The New York Times

It’s not uncommon that a single player best summarises the story of a match.

Normally, that would be somebody who took the game concerned by storm, maybe scored a goal or two, or was the playmaker controlling the field. However, Newcastle United’s scrappy 2-1 home win against Tottenham Hotspur yesterday was best summarised by Joelinton — not for goals, but due to the Brazilian’s abrasive, all-action role in coach Eddie Howe’s midfield.

Despite Newcastle taking the three points, this wasn’t their most impressive performance on the ball, with Howe’s team missing their usual passing combinations in wide areas. Down their left, Joelinton’s brightest moments came when battling for the ball in midfield or dropping to support his full-back, Lloyd Kelly.

Repurposing the successful approach that resulted in them winning 4-0 when Spurs went to St James’ Park last season, Newcastle pressed man to man and defended in a 5-4-1 shape to limit the visitors’ wide combinations and control the threat of their full-backs.

Again, Anthony Gordon and Harvey Barnes didn’t drop to help form the back five, which meant they were in a position to strike on the counter-attack once Newcastle won the ball. Instead, that job was assigned to Joelinton, who dropped in next to Kelly in a left wing-back position when the home team were defending in their own half.

In the first 45 minutes, Newcastle’s defensive organisation limited Tottenham to shots from outside the penalty area and chances from set pieces. The switch to a back five without the ball meant Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie couldn’t overload Newcastle’s defensive line.

In this example below, Joelinton’s positioning allows Kelly to keep an eye on Porro’s darting run and prevents right-winger Wilson Odobert from receiving the ball comfortably if James Maddison passes it out wide.

In another example, Kelly moves up to track Porro’s positioning between the lines, and because of Joelinton’s role without the ball, Tottenham can’t find Odobert’s run behind the defence, as the South American is dropping to track him.

In the second half, Spurs increased the pressure.

The introduction of Brennan Johnson on the right wing helped with that. The Wales forward’s pace and directness constantly threatened Newcastle’s back five, eventually leading to an equaliser.

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A mixture of Johnson’s anticipation, Joelinton’s unfamiliarity with the position, his late reaction, and Nick Pope parrying Maddison’s shot all combined to put Johnson in a goalscoring position.

Pope saves his shot, but Dan Burn can’t avoid putting the ball into his own net…

In an attempt to beef up the central area and decrease the distance Joelinton had to cover when moving from his midfield role in possession to a left wing-back one if Tottenham had it, Newcastle returned to their regular shape without the ball, with the 28-year-old now in midfield…

Regardless of his position on the field and the phase of the game, Joelinton was putting in a shift: he was helping out Kelly when he was defending as a wing-back and winning duels in midfield when he was brought back next to his compatriot, Bruno Guimaraes.

Here, Guimaraes presses Udogie near the centre circle and Joelinton follows up to collect the loose ball and start the attacking transition, which later leads to Jacob Murphy getting close to scoring Newcastle’s second goal of the game if not for Guglielmo Vicario’s save.

In addition, Joelinton was still dropping into the penalty area to assist his back-four colleagues and clear any dangerous balls.

On the other hand, Newcastle’s best moment in possession all afternoon came from — you guessed it — Joelinton.

In the build-up to the winner, Joelinton starts from his left No 8 role in midfield, drops to help his team progress the ball, then returns it to Lewis Hall and signals to the left-back to pass to Burn. Newcastle’s centre-back then finds Joelinton in space, and he dribbles past Maddison…

…before playing a line-splitting pass through Tottenham’s block which puts Murphy in front of goal. The winger then unselfishly rolls the ball across goal for Alexander Isak to score into an empty net.

With Newcastle leading again and around 10 minutes of the 90 left, it was now Murphy who dropped next to Tino Livramento when they wanted to defend in a situational back five. This allowed them to use Joelinton’s ball-winning ability in midfield for the remainder of the game.

Joelinton’s performance and tactical role were reflective of Newcastle’s. Their defensive organisation limited Spurs in the first half and the intensity in midfield allowed them to win the ball on multiple occasions, but the performance lacked a sense of control and impact in possession — excluding the through ball that led to the winning goal.

“It’s so difficult to win in this league, especially if you are not at your absolute best,” Howe said. “We are finding a way to do it — that’s a great sign — but we know that longer term we are going to need to improve our performance.”

