Sport Witness

Tottenham Hotspur’s Luka Vušković completed a dry loan move to Hamburg SV towards the end of the summer window, and the north London club sanctioned a move so that he can continue his development.

Last week, we covered claims from Germany that Tottenham will receive under €1m from Hamburg, who are already impressed with the centre-back after his first training session.

The Bundesliga club’s manager, Merlin Polzin, has heaped praise on the Tottenham man and Bild have relayed his comments.

“Luka, in terms of his personality and self-confidence, is an absolute leader who leads the way. He defends with a naturalness and robustness that is good for us,” he said.

The manager has also confirmed the 18-year-old is in contention to make his debut against Bayern Munich on Saturday.

It looks like there’s excitement at Hamburg over securing the loan signing of the Croatia international, but they could risk losing him in January.

That’s according to Bild, and they report of a ‘special clause’ that Spurs have inserted as part of the loan deal, to cut short the defender’s loan stay in the winter market.

The report explains another Tottenham defender has to suffer a serious injury for Thomas Frank’s side to exercise the clause to recall Vušković. If that were to happen, the player could be ‘gone sooner than expected’ from Hamburg.

Fenerbahce president Ali Koç has revealed that an injury to Yves Bissouma stopped them signing him from Tottenham Hotspur this summer.

Fener Ajans cover comments from the Fenerbahce president today in which he admits the Tottenham man was the number eight that they wanted this summer.

“We all want a number 8. Bissouma was close, but he got injured,” he is quoted as saying.

“We want a smart number 8. She can distribute the ball intelligently and play box-to-box. We’re working on a young player. Transfers at Fenerbahçe don’t end until the last minute. Those coming in and out never end. We’ll push the envelope until the last moment.”

Bissouma has been linked with a move away from Tottenham throughout the summer, with him seemingly not a part of Thomas Frank’s plans moving forwards.

Numerous reports have linked him with a switch to Türkiye and Fenerbahce, although they have flip flopped. While reports have suggested that Bissouma was keen on the move, others have stated he wanted to remain in England for another year to secure a British passport.

Now Koç claims that a deal won’t be happening because of an injury. That’s interesting because he was reported to have returned from a muscle injury on August 30th. The Turkish transfer window doesn’t close until Friday, September 12th.

The cynics among us would suggest that’s an easy excuse, particularly after a report from Türkiye last week stated that Fenerbahce had been handed “a whole sheet of paper” detailing Bissouma’s personal issues and reasons not to sign him from Tottenham this summer.

Either way, it appears Bissouma won’t be moving to Fenerbahce before tomorrow’s deadline, with Koç insisting an injury has scuppered that idea.

Tottenham Hotspur made several attempts to sign Como star Nico Paz towards the end of the summer window.

Last month, Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio reported about Tottenham tabling several bids, reportedly ranging from €40m to €65m plus €10m bonuses, for Paz, but the Serie A club weren’t keen on letting him leave.

The attacking midfielder was also said to be against making a switch to Tottenham as his desire is to return to Real Madrid in 2026.

On August 26th, Como owner Mirwan Suwarso said they hadn’t turned down any offer for the Argentina international in the recently concluded window.

Como sporting director Carlalberto Ludi gave an interview to TuttoMercatoWeb and they asked him about Spurs’ failure to sign the 21-year-old.

TMW specifically asked the director ‘how worrying it was’ when Tottenham’s interest in signing the South American arose, and when responding to that, he said the Europa League winners never sent a written offer.

“Not much, because no official offer has arrived, and by official, I mean signed,” he said.

The director has also hailed Nico Paz for not leaving Cesc Fàbregas’ side, where he has a contract until 2028.

“We’ve always had the player on our side. What makes us really proud is that, despite the sirens, many players and the coach have chosen to stay with us,” Ludi explained.

“We didn’t have to apply any pressure, other than to keep the course straight, maintain balance, and continue explaining the project to them.”

Tottenham strengthened their attacking midfield position by signing Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig on August 29th.

Napoli have been urged to follow Tottenham Hotspur’s example with a potential new stadium, as that’s a sign “you’re at the top”.

Area Napoli cover comments from journalist Peppe Iannicelli today in which he urges Napoli to follow the example set by Tottenham and Real Madrid.

Reports in Italy have suggested that Napoli are exploring the idea of abandoning their current stadium, the Diego Armando Maradona, to play in a new stadium in the coming years.

That stadium is now 65 years old after being opening in 1959, although it was remodelled in 1990 and has regularly been renovated over the years since.

There is now talk of a replacement being built in a deprived area of Naples, ahead of Euro 2023, which will be shared between Italy and Türkiye. Napoli have rejected proposals from the city to renovate the Maradona instead.

That’s led to some disappointment given its historical significance and sentimental value to the fanbase, something only strengthened after it was renamed in honour of their former icon.

