month at the Premier League leaders.

And that is fine — although I’d recommend the odd conversation about contract renewals…

But maybe the Liverpool boss should be looking to make one recruit during the transfer window: a set-piece coach?

The graphic above is fresh off the press from our senior data analyst Mark Carey, and has Liverpool — arguably the best side in Europe right now — as the WEAKEST team from dead-ball situations across the entire Premier League.

I know. I couldn’t believe it either. Although it means they are also scoring a huge amount of open-play goals.

For more context, give Andy Jones’ recent analysis a read below — and be thankful we got through two successive Liverpool posts without mentioning Trent Alexander-Arno… Oh.

Nottingham Forest have started contract talks with defender Murillo, who is enjoying an impressive spell in English football.

The 22-year-old’s current contract runs until 2028 but Forest know a good player when they have one and have added his name to their list set for contract talks.

Ola Aina and Chris Wood, who are both out of contract in the summer, are also in talks with the City Ground club.

If they can tie Murillo down it will be smart business from Forest, with clubs in Spain as well as Tottenham and Chelsea interested in him last summer.

Since signing from Corinthians in Brazil in 2023, Murillo has made 55 appearances in all competitions for Forest and has started all but one league game under Nuno Espirito Santo this season.

Bournemouth have their second signing of the January window and his name is Julio Soler.

The Premier League side has confirmed the arrival of the 19-year-old on a four-year contract from Argentinian side Lanus.

Left-back Soler made 58 first team appearances for Lanus’ senior team after progressing through the academy, and is also an Argentina under-23 international.

He joins centre-back Matai Akinmboni as a new arrival in Andoni Iraola’s squad, with Bournemouth seventh in the Premier League table.

The teenager will have competition in the form of regular starter Milos Kerkez.

Happy with that one, Bournemouth fans?

Randal Kolo Muani does not want to be remembered as the player who missed — which is why getting any move away from Paris St Germain right is crucial.

Kolo Muani enjoyed a breakthrough tournament for France at the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and was the player who raced through on goal with the score against Argentina locked at 3-3 in the dying minutes of the final.

We all know how that ended: with a huge save from goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

But there is much more to Kolo Muani than just that moment, even if he has struggled for game time at PSG this season.

Since joining the French side from Eintracht Frankfurt in September 2023, the 26-year-old has scored 11 goals in 54 appearances but is now drawing interest from Manchester United, Tottenham and Juventus.

A loan deal could be on the cards with Kolo Muani under contract at PSG until 2028 and in need of game time.

Tottenham Hotspur have triggered the option to extend captain Son Heung-min’s contract until 2026.

The 32-year-old’s existing deal had been due to expire at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, meaning he would have been free to sign a pre-contract agreement with an overseas club from this January.

However, Spurs had always maintained they intended to exercise the option to keep him at the club for a further year.

Son joined Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2015 and has made 431 appearances — the 11th most in the club’s history — and scored 169 goals — putting him fourth in the club’s all-time top goal scorers list. He was named club captain in August 2023.

Son has made 23 appearances in all competitions this season, providing seven goals and six assists.

The South Korea international was one of four Spurs players whose contracts are set to expire at the end of the season, alongside Fraser Forster, Sergio Reguilon and Ben Davies. The Athletic reported in November Spurs intend to trigger Davies’ option to extend his deal for a further year.

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It's a difficult subject for Spurs fans, but it's time to talk about Son's form

‘Son Spurs extension no surprise’

The news that Tottenham have formally extended Son Heung-min’s contract comes as no surprise. Spurs have been very open all season that it was their intention to trigger the option, which ensures that Son is contracted to the club for the 2025-26 season, his 11th at the club.

The only issue was the timing. And there is still the possibility of a new, long-term deal being agreed to keep Son at Spurs for even longer than that.

This has not been a vintage season for Son at Tottenham. He has five league goals so far and does not look as sharp as he did last year, whether playing on the left or up front.

But he is still a highly valued figure at the club, the captain, the second-longest serving player (behind Ben Davies) and Tuesday’s news just underlines his importance to the whole organisation.

(Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)