Sport Witness

Hajduk Split’s Luka Vušković turned 18 years of age last month, and he will arrive at Tottenham Hotspur in the summer window.

In September 2023, Tottenham secured an agreement with Hajduk Split for the defender to move to the north London when he turns 18-years-old.

The Croatian club sent the incoming Spurs player on loan to KVC Westerlo in July 2024, after a temporary spell at Radomiak Radom.

Friday’s edition of Večernji list BiH covers the centre-back in a report that focuses on the upcoming young talents in Croatia. Their senior team currently have seven players who are of 30 years and above.

The newspaper has identified young Croatian talents below the age of 21, with a valuation of €1m or above on Transfermarkt.

Vušković has a valuation of €10m and is second in the list behind Dinamo Zagreb’s Petar Sučić [€12m].

Vecernji highlights the defender is enjoying an impressive season in Belgium. They state that for his age, he has ‘shown incredible high level of defensive play’ at Westerlo.

Vušković also has ‘insane’ stats for a defender, managing seven goals and two assists from 28 matches for the Belgian club.

There’s excitement in the Croatian press with Vušković’s development and he could take further steps once he arrives at Tottenham.

Mathys Tel arrived at Tottenham Hotspur on a loan deal in the winter market and has so far played 487 minutes from seven games for the Premier League club.

The striker has scored only one goal for Tottenham, and that came in their 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Aston Villa last month.

Tel struggled for regular minutes at Bayern Munich and that led to him joining Tottenham on deadline day of the winter market.

His situation at Bayern didn’t stop him from receiving call ups from France U21 manager Gérald Baticle for the past three international breaks. Baticle also included the 19-year-old in the squad for the two friendlies this month.

The national team coach has talked about some of his players, including the Spurs youngster, at a press conference this week and Thursday’s edition of Ouest-France relays his comments.

Baticle claims the youngster has the “mentality and appetite of a real goalscorer.” At the same time, he has asked Tel to improve certain aspects in order to take his game to the next level.

“He’s a player with great potential, who needs to develop his professionalism to establish himself. He must show that he’s efficient and effective to reach even higher levels. There’s still work to be done, but the foundation is very interesting,” he said.

It’s that time again, an international break during which fans and managers keep their fingers crossed and hope players come through training and matches in one piece.

For Tottenham and their manager Ange Postecoglou the situation is even more worrisome than usual, with Spurs the subject of many injury issues this season and obviously not wanting to add to those problems they’ve been facing.

Lucas Bergvall has been expected to have a big international break for Sweden, with national team manager Jon Dahl Tomasson already making it clear he’d start the next game against Luxembourg.

However, he’s out of training today.

Perhaps thankfully for Tottenham, Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet report it’s an illness issue and not an injury.

According to the report, Bergvall is ill and has had to stay behind at the squad hotel whilst all the other players have travelled to training today.

The Tottenham youngster is the only one missing.

Aftonbladet quote the Sweden manager as saying: “We are one player short today, we will see how he feels tomorrow.

“He has a cold and is not in top form. Now he had to stay in bed, so we will see how he feels during the day. We will have to wait and see how the match goes on Saturday, we cannot decide that now. He could have maybe been a little bit involved today, but there is no reason to take any risks.”

On Friday, Girona confirmed Bryan Gil, who is on loan from Tottenham Hotspur, suffered a knee injury that forced him to miss the weekend clash against Valencia.

The league match ended in a 1-1 draw and after the tie, Girona manager Míchel stated the winger could miss rest of the season. Sport relay his comments and provide more on his injury.

“We’ll see if surgery is necessary or not. If he has to have surgery, he could miss the entire season. It doesn’t look good, although I think tests are still needed,” he said.

There’s serious concern at the La Liga side over the Tottenham man’s injury situation. The report states there’s a ‘high probability’ of him missing the rest of this season.

Sport state Gil has had further tests and Dr Ramon Cugat will decide whether he has to undergo surgery.

Monday’s edition of AS has a report on the Spain international and in their title, they say he may not play again this season.

The Tottenham owned player is waiting for the final update from Cugat to understand the extent of the damage on his right knee. The report states ‘everything indicates that it’ll be impossible to avoid surgery’.

If Gil were to go under the knife, he wouldn’t be able to feature for Girona this season. AS state Tottenham are monitoring the situation closely as the player’s contract at Spurs is until 2026.

The attacker managed four goals and three assists from 32 games this season. He’s been a key player under Míchel and his absence will be a blow for the manager and Girona.

Earlier claims have stated Girona have plans to buy Gil after this season. It remains to be seen whether they will change their plans after his latest setback.