Iannicelli believes that there is another solution, though and that is following the example set by Tottenham and Real Madrid, who have both rebuilt on their famous stadiums in recent years.

“If I had to make a decision for Naples and the future of the city of Naples, I would invest in a functional modernization of the Maradona Stadium, modelled after the Santiago Bernabeu which has now become a stadium capable of hosting the National Football League,” he said.

“When you reach that level, it’s like Tottenham’s stadium; it means you’re at the top, it means this city has a stadium where football is played on Saturdays, Taylor Swift performs on Mondays, and a big Broadway musical is on Thursdays, seen by 60,000 people.”

Bryan Gil ended his spell at Tottenham Hotspur when he left them to join Girona on a permanent transfer on summer deadline day.

Tottenham let the forward spend last season on loan at the La Liga club, but his spell there was cut short due to an injury.

On Tuesday, the Catalan club presented their new signing to the media, and the 24-year-old was accompanied by Girona president Delfí Geli and sporting director, Quique Cárcel.

AS have relayed their comments, and the newspaper points out Tottenham collected €6m plus €4m potential bonuses from Gil’s sale to the Spanish club.

According to Cárcel, the negotiations dragged for long mainly because of Tottenham and hailed the player for not entertaining other offers.

“It’s been a very long summer; we talked about his return from the very beginning. We knew it would be complicated due to the current transfer market,” he said.

“Tottenham had their arguments. He was the key because we spoke to him from the start, and he wanted to return. It’s appreciated that a player who has had many offers was willing to wait for Girona.”

The Spain international has thanked Girona for betting on him as he only wanted to leave Spurs to join them in the summer window. He also addressed claims of the possibility of the Europa League winners terminating his final year of contract.

“I want to thank everyone for the confidence shown and for being here today. I was very clear about coming here and continuing what I did last year. It’s a very important step for me, and I’m happy to sign as a permanent player. We’re all where we want to be. It’s been an important summer, but what I wanted happened, and I’m happy,” Gil explained.

“There was talk of terminating my contract with Tottenham, but they never wanted it. If that had been the case, I would have been here by July, and everyone would have felt more at ease.”

The attacker joined the north London in 2021 and spent two years on loan to Sevilla, Valencia and Girona. During his time at Tottenham, he struggled to impress and had two assists [no goal] from 43 games in all competitions.

Gil is thrilled to have finally left the Premier League club, where he failed to shine.

“The most important thing is to be happy somewhere. Thank God I was very happy and comfortable last year and now being part of this project for the next five years is important,” he added.

“I’ve changed teams a lot; I couldn’t be happy at Tottenham because if you don’t play, you’re not happy, and I’m going to be happy here. It’s important to be happy to be able to perform at the highest level and make it back to the national team.”

Burnley summer signing Quilindschy Hartman or Tottenham Hotspur star Micky van de Ven? For journalist Valentijn Driessen, there’s only one answer, at least for the Netherlands.

Soccer News cover comments from him today in which he picks the Burnley man over the Tottenham man as the Netherlands’ starting left-back.

Van de Ven has been earning rave reviews since joining Tottenham in a €40m move from Wolfsburg in 2023, establishing himself as the starting centre-back alongside Cristian Romero.

That’s yet to happen for the Netherlands and he’s instead often found himself playing at left-back for them as Ronald Koeman has other options at centre-back, including captain Virgil van Dijk in his preferred left-centre-back position.

That continued during this international break as the Tottenham defender started at left-back in the 1-1 draw with Poland and then replaced Nathan Ake in the position as a second half substitute in the win over Lithuania.

Whether he continues in the role long-term remains to be seen, particularly given he is a centre-back by trade and continues to play there for Tottenham. Driessen, for his part, thinks it should be a long-term thing and believes Burnley’s summer signing is the ideal choice instead.

“The ultimate left back plays at Burnley. That’s Hartman. He’s the best left back, but he’ll have a few months to get back to his old level,” he said when asked if Van de Ven was the best option by presenter Pim Sedee.

“Then I think he’s the best left back on the Dutch national team. Jurriën Timber played there too. If you don’t play him in the center, you can put him at left back,

“Van de Ven has a lot of energy, speed, and strength. He can run really fast to the byline, and then he doesn’t know what to do. That’s a problem.”

Tottenham Hotspur’s Lucas Bergvall suffered an ankle injury in April, forcing him to miss the end of last season, including their Europa League final win over Manchester United in May.

The Sweden international already regained full fitness in June and has been training under Thomas Frank’s orders since the pre-season.

The Tottenham player was part of the national team squad for this international break but didn’t feature for Sweden in the World Cup qualifiers win over Slovenia and 2-0 defeat to Kosovo on Monday.

Prior to Sweden’s clash against Kosovo, Fotbollskanalen had a chat with the 19-year-old to discuss his spell under Thomas Frank, who replaced Ange Postecoglou in the summer.