Real Betis have re-signed Giovani Lo Celso from Tottenham Hotspur on a permanent transfer.

The Argentina international, who had one year left on his contract in north London, has rejoined Betis on a four-year contract through to 2028.

After 18 months on loan at Villarreal until the summer of 2023, the 28-year-old returned to the Spurs senior squad last season and made 24 appearances in all competitions but has now rejoined the Seville-based club, whom he helped reach the Europa League knockout stages and Copa del Rey semi-final stage in the 2018-19 season.

He was the ninth arrival of the summer transfer window at Betis, following the likes of Vitor Roque (on loan from Barcelona), Diego Llorente, Marc Roca (both Leeds United) and Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg) in joining the club.

Lo Celso, who previously played for Paris Saint-Germain, joined Tottenham from Betis initially on loan in 2019 before the move was made permanent a year later.

During his time in north London, he struggled to fully establish himself as a mainstay in the Tottenham first-team and often found himself in and out of the starting line-up.

He scored 11 goals and provided eight assists in 108 appearances for the club.

The Argentine midfielder had two loan spells at Villareal between 2022 and 2023 but has now returned to La Liga permanently with Betis for who he scored 16 goals and provided six assists in 45 games during 2018-19.

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(Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

This summer, Tottenham Hotspur have signed a centre-forward (Dominic Solanke), two left-wingers (if you count Timo Werner as well as Wilson Odobert) and two very talented 18-year-old midfielders (Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall).

But there has been no new right-sided attacker. The plan was always for Brennan Johnson, who has started both of Spurs’ opening Premier League games, to begin the season as the first-choice right-winger, sharing minutes with Dejan Kulusevski.

To some Tottenham fans, this is a source of frustration. They would rather see a ready-made superstar in that role, someone who can come straight in and win games on their own. Johnson has almost become a victim of the club’s reluctance to upgrade from him. The team look well set for a second season under popular head coach Ange Postecoglou but Johnson has become a target for the grumbling of a minority.

But that view ignores the reasons the 23-year-old Wales international is so popular with Postecoglou and why he has become such an important part of his Spurs team.

Ultimately, Johnson gives Postecoglou what he wants from a winger. In the Australian’s structured positional game, he asks at least one winger to stay high and wide, stretching the play and creating space infield for a midfielder or ‘inverted’ full-back to exploit. And when the ball is on the far side of the pitch, the idea — very broadly — is for the opposite winger to attack the back post to potentially convert a low cross.

And there is no question that Johnson dutifully follows Postecoglou’s instructions to the letter.

There is much to be said for Kulusevski as a footballer but he is not especially fast, he is very left-footed, and his instincts are generally to come inside towards the ball.

Kulusevski is a brilliant technical player but often leaves you with the impression he is an individualist trying to find his way in a coordinated, synchronised world. Johnson, as well as his reliability, availability and defensive efforts, offers a clear interpretation of what their manager wants.

This became clear last season as Johnson settled in and delivered respectable numbers for his first year with Spurs. It was not easy moving from Nottingham Forest, with a big price tag, at the very end of the window when the season had already been underway for three weeks.

The plan was to be patient and ease him but early injuries to Ivan Perisic and Manor Solomon left Tottenham short in wide areas and Johnson ended up playing more than was envisioned. He started 13 straight games across all competitions between early November and late January, and by the end of that run he looked low on confidence.

It took a spell on the bench to revive Johnson’s season. He started coming on as a second-half substitute and looked far more relaxed and comfortable, running at tired full-backs and turning games in Spurs’ direction.

On January 31, he came on at half-time with Tottenham losing 1-0 at home to Brentford. But he was soon there, attacking the far post, turning in Werner’s cross and putting his team 2-1 up. They went on to win 3-2.

Ten days later, Spurs hosted Brighton, again went behind early on, and Johnson came on just after the hour. When he timed his far-post run, he met Son Heung-min’s cross to score a 96th-minute winner. It was one of the moments of the season for Tottenham. And then when they were trailing at home again, this time to Crystal Palace a few weeks later, Johnson won the ball back, burst past two defenders and drove in one of those low crosses, from which Werner equalised. Spurs went on to win, 3-1.

After that game, Postecoglou said those moves — a low cross finished off at the far post — were not happening “by accident”. This was the reward for months of hard training. And it was becoming clear how Johnson fitted into the Postecoglou plan.

