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He's back. And given his standout moments last season, he was never going to be away for long.

Mic-drop comments, bold statements, interviews you never wanted to end. Ange Postecoglou was box office at Tottenham Hotspur - and the manner in which he delivered on his promise of "I always win things in my second season" only adds to the appeal.

Perhaps the surprise is where he has ended up next. Nottingham Forest have replaced a head coach who took them from 17th to Europe, with a head coach whose Premier League position went from Europe to 17th last season.

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Postecoglou's links to Evangelos Marinakis are clear given their shared nationality - plus the fact the Forest co-owner gave the former Spurs coach an award over the summer for becoming the first Greek manager to win the Europa League.

But there is an ideological clash here. Postecoglou prided himself on playing attractive, attacking football with high lines, aggressive presses and lots of the ball. He is now entering a squad of Forest players who were drilled in low blocks, counter-attacking breaks and a lack of ball possession under Nuno Espirito Santo.

The two styles of Nuno's Forest and Postecoglou's Spurs are polar opposites, and it is confirmed by those who know the technicalities of 'Angeball'.

"People just talk about attacking and pressing. That's 100 per cent right," a senior source from Postecoglou's Spurs era tells Sky Sports.

"The main principles are playing with the purpose of scoring goals, defending aggressively, trying to win the ball as quick as you can. Those are the basic general principles."

But those principles were not always perceived positively. It added to the perception that Postecoglou wanted to play exactly the same way no matter who the opponent was. And it led to criticism, scepticism, the lot.

Some believed 'Angeball' neglected the defensive side of the game too much, with other claims of the style of play impacting player fitness and injuries. Those inside the Spurs camp, however, saw it differently.

"Obviously there's a lot of big talk. People talk, it's this, it's that, and obviously there has to be - and everybody's entitled to their opinion," says the same source. "But I was there and it's not like how people described it.

"Every approach was targeted to win and it's not about only playing in a certain way. It's about winning that game.

"We did work a lot in defensive things, it didn't get much talk and we did improve throughout the season in that area."

Perhaps the biggest indication of that - and also of Postecoglou not being 'one-style philosophy' manager he was accused of being - came in the latter stages of the Europa League.

Spurs transitioned from a team with one of the highest percentage numbers in the Premier League to not having more than 42 per cent of the ball in the final four games of the Europa League run.

They went to Eintracht Frankfurt with the aggregate score level and won 1-0 with just 39 per cent possession. They then had 41 per cent of the ball at home to Bodo/Glimt, winning 3-1 with 24 shots.

In the away match in Norway, they had 31 per cent possession - and ended Bodo's record of scoring in every home game for 18 months by winning 2-0. That was not by accident, or by Spurs being tactically inferior or fortunate - those from inside the Spurs dressing room remember that semi-final being a deliberate game plan from Postecoglou to get a result.

Then in the Europa League final, they had 26 per cent possession against Manchester United, with their one shot on target being their winner.

If anything, winning despite having less of the ball sounds a lot like Nuno's Forest.

"It was about: how can you win every moment?" says the same senior figure from Spurs. "How can you win when the ball is coming from across? How can you win when there's a shot? How can you win if the ball gets over the keeper and Micky van de Ven has to take it away from the line?

"Micky did everything there to win, so everybody was thinking like that. And if that means you're defending more, then you're defending more.

"The idea in the Europa League was just to win. It's not like the league where you can build your principles consistently and become stronger by going hard on your principles. Of course, in the Europa League you also have your principles, but if you don't win, you're out."

So what happened in the Premier League, and why was that so dire? For all the Europa League celebrations in Bilbao, Spurs failed to win their final seven top-flight matches of the season.

They conceded 65 goals in the Premier League, only the relegated sides and Wolves managed more. They also had the fourth-most errors leading to goals in the league, which vastly contrasted against their perfect Europa League form and style.

"For me, it's an easy answer," says the same source. "It seems to be very hard for so many people to understand.

"But it's: is the team playing Champions League this season? What's different if you then finish 13th or 10th? Does it change anything?

"By the time you get to that point in January, February or March and you see your biggest thing to accomplish to get to the Champions League and get to the Europa League win, why would you still try to make the Premier League work? Of course, you want to try to win everything. But is it really possible?"

