Sport Witness

Tottenham Hotspur are said to have shown interest in Real Madrid’s Rodrygo this summer.

Last Tuesday, AS reported Spurs are ready to either meet Real Madrid’s €90m request or his €10m per year salary demand.

Heung-min Son has announced his decision to leave Tottenham and Sunday’s edition of AS reports Daniel Levy wants to replace him with Rodrygo.

The newspaper claims Thomas Frank’s side will be saving over €11m per year with the South Korean’s departure. This also leaves a void on the left side of Spurs’ attack.

Son’s exit allows them to make room, both financially and sporting wise, for Tottenham to bring in the Brazil international.

Spurs are said to have already contacted Real Madrid to seek permission to hold talks with the 24-year-old. He hasn’t requested to leave so far, but that could soon change after the recent developments.

Rodrygo had a limited role under Xabi Alonso at the Club World Cup. AS say this, coupled with Franco Mastantuono’s arrival and Gonzalo García’s emergence could further limit his role at Real Madrid this season. This would push him to seek a move in this window.

Levy and Tottenham need to put in extra effort to convince the South American to secure his services.

Bayern Munich’s João Palhinha is set to seal a move to Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

Two days ago, Bild reported the midfielder underwent a medical in Munich ahead of his loan move to Spurs. They are also expected to cover his full salary during his temporary stay, which includes a purchase option.

On Saturday, Sport Bild stated Tottenham will be paying Palhinha €8m per year in wages instead of €16.5m reported elsewhere.

The Bundesliga winners had left out the 30-year-old from the squad for their friendly tie against Lyon yesterday. Sky Deutschland caught up with Bayern Munich sporting director Christoph Freund to discuss the Portugal international’s absence.

According to the German champions’ official, the former Fulham man was released ahead of his impending exit. He hasn’t categorically mentioned the Europa League winners, but Sky do point them out and insists the move to the north London club can be closed soon.

“He’s released. If everything goes smoothly, it won’t take much longer,” he said.

Although earlier claims mentioned Palhinha completing the medical tests with Thomas Frank’s side, the director now hints that’s currently pending.

“There are medical checks and contract issues that still need to be resolved. If nothing comes up, it should be finalised soon,” Freund explained.

Tottenham will pay €5-6m including bonuses as loan fee to Bayern Munich and the buying option is set at €25m.

Jude Soonsup-Bell has agreed a contract termination with Spanish side Córdoba CF, after a miserable time since joining the club from Tottenham Hotspur.

Soonsup-Bell made eight appearances during his spell at Córdoba CF. The 21-year-old lacked opportunities during his time at the club, which led to the inevitable departure. Even a loan to Atlético Sanluqueño in the Primera Federación could not reignite the Tottenham youth prospect.

The contract termination is reported by a local newspaper Diario de Córdoba.

The language barrier between Soonsup-Bell and players and staff at the club negatively impacted the Englishmen’s communication and it’s from there that things quickly started to go downhill.

Following his arrival from Tottenham in August 2024, Soonsup-Bell was described as a “versatile attacker, capable of performing in all areas of attack. His speed, ability to break through, and goalscoring ability make him a valuable addition to the team” in a statement from Córdoba CF CEO, Antonio Fernández Monterrubio.

At the time it was reported the Spanish club had taken a purely data driven gamble on Soonsup-Bell. Without watching him in action for Tottenham, he’d come up when requirements were inputted and that’s entirely why Córdoba CF made a move in the first place.

It was acknowledged at the time that it was something of a gamble, and that gamble clearly hasn’t paid off.

In March, TuttoSport linked Nottingham Forest with a move for Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi after talk of interest from Tottenham.

Under former manager Simone Inzaghi, the Italian midfielder was only a back-up in the Nerazzurri first-team, playing only 1210 minutes in Serie A last season.

That is expected to change under new manager Cristian Chivu.

TuttoSport, relayed by FCInterNews, report Inter have informed Frattesi that he will stay at the Nerazzurri this summer.

The midfielder has been deemed ‘unsellable’ by Chivu, despite initial enquiries from Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest, Marseille and Atletico Madrid.

While the player was interested in an exit under Inzaghi, he is now open to signing a new contract and talks have begun over a renewal.

The potential new deal will expire in the summer of 2030 and the 25-year-old will also get a pay rise, as Chivu sees him as an important part of his side.

The Italian international could have been a useful addition to Tottenham after they missed out on Morgan Gibbs-White, who has signed a new contract with Nottingham Forest.

Burnley defender Maxime Estève has extended his contract with the club amid interest from Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur.

That’s according to L’Equipe, who report that the centre-back has extended his deal at Burnley until 2030.

The newspaper reports that despite being courted by several English clubs, Estève has taken the decision to extend his deal with the Clarets. Burnley, for their part, have refused to sanction any departure this summer.

Faced with that denial and a refusal to accept approaches from various clubs, including Crystal Palace and Tottenham, the Montpellier defender has finally decided to accept a new deal at Turf Moor instead.

Tottenham had returned to try and get a deal done after also targeting him in the January transfer window. They and Crystal Palace have been rebuffed, though.

So Estève will instead be staying at Burnley as they attempt to stay in the Premier League this season.

The French defender was a regular for Scott Parker’s side in the Championship last season, and a key player in a defence that conceded just 16 goals across the campaign.

Tottenham’s Mathys Tel has revealed he spoke to Harry Kane about the move before making it this year.