The manager also praised how Johnson was “understanding better the demands of the position, which is a bit different to what he was used to”. At Forest, especially in their 2021-22 promotion season, Steve Cooper gave his countryman the freedom to attack how he wanted when they were in possession. Coming to Spurs was a different challenge.

Johnson finished with a decent haul of five goals and 10 assists. Only Son had more goal contributions for Spurs in the Premier League. You could even argue Johnson should have registered 11 assists, given that one of his classic low crosses was bundled into the net by Luton Town’s Issa Kabore on March 30, with Werner lurking just behind him, but passes turned in by defenders for own goals do not count as assists.

Only Ollie Watkins (13) and Cole Palmer (11) got more Premier League assists than Johnson last season.

You can see from these graphics how dangerous he’s been from that area near the byline.

Yet it still feels now, at the start of Johnson’s second season in north London, as if there is far more to come.

Anyone who saw him in action for Forest knows what an exciting innovative player he can be under the right conditions. And if he is to secure that place in the Spurs team for this season, Johnson will need to show the confidence that is a cause and a consequence of scoring goals. He has all the ability required to embarrass defenders but often looks reluctant to do so.

Johnson has had a few bright moments already in the opening two games.

Against Leicester, he nearly put Spurs ahead early on with a clever volley that was well saved by Mads Hermansen. Soon after, he got on the end of a James Maddison free kick and drove it straight across the face of goal, inches away from being a clever assist. And then on Saturday against Everton, it was Johnson who started the move which led to the game’s opener, driving forward down the right, into the box, and combining with Maddison and Kulusevski, who eventually set up Yves Bissouma.

Like many attacking players at this stage of a season, it feels as if an early goal or two is exactly what Johnson needs. But if he starts well and develops more of that confidence he exudes at his best, then he can progress to another level over the next nine months, not just the perfect executor of the manager’s plans but a consistent match-winner too.

Do that, and the debate about his place in the side will move on to somebody else.

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(Top photo: Mark Leech/Offside via Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur striker Will Lankshear is set to stay at the club this season despite receiving several loan offers.

Multiple clubs in the Championship and abroad had made approaches to take the 19-year-old on a temporary basis.

Lankshear has impressed while training with the first team and could be given opportunities by Ange Postecoglou in cup competitions.

He suffered a hamstring injury in Tottenham Under-21’s EFL Trophy game against Bristol Rovers last Tuesday but is expected to recover within a couple of weeks.

The Englishman signed a contract extension with the north London club in July, a deal until 2029. He is yet to make a competitive senior appearance for the club.

Lankshear, who was released by north London rivals Arsenal at the age of 15, joined Tottenham from Sheffield United in the summer of 2022.

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Last season, Lankshear was prolific for Tottenham’s youth sides, scoring 32 times in all competitions and being named the Premier League 2 Player of the Season. He has also scored three goals in five games for the England Under-19s.

Lankshear featured in several of Tottenham’s pre-season fixtures, scoring in friendlies against Hearts and the K-League All-Stars in July.

He told Tottenham’s media team that he takes inspiration from England’s all-time top goalscorer and former Spurs captain Harry Kane.

“It’s (Kane’s) all-round play,” Lankshear said. “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.”

Tottenham are next in action against Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Sunday.

(Vince Mignott/MB Media/Getty Images)

Manor Solomon is set to complete his move from Tottenham Hotspur to Leeds United on Tuesday.

The 25-year-old winger is joining the West Yorkshire club on a season-long loan, which does not include an option to turn the deal permanent. There was late interest from elsewhere but Solomon is set to join Leeds.

The Athletic reported on Saturday that Solomon was to undergo a medical ahead of completing his move. Solomon remains under contract with Tottenham until June 2028 having signed a five-year deal when joining from Shakhtar Donetsk last summer.

Solomon had enjoyed a productive 2022-23 season on loan at Fulham from Shakhtar, scoring five goals in 24 appearances. He then signed for Spurs as a free agent but featured only six times before sustaining a season-ending right knee injury in October.

Solomon returned to action for Spurs during pre-season but was not named in Ange Postecoglou’s matchday squads for either of their opening two Premier League matches. Postecoglou’s side have also added to their winger depth with the signing of Wilson Odobert from Burnley in a deal worth up to £30million ($39.6m).