Bergvall played 2,334 minutes from 45 games last season and four games this season for the north London club. The midfielder now provides a positive update on his fitness and his desire to regain his best form at Tottenham.

“Thomas is a good coach. It’s just a matter of continuing on the path from last spring. Then I got an ankle injury. Now it’s good and I want to get back to that level and just continue,” he said.

When asked whether the former Brentford manager believes in him, Bergvall explained: “Yes, absolutely. I’ve had to play almost every match. It’s just a matter of continuing like I did in the spring season.”

The youngster graduated from IF Brommapojkarna’s youth system and played over a year for their senior team before joining Djurgården in February 2023. The latter sold him to the Premier League club.

He hasn’t played in the Champions League yet, but that can soon change when Spurs face Villarreal next week and Bergvall is excited of featuring in the Europe’s elite competition with the English club.

“It will be incredibly fun to play in the Champions League. Incredibly fun. I’m incredibly grateful and it’s fun that I got to do it after the first season,” he added.

Tottenham Hotspur youngster Luka Vuskovic ‘could become the next superstar’ and follow in the path of Manchester City’s Josko Gvardiol.

That’s according to former Croatian star Mladen Petric, who has heaped praise on the Tottenham youngster to BILD.

The Tottenham youngster is spending the season on loan at HSV Hamburg in Germany after securing a loan move at the end of the transfer window.

He had initially spent pre-season as a part of Thomas Frank’s squad after they wanted a look at him following a highly successful loan spell in Belgium last year.

They then elected to send him out on loan to aid his development this season, choosing Hamburg, where his brother currently plays, as the destination. The German side had pushed to get him for much of the summer and convinced Vuskovic that they were an ideal destination.

They are very excited to have secured him for the season, with his debut already planned for this Sunday when they take on Bayern Munich. Both they and Croatia are confident he’ll be a hit and Petric is delighted for his former club as well.

“Luka is a pretty hot prospect, one of the top talents in Croatia,” he said.

“He reminds me of the young Josko Gvardiol, who now plays for Manchester City. Vuskovic could become the next superstar in our country.

“I’m curious to see how quickly Luka settles into his role as defensive leader at HSV, leading the team from the back. That could take a while. He’s definitely an asset to my former team. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for him and the team.”

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has selected Richarlison, Dominic Solanke and deadline day signing Randal Kolo Muani as the three strikers for this season’s Champions League group stage fixtures.

Frank hasn’t included Mathys Tel, who has expressed his disappointment at being left out of the list.

The 20-year-old said he was hoping to represent Tottenham in Europe’s elite club competition this season and it “definitely hurts” to miss out.

Tel, who is part of the France U21 squad for this international break, has been speaking to the French media, and Le Télégramme have relayed his comments.

At the start of this year, the striker moved to the north London club on loan from Bayern Munich and Spurs made his stay permanent in the summer. He has signed a contract until 2031.

That hasn’t stopped Tel from being asked whether he’s ‘seeking revenge’ or if he has a desire to move elsewhere, likely in January, after Frank didn’t include him in the squad for the Champions League.

When responding to that, the France U21 international has refused to close the door on a potential exit.

“It doesn’t matter, even if I were on the list, I would have had this desire, to seek revenge, to be effective this season, to be able to kick-start my season in the Premier League. Because this is the beginning of a long first season, since last year was on a six-month loan,” he said.

“A desire to go elsewhere? I’m under contract with Tottenham, so I’m a Tottenham player, and I’m going to do my best to simply play.”

Tottenham Hotspur’s Mathys Tel has publicly expressed his disappointment at Thomas Frank leaving him out of Spurs’ Champions League squad this season.

The striker initially joined Tottenham on loan from Bayern Munich in the winter market and his stay was made permanent in the summer.

Spurs qualified for the Europe’s elite club competition after winning the Europa League final in May. They appointed Frank as Ange Postecoglou’s successor in the summer, and he didn’t include the 20-year-old in the list for Champions League group stage.

Tel has been with France U21s for the ongoing international break. He’s spoken to the media, who asked his views on Frank omitting him from Spurs’ Champions League list. Le Télégramme have relayed his comments.

Frank has deadline day signing Randal Kolo Muani, Richarlison and Dominic Solanke as his three strikers for the Champions League. The former Bayern Munich man insists he wanted to represent the north London club in the European competition this season.

“It’s clear that when you’re not on a squad, it definitely hurts, but I’m someone who stays pretty positive, no matter the situation, because I think I’ve worked a lot on my mental side, so today it’s definitely a disappointment; I would have liked to be there,” he said.

“But the coach’s choice is the coach’s choice; we can only respect it, and we’ll work to come back in the best possible way.”

The France U21 international was asked how the former Brentford manager explained his choice to him.

“Quite simply, with respect. He called me, he told me his choice, and afterwards you saw the list appear on social media,” Tel explained.

Tel made three substitute appearances for the Premier League club this season.