AZ Alkmaar’s Mayckel Lahdo is set to be absent ‘for weeks’ after an unfortunate challenge from Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Bergvall.

That’s according to Voetbal Nieuws, who cover the player today as he’s set to be on the sidelines for a while.

They explain that AZ will have to do without Lahdo for the coming weeks after the winger sustained an injury following a tackle from Tottenham’s Bergvall in last week’s 1-0 win in the Europa League.

He was in the starting line up for that game but had to leave the pitch early following a challenge from the Tottenham youngster.

The belief is that he will now be out for 5-6 weeks and that means he will miss the upcoming cup final against Go Ahead Eagles. That’s scheduled for April 21st but likely to come too early for the 22-year-old in his recovery.

He will also miss this week’s second leg clash against Tottenham, joining a growing list of absentees for the Dutch side as they look to secure progression after beating Ange Postecoglou’s side last week.

They have had a ‘stroke of luck’ with the return of Mexx Meerdink but there’s been no such luck for Lahdo after Bergvall’s challenge.

Antoine Semenyo has impressed for AFC Bournemouth this season and it has seen him get linked to Tottenham Hotspur and other clubs.

The forward joined Bournemouth from Bristol City in January 2023 and managed 18 goals and seven assists of which nine goals and five assists are from this season.

Recent claims in the UK stated that Tottenham plan to make a €40m bid for the Ghana international in the summer window.

Africa Foot had a chat with 25-year-old’s compatriot, Matthew Amoah, who has urged the Bournemouth player to not join Spurs.

Amoah represented Vitesse Arnhem, Borussia Dortmund, NAC Breda and others during his playing career. He’s of the belief the north London club are currently a step below the Cherries sporting wise.

Bournemouth have 44 points from 28 games and are ninth in the table, five points behind fourth placed Chelsea. Tottenham, on the other hand, are in 13th spot, 10 points behind Andoni Iraola’s side.

According to Amoah, it doesn’t make sense for Semenyo to leave Bournemouth for Spurs in the next window.

“With all due respect to Tottenham, if this is the only offer that comes to Semenyo this summer, then he should stay at Bournemouth,” he said.

“Bournemouth are currently a better team on the pitch than Tottenham and seem more stable with a very good coach in Andoni Iraola. So, joining a club that is far behind would be a demotion that makes no footballing sense.

“He’s doing his job very well at a club that also appreciates his work and efforts, with fans singing his name day in and day out. Unless a much bigger club comes along, he should stay at Vitality.”

“Also, the €40m that is being talked about is below his value in the current market, given his contract, age and ability.”

Bournemouth have secured Semenyo’s long-term future last summer by extending his contract until 2029.

Djurgårdens IF Fotboll are expecting to receive ‘more money’ from selling Lucas Bergvall to Tottenham Hotspur.

That’s according to Djurgårdens CEO Henrik Berggren, and he revealed this during a chat with Fotbollskanalen.

In February 2024, the Swedish club agreed a deal with Tottenham for the 19-year-old to arrive at the club last summer.

The midfielder has played 35 games in all competitions this season and injuries to other players has seen him enjoy regular minutes in recent months.

Djurgårdens released their finances for 2024, and the report states they made SEK 139m [€12.7m] from player sales after deducting agent fees and payment to former clubs.

The majority of them were from Bergvall, Samuel Dahl and Jacob Widell Zetterström’s sales to Tottenham, AS Roma and Derby County respectively. These operations have pleased the CEO.

“It’s clear that these are good numbers, but that is what happens when you sell many players and especially some very expensive ones,” he said.

According to Fotbollskanalen, the Swedish club will receive SEK 111.5m [€10.5m] in the future from past transfers.

“That’s money that we will receive both this year and next year,” Berggren explained.

When asked if it’s mostly from the Sweden international’s sale to Tottenham, he said: “It’s for Bergvall, Dahl and Widell Zetterström. But it’s clear that the sale of Lucas stands out.”

The report states Djurgårdens are expecting ‘more money’ from Spurs because of the previous agreement about bonuses. The 2024 annual report shows they haven’t received any bonuses so far.

“There are no bonuses at all, no. There are only fixed amounts in the claims. So, there are more bonuses that can fall out [in Djurgårdens favour] in the future as well,” the CEO added.

Expressen earlier explained Djurgårdens are entitled to receive SEK 100m [€9.1m] in bonuses from Bergvall’s sale.

Galatasaray and Beşiktaş wanted to sign Tottenham Hotspur’s Sergio Reguilón before the Turkish winter window closed on February 11th.

The two clubs weren’t successful because AS stated last month that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy was reluctant to sanction a move.