Tottenham and Leeds have previously done business this summer with Archie Gray joining the north London club and Joe Rodon heading the other way, having spent last season on loan at the Championship side. As well as Rodon, Leeds have signed Largie Ramazani, Jayden Bogle, Alex Cairns and Joe Rothwell this summer. They have, though sold Georginio Rutter, Crysencio Summerville and Glen Kamara, as well as Gray.

Elsewhere, The Athletic has also reported that Leeds have interest in Freiburg’s Hungary international Roland Sallai. The 27-year-old winger has a year remaining on his conract

Daniel Farke’s side won their first match of the season on Friday as they beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-0. They are back in action on Saturday when they welcome Hull City to Elland Road. Spurs, meanwhile, travel to Newcastle United on Sunday for their next fixture.

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(Clive Rose/Getty Images)

Yves Bissouma was laughing with his family and friends just outside Tottenham Hotspur’s dressing room following their victory over Everton when he spotted an opportunity he could not turn down.

The midfielder wrapped his arms around his father and ushered him towards James Maddison. After a brief introduction, they exchanged pleasantries before Bissouma and Maddison took a photo together while holding their children. It was a wholesome ending to a difficult week for the Mali international.

He missed Tottenham’s 1-1 draw with Leicester City on Monday because the club suspended him for one game after video footage emerged of him appearing to inhale nitrous oxide — more commonly known as hippy crack, laughing gas or nos.

Bissouma is not young and naive. He is 27 and should be setting a better example for the junior members of the squad. Spurs head coach Ange Postecoglou spoke about the need for Bissouma to “build bridges” with his team-mates and the coaching staff.

“I’ve always believed in opportunity for redemption and learning,” Postecoglou said. “We’re still in that space with Biss. But obviously that door closes after a while if there are repeated (indiscretions). He’s been good but I would have been surprised if he wasn’t. The key with Biss is consistency.

“Obviously, the last transgression was very serious but it’s the little things along the way also. Sometimes that manifests in his game where he’s really good and he’ll have a moment when he’s not. It all correlates. From our perspective, it’s about trying to continually guide him. But it’s up to him. He’s got to continue to try to be the best version of himself that he can possibly be.”

Bissouma would not have expected to be back in the starting XI within a week and he was fortunate to be. Rodrigo Bentancur, who was involved in his own controversy this summer after allegedly making racist comments towards captain Son Heung-min, started as the central defensive midfielder against Leicester.

The Uruguay international put in a solid performance and probably would have held onto the role this weekend. However, Bentancur’s clash of heads with Abdul Fatawu in the second half, which left him bleeding, ruled him out and it is unclear if he will be available against Newcastle United on September 1.

Postecoglou could have picked Archie Gray to replace Bentancur but opted for Bissouma. He did not let his manager down. By the 14th minute of the 4-0 win over Everton, he was pumping his fists in front of the supporters and then he appeared to bow to them as a form of apology.

His shot from outside the box had just given Spurs the lead and it was his first goal for them on his 56th appearance. Hugging Postecoglou during his celebration felt like an acknowledgement there is still a lot of work to be done until he is completely forgiven.

Even before the laughing gas incident, Bissouma needed to convince Tottenham’s supporters he was the right candidate for the No 6 role in Postecoglou’s 4-3-3 system. Since he moved to north London in June 2022 from Brighton & Hove Albion for a fee in excess of £25million, back when Antonio Conte was in charge, he has only shown flashes of quality.

In the opening 10 minutes against Everton, he tried to play a few ambitious line-breaking passes and a couple of them were intercepted. One failed pass led to an Everton counter-attack and new signing Wilson Odobert, who made an encouraging debut, tracked back from left wing to produce an impressive slide tackle.

You need to be brave to play in midfield under Postecoglou, and those setbacks did not prevent Bissouma from executing similar passes later in the game. He kept the ball moving, made important tackles and allowed his midfield partners Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski to focus on pulling Everton apart.

This level of performance should be the bare minimum. There will be much tougher challenges to come though including next Sunday’s trip to face Newcastle United. Spurs had 71 per cent possession against Everton and seven shots on target. Bissouma’s ability to protect the back four was barely tested and that is what he is in this team to do.

He has been slightly fortunate that Bentancur has been injured for a lot of their time together at Tottenham. Bentancur ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in February 2023 and missed nine months. He only started 13 times last season and played a total of 1,007 minutes compared to Bissouma, who featured in the starting XI on 26 occasions and had double the amount of playing time (2,080).

