Sport Witness

Son Heung-min hasn’t featured for Tottenham Hotspur since their 3-0 win over Qarabag FK in the Europa League on September 26th. The South Korea international suffered a thigh injury in the same clash.

Last week, South Korea manager Hong Myung-bo included the forward in his squad for October’s international break.

The national team boss had also stated the 32-year-old is making gradual progress, but Spurs don’t want him to rush back. There’s been a new development around the Tottenham star in the last few hours.

The Korea Football Association [KFA] have now confirmed, relayed by FourFourTwo, that the Spurs attacker has been withdrawn from the squad. Son has been replaced by Mainz 05’s Hong Hyun-seok for the two World Cup qualifiers against Jordan and Iraq this month.

“It was decided that Son Heung-min, who suffered a left thigh injury, needs rest and has been excluded from the squad to protect the player. Hong Hyun-seok has been selected to replace Son Heung-min,” a statement from KFA read.

Ange Postecoglou has been without Son for Tottenham’s last two wins against Manchester United and Ferencvárosi.

The north London club will face Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday and Son is unlikely to be available for the weekend’s league tie. He has scored two goals and registered two assists from seven games for Tottenham this season.

Peru international Paolo Guerrero has opened up about his failed move to Tottenham Hotspur.

The 40-year-old is currently at Peruvian side Club Alianza Lima. He had a chat with DyT’s Diego Rebagliati and Talía Azcárate, reviewing his long career. This is when he revealed Tottenham’s approach, and his comments are relayed by Infobae.

Tottenham made an offer for Guerrero when he was at Corinthians between 2012 and 2015.

He won the FIFA Club World Cup with the Brazilian side in 2021, beating Chelsea in the final. The striker’s goal proved to the difference between the two clubs.

The frontman joined Corinthians in 2012, after spending 12 years in Germany with Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV. He had made up his mind to leave them in January 2013 and was determined to join the north London club.

Arsenal technical director Edu Gaspar was then director at Corinthians. Guerrero took Tottenham’s proposal to the Brazilian, who didn’t let him join the Premier League side.

“When I arrived at Corinthians, I said to myself: ‘I win the Club World Cup and I’ll go back’,” he said.

“Did I have opportunities to return to Europe? Many, but Corinthians didn’t want to sell me or didn’t want to negotiate. The last offer came from Tottenham, which was a loan-purchase [option].”

“I went with the proposal to talk to Edu Gaspar, who is now Arsenal’s director, and I said ‘I have this, please’. His response was: ‘Do you want the crooked thing to kill me, Paolo? Rest assured that here you will be the highest paid footballer in South America’.”

The Peruvian has revealed Edu and Corinthians failed to offer him a convincing renewal proposal.

“He didn’t comply. I didn’t renew with Corinthians because the proposal they made me wasn’t within what I think I deserved. I believed that because I was Peruvian, they were not valuing me. That’s how other proposals [Flamengo] arrived, and I left,” Guerrero explained.

The experienced striker hasn’t returned to Europe since leaving Hamburger SV more than a decade ago.

According to a report in the Swedish media, Djurgårdens IF are set for a substantial windfall after selling Lucas Bergvall to Tottenham Hotspur.

The young midfielder signed for the Premier League side during the last transfer window for an initial transfer fee of £8m.

Fotboll Direkt have reported on the extra bonuses Djurgårdens IF will bring in from the transfer of the 18-year-old. The Swedish media outlet say the Allsvenskan club will soon receive £2.5-3m from Tottenham, and they say that’s due to the player making his Premier League debut.

Whether they mean that’s already been triggered or is instead related to a full debut isn’t made clear.

The transfer fee for Bergvall could potentially rise to £16m if all the add ons are met, with some of the bonuses said to be quite achievable.

Bergvall’s first club IF Brommapojkarna will also benefit from his move to Spurs, with claims they will receive 20% of the Swede’s basic transfer fee.

This summer the Sweden international signed a five-year contract with Tottenham, reportedly worth £1.5m a season. The youngster has yet to start in the Premier League since joining, but has been involved in five of Spurs’ opening six games.

Sandro is disappointed that Tottenham Hotspur didn’t beat Chelsea to Palmeiras’ Estêvão Willian.

The 17-year-old initially joined the Brazilian club’s academy in 2021 and made his way into their first team last year.

Back in June, Chelsea agreed a deal with Palmeiras for the winger to arrive at Stamford Bridge next year.