For the Spurs dressing room and clearly Postecoglou, it was not possible - due to the number of injuries Spurs had. Several members of the squad were hamstrung by setbacks, leading to the likes of Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall to play more minutes as teenagers than they would have liked.

At the start of the season, it was not planned that the duo and the other Spurs youngsters would be so heavily involved.

So there are several questions that Postecoglou needs to answer at Forest. Has he now fully changed from the 'one-philosophy manager', if he was ever one in the first place? And if not, can he completely turn around Forest's game plan from defensive to attacking? Does his style of play lead to more injuries?

Crucially, with Forest in the Europa League this season, can he build a team that competes on all fronts?

The 17th-place finish in the Premier League with Spurs forced Daniel Levy to pull the trigger, and Marinakis has not proven to be any more forgiving over the years with his standards at Forest.

Tottenham Hotspur's majority owners, the Lewis family, could invest more money in the club to make sure they can challenge consistently for major honours.

Tottenham are one of the most profitable clubs in the Premier League and they have one of the best stadiums in the world, but in the past 25 years they have only won two trophies - the League Cup in 2008 and the Europa League in May.

Executive chairman Daniel Levy was asked to step down after almost 25 years last week. He has left behind an impressive legacy but his departure presents the club with an opportunity for a fresh start - and a renewed focus on winning more major trophies.

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Tottenham's wages to turnover ratio of 42 per cent is the lowest in the Premier League and they have not spent as much on transfers as their rivals. That could be set to change - but only if the new leadership team decide that is the best way of delivering on-pitch success.

The Lewis family are totally committed to Tottenham, despite the fact that there are now at least two groups of investors interested in buying the club.

The family have never taken any dividends out of the club and they have no need or desire to the sell the club they support and have owned for a quarter of a century.

The fact that senior members of the Lewis family are expected to attend Tottenham's game at West Ham on Saturday will be seen as sign of their long-term commitment to owning the club.

Tuesday's appointment of Adam Gardiner as the club's new chief marketing officer is significant as well. Gardiner has spent the past five years working as Arsenal's marketing director. He will be part of a new executive team who have been tasked with delivering success on and off the pitch.

Chief executive Vinai Venkatesham's interview on Monday with Tottenham's in-house media channels was a first step in showing that the new leadership will try to be more open going forward. Vivienne and Charles Lewis, the senior members of the Lewis Family Trust, are expected to be more involved in overseeing the running of the club.

Even though there is so much interest in buying English football clubs, there are good reasons to hold on to an asset as valuable as an established Premier League club. Tottenham are profitable, they play in the most-watched sports league in the world, they are in the Champions League, they have a new manager and a state-of the-art multi-purpose stadium.

Nottingham Forest have appointed ex-Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou as their new head coach to replace the sacked Nuno Espirito Santo.

Sky Sports News understands the Australian has signed a two-year deal at the City Ground.

Postecoglou returns to management just three months after being sacked by Spurs, despite leading them to Europa League glory last season.

How Edu caused rift between Nuno and Marinakis

Why was Nuno sacked?

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Postecoglou succeeds Nuno, who was sacked late on Monday night following a breakdown in his relationship with owner Evangelos Marinakis, and it is understood he wanted to be dismissed.

Greek Marinakis has been an admirer of Postecoglou, whose family are of Greek origin, for some time, and he was quickly identified as the leading candidate to take over from Nuno.

Marinakis said of Postecoglou's appointment: "We are bringing a coach to the club who has a proven and consistent record of winning trophies.

"His experience of coaching teams at the highest level, along with his desire to build something special with us at Forest, makes him a fantastic person to help us on our journey and achieve consistently all our ambitions.

"After gaining promotion to the Premier League, then building consistently season after season to secure European football, we now must take the right step to compete with the very best and challenge for trophies.

"Ange has the credentials and the track record to do this, and we are excited he is joining us on our ambitious journey."

Ange to face Arsenal away in first Forest game

Marinakis has given Postecoglou another crack at the Premier League and European football.

The 60-year-old is set for a swift return to north London as Forest visit Tottenham's rivals Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime.