That number would have been higher but Bissouma missed four games through suspension and another three while representing Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations. When Bissouma and Bentancur are fully fit, it will be interesting to see who Postecoglou prefers. Gray is only 18 but he will receive opportunities too.

For now, though, it is Bissouma’s contributions that have left the supporters smiling. Hopefully, after a rocky start, this will be his best season with Spurs yet.

(Top photo: David Rogers/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur winger Manor Solomon is to undergo a medical today (Saturday) ahead of a loan move to Championship side Leeds United.

The deal will not include an option to buy, with Solomon remaining under contract with Tottenham until June 2028.

Solomon joined Spurs on a free transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk last summer but made only six appearances before sustaining what turned out to be a season-ending knee injury in October. Tottenham confirmed in March that Solomon had undergone minor surgery on the meniscus in his right knee, with the 25-year-old calling the “most difficult and frustrating” period of his career.

Solomon featured for Spurs during pre-season but was not in their matchday squad for Monday’s season opener at Leicester City. Spurs have moved to bring in winger Wilson Odobert from Burnley in a deal worth up to £30million ($39.6m).

Solomon previously spent the 2022-23 season on loan at Fulham from Shakhtar. The Israel international scored five times in 24 appearances for the west London side.

Leeds, meanwhile, have seen several key players depart after failing to win promotion back joining Brighton & Hove Albion, Crysencio Summerville moving to West Ham United, Glen Kamara leaving for Rennes and Archie Gray departing for Tottenham.

Daniel Farke’s side have signed winger Largie Ramazani from Almeria, Joe Rodon from Spurs, right-bac Jayden Bogle from Sheffield United, goalkeeper Alex Cairns from Salford City and midfielder Joe Rothwell from Bournemouth.

Leeds beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 at Hillsborough on Friday night to secure their first win of the season, following two draws in the Championship and a defeat in the Carabao Cup. They are return to action next Saturday with a home match against Hull City.

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(Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Welcome to Row Z, a new weekly column on The Athletic.

We can probably all agree that football takes itself very seriously, right? Well, here at Row Z, we plan to shine a light on the bonkers side of the game. From clubs to managers, players to organisations, every Friday we’ll bring you the absurdities, the greed, the contradictions, the preposterousness and the oddities of the game we all love…

Talking of absurd, greedy, contradictory, preposterous oddities, where else can Row Z start but with Chelsea Football Club?

It’s been quite the week for the Blues, who ditched a homegrown hero (that’s Conor Gallagher), signed a former failed loanee (Joao Felix), ostracised last season’s third-top scorer (Raheem Sterling) and have hundreds of millions of pounds worth of signings (Kepa Arrizabalaga, Romelu Lukaku, Ben Chilwell etc) training away from the first team.

“It’s not a mess like it looks from the outside,” head coach Enzo Maresca said with a straight face as work began on installing a third dressing room to house all their players (probably).

You can put together a pretty decent XI from Chelsea’s ‘bomb squad’ of frozen-out players.

It’s an attacking line-up, sure, but would they have more goals in them than the side Chelsea put out against Manchester City at the weekend? Tough call.

“They can even have a 20-year contract,” Maresca added of his outcasts. “It’s not my point. I don’t care.”

He may not care, but Row Z certainly does. The above unwanted 11 players, who seem either destined to depart or are at the very least not welcome, cost Chelsea a combined £336million ($440m) to purchase. Together, they have 38 years left on their Stamford Bridge contracts.

Chelsea are your rambunctious mate at a stag/hen do (or a bachelor/bachelorette party if you like) who just won’t stop buying shots for the ‘banter’. They’re out until 6am, back on the sauce at 9am and no one wants to see them ever again after the weekend is over. Incessant overkill. Make it stop.

You’ve got to admire Chelsea’s social media chutzpah amid the madness.

“Home again,” they tweeted when announcing the return of Joao Felix, who scored four goals in 20 appearances in his underwhelming 2023 loan and was deemed not good enough by Mauricio Pochettino.

They were at it again when posting an emotional, heartstring-tugging video of Gallagher’s 18-year Chelsea career from boy to senior captain.

“You will forever be a blue,” Chelsea captioned at the end of the video, forgetting to add “until we make you train away from the first team and force you out the club to meet profitability and sustainability regulations.”