Sky Germany have a brief interview with the forward today in which he discusses his move to Tottenham, feedback from Bayern Munich after his loan spell in January and his future in London.

The 20-year-old has completed a permanent move to Tottenham this summer in a €35m deal after spending the second half of last season on loan from Bayern.

That deal included a clause for Spurs to make it permanent, but they instead elected to negotiate with Bayern and strike a different deal for the Frenchman.

The two clubs have an excellent relationship after the negotiations for the loan in January and the deal in 2023 that took Harry Kane to Bavaria.

He, of course, knows more about Tottenham than most after spending most of his career at the club and scoring 280 goals in 435 games to establish himself as the club’s record goal scorer ahead of Jimmy Greaves.

And it seems he was willing to speak to Tel about the move, although the Frenchman hasn’t divulged what they spoke about.

“Yes, I spoke to him beforehand,” he said.

“He told me, if you need anything, send me a text, give me a call. I spoke to him; he’s a top guy. (Now it’s a) new challenge, I’m ready for my team, the clubs and also the fans.”

Flamengo have completed the signing of Emerson Royal from AC Milan, paying around €9m for the right-back.

The deal marks a significant drop in the player’s market value since his move from Tottenham Hotspur in 2021.

According to Globo Esporte, the 26-year-old was close to joining Turkish side Besiktas on loan. However, Flamengo submitted a last-minute offer for a permanent move. That proposal was more attractive to both Milan and the player.

Initially, Milan preferred a loan, presumably so they didn’t have to make a capital loss on what they paid Spurs, but negotiations progressed quickly on Wednesday, and they accepted Flamengo’s bid.

The transfer represents a financial loss for Milan. The Italian club signed Emerson Royal from Tottenham just last year for a reported €15m. The current fee of €9m shows a sharp depreciation in under 12 months.

This outcome also affects Spurs. The quick sale at a loss means they are unlikely to receive any meaningful bonuses or add-ons from the original deal.

For reference, Tottenham bought Emerson from Barcelona in 2021 for €30m, with a further €5m in potential add-ons.

Before his time in England, Emerson had impressed at Atlético Mineiro. He then moved to Europe with Real Betis, had a brief spell at Barcelona, and eventually joined Spurs.

He made 101 appearances for the North London club, scoring four goals and providing two assists. Last season at Milan, he played 26 matches, starting 22 of them.

Returning to Brazil was not part of his initial plan. Still, the project offered by Flamengo – and the chance to gain visibility with the national team – helped change his mind.

Despite a solid European résumé, his market value has clearly dropped.

Borussia Dortmund are considering a move for Tottenham Hotspur’s Mikey Moore this summer.

The German club are searching for a new attacker after Julien Duranville’s injury setback and Jamie Gittens’ sale to Chelsea.

According to Bild, Borussia Dortmund are now focusing on Moore and ‘would like to lure him from Tottenham’.

The 17-year-old graduated from the north London club’s academy and was promoted to the first team in May 2024. He played on both left and right-wing last season, scoring a goal and registering two assists from 19 games.

Moore’s preferred position is on the left wing and he can also be used as a No.10 or a centre forward. This makes the England U19 international a perfect fit for the Bundesliga club, who could assure him regular minutes.

He’s valued at €18m, according to Transfermarkt, and Borussia Dortmund aim to invest around this figure to secure his services.

The report claims other unnamed English clubs are also keen on the Tottenham player. This and the Europa League winners’ stance would be a problem for BVB.

Spurs have appointed Thomas Frank as their new manager, and he may take a closer look at Moore before making any decision. If there’s a transfer, Tottenham are said to be open only to a loan move without an option to obligation to buy.

There’s no indication whether BVB would be open to signing Moore on loan this summer.

Earlier this week, we covered claims from Italy that Juventus are looking to improve their midfield and have identified Tottenham Hotspur’s Yves Bissouma as a target. It was also stated he could be an attractive option due to his €15-20m asking price.

Tutto Juve now back up the Serie A club’s interest in the 28-year-old and Spurs’ asking price of €15-20m, and then provide the latest.

The midfielder’s contract lasts until 2026, and his immediate future seems to be away from Tottenham.

Spurs’ intention is to sell him quickly for a fee of around €15-20m as Thomas Frank would have left him out his core plans.

The report states the situation around the Mali international is ‘set to evolve rapidly’ and the Old Lady are ‘ready to seize the opportunity’ to secure his services.

Since Bissouma has less than a year left on his contract, Juve don’t want to go above €10m.

Earlier this week, AS reported Atlético Madrid are well aware of Daniel Levy’s reputation of a tough negotiator but that won’t stop them from pursuing Tottenham Hotspur’s Cristian Romero.

They also indicated Atlético’s negotiations are in full swing to take the centre-back away from the north London club.

There’s been a new twist in this saga as Thursday’s edition of AS states the La Liga club have decided to give up on the Tottenham player.

The Madrid club made a formal approach for Romero and received a ‘resounding rejection from Tottenham’.

Atlético were willing to reach €55m, but the Europa League winners informed them not to send an offer. Tottenham’s response was blunt and made it clear they won’t enter into negotiations for the Argentina international.

AS now state Simeone’s side are growing tired of waiting and due to Spurs’ firm stance, the ‘Metropolitano is closing the door on the Argentine.’ Therefore, they have decided to look at alternatives.

Tottenham’s determination to retain the World Cup winner seems to be paying off.

Romero’s contract expires in 2027 and he’s rejected a renewal offer.