Sandro first arrived in Europe when Tottenham signed him in 2010. He’s been speaking about various topics in a media appearance this week, and expressed his annoyance over the north London club missing out on the youngster to Chelsea. PL Brasil have relayed his comments.

Estêvão has scored 11 goals and registered eight assists from 37 matches for Palmeiras’ senior team so far. His performances, profile and potential attracted interest from top European clubs.

Chelsea were able to secure a deal, but Sandro believes Ange Postecoglou’s side should have overcome their local rivals for Estêvão.

“All I can say about Estevão Willian is that Spurs should have bought him first. I’m not happy that he signed for Chelsea, but he’s the kind of player who can change Brazil’s future,” he said.

The former midfielder spent four years at Tottenham between 2010 and 2014. He’s of the belief the Brazil international can have a bright future at Chelsea, provided they give him enough time.

“He’s a top player and I think he’s ready to play in the Premier League, as long as Chelsea give him time to find his best level and take the next step,” Sandro explained.

“He is a great player and has shown in recent years that he can face players, shoot and is very skilled. He is an exciting player to watch. There is a huge difference between football in Brazil and the Premier League, but if he trains hard, he could be one of the best players for Chelsea and Brazil.”

Estêvão will turn 18 years of age next April and will arrive at Chelsea in the summer of 2025.

Tottenham Hotspur are in the picture to sign Hertha Berlin youngster Boris Mamuzah Lum, according to Bild.

The 17-year-old came up through the ranks of the German club’s youth system and made his senior debut against SV Elversberg at the weekend.

Bild say he became Hertha Berlin’s youngest player at 16 years and 363 days.

The Germany U18 international can operate as a defensive midfielder, in the middle of the pitch and also as a right-back. This hasn’t gone unnoticed as several top clubs, including Tottenham, have been ‘interested in him for a long time’.

As well as Spurs, Manchester City, Manchester United, Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, Ajax, Red Salzburg and Barcelona are chasing the teenager.

It’s claimed that at ‘Tottenham’s invitation’, Boris Mamuzah Lum has visited their training facilities and attended three home games. This would suggest the north London club have a concrete interest in him.

Boris Mamuzah Lum is managed by British agency CAA Stellar. This may give the Premier League sides an advantage over other clubs.

His deal lasts until 2026, with an option for another year. Bild state it has a €5m release clause, which should be affordable for Tottenham.

Giovani Lo Celso spent five years at Tottenham Hotspur and made a cut-price switch to Real Betis on summer transfer deadline day.

Tottenham initially took the midfielder on loan from the La Liga side in 2019 and made his stay permanent the following year. In his first spell at Real Betis, he managed 16 goals and six assists from 45 games.

Lo Celso wasn’t able to replicate the same form at Tottenham, managing 10 goals and eight assists from 108 matches for Spurs.

The Argentine international has enjoyed a good start to his second spell at Real Betis. He has five goals from five league games and today’s edition of Marca focuses on his displays. Lo Celso has collectively scored 22 goals for Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Rosario Central from 267 matches. This is one more than the number of times he scored for Real Betis in 50 games.

The newspaper says the player becomes lethal every time he wears the Real Betis shirt. They add the South American’s statistics at Real Betis represent something he has ‘never seen in his career’.

Lo Celso struggled for a prominent role under Ange Postecoglou at Spurs last season. He’s put that difficult phase behind him as the midfielder is now having unprecedented success at Real Betis.

On Sunday, Son Heung-min missed Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford due to an injury.

The forward suffered an injury in Spurs’ Europa League win over Qarabag last Thursday. A day later, Ange Postecoglou said the 32-year-old is struggling with a “fatigue in his hamstring’.

This didn’t stop South Korea manager Hong Myung-bo from including the Tottenham star in his squad for October’s international break.

The Taegeuk Warriors will take on Jordan and Iraq in World Cup qualifiers next month. After announcing the squad for these two fixtures earlier today, Hong Myung-bo spoke to reporters and his comments are relayed by Chosun.

According to the national team manager, Son is making progress on his recovery. At the same time, he has insisted that both the player and the north London club want to avoid rushing him back.

“I communicated directly with Son Heung-min about his participation. I feel that he is gradually improving. Of course, I heard from him and the club that he is not in a position to play right now. He still has a few [club] games left. We’ll see whether he can play or not,” he said.

Tottenham will travel to Hungary to face Ferencváros in the Europa League on Thursday and then take on Brighton & Hove Albion in the league on October 6th. It’ll be interesting to see whether Son will be involved in these two matches.

The South Korean has scored two goals and registered two assists from seven games for Spurs this season.