All the funny stuff meant that Maresca’s decision to make Enzo Fernandez captain for the City game was largely glossed over.

The French Football Federation said in July it would file a complaint after Fernandez posted a video on Instagram that showed him and his Argentina team-mates singing offensive chants about French players of African descent after their Copa America victory.

His Chelsea team-mate Wesley Fofana called it “uninhibited racism” on X, albeit he has since accepted an apology from Fernandez.

Maresca said the racism matter was “finished” and that Fernandez had recognised his “mistake”.

A discrimination and abuse mission statement on the club’s website reads: “Chelsea takes all forms of discriminatory behaviour very seriously and believes all forms of discriminatory chanting, including antisemitism, homophobic, biphobic and transphobic chanting to be abhorrent behaviour that has no place in football.”

But if you’re a good midfielder, it doesn’t matter as much.

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Tottenham Hotspur are officially the best-run club in English men’s football. Hooray!

That’s according to Fair Game, an organisation that campaigns for an end to financial inequality in the sport, wants football to be governed with transparency and fairness and aims to put clubs at the heart of their communities. Noble cause — might take a while.

Anyway, in a press release penned by a Mr D Levy (this is not true), Fair Game’s annual index measuring financial sustainability, governance, equality and fan engagement has Spurs top of the pile.

Best club in England for financial sustainability, governance, equality and fan engagement, you’ll never sing that.

Just to really hammer home that the award has nothing to do with coherent transfer plans or roofs that don’t have holes in, second on the list were Manchester United.

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Talking of ending financial inequality and bringing clubs closer to their communities, Manchester City unveiled their new dairy partner this week.

Yili Group, apparently Asia’s largest producer of dairy, are, as City posted on their website, the club’s Official Dairy Partner, with capital letters to make you shudder.

Clearly having learned nothing from Hellmann’s mayonnaise mistake, Yili has already emblazoned Jack Grealish all over its website.

It says it will “uphold the spiritual core of passion and love” as part of its new partnership.

It’s literally a yoghurt, calm down.

There was just 22 days between Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran performing an Irons-shaped cross on social media to indicate he wanted to move to West Ham United, and then scoring the winning goal for Villa against the Hammers last weekend.

Duran, who had publicly welcomed the West Ham rumours, celebrated the winning goal in front of Villa’s fans by pointing at himself and then to the ground, indicating he was staying.

Given he was at the London Stadium, someone should probably ask which club he meant.

To the Championship now, and Watford are already onto their third manager of the season.

Nope, sorry, force of habit, Preston North End are already onto their third manager of the season.

After six weeks of pre-season training, three new signings and a friendly victory over Fiorentina at Deepdale, Ryan Lowe left following the opening-day defeat to Sheffield United, one of the favourites to win the league. Timing is everything.

“If we can get off to a good start I’ll be pleased,” Lowe had said before the game. “It’s a course of 46.”

Sadly for Lowe, it was a course of one, with director Peter Ridsdale (no comment) deciding that, after almost three years and exactly 125 matches in charge, the first game of the new campaign was the first final straw.

Mike Marsh was appointed as caretaker but, after a 3-0 defeat at Swansea City, he decided he didn’t fancy it either, so after five days in charge he left. Ridsdale said Marsh didn’t want to apply for the job “or take the club forward”.

“We identified that we wanted Paul to be the man to take us forward,” Ridsdale, clearly a man looking forward, told the club’s website after appointing Paul Heckingbottom three days later.

Preston host Luton Town on Saturday when they will, according to Opta, become the first club since 1975 to have three different managers for their first three league games of the season (also Preston, with Bobby Charlton, Nobby Stiles and Harry Catterick).

Rumours that Heckingbottom hasn’t yet cancelled his September holiday to Tenerife are unconfirmed.

“All Preston North End fans can be really excited about the season ahead,” Ridsdale added.

Maybe make that the game ahead.

(Top photo: Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

When Tottenham Hotspur were wobbling on Monday night at Leicester City and Rodrigo Bentancur was receiving treatment for a head injury, Ange Postecoglou made a bold move: a quadruple substitution.

Bentancur and the two players who had started the match in midfield alongside him, James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr, were replaced. On came Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall — two 18-year-olds making their Premier League debuts — and Dejan Kulusevski, not out wide but as a No 10, and Timo Werner replaced Brennan Johnson on the right wing instead.

