Sport Witness

Lucas Bergvall turned down Barcelona before completing a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

In February 2024, Tottenham agreed a deal with Djurgården for the 19-year-old to arrive at the north London club in the summer of that year, and they beat Barcelona to secure his services.

Earlier this year, Djurgården sporting director Bosse Andersson explained Barcelona were extremely disappointed to have missed out on the midfielder to Tottenham.

Fast forward to September and Tuesday’s edition of AS again talks about the Catalan club losing the Sweden international to the Europa League winners.

They report everything pointed to Bergvall ‘packing his bags’ to leave his homeland and make a switch to Barcelona, after they reached an agreement with him for personal terms and Djurgården for a transfer fee of around €15m including bonuses.

The operation didn’t go through because Spurs snatched him from the La Liga winners’ clutches.

AS claim Bergvall’s compatriot Dejan Kulusevski and a delegation from the north London club played a key role in convincing the youngster to snub Barcelona.

The move has worked out well for the young Swede, who played 45 games last season and five so far this season. The newspaper backs him to be an important player while the Spanish giants seem still disappointed over missing out on Bergvall to Tottenham.

Tottenham Hotspur allowed Alejo Véliz to return to Rosario Central on a season-long loan deal in the summer window and the move has worked out well so far as he’s featured regularly for them.

At the weekend, the striker made his seventh appearance of this season for the Argentine club against Boca Juniors and suffered an injury in the first half.

After the match, Rosario Central manager Ariel Holan confirmed the Tottenham man hurt his collarbone, while claims from Argentina suggested he’s dislocated his right shoulder or collarbone.

Rosario Central took to their official channel on X, formerly known as Twitter, to confirm that Véliz suffered a “Grade 2 acromioclavicular injury in his right shoulder.”

They made no mention of further details like the timeline for recovery or whether the 21-year-old has to go under the knife, and these details are provided by media close to the South American club.

According to La Capital, the Tottenham owned player has suffered a ‘partial tear of the ligaments that support the joint between the clavicle and shoulder bones, specifically called the acromioclavicular joint.’

It’s claimed the frontman is set to avoid surgery, which should please him and Rosario Central, and his injury could be cured by a conservative treatment.

La Capital state Véliz will have to wear sling for a few days, to restrict movement and reduce swelling.

Back in May, Tottenham Hotspur won the Europa League and secured a berth in the group stages of this season’s Champions League.

The European success also meant Spurs ended their 17-year trophy drought, and they will face Villarreal in the first Champions League group stage fixture on Tuesday.

Ahead of the clash in north London, Monday’s edition of El Periódico Mediterráneo, a newspaper local to the La Liga club, reported on Tottenham’s history, success and their investment in the summer transfer window.

The Spanish newspaper detail Tottenham’s honours, which includes two league titles [last one in 1961], eight FA Cups [last one in 1991] and four League Cups [last one in 2008] among the domestic competitions.

Spurs have also tasted success in Europe as they won the UEFA Cup/Europa League thrice and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup during the 1962/63 season.

The English club have two trophies since 2000 and lost the 2018/19 Champions League final to Liverpool, but that hasn’t stopped the newspaper from praising Spurs.

El Periódico Mediterráneo point out Tottenham are ‘not considered a winning club’ in the UK, but they feel the reality is ‘quite the opposite’.

The north London club, who appointed Thomas Frank as Ange Postecoglou’s successor before the start of the season, invested over €200m on new signings this summer.

Tottenham have nine points from four games and are third in the table, and despite their big investment and good start, the newspaper say Villlarreal aren’t afraid to face them in the Champions League this evening.

Alejo Véliz struggled since joining Tottenham Hotspur from Rosario Central in August 2023 and the Premier League club sent him on loan to Sevilla [in January 2024] and Espanyol [last season].

The striker had no place at Tottenham this season, and in the summer window, Spurs let him return to the Argentine club on a season-long loan deal.

Véliz has played 551 minutes from seven games for Rosario Central this season, managing a goal, and suffered an injury in their 1-1 draw against Boca Juniors on Sunday.

That’s according to La Capital, a newspaper local to Rosario Central, and they provide the details of the Tottenham man’s setback. The 21-year-old was forced off the pitch in the 42nd minute and was replaced by Enzo Copetti.

After yesterday’s match, Rosario Central manager Ariel Holan confirmed the Argentina U21 international has suffered an injury blow.

“I’m a little sad about Alejo. He has a blow on his collarbone. We need to run tests and see what’s wrong,” he said, as quoted by La Capital.

