Inside Futbol

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Tottenham Hotspur out-on-loan talent Alfie Devine has claimed that he was fully aware of the challenges he would face with Preston North End before signing for the club and thinks that everything is working for him at the moment.

The 21-year-old Tottenham attacking midfielder spent last season on loan with Belgian outfit Westerlo, where he made regular appearances and turned some heads with his performances.

Devine, who came through Spurs’ academy system, joined Preston in the summer to ply his trade under new boss Paul Heckingbottom, who is an admirer of his talents.

His career at Deepdale has taken a flying start as he has registered two goals in his first five games and on Saturday it was the Spurs loanee’s goal that sealed a 1-0 victory for Preston against Derby County.

Devine claimed that he perfectly knew what he was getting into when he decided to join Preston and stressed that so far the move is working well for him.

The Spurs talent stated that every game in the Championship brings different challenges and thinks that the most important thing for him now is to clock as much game time as possible for Preston.

When asked about whether everything he was told before the move by Deepdale is coming to fruition, Devine told Preston’s in-house media (1:30): “I think so.

Game Competition Bristol City (H) Championship Hull City (A) Championship Charlton Athletic (H) Championship Preston’s next three games

“Obviously in Championship football each game they come fast and every game is different, but I think, for myself personally, it is just about now, just getting the games in and stuff like that.

“Like I said before, in the first half [against Derby] we showed what we were about, limiting them to pretty much nothing and then we showed what we can do on and off the ball.

“I thought the defenders were superb.

“For the first half they didn’t have a sniff and even when you were under pressure like that in the end, it was resilience and as a group to do it [defending], so yes, I knew what I was coming into and so far it is working.”

It is not the first time Devine is playing in the Championship, as during the 2023/24 season he joined Plymouth Argyle on loan in the second part of the campaign and played a crucial role in fighting off the relegation threat for the Pilgrims.

Devine is highly rated at Spurs and he will be keen on having an impressive season with Heckingbottom’s side to get into Tottenham’s first-team plans.

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Tottenham Hotspur star Alfie Devine thinks that Aston Villa loanee Lewis Dobbin and Everton midfielder Harrison Armstrong, who are on loan with him at Preston North End, were brilliant against Derby County at the weekend.

Dobbin is a product of the Everton academy system and joined Aston Villa in the summer of 2024; last season he featured on loan for West Brom and Norwich City.

Villa sanctioned a loan deal in the summer for the winger to join Preston on loan to aid his development and Paul Heckingbottom was impressed with Dobbin and revealed after he joined that the 22-year-old was excited.

Preston managed to also secure loan deals for Premier League talents in the form of Armstrong and Devine and the young loanees have formed a friendship.

Devine is of the view that because players in the Preston squad are so close to each other that new players feel instantly welcomed, which is very good for young loanees and thinks that Harrison and Dobbin share the same feeling.

Dobbin, Devine and Harrison all took part in Preston’s 1-0 win over Derby at the weekend and the Spurs youngster thinks that the Aston Villa loanee was superb in the first half of the game.

Harrison came off the bench in the second half to help the team defend the 1-0 lead established by Devine and also pointed out that Everton’s young defensive midfielder performed brilliantly.

Player On loan from Harrison Armstrong Everton Daniel Jebbison Bournemouth Lewis Dobbin Aston Villa Alfie Devine Tottenham Hotspur Preston North End’s loan stars

When asked about whether friendship off the pitch with fellow loan players helps, Devine told Preston’s in-house media (2:40): “The group is so close and with new players coming in, you feel so welcomed within a matter of days.

“So it is like for a loan boy coming in and I am sure Harrison and Dobs would say the same thing, when you come in, that is what you want.

“Because when you feel comfortable on the pitch, you can go and show that and be comfortable.

“I think Dobs was superb in the first half today and I thought when Harrison came up he was brilliant as well, so it shows.”

Armstrong is on his second loan spell of his career and last season he was a standout performer for John Eustace’s Derby.

Dobbin and Devine, however, are on their fourth loan outings and they will be hoping to make the most of it before the season ends.

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Former Championship attacker Sam Parkin has hailed Tottenham Hotspur loan star Will Lankshear for his incredible maturity as a striker, despite him being only 20.