It was a move that showcased Spurs’ depth in the middle of the pitch, especially as Yves Bissouma was not considered for this game after his laughing gas misdemeanour.

The substitutions worked fairly well. Spurs re-established their foothold in the game, which had been completely lost as they panicked after Jamie Vardy’s equaliser. Bergvall showed what most had only seen in YouTube compilations — namely, the technical ability to play in small spaces — and linked well with Kulusevski. They created a few openings, although not enough for Spurs to find a winner.

Watching this alternative Spurs made you think: do Tottenham actually still need another midfielder?

Tottenham have been looking for a new midfielder — not necessarily a holding midfielder, which is what many fans wanted, but someone to provide more forward-thinking energy and experience.

That is why Spurs worked hard in June to try to sign Jacob Ramsey at Aston Villa. This was when Villa still had to sell players to satisfy the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR), but they sold Omari Kellyman to Chelsea for £19million ($25m) and Douglas Luiz to Juventus for £42m. Ramsey would have cost Spurs £50m and while they tried to throw in Giovani Lo Celso, no deal was done. For the second window in a row, Spurs had to park their interest in Ramsey.

There was plenty of other business for Spurs to do — they brought in Gray before moving on to a centre-forward (Dominic Solanke) and then a winger (Wilson Odobert) — but through it all, fans have wondered whether Tottenham would go back in for another midfielder.

Postecoglou has been a big admirer of Conor Gallagher for a long time and Spurs had enquired in previous windows about signing him from Chelsea, but there was no formal approach this summer. It would have been difficult for Chelsea and Gallagher for him to go to a London rival and this week, he moved to Atletico Madrid.

Meanwhile, Tottenham continued to move on players — including in midfield. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg played 184 times for Spurs over four years at the club but it was clear last season that he did not fit with Postecoglou’s style. He was a good substitute for managing the game but in his rare starts, he never looked fully comfortable with what Postecoglou expects from a holding midfielder. He left to join Marseille.

Similarly, Oliver Skipp, who struggled for opportunities last season, joined Leicester City.

Postecoglou said at the end of last season that first-team players would have to go this summer to create space for new young players in tune with his style of play.

“I’ve got to change this squad,” he said. “I’ve got to build a squad I think can play our football. For that to happen, there have to be exits. Sometimes, you let people go who you think: ‘He’s a good player’. But how am I going to change if I don’t do that?”

And with the departures of Skipp and Hojbjerg, and arrivals of Gray and Bergvall, that is seemingly what has happened. This is a younger squad now, with more technical ability, more ready to learn the Postecoglou way. Spurs learned 10 years ago that if you have a new manager with fresh ideas about attacking football it is easier for him to teach younger players rather than old ones already set in their ways.

The question is whether the current set of midfielders is enough. After the departures of Skipp and Hojbjerg, it would be tempting to think that what Spurs need is a bit of physicality, someone to put their foot in when needed. Even Spurs’ experienced options at No 6, Bentancur and Bissouma, are better at moving the ball forward rather than winning it back.

Yet the view at Tottenham is that Gray and Bergvall have impressed so much — in training and pre-season friendlies — that adding an all-action scurrier next week is no longer a priority. Bergvall and Gray are very young but come to Tottenham with experience of senior football. They can make a positive impact now.

While Bergvall looks set to be Maddison’s understudy as the creative central midfielder, Gray might offer Spurs something different. He played as a centre-back in pre-season and on Monday night, he took Bentancur’s place at the base of midfield. Gray may look like a choirboy but you do not win Championship Young Player of the Year without learning how to handle yourself.

So if Maddison and Sarr are the first-choice central midfielders, with Bentancur and Bissouma alternating as holding midfielders, then maybe Gray, Bergvall and Kulusevski as the alternatives will be enough.

Maybe driving through the middle of the pitch is the best role for Kulusevski as Johnson looks to nail down the right-wing role, especially with Odobert at the club.

The two new teenagers will get minutes, especially with a long European campaign to add to their Premier League commitments. Spurs will have to hope that Bergvall and Gray are ready to fulfil that trust.

(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur had 60 touches in Leicester City’s box during their 1-1 draw on Monday evening — more than any other team managed on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season. They had 15 shots in total and seven were on target.

