Sport Witness

Bayern Munich are hoping Tottenham Hotspur use their clause to sign Joao Palhinha permanently, as he’s not a part of their long-term plans.

That’s according to BILD, who cover reports from England today that Tottenham are already planning a permanent deal for the Bayern Munich loanee.

Palhinha joined Tottenham on loan in the summer after it was made clear he wasn’t part of Vincent Kompany’s plans following a miserable year in Munich after his move from Fulham.

He’s been a key player in Thomas Frank’s side since day one and several reports have already made it clear that Tottenham are planning a permanent deal for him. That has reportedly been made possible thanks to a purchase clause being included in the summer deal between the two clubs.

BILD now report that Bayern bosses hope that Tottenham are planning such a move and will exercise the clause option. Why? Because Palhinha no longer plays a role in the German champions’ plans.

It seems they’d be happy for him to move on and would welcome Tottenham using that clause. If not, there’s a deal there to be done for Palhinha to depart permanently either way.

Harry Kane has been urged to not think about a return to Tottenham Hotspur, as Alan Shearer’s record isn’t actually a motivation for it.

That’s according to Lothar Matthäus, via BILD, who isn’t convinced that Kane should be returning to Tottenham for that reason.

The striker has found himself being linked with a return to his former club this week, with Thomas Frank even questioned about the idea during his pre-match press conference.

He was enthusiastic about the idea, insisting that he and every Tottenham fan would welcome Kane back with open arms if the transfer was possible.

Kane is very much a club legend after scoring 280 goals and registering 63 assists in 435 games for Tottenham after breaking into the first team following years of unsuccessful loan spells.

He left in a €95m move to Bayern Munich in 2023 in search of trophies, which he’s now secured, winning the Bundesliga title with Bayern last season.

One prevalent idea has been that he would return to Tottenham at some point to close out his career and chase down Alan Shearer’s goalscoring record. He finished his career on 260 Premier League goals; Kane currently stands on 213.

Matthäus, though, isn’t convinced by that idea and doesn’t think that record is motivation enough for a return to Tottenham.

“There are always rumours that Kane could return to England next summer to break Alan Shearer’s record for most Premier League goals. I would recommend Kane stay at Bayern,” he said.

“I don’t think Shearer’s record is a motivation. He’s done his work in the Premier League, and therefore he should end his career at Bayern.”

Just when Timo Werner thought he might get a chance to revive things after his miserable time at Tottenham Hotspur, he’s been shot back down.

SportBILD do the damage today, insisting the Leipzig forward ‘doesn’t deserve a free pass’ or another shot at proving himself with them again.

They cover the striker today, pointing out that he hasn’t scored a goal for anyone since March 2024, when he was at Tottenham.

Since then, he’s mostly sat on the benches and in the stands at Tottenham or Leipzig or struggled with injury problems. Now, they are argue, he simply lacks the quality to meet Leipzig’s ambitious goals.

While some have been chanting, or at least calling, for him to be given a shot at redemption, SportBILD argue that there simply isn’t any reason to do so. And that’s definitely the case when you consider Leipzig have ‘promising players’ across the board that would benefit from the playing time.

They say that despite being a club legend he ‘doesn’t deserve a free pass’ and his focus should instead be on reinventing himself in the role of a sub.

That’s a job he’s been doing for some time now, including during his stint at Tottenham, and as far as SportBILD are concerned, he should be content with it. Talk about kicking a man when he’s down.

Tottenham Hotspur have included Sevilla’s Rubén Vargas in their transfer target list.

The forward, who joined the Spanish club from FC Augsburg in January, has enjoyed a good start to this season, managing a goal and three assists from four games.

His performances haven’t gone unnoticed, and Tottenham have set their sights on him.

Last Friday, Vamos Mi Sevilla FC reported Premier League sides are following the La Liga side’s players and Spurs and Aston Villa had sent officials to keep an eye on the 27-year-old.