The Welwyn Garden City-born striker came through Arsenal’s academy and spent a year in Sheffield United’s youth system.

Spurs snapped him up back in 2022, and last season, he played six senior games for Tottenham’s first team.

The England Under-21 had a forgettable loan spell at West Brom in the second half of the previous campaign, where he played eleven times, without scoring once.

This summer, though, Oxford United loaned him in and the 20-year-old forward has started life at the Kassam Stadium well, living up to being backed to make an immediate impact.

Lankshear has scored three goals in six league starts and ex-Championship hitman Parkin is impressed with how the Spurs loanee has done so far.

The 44-year-old stressed that Lankshear has looked brilliant playing striker for Gary Rowett’s side and he lauded the young Englishman for his maturity at 20.

Game Competition Sheffield United (H) Championship QPR (A) Championship Watford (A) Championship Oxford United’s next three games

“Will Lankshear, different class, up front – he looks very mature for such a young lad, playing that role”, Parkin said on the Championship Check-in show (25:28) about the Tottenham loanee.

“And, it is not something that happens overnight, even for the big old-fashioned looking centre-forward.

“You learn that position over time, you learn the importance of keeping the ball in the final third, of winning throws, of winning free-kicks, of keeping hold of the ball for your side.

“He looks incredibly mature for someone so young.

“[He] could have had another goal himself.”

Several EFL sides were keen on Lankshear, but the U’s saw off competition to land the 20-year-old on loan.

Now, Lankshear will look to continue his electric start, cementing himself as a key part of Rowett’s plans for the rest of the campaign.

Oxford United’s first win of the Championship season came on Sunday, as they went to Bristol City and won 3-1.

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Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom has warned Everton‘s Harrison Armstrong and Tottenham Hotspur‘s Alfie Devine that they have perform like they did against Derby County to stay in the team.

The Deepdale outfit were keen in the transfer market to bring in players who would be able to improve the overall quality of the team and strengthen certain areas.

Early in August, Preston managed to secure the signature of Spurs loanee Devine and on deadline day the finalised Armstrong’s loan deal with Everton beating several Championship sides, including West Brom.

Armstrong made his second appearance for Preston on Saturday against Derby County where Spurs starlet Devine scored the one and only goal of the game to help Heckingbottom’s side snatch three points.

The Preston boss admitted that they were in conversations with the Devine and Armstrong’s camp for a long time and sealed the deal when they felt the time was right.

Heckingbottom was pleased with Armstrong and Devine’s willingness to track back Derby’s players while working hard for the clean sheet, but warned that if they are not willing to constantly do what they did on Saturday they will not get into the team.

The Preston boss admitted that players like Armstrong and Devine are fantastic footballers when they work well with the team and get going.

Player On loan from Harrison Armstrong Everton Daniel Jebbison Bournemouth Lewis Dobbin Aston Villa Alfie Devine Tottenham Hotspur Preston North End’s loan stars

While talking about the players they added in the summer to add more individual quality, Heckingbottom told Preston North End’s official media: “Then with the late Premier League boys if you like, Lewis, Alfie and Harrison [Armstrong], we had been in conversations with them for a long, long time but the timing has always got to be right.

“We think that they bring something a little bit different to what we had in the squad but if they’re not willing to work hard, if they’re not willing to do what they did today to keep clean sheets, track runners and make it difficult for the opposition as well then they won’t play because you can’t carry anyone.

“But when you do get them working and they know their role in the team and they’ve got those moments in them, then it’s fantastic.”

Heckingbottom was keen to talk up Devine’s useful versatility when he completed a move to Preston.

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank has revealed that Lucas Bergvall has so much energy that he sometimes has to instruct the midfielder to stop running when Spurs are in possession of the ball.

The 19-year-old Swedish talent joined Spurs from Djurgarden in the summer of 2024 and in his first campaign with Tottenham, he racked up 45 appearances in all competitions.

Bergvall has made a good start to the ongoing season, making seven appearances while contributing one goal and an assist in last weekend’s game against West Ham United.

Frank gave Bergvall a start in Spurs’ Champions League opener against Villarreal in midweek and it was a move in which he was involved that brought out the only goal of the game, which ended 1-0.