Postecoglou's first four games in charge at Forest are all away, with his first home match not until September 27 against Sunderland, live on Sky Sports.

Sky Sports News understands Postecoglou wants Mile Jedinak, Sergio Reimundo, Nick Montgomery and Rob Burch as part of his backroom staff.

The ex-Celtic boss spent two seasons at Spurs and ended their 17-year trophy drought last season by winning the Europa League.

But 16 days after leading Tottenham to their first European trophy in 41 years, Postecoglou was sacked following the club's worst-ever Premier League season as they finished 17th with 22 defeats from 38 games.

Just over a month after his sacking, Marinakis presented Postecoglou with a special award in Greece for being the first coach of Greek origin to win a European trophy in the men's game.

He said: "Ange has spoken many times about Greece. It is very important for a person to be proud and shout about his origins.

"He achieved it with a team that was not winning titles and was struggling. With this success with Tottenham, he made Greece proud.

"He is a very good coach and wherever he goes, he will make Greece proud."

Can Ange make Forest more dynamic?

Latest from Sky Sports News' Anton Toloui:

"It's clear Evangelos Marinakis wants Nottingham Forest 3.0 in the Premier League.

"Steve Cooper got them up, Nuno took them to Europe, and now Ange Postecoglou is in charge of making this team more dynamic and successful.

"Forest have spent big on attackers in the summer, it's now up to the former Tottenham boss to unlock their potential.

"£35m was spent on Omari Hutchinson, a similar fee also splashed out on Dan Ndoye and Dylane Bakwe, plus James McAtee came in for up to £30m, £25m went to Rennes for Arnaud Kalimuendo and Igor Jesus wasn't cheap from Botofogo.

"They've also given big contracts to Callum Hudson-Odoi and Morgan Gibbs-White.

"Forest can easily name three different front-three capable of competing in the Premier and Europe, it's down to Postecoglou to unleash them.

"Forest missed out on the Champions League by just a point despite only having the ball for 40 per cent on average in games last season. To put that into context, only Everton and Ipswich had less possession on average.

"It's going to be a complete sea change in the way that we're going to see Forest play because at Tottenham, Postecoglou didn't really want to change the way that he set up for anybody.

"Even when results weren't going his way, he was dogmatic with his system; he wanted it to continue even though obviously the fans wanted to see a more pragmatic approach.

"Postecoglou's got to solve the puzzle, which is how to make the most of all the attacking talent at Forest.

"Also, ignore the lazy narrative about club owner Marinakis wanting Postecoglou because he was born in Athens.

"To paraphrase the words of Forest hero Brian Clough, Marinakis 'wants to win but wants to win it better'. He believes he's found the man to do just that."

'Writing was on the wall' - How Edu caused rift between Nuno and Marinakis

Sky Sports News' Rob Dorsett:

Nuno has got his wish, in the end. Even though he denied it, he wanted to be sacked.

And Marinakis has now opted for a replacement head coach in his own image: Ange Postecoglou is a dominant man, headstrong, principled, who doesn't suffer fools gladly.

Nuno was never going to resign, but he'd had enough of life at the City Ground. As soon as Marinakis appointed Edu as his global head of football, the writing was on the wall.

Read more of Rob Dorsett's analysis of why Nuno was sacked here.

Another Ange rollercoaster ride in store at Forest?

Postecoglou took the Premier League by storm when he arrived at Spurs in July 2023.

His free-flowing 'Ange-ball' style saw Spurs go undefeated for the first 10 league games of the season, including a 2-1 home victory over Liverpool, which put them top of the table.

His first defeat came in a chaotic 4-1 home loss against Chelsea, where he drew criticism for refusing to adapt his style of play even when reduced to nine men. It led him to famously say: "It's just who we are, mate."

Despite early-season promise, the campaign finished disappointingly as Spurs lost five of their last seven games to finish fifth and miss out on the Champions League.

Following a difficult start to his second season and a north London derby home defeat to Arsenal in September, Postecoglou defiantly said: "I always win things in my second year."

This promise kept Postecoglou afloat as Spurs struggled domestically, leading to huge pressure at the end of January after a woeful 2-1 home defeat to relegation-threatened Leicester.