According to the newspaper, the Spurs owned player left through a different door and was the last to leave the stadium on Sunday. He will undergo tests [X-ray/scans] today to find out the extent of the damage.

La Capital say ‘everything suggests of dislocation of the right collarbone’ and are hopeful that Véliz’s setback isn’t serious.

Tottenham Hotspur youngster Luka Vuskovic will be dropped into the deep end by loan club HSV Hamburg this weekend, with a debut against Bayern Munich.

That’s according to BILD, who say the Tottenham youngster will be handed his debut as a replacement for Jordan Torunarigha, who is injured.

The highly rated youngster joined HSV on loan at the end of the summer window after Tottenham decided late on to let him depart on loan.

He had returned to them from a highly successful loan spell in Belgium last year and Thomas Frank had initially wanted a more detailed look at him during pre-season.

The decision was made to loan him out and they initially sought out an English loan but eventually accepted a move to HSV late in the window instead. They had been interested throughout the summer and already convinced the youngster, using the fact that his brother already plays for them to their advantage.

Now he’s set for a baptism of fire, with BILD reporting that the 18-year-old will start in central defence for the clash with Bayern.

According to them, the Tottenham loaned has ‘quickly demonstrated’ int raining that he can be a valuable asset to Hamburg’s defence. This is despite only returning from international duty on Wednesday.

Now he can show his talents against Germany’s best team straight away and gain the experience Tottenham were hoping for early on.

Yves Bissouma will now look to the January transfer window to depart Tottenham, after failing to do so in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to Africa Foot, who report that a knee injury is expected to keep the midfielder out until October and thus ruined his plans to leave Tottenham this summer.

The midfielder does not appears to be a part of Thomas Frank’s plans moving forwards and was linked with a move away throughout this summer, with several sides in Türkiye thought to be keen.

Indeed, Fenerbahce president Ali Koc revealed this week that they had ended up scrapping a move because of his latest injury. Africa Foot now report that will keep him out until October.

According to their information, several offers actually arrived from the Premier League, with Newcastle, Crystal Palace, West Ham and Chelsea also showing an interest.

Bissouma is interested in a move to revive his career away from Tottenham and according to their sources, has expressed a desire to stay in the Premier League. In fact, he would ‘play for any Premier League team’.

Tottenham, though, rejected this idea and would prefer to move him out of England. They appear to be favouring a sale to a club outside of England. Thus, discussions between them and Bissouma have reached an impasse.

The focus will now be on the January transfer window and finding a move that suits both parties during that month.

Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has made it clear that while he has no regrets about losing to Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Super Cup final, it is a wound that remains open.

The Spurs star spoke to Cronache di Spogliatoio in a lengthy interview about his journey from the lower divisions of Italian football to winning the Europa League and playing in the Super Cup final in his home town of Udine.

He told the outlet that he is still disappointed that Tottenham couldn’t hold on to win more silverware, but is grateful that he could play a big game in his home territory.

“The final result wasn’t what we hoped for, especially given how the match unfolded. So, obviously, there’s still the disappointment of not being able to get across the finish line as we’d hoped. But I have to say that, as an experience, playing in a final, having done it at home in front of so many people, is still a historic moment for me.”

He described the game as a positive memory for himself.

“And, ultimately, a beautiful memory of an experience that was useful to me because, after all, there was the first final I’ve played in but it is the second one before I lose.

“Probably in May, I was on the good side, and I celebrated, I rejoiced, it was all fantastic and sometimes sport teaches you, after all, when you live these experiences, you can unfortunately also be on the other side.”

The Italian also described the game as a wound which is still open, but he has no regrets about Tottenham’s performance on the day.

“A wound that remains open but I still carry within me the emotions and the good feelings that were there during the match. Obviously, if I could change the ending, I would, but I have to accept it and there were certainly lessons of growth that I will carry within me, negative emotions that I will carry within me to grow along the way, but I have no regrets whatsoever.”

Vicario said that every member of Thomas Frank’s side had prepared in the best possible way and their performance showed that they can beat anyone.

“Well, our game plan was executed perfectly, and we were able to explore areas where Paris Saint-Germain could have struggled against us, and they did.

“This, however, as a test for us, as a growth strategy, must give us awareness of our own abilities. Because if we prepare things, follow what the coach tells us, we can be uncomfortable against any team, and we played against the strongest team in the world in 2025. So, as I said, it must be a source of great pride, of great growth, because when we are all aligned collectively at 100%, we can cause problems for any opponent.”

Vicario is very optimistic about Tottenham’s future under Thomas Frank and there is good reason for that.

Spurs lost to Bournemouth but they nullified Manchester City in their second game of the season.

Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani have added more firepower to the attack, with Pape Matar Sarr also growing in prominence in midfield. They also seem like a more well-oiled unit than they did under Ange Postecoglou.

Frank already appears to be getting a lot out of the team and it will not be a surprise if Tottenham finish inside the European places this season.

Randal Kolo Muani ended up at Tottenham Hotspur on deadline day as Juventus had simply grown tired of Paris Saint-Germain’s changing demands for him.

That’s according to journalist Fabiana Della Valle on his YouTube channel, relayed by Tutto Juve, who has provided his take on the situation today.

Muani joined Tottenham in a surprise deal right at the end of the transfer window, signing on loan from PSG as Spurs sought out a late alternative to Dominic Solanke, who is expected to remain on the sidelines after missing the start of the season.

The move was a surprise one given Muani had been linked with a move to Juventus throughout the summer transfer window after spending the second half of last season on loan with the Italian side.

They were determined to get him signed permanently but it never happened, leading to a war of words between the two clubs. PSG have made their stance clear, leading to a response from Juventus general manager Damien Comolli today in which he insisted various comments were simply lies.

Now Della Valle adds further details, explaining that Juventus simply got tired of negotiations, leaving Muani to join Tottenham instead.

“We know, in fact, that PSG didn’t particularly appreciate the back-and-forth of the last few days of the transfer market,” he said.

“In the end, they risked being left holding the bag because in the last few hours, Kolo Muani went to Tottenham, but Kolo Muani was supposed to go to Juventus.

“He was highly sought after by Juventus, who then ultimately decided to switch to Openda. So, what really happened? I’ve already told you a bit about it. I don’t see any changes, or about-faces, let’s put it that way, on Comolli’s part.

“Simply this, let’s say, this endless negotiation with PSG, who in any case didn’t want to accept the club’s demands. Juve, they was playing for a higher price and all this stuff, at a certain point they tired Juventus a bit, especially the general manager who is demonstrating he has very clear ideas, especially moving forward, as I can say, very clearly on his positions.”

Randal Kolo Muani joined Tottenham on loan from Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day and there’s no shortage of theories about why Juventus didn’t sign him after months of trying to.

The striker was initially clear about moving to the Bianconeri, having done well during a loan spell in the second half of last season. As time passed and there was no agreement, Thomas Frank’s side capitalised on the chance.

The Italian press are convinced that Juventus simply refused the move on favourable terms late in the window, landing Lois Openda instead.

In France, they believe that PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi criticised Juve after Kolo Muani joined Tottenham, making it clear that they have been difficult to deal with.

Old Lady managing director Damien Comolli spoke to reporters at a press conference on Thursday.

He denied claims from France about Al-Khelaifi’s anger, as relayed by TuttoSport.

“I’ve read articles about discussions with the PSG president, but it’s false. We didn’t speak, these are lies. Don’t take what you read for granted.”

Comolli also made it clear that Juve are happy with how they operated in the transfer window, even if they missed out on the 26-year-old.

“We finished the transfer window feeling stronger. Then Bremer and Cabal returned, Dusan remained, and he proved his worth in the last few matches. We believe the team can be competitive.”

This seems like a back-and-forth where both clubs are trying to save face.

Tottenham shouldn’t be bothered by that, as they now have a player who will want to make a mark to secure his future elsewhere, as Spurs do not have an option to buy him.

This will motivate Kolo Muani to give his all and there is clear evidence of his ability, as he scored eight times in 16 Serie A games last season.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Luka Vušković completed a dry loan move to Hamburg SV towards the end of the summer window, and the north London club sanctioned a move so that he can continue his development.

Last week, we covered claims from Germany that Tottenham will receive under €1m from Hamburg, who are already impressed with the centre-back after his first training session.

The Bundesliga club’s manager, Merlin Polzin, has heaped praise on the Tottenham man and Bild have relayed his comments.

“Luka, in terms of his personality and self-confidence, is an absolute leader who leads the way. He defends with a naturalness and robustness that is good for us,” he said.

The manager has also confirmed the 18-year-old is in contention to make his debut against Bayern Munich on Saturday.

It looks like there’s excitement at Hamburg over securing the loan signing of the Croatia international, but they could risk losing him in January.

That’s according to Bild, and they report of a ‘special clause’ that Spurs have inserted as part of the loan deal, to cut short the defender’s loan stay in the winter market.

The report explains another Tottenham defender has to suffer a serious injury for Thomas Frank’s side to exercise the clause to recall Vušković. If that were to happen, the player could be ‘gone sooner than expected’ from Hamburg.