Strap yourselves in Tottenham fans because you’re about to have your mind blow. Why? Because Davinson Sanchez is better than Virgil van Dijk.

That’s at least according to Turkish coach Servet Çetin, who believes the former Tottenham man is a superior player to the Dutchman at this moment in time.

Çetin has been speaking to Ajansspor about Galatasaray, which led to praise of Sanchez and a lofty comparison indeed.

Sanchez has been playing for the Turkish since last summer, when he left Tottenham in a €9.3m deal following a miserable six years at the club.

The Colombian had arrived with a growing reputation and a big price tag of €42m from Ajax in August 2017 after an impressive year with the Dutch side following a move from Colombia.

He was never able to replicate what he showed in the Netherlands at Tottenham, though, with 207 appearances failing to bring out a player good enough to justify his big transfer fee.

Tottenham eventually cut their losses last summer and Sanchez has been enjoying himself in Turkey since, earning praise for his performances and being linked with a return to the Premier League over the last few months as well.

Çetin is one of those who has seemingly been won over, now going as far as to suggest he’s better than the Liverpool star, a man most would have among the best defenders of all time.

“Sanchez is a better centre-back than Dijk,” he said.

“In England, centre-backs play locally, they do not disturb their positions. They don’t get into the ranks of the right-back or left-back. They always take a position in the centre. They usually play heavy. Because they are physically good, they intercept the ball in the centre.

“But they falter when they have to open up. Van Dijk had a very difficult time against Barış Alper Yılmaz in the Turkey – Netherlands national match.

“Sanchez, on the other hand, has a one-on-one game. He has pace, plays in a wider area and doesn’t miss men. He does a much more difficult job. He gets off the ball very well. Sanchez is a much better stopper than van Dijk.

“Maybe people will say come off it, but it doesn’t matter if it’s Liverpool. For example, Sami Hyypia came to Turkey and was not liked. So, Sanchez is better than van Dijk and many other centre-backs in the Premier League.”

Giovani Lo Celso left Tottenham Hotspur and returned to Real Betis in the last window. As part of the deal, Spurs have obtained an option to buy Johnny Cardoso next summer.

Last week, Real Betis president Ángel Haro spoke about the Spurs clause. He also stated Tottenham will be entitled to receive a percentage of a fee, if the La Liga side were to sell Cardoso to another club.

AC Milan are in the picture to sign the 23-year-old in 2025, according to Calciomercato. They have included the American and Red Bull Salzburg’s Lucas Gourna-Douath in their target list.

The website points out Tottenham’s clause for Cardoso. This could be key for them to beat the Rossoneri, who lost 3-1 to Liverpool in the Champions League last week.

Estadio Deportivo are also discussing the Serie A side’s interest in the Real Betis player.

He’s been limited to 46 minutes from two league games this season. This hasn’t had an impact on his suitors as Cardoso continues to attract interest from Milan.

Estadio join Calciomercato in informing Paulo Fonseca’s side that Tottenham can sign the player by exercising the €25m clause next summer.

If Milan were to win the battle for signature, Tottenham would still benefit from the sell-on clause.

Tottenham Hotspur will this season play in the Europa League, after missing out on Europe for a year.

Spurs had to settle for domestic competitions during the last campaign, and finished fifth in the league. This saw them qualify for the second-tier European competition.

Guglielmo Vicario has told Sky Italia, relayed by Gianluca Di Marzio, that it was difficult for Tottenham without European football.

The 27-year-old arrived at the north London club from Empoli in June 2023 and replaced Hugo Lloris as Spurs’ first-choice stopper. He kept eight clean sheets and conceded 62 goals from 40 matches for Tottenham in his debut season.

Vicario has a clean sheet from five games this season, conceding five goals in the process. The Italy international has discussed his side’s ambitions for the 2024/25 season.

“We like to play every three days, that’s what we wanted. Last season, we were without Europe and for a club like ours it was difficult in terms of ambitions,” he said.

“Away games take away a lot of energy, you have to be good at recovering mentally and be ready to get back into the game right away.

“We are a big club, it’s normal that we play to win matches. Getting into the top eight in the Premier League is an objective, even if it’s difficult because there are so many strong teams to face, so it will be a sporting battle.”

Spurs missed out on European football last season, after finishing eighth the season before that. Despite insisting finishing in the top eight is an objective, the stopper still wants his side to qualify for Europe.

Ange Postecoglou’s side are now 10th in the table with seven points, trailing fifth placed Chelsea by three points.

Vicario’s performances for the Premier League helped him make his debut for Italy in March.