Recent claims from the UK have talked about the Europa League winners and an approach for the 27-year-old in January.

A fresh report from Vamos Mi Sevilla FC relays that and then provides the Andalusian club’s stance on the Switzerland international.

The attacker has a contract until 2029, and it’s claimed Sevilla value him at €25m+, making him their ‘best asset’ ahead of the winter market.

To sum it up, Tottenham have sent officials to watch Vargas and have now been told they need at least €25m to sign him in January.

Benfica could be set for a staff addition straight from Austria, with José Mourinho’s former Tottenham assistant João Sacramento reportedly about to leave his first managerial job at LASK.

According to Austrian outlet Krone, the 36-year-old is considering stepping down in order to reunite with his mentor in Lisbon.

Despite guiding the side to a derby win at the weekend, his future in Linz looks uncertain because Mourinho wants him as his assistant at Benfica.

For Sacramento, this would mean a reunion with his long-time mentor. The 36-year-old Portuguese worked as Mourinho’s right-hand man at Tottenham Hotspur and AS Roma, after earlier spells as an assistant with Lille, PSG and Al-Duhail. The LASK role was his first as a head coach, and he had been tied to the Austrian club until 2027.

Only on Sunday, Sacramento had insisted he believed in the young squad at his disposal, saying he hoped “they grow” together. That makes the sudden turn of events more striking.

Whether LASK will release him from his contract remains to be seen, but the chance to return alongside Mourinho at one of Portugal’s giants appears hard to resist.

Tottenham fans may not think particularly highly of Ange Postecoglou, despite their Europa League win last season, but it seems Giovanni Lo Celso does.

AS have comments from him today praising the former Tottenham coach ahead of their meeting this week in the same competition.

Postecoglou is taking on Real Betis in the Europa League with Nottingham Forest, looking to repeat the success he enjoyed with Tottenham in the competition last season.

He’s only been in place at Nottingham Forest since earlier this month, having arrived as a replacement for Nuno Espirito Santo following his sacking. Postecoglou had only been available after being removed by Tottenham at the end of last season despite their success in the Europa League last season.

He is hoping to rebuild something of a damaged reputation at Nottingham Forest, with his methods having been questioned after Tottenham finished 17th last season and lost 22 of their 38 games in the Premier League.

Ending Spurs’ trophy drought didn’t paper over the cracks and most have questioned him throughout last season and following his sacking. Lo Celso, though, appears to be a fan after making 24 appearances under the Australian before his return to Betis.

“He’s a great coach,” he said.

“He’s coming off a Europa League win with Tottenham. He’s a game-changer and intense. We have the tools to plan a game and be the protagonists from the first minute.”

Towards the end of the summer window, the Spanish media covered Tottenham Hotspur’s interest in Atlético Madrid’s Conor Gallagher.

On August 28th, AS reported Tottenham were planning to approach the La Liga club for the midfielder, and two days later, Marca stated Spurs considered signing him by offering not more than €40m.

The Europa League winners didn’t make an offer, and Gallagher is still at the Madrid club.

Recent claims from the UK have named the north London club as a contender to sign the 25-year-old in January, and Tuesday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo, after relaying this, gives their own take on how Tottenham could secure his services.

The first part of the report focuses on how the England international doesn’t seem to be a perfect fit under Diego Simeone.

Gallagher has made two starts so far this season and a limited role with the Madrid club could impact his chances of representing England at the next World Cup.

He’s aware of this and considering the former Chelsea man doesn’t fit well into Simeone’s plans, the chances of him featuring regularly at Atlético remains unlikely.

Tottenham are said to be thinking about Gallagher for January, while the newspaper say Atlético’s plan is to retain the player as they see him as an important player. Mundo add they will only let him leave for a ‘huge amount’ of over €60m.

In short, Spurs are being told to pay €60m for Gallagher. That feels a completely unrealistic fee and Tottenham are likely to dump any interest unless the price falls.

