Sport Witness

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.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Yves Bissouma was linked to Juventus, Inter Milan and AS Roma in the summer window, but no deal took shape.

The midfielder is in his final year of contract and hasn’t made an appearance this season. Thomas Frank said he has to impress in training to have an opportunity to feature for Tottenham.

Recent claims from the UK have mentioned Italy as a possible destination for the Tottenham player. Calciomercato.it relay that and then provide their take on AC Milan as an option.

The north London club opened the door for the 29-year-old to leave in the summer. It’s claimed he was offered to the Rossoneri, but they weren’t able to find an agreement with the Europa League winners.

Bissouma is available in the next market, likely because he’s not part of Frank’s plans and his contract situation. This can be attractive for Milan, who have their eyes on him.

Calciomercato.it report the former Brighton & Hove Albion man is valued at €20-25m, but his price is set to drop further as his contract expires in 2026. The Serie A side would be evaluating a move for the player in January.

Milan sporting director Igli Tare and staff are ‘already hard at work’ for the winter market.

Harry Kane has impressed for Bayern Munich since joining them from Tottenham Hotspur in 2023.

The England international was regularly the standout player for Tottenham, scoring 280 times and registering 63 assists from 435 matches, and his displays for Spurs convinced Bayern Munich to invest €100m to secure his services two years ago.

Well known German journalist Alfred Draxler was critical of the Bundesliga winners’ decision to invest big on the striker, and has now explained he was wrong in his Bild column.

Draxler was of the belief there were better and cheaper alternatives than Kane available at that time and therefore, he wasn’t pleased with the Bavarian club’s decision to offer big money to Tottenham.

The 32-year-old has extended his north London club form at Bayern Munich, scoring 95 goals and assisting 29 times in 102 games.

Earlier this week, Kane scored a brace to help Vincent Kompany’s side beat Chelsea 3-1 in the Champions League. Draxler used this latest appearance as an example to say that he was wrong to criticise the frontman and has now issued an apology to him.

“Harry Kane [32] practically single-handedly decided the match against Club World Cup winners Chelsea,” he wrote in his column.

“He won a penalty, scored it himself! And then sealed the first Champions League victory of the season with the 3-1 win. That’s what a true superstar does! And he does it so often and so confidently that you’d almost think it was a given. But it isn’t! In any case, it’s high time I formally apologised to Mr. Kane. Sorry, I was completely wrong!”

“I was one of those who were rather critical of the transfer of Tottenham to Bayern in 2023 for €100m. Kane is exactly the man who makes the difference. Today I know: He’s worth every cent of the €100m.”

The journalist then went on to further praise the former Tottenham star,

“What also impresses me: When he drops back and plays long passes. His hit rate is over 70%. He’s a playmaker and goalscorer rolled into one. And he’s never injured! That’s not just luck. It speaks for strict discipline and hard training,” Draxler said.

“And he also comes across as down-to-earth and humble. Almost too much of a good thing!”

“I don’t think Harry Kane vacations in a hotel where you have to reserve your sunbed in the morning. If I ever meet him, I’d get up very early and put a towel on his sunbed for him. I wouldn’t do that for any other Englishman!”

Chelsea, Newcastle United, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur all showed interest in Dean Huijsen before he left AFC Bournemouth for Real Madrid this summer.

Saturday’s edition of AS have published an interview with the defender’s agent, Ali Barat, and the majority of the chat is focused on Huijsen’s arrival at Real Madrid.

During the interview, the representative said Chelsea, Newcastle, Liverpool, Tottenham and Bayern Munich were among the ‘big clubs’ that wanted to sign his client from the Cherries.

The 20-year-old joined Bournemouth from Juventus in the summer of 2024 and starred under Andoni Iraola’s orders in his debut season in England, making 41 appearances.

His impressive performances for Bournemouth helped him make debut for Spain in March, after which Real Madrid made contact.

“We always thought Real Madrid would come: Dean is a fantastic player, and after the two games with the national team, Juni [Calafat] contacted us, and everything moved very quickly, honestly. Absolutely. When they came along, it was an easy decision: there were many clubs, but with Real Madrid, there was no doubt,” he said.

The decision to pick Real Madrid over the Premier League quartet and others was easy for the centre-back as he’s a huge Los Blancos supporter.

AS asked the agent about the Chelsea links and whether that was just a rumour, he then spoke about Newcastle, Liverpool, Tottenham and Bayern.

“Chelsea wanted him, even since January. They were the first big club really interested, but Bournemouth didn’t want to sell in January, and his release clause wasn’t active then, only in the summer,” Barat explained.

“And of course, after playing for the national team, we had about seven big clubs: Bayern, Liverpool, Tottenham, Newcastle… They all wanted Dean, to be honest.”

Lucas Bergvall has impressed for Tottenham Hotspur in their 3-0 league win over West Ham United and 1-0 Champions League victory over Villarreal in less than a week.

The match against Villarreal on Tuesday saw the 19-year-old make his debut in Europe’s elite club competition and after the match, the midfielder expressed his joy over fulfilling his long-term dream.

Last summer, Bergvall arrived at Tottenham and played 45 games, winning the Europa League in the process.

The Sweden international’s rise at the north London club doesn’t surprise his brother Theo Bergvall, who has been at Djurgården since 2023. Fotboll Direkt had a chat with the older brother, and the Tottenham player was inevitably one of the topics of discussion.

The 20-year-old defender says he’s not as nervous as he used to be with regards to Lucas and his performances and is confident of his qualities.

“I’m not as nervous anymore. He’s incredible, there are no words to describe him. At the same time, I know what he’s capable of, so I’m not surprised either. But of course, it’s great fun,” he said.

Despite featuring regularly for Tottenham, the midfielder didn’t get to play for a minute for the national team during September’s matches.

When asked about this topic, Theo explained: “I think Lucas has proven himself on the pitch. I’ll leave it at that.”

The Djurgården right-back is yet to make his debut and dreams of representing Sweden and play alongside with the Spurs man.

“Yes, I need to do more. I need to play better on an individual level and continue to develop, then I think I can get there [national team]. Yes, we’ve played together our whole lives, so it would be the ultimate ending,” he added.

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.