Injuries admittedly hampered Postecoglou, who put all of his eggs in the Europa League basket in an attempt to end Spurs' 17-year trophy drought.

And he delivered as Tottenham beat Manchester United 1-0 in the final in Bilbao.

But ultimately Tottenham's dreadful Premier League campaign, which saw them finish 17th on a record low 38 points, ended Postecoglou's turbulent time at Spurs.

Postecoglou had expressed his desire to stay another year, telling fans at the Europa League victory parade that "season three is better than season two."

Ange Postecoglou has agreed a deal to become the next Nottingham Forest head coach.

The contract will last until the summer of 2027 and an announcement could come as soon as Tuesday.

The first game for the former Tottenham Hotspur boss is set to be away to Arsenal on Saturday lunchtime.

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Postecoglou, who wants Mile Jedinak, Sergio Raimundo, Nick Montgomery and Rob Burch as past of his backroom staff at Forest, was identified as the leading candidate to succeed Nuno Espirito Santo and talks accelerated on Tuesday morning.

Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis has been an admirer of the former Celtic and Spurs head coach, whose family are of Greek origin, for some time.

In July, Marinakis presented Postecoglou with a special award in Greece for being the first coach of Greek origin to win a European trophy in the men's game.

"Ange has spoken many times about Greece," said Marinakis. "It is very important for a person to be proud and shout about his origins.

"He achieved it with a team that was not winning titles and was struggling. With this success with Tottenham, he made Greece proud.

"He is a very good coach and wherever he goes, he will make Greece proud."

Postecoglou has been out of work since leaving Tottenham in June, just 16 days after leading them to Europa League glory.

The 60-year-old spent two seasons at Spurs and ended their trophy drought last season, but did so at the expense of the league, where they finished 17th.

Nuno was relieved of his duties on Monday night after publicly falling out with Marinakis this summer.

The 51-year-old was given a new contract in June after guiding Forest into the Europa League, their first European qualification since 1995, but cracks were beginning to show behind the scenes.

Nuno had a poor working relationship with global head of football Edu Gaspar and his bond with Marinakis suffered as a result.

He questioned the club's transfer business ahead of the new season and then pre-empted his own sacking by saying "where there's smoke, there's fire" when asked about his future at the club.

He was set for peace talks with Marinakis during the international break, but the Greek businessman pulled the trigger without them happening.

Forest said in a statement: "Nottingham Forest Football Club confirms that, following recent circumstances, Nuno Espirito Santo has today been relieved of his duties as head coach.

"The club thanks Nuno for his contribution during a very successful era at the City Ground, in particular his role in the 2024/25 season, which will forever be remembered fondly in the history of the club.

"As someone who played a pivotal role in our success last season, he will always hold a special place in our journey."

Strains in the Nuno-Marinakis relationship began to show in mid-August when Nuno criticised Forest's summer transfer activity and expressed concern for the season ahead.

"I always had a very good relationship with the owner, last season was very close," the Portuguese said. "This season, not so well. No, it's not [good].

"I don't know exactly, but I'm being honest with you. I cannot say that is the same, because it's not the same. The reason behind it, I don't know.

"I always believe that dialogue and what you say or your opinion, is always valid, because my concern is the squad and the season that we have ahead of us, but our relations have changed.

"The reality is that is not what it used to be. What it used to be was a good, respectful relationship, but was more based on trust and sharing opinions and now it's not so good."

Why has Marinakis chosen Postecoglou?

Latest from Sky Sports News' Anton Toloui:

"It's clear Evangelos Marinakis wants Nottingham Forest 3.0 in the Premier League.

"Steve Cooper got them up, Nuno took them to Europe and now Ange Postecoglou is in charge of making this team more dynamic and successful.

"Forest have spent big on attackers in the summer, it's now up to the former Tottenham boss to unlock their potential.

"£35m was spent on Omari Hutchinson, a similar fee also splashed out on Dan Ndoye and Dylane Bakwe, plus James McAtee came in for up to £30m, £25m went to Rennes for Arnaud Kalimuendo and Igor Jesus wasn't cheap from Botofogo.