Reguilón has less than four months left on his contract and his future is likely to be away from Tottenham. Sevilla are showing interest in the left-back.

That’s according to Vamos Mi Sevilla FC, and they state the Liga side’s directors consider the Spain international is an ‘ideal candidate’. The report adds he’s ‘on top’ of Sevilla sporting director Víctor Orta’s target list.

García Pimienta currently has Adrià Pedrosa as the only recognised left-back at Sevilla. They clearly need to strengthen this position in the summer window and have ‘already started working’ to find the player taking their finances into account.

The 28-year-old was on loan at Sevilla during the 2019/20 season. He knows the league and the club very well and it should make it easier for him to adapt, if he returns to the Andalusian club.

Reguilón has been limited to 242 minutes from five games for Spurs this season and all these appearances came in December and January. The report says he ‘barely plays’.

These two factors, coupled with his contract situation, makes the Spaniard an ideal target for Sevilla.

Reguilón needs to make a decision on whether he wants to return to his former club. Vamos Mi Sevilla FC makes no mention of this and only reports Sevilla’s intention to sign him for free.

Tottenham Hotspur’s Yves Bissouma has been in and out of Ange Postecoglou’s playing XI in recent weeks.

The Mali international’s contract expires in 2026, and his long-term future at Tottenham is said to be uncertain.

Over the past few days, several claims from the UK stated that clubs from England and France are showing interest in Bissouma.

Africa Foot contacted former Slavia Prague midfielder Bassirou Dembélé, who is ‘close’ to the Tottenham player. They asked him about his friend’s situation at the north London club and about his future.

The midfielder arrived at Tottenham in 2022, after spending four years at Brighton & Hove Albion. The 28-year-old moved to Europe when Lille signed him from Real Bamako in 2016 and two years later, he joined the Seagulls.

Dembélé hyped up Bissouma and insisted he must continue in the Premier League amid the transfer links.

“Yves Bissouma must stay in the Premier League. He’s a world-class player, capable of playing in the top 10 biggest clubs in the world. We have to wait until the end of the season,” he said.

“Let’s not forget that he has a market value of €35m and is under contract until 2026. He is only 28 and has a bright future ahead of him.”

“Of course, he is lacking playing time at the moment, but he has already been through a similar situation at Lille, before bouncing back brilliantly. At the time, he was already courted by Liverpool, Arsenal and Aston Villa, before signing for Brighton for around €29m in 2018.”

Crystal Palace, Everton, Aston Villa, Marseille and Lyon are all reportedly interested in the former Seagulls man. Bissouma’s friend hasn’t entertained these links, but claims he isn’t surprised about the rumoured interest.

“These are just rumours, but it isn’t surprising that Yves is in such high demand. When you are one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, the big teams are always on the lookout, especially at the end of your contract,” Dembélé explained.

“Let’s wait until the end of the season to see how things evolve. Yves has a steely mind, he is a competitor, ready to take on challenges.”

Dembélé was ‘discreet’ on what could happen to Bissouma’s future at Tottenham beyond this season.

“There are things that cannot be revealed at the moment. Big clubs have always been interested in him [Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, ​​Bayern, Liverpool, Chelsea, Juventus], but we must let time do its work,” he added.

“When the time comes, all the information will be revealed. What is certain is that Yves Bissouma is aiming higher.”

Yves Bissouma has been in and out of Tottenham Hotspur’s starting lineup in the Premier League over the past two months or so.

The Mali international has made 12 league starts this season and eight more in other competitions. He has less than 18 months left on his contract.

Recent claims in the UK have talked about Tottenham wanting to sell the midfielder in the summer window. It was also stated the former Lille man would favour a move back to France.

Marseille and OGC Nice are said to be keen on securing his services. Jeunes Footeux relay that and discuss whether Roberto De Zerbi’s side will sign the 28-year-old.

They ask if Marseille president Pablo Longoria is willing to invest €20m on the Tottenham player in the next window. The outlet claims his arrival can improve their midfielder, but at the same time it can cause ‘traffic jam’ in the defensive midfield position.

Last summer, Spurs let Pierre-Emile Højbjerg join the Ligue 1 club on loan with an option to buy. De Zerbi has Højbjerg, Ismaël Bennacer, Geoffrey Kondogbia and Valentin Rongier as his defensive midfielders.

The position is currently well covered, and some may argue it may need strengthening if they qualify for the Champions League.

Jeunes Footeux insist Marseille will find it difficult to find players who must settle for a limited role. Therefore, it’s unlikely for Longoria to make an approach for Bissouma in the summer.

With regards to Nice’s interest in Bissouma, the report claims they have to sell first before buying him.