Ange Postecoglou’s side dominated for nearly an hour at the King Power Stadium until Jamie Vardy sneaked in unmarked at the back post to cancel out Pedro Porro’s header. Instead of starting his second season in charge of Spurs with a win, Postecoglou will be trying to understand how they lost control so quickly at the first sign of resistance from their opponents.

This was the opportunity for club-record signing Dominic Solanke to hit the ground running. The 26-year-old striker joined Tottenham this month and only trained with his new team-mates a few times but he was entrusted to start up front, with Son Heung-min and Brennan Johnson out wide. Spurs paid Bournemouth up to £65million ($84m) for Solanke in the hope he would solve their issues upfront — Son (17) and Richarlison (11) were the only players to reach double figures in goals last season.

Richarlison’s inconsistency and struggles with injury scuppered his claim to the title of Harry Kane’s long-term successor while Son is more suited to a role on the left wing. There were more than enough signs against Leicester to suggest that Solanke will be a success but it is frustrating he missed a couple of good chances and failed to help his team win.

In the seventh minute, Solanke ghosted past James Justin to reach Son’s cross. All he had to do was divert the ball with his head either side of Mads Hermansen but it went straight into the goalkeeper’s arms. The linesman’s flag went up for offside but TV replays suggested he was on. Tottenham were oozing confidence so it did not feel like a significant moment and the theory was he would be presented with more chances.

Maddison, on his first return to Leicester after he left them in June 2023 to join Spurs, looked back to his best in the opening 45 minutes after a difficult end to last season. He fired a raking pass without looking straight into the path of Son, kept twisting and turning away from Leicester’s defenders, set up Porro’s headed goal with an excellent delivery and, crucially, always looked to play the ball into Solanke’s feet. Maddison had to adapt his game to suit whether Son, Richarlison or Dejan Kulusevski were playing up front during the 2023-24 campaign. Playing week in and week out with Solanke should bring out the best in both of them.

A prime example of their growing connection came in the 63rd minute when Solanke received the ball in the centre circle and powerfully drove into Leicester’s box. He found Maddison in space on the edge of the penalty area but the midfielder was dispossessed after a poor first touch. On another occasion, Maddison fired the ball into Solanke around the six-yard box. He effortlessly rolled his marker but fell over under pressure before he could shoot. With a few more training sessions and games under his belt, you would expect Solanke to anticipate his team-mate’s intentions more accurately. Solanke’s desire to work hard out of possession was also impressive.

Solanke will be irritated that he wasted another good chance to score only a couple of minutes before Vardy’s equaliser. It was an encouraging sequence of play as Maddison popped the ball off to Pape Matar Sarr, who flicked it around Wout Faes for Solanke. But his right-footed shot was straight at Hermansen. He demonstrated great movement to drop off Faes and receive possession ahead of Jannik Vestergaard.

Solanke spent time with Chelsea and Liverpool earlier in his career but joined Bournemouth aged 21 and there was less expectation on his shoulders. It might take time to adjust to Postecoglou’s unique tactical demands and the pressure of being Tottenham’s No 9 before we see him scoring freely. He did not score in his first season at Bournemouth, despite playing 10 games after joining in January 2019.

Solanke was not the only guilty party on Monday night. Rodrigo Bentancur, who is “conscious and communicating” after suffering a head injury in a collision with Abdul Fatawu, should have scored. Richarlison’s header in the last minute of stoppage time prompted Postecoglou to place his hands on his knees in exasperation.

At the last three clubs where he has stayed for more than a year, Postecoglou has won the title in his second season. There tends to be a dramatic improvement in goals scored, possession, passing sequences and pressing intensity. All of that was on show — apart from the first and most important category. Postecoglou said Tottenham were “really wasteful” and that they “lost composure” after Leicester scored.

“Solanke was good,” Postecoglou said. “He worked hard for the team, he had a couple of chances he will be disappointed he didn’t do better with. The overall performance from everyone was OK but it doesn’t mean anything if we don’t turn that performance into outcomes. We had some similar issues last year and we need to improve.

It is important to remember that, according to figures from FBref, Tottenham’s average squad age of 25.2 was the fourth youngest (weighted by minutes played) in the division last season. The departure of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (29) and the signings of Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall (both 18) and Wilson Odobert (19) mean that figure could decrease.

They are learning on the job but this was an underwhelming start and they cannot wait too long for Solanke to settle.

(Top photo: Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)