"They've also given big contracts to Callum Hudson-Odoi and Morgan Gibbs-White.

"Forest can easily name three different front-three capable of competing in the Premier and Europe, it's down to Postecoglou to unleash them.

"Forest missed out on the Champions League by just a point despite only having the ball for 40 per cent on average in games last season. To put that into context, only Everton and Ipswich had less possession on average.

"Ignore the lazy narrative about club owner Marinakis wanting Postecoglou because he was born in Athens.

"To paraphrase the words of Forest hero Brian Clough, Marinakis 'wants to win but wants to win it better'. He believes he's found the man to do just that."

Forest's next 10 fixtures

September 13: Arsenal (A), Premier League, kick-off 12.30pm

September 17: Swansea (A), Carabao Cup third round, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports

September 20: Burnley (A), Premier League, kick-off 3pm

September 24: Real Betis (A), Europa League, kick-off 8pm

September 27: Sunderland (H), Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports

October 2: Midtjylland (H), Europa League, kick-off 8pm

October 5: Newcastle (A), Premier League, kick-off 2pm, live on Sky Sports

October 18: Chelsea (H), Premier League, kick-off 12.30pm

October 23: FC Porto (H), Europa League, kick-off 8pm

Ange Postecoglou has agreed a deal to become the next Nottingham Forest head coach.

The contract will last until the summer of 2027 and an announcement could come as soon as Tuesday.

The first game for the former Tottenham Hotspur boss is set to be away to Arsenal on Saturday lunchtime.

Transfer Centre LIVE! | Forest news & transfers🔴⚪

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Choose the Sky Sports push notifications you want! 🔔

Postecoglou was identified as the leading candidate to succeed Nuno Espirito Santo and talks accelerated on Tuesday morning.

Greek owner Evangelos Marinakis has been an admirer of the former Celtic and Spurs head coach, whose family are of Greek origin, for some time.

In July, Marinakis presented Postecoglou with a special award in Greece for being the first coach of Greek origin to win a European trophy in the men's game.

"Ange has spoken many times about Greece," said Marinakis. "It is very important for a person to be proud and shout about his origins.

"He achieved it with a team that was not winning titles and was struggling. With this success with Tottenham, he made Greece proud.

"He is a very good coach and wherever he goes, he will make Greece proud."

Postecoglou has been out of work since leaving Tottenham in June, just 16 days after leading them to Europa League glory.

The 60-year-old spent two seasons at Spurs and ended their trophy drought last season, but did so at the expense of the league, where they finished 17th.

Nuno was relieved of his duties on Monday night after publicly falling out with Marinakis this summer.

The 51-year-old was given a new contract in June after guiding Forest into the Europa League, their first European qualification since 1995, but cracks were beginning to show behind the scenes.

Nuno had a poor working relationship with global head of football Edu Gaspar and his bond with Marinakis suffered as a result.

He questioned the club's transfer business ahead of the new season and then pre-empted his own sacking by saying "where there's smoke, there's fire" when asked about his future at the club.

He was set for peace talks with Marinakis during the international break, but the Greek businessman pulled the trigger without them happening.

Forest said in a statement: "Nottingham Forest Football Club confirms that, following recent circumstances, Nuno Espirito Santo has today been relieved of his duties as head coach.

"The club thanks Nuno for his contribution during a very successful era at the City Ground, in particular his role in the 2024/25 season, which will forever be remembered fondly in the history of the club.

"As someone who played a pivotal role in our success last season, he will always hold a special place in our journey."

Strains in the Nuno-Marinakis relationship began to show in mid-August when Nuno criticised Forest's summer transfer activity and expressed concern for the season ahead.

"I always had a very good relationship with the owner, last season was very close," the Portuguese said. "This season, not so well. No, it's not [good].

"I don't know exactly, but I'm being honest with you. I cannot say that is the same, because it's not the same. The reason behind it, I don't know.

"I always believe that dialogue and what you say or your opinion, is always valid, because my concern is the squad and the season that we have ahead of us, but our relations have changed.

"The reality is that is not what it used to be. What it used to be was a good, respectful relationship, but was more based on trust and sharing opinions and now it's not so good."