Tottenham Hotspur allowed Luka Vušković to join Hamburg SV on loan in the summer window. At the weekend he scored his first goal for the German club in their 2-1 win over Heidenheim.

The 18-year-old found the back of the net in the 42nd minute, after missing an earlier chance.

Vušković was disappointed to have missed out on the opportunity and reacted angrily by hitting the goal post. The Tottenham man then believed he’d broken a finger.

Bild now report there are ‘two bits of good news’ for the centre-back, including one about the injury concern.

It’s claimed the Tottenham man had feared of a finger fracture after lashing out over the weekend. He has now received ‘all-clear’ as the diagnosis have shown it was just a bruise, meaning his finger isn’t broken.

The Spurs defender received his second good news on Monday when Croatia manager Zlatko Dalić included him in the squad for October’s World Cup qualifiers against Czech Republic and Gibraltar. Vušković made his senior national team debut in June.

Bild say the World Cup dream if ‘getting closer’ for Vušković as Croatia would qualify for the tournament if they were to secure wins in the upcoming two matches.

Timo Werner hasn’t played a minute of football so far this season but did make an appearance on RB Leipzig’s bench for their 3-1 victory over FC Koln at the weekend.

The 29-year-old returned from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer, after a difficult season on loan with Spurs. He made 27 appearances overall, but those appearances were usually very brief and Werner largely disappeared at Tottenham in the second half of last season.

As the window approached, there were repeat claims in the German media that the forward could be off to MLS to try and kickstart his career. No approaches tempted him enough and he remained with RB Leipzig.

Leipzig themselves had been keen on an exit, trying to get whatever fee was possible for a player with less than a year left on his contract.

RBLive now report on fans chanting for Werner during that match against FC Koln. The club’s support are taking him back into their hearts and pushing for the player to get some minutes.

Despite him not even having played this season, his shirts are selling, and there’s a buzz growing around a potential redemption.

On the pressure to play the Tottenham flop, RB Leipzig manager Ole Werner is quoted as saying: “Every player can demonstrate their worth through training performance and improve their position. That applies to everyone. Some players are still ahead of him in our rankings. We’ll see how things develop in the coming weeks.”

Captain David Raum added: “He’s the face of the club. He has done a lot for the club. Many players are humbled by him and greatly appreciate having him on our team. He gives his all in training, is very positive in the dressing room, gives everyone a good feeling, and is very popular. It’s great that he was in the squad today, and we’re happy for him. We’re glad we have him.”

This summer, Luka Vušković arrived at Tottenham Hotspur, after they agreed a deal with Hajduk Split in September 2023. He wasn’t part of Thomas Frank’s core plans and ended up joining Hamburg SV on loan towards the end of the summer window.

The 18-year-old made his debut for the German club in their 5-0 defeat to Bayern Munich and played his first home game in their 2-1 win over Heidenheim at the weekend.

The Tottenham owned player starred for Hamburg by scoring his first goal on Saturday and after the match he explained how happy he was to get his name on the scoresheet, with Hamburger Morgenpost relaying his comments.

“I’m very proud, very emotional, and hope it wasn’t my last goal. I just hoped the goal wouldn’t be taken back,” he said.

According to MoPo, the centre-back was in pain when he scored as he picked up an injury earlier in the game.

The Croatia international came close to scoring in the 27th minute and was frustrated not to find the back of the net. He reacted by hitting his right hand to the goal post and broke his finger in the process and the Spurs man has said his injury isn’t serious.

“I probably broke a finger. It’s an old injury; I broke my finger a few months ago. But I was so angry about missing such a great opportunity that I hit the post with my hand. It will heal, don’t worry,” Vušković explained.

Hamburg face Union Berlin on September 28th, and MoPo report his involvement for the next clash is ‘not in jeopardy’.

The defender is also pleased that Hamburg fans chanted his name over the weekend.

“This means a lot to me. Ever since I started playing football, he’s wished me good luck before every game. I’m really proud to have a brother like that,” he added.