Forest's next 10 fixtures

September 13: Arsenal (A), Premier League, kick-off 12.30pm

September 17: Swansea (A), Carabao Cup third round, kick-off 8pm, live on Sky Sports

September 20: Burnley (A), Premier League, kick-off 3pm

September 24: Real Betis (A), Europa League, kick-off 8pm

September 27: Sunderland (H), Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports

October 2: Midtjylland (H), Europa League, kick-off 8pm

October 5: Newcastle (A), Premier League, kick-off 2pm, live on Sky Sports

October 18: Chelsea (H), Premier League, kick-off 12.30pm

October 23: FC Porto (H), Europa League, kick-off 8pm

The top stories and transfer rumours from Tuesday's newspapers...

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Liverpool will not submit a fresh cash offer for Marc Guehi in January and intend to sign the Crystal Palace defender on a free transfer next summer.

Spurs will kick off the club's post-Daniel Levy era in front of a public show of power from members of the Lewis family, who are "hungry" for more trophies.

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Wolverhampton Wanderers have opened contract talks with Jorgen Strand Larsen after rejecting bids from Newcastle United last month.

THE SUN

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim was riled with Andre Onana when he demanded a new contract upon his return for pre-season.

DAILY MAIL

Andre Onana has doubled his salary by agreeing to join Trabzonspor on loan from Manchester United for the rest of the season.

Birmingham City, Wrexham and West Brom have emerged as favourites to sign Dele Alli.

THE GUARDIAN

Andre Onana's move to Trabzonspor is expected to be completed this week after the Manchester United goalkeeper agreed to a season's loan to the Turkish club, with a medical due to take place on Thursday before the move is confirmed.

THE TIMES

Amanda Staveley's company could revive their interest in Tottenham next year. The consortium represented by the British business executive will continue to monitor events at Spurs before deciding whether to make a further approach.

DAILY RECORD

CFR Cluj owner Ioan Varga has revealed he blocked a deadline day exit for Celtic target Louis Munteanu after convincing the striker that his immediate future lies with the Romanian club.

Sky Sports to show 215 live Premier League games from this season

This season, Sky Sports' Premier League coverage has increased from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live.

And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games this season will be on Sky Sports.

There always seems to be a big football news story during international breaks and this time it has all been about Daniel Levy and Tottenham Hotspur.

Despite the relative lack of on-field success in recent times, Tottenham have been one of the best-run clubs in the world under Levy and ENIC.

With so much interest in buying English clubs, it is only to be expected that investors have been looking at Tottenham. What makes matters even more interesting, of course, is that Tottenham have been looking for investment, and that's one of the reasons they have retained the services of advisors such as investment bank Rothschild & Co.

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We now know that two groups have approached ENIC about buying its stake in the club. The approaches have both been rejected.

What do we know about potential takeover moves?

The two groups are Amanda Staveley's PCP International Finance Limited and a consortium led by Dr Roger Kennedy and Wing-Fai-Ng through Firehawk Holdings Limited.

As 14 per cent of Tottenham is owned by private investors, interested parties have to comply with UK takeover rules and come clean about their intentions. Tottenham have set a deadline of 5pm on October 5 for interested groups to declare whether or not they intend to bid for the club. Any offer to buy ENIC's stake also has to be extended to private investors.

PCP have already issued a statement announcing that they do not intend to bid. Under takeover rules, they cannot bid for six months except in special circumstances such as a competitor making a bid or the club inviting bids.

There is also interest in Tottenham from American NFL owners.

Does the PCP statement mean Staveley is going to walk away now?

Buying a Premier League club is often a long, drawn-out process, so this is not necessarily the end of the road as far as Stevely and Spurs are concerned.

Staveley is one of the most well-connected dealmakers in football, and it is clear she still wants to be involved in the game after her departure from Newcastle United last year.

The controversial Saudi-Arabian-backed deal, which she brokered for Newcastle, took almost four years to get across the line, so she is not someone who necessarily takes no for an answer.

Even if she were to walk away from Tottenham, you sense she has unfinished business in the Premier League.

Are Spurs really "not for sale"?

That is the official position, and that has been made clear this week by the club and sources close to majority owner Joe Lewis and his family.

Tottenham chief executive Vinai Venkatesham says the Lewis family are committed to owning the club for many years to come, and it is business as usual after executive chairman Levy's departure last week.

Tottenham are in the unique position of being the only big English club who have not been bought and sold in recent times.

There were more than a hundred expressions of interest in Chelsea when they were put up for sale in 2022. That gives you an idea about the level of interest there is from global investors in English football.

Is Tottenham's £4bn valuation realistic?

As the old saying goes, if you need to know how much something costs, then you probably can't afford it.

The highest valuation for a sports team sale was £7.4bn for the LA Lakers earlier this year. The latest Football Benchmark report in May valued Tottenham at £3.1bn. That valuation takes into account that Tottenham have a state-of-the-art modern multi-purpose stadium as well as one of the best training grounds in the world.

Their location in London and place in the Premier League and Champions League makes them especially attractive to investors.

Is external investment a possibility?

That appears to definitely be on the cards because Tottenham have been in talks with potential new investors.

Venkatesham talks at length in a club interview about how committed the present owners are to the club, as well as providing financial support going forward, but he does not rule out the possibility of external investment.

He said: "We have firm backing from the Lewis family against our ambitions to be successful on the pitch, both on the men's side and women's side.

"They know that's going to require investment, and we have their firm backing.

"But I would also say, like all other 20 Premier League clubs, we also need to make sure that we're cognisant and aware of the financial fair play rules."

Who owns Spurs?

ENIC own 86.58 per cent of Tottenham. The other 13.42 per cent is owned by private investors.

Joe Lewis and his family own most of ENIC, with Daniel Levy and his family owning about 30 per cent.

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Sky Sports News understands that there is interest in Tottenham Hotspur from American NFL owners.

Tottenham said on Sunday night that they have "unequivocally rejected" two expressions of interest in the club with ENIC confirming the club is not for sale.

However, if the club was sold, it would be expected to be valued at up to £4bn. Tottenham are one of the few big English clubs who have not changed hands in the past 24 years.

Tottenham latest news

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The two previously named parties linked with a potential takeover included PCP International, led by Amanda Staveley and another consortium fronted by Dr Roger Kennedy and Wing Fai-Ng, who is the chief executive of Triller, which is a TikTok rival.

Sky Sports News reported on Sunday that Staveley had been in discussions with prospective backers of a bid for the club in recent weeks.

But on Monday, PCP released a statement saying they did not intend to make a bid for Tottenham.

Tottenham's stance on potential sale

Tottenham released a statement late on Sunday to address the rumours surrounding a potential takeover, in the aftermath of former chairman Daniel Levy stepping away from his role after nearly 25 years at the club.

"The board of the club and ENIC confirm that Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale and ENIC has no intention to accept any such offer to acquire its interest in the club," a statement from the club read.

On Monday, Spurs CEO Vinai Venkatesham added: "The Lewis family are really clear, they see their involvement in Tottenham Hotspur being long-term, and they see their involvement continuing through the generations. We made a statement very late last night (Sunday), and the statement I hope was unambiguously clear that Tottenham Hotspur is not for sale."

He continued: "I think it is very fair to say that we have firm backing from the Lewis family against our ambitions to be successful on the pitch, both on the men's side and women's side. They know that's going to require investment, and we have their firm backing.

"There's financial backing against the ambition we have, and like every other club in the Premier League, we need to do that in line with the financial fair play rules."

Firehawks Holdings Limited, the consortium involving Kenney and Fai-Ng, have until 5pm on October 5 to either announce a firm intention to make an offer for the company or to announce that they do not intend to make an offer.

ENIC own 86.58 per cent of Tottenham. The other 13.42 per cent is owned by minority investors. Any offer to buy ENIC's stake would mean a mandatory offer has to be made to acquire the shares not held by ENIC.

Due to the remaining shares being publicly traded, the club is subject to UK Takeover Code.

Former Spurs chairman Levy revealed last year that the club were in talks with "prospective investors" over selling a minority share, although discussions involving Qatar Sports Investments were denied.

In a statement announcing Levy's departure last week, Tottenham said there would be "no changes to the ownership or shareholder structure" following his exit.