In the wake of that match, Bergvall’s brother admitted he no longer gets nervous watching Lucas play for Spurs.

Now Tottenham boss Frank has revealed that Bergvall is so energetic that sometimes during the game he asks the midfielder to stop running when Spurs are in possession of the ball.

Frank also stated that he wants Bergvall to make deep runs to get into dangerous positions like he did during the games against West Ham and Villarreal.

“I think the coaches and I have been working with him on a couple of things”, Frank said at press conference.

“He has got so much energy that sometimes you need to say, pause, stop, don’t run when we have the ball and find the higher, the more dangerous positions.

“For example, the deep run where he scored the goal against West Ham was a big thing.

“The deep run where he was involved in the own goal against Villarreal.

“So those deep runs and arriving in a higher position up the pitch is key, I think and then he is learning to be more and more clever in the pressure.”

Last season, Bergvall played a key role in helping Tottenham lift their first major trophy in a long time, winning the Europa League.

The 19-year-old started in Saturday’s 2-2 draw away at Brighton and clocked 89 minutes in the Premier League clash.

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Fixture: Brighton & Hove Albion vs Tottenham Hotspur

Competition: Premier League

Kick-off: 15:00 UK time

Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank has picked his starting lineup and substitutes to go up against Brighton on the south coast this afternoon.

Frank takes his Spurs side into the Premier League clash on the back of a 1-0 win over Villarreal in the Champions League in midweek.

That could well add to the pressure for Spurs to show they can handle the demands of the Champions League, with Brighton the fresher side, having not featured since last weekend’s 2-1 loss at Bournemouth.

In the run-up to the Brighton clash, Frank admitted he sees Archie Gray more as a central midfielder and sometimes centre-back than a full-back.

Frank also admitted he is keeping his eyes away from the Premier League table as he seeks to fully focus on Spurs’ performances.

Spurs lost both of their meetings with Brighton last season, going down 3-2 on the south coast and then being turned over 4-1 in north London.

Guglielmo Vicario is between the sticks for Tottenham this afternoon, while in front of him Frank selects a back four of Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Destiny Udogie.

Midfield could be a key battleground in the game and Tottenham go with Joao Palhinha, Rodrigo Bentancur and Lucas Bergvall, while Wilson Odobert and Mohammed Kudus support Richarlison.

Frank can shuffle his pack during the 90 minutes by using his substitutes and options available to him include Xavi Simons and Mathys Tel.

Tottenham Hotspur Lineup vs Brighton

Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van den Ven, Udogie, Palhinha, Bentancur, Bergvall, Odobert, Kudus, Richarlison

Substitutes: Kinsky, Danso, Simons, Tel, Gray, Johnson, Spence, Sarr, Scarlett

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Djurgarden star Theo Bergvall has revealed that he does not feel nervous while seeing his brother Lucas Bergvall play for Tottenham Hotspur anymore, as he knows what the Spurs star is capable of.

The 19-year-old midfielder joined Tottenham last summer from Swedish side Djurgarden, with Spurs seeing off competition from Barcelona for him, and in his first season made 45 appearances for them.

Bergvall played a key role in the early part of Tottenham’s Europa League campaign, featuring 12 times while registering three assists, as Spurs ended the club’s trophy drought by winning the competition.

The young Swedish midfielder has begun the season under new boss Thomas Frank in good fashion and at the weekend scored a goal while assisting one against West Ham United to inspire Tottenham to a 3-0 victory.

Bergvall also played a crucial role in Spurs’ Champions League opener midweek as Tottenham sealed a 1-0 win against Villarreal where he was named man of the match.

His brother Theo admitted that he does not feel as nervous as he used to feel when watching Lucas play for Tottenham because he knows that he is an incredible player.

The Djurgarden star is not surprised to see his brother flourish at Tottenham and he added that he knows exactly what his brother is capable of doing, admitting that it is fun for him to watch him play.

When asked about Lucas’ performance against Villarreal, his brother told Swedish outlet Fotboll Direkt: “I am not as nervous anymore [while watching him play].

“He is absolutely incredible, there are no words to describe him.

“At the same time, I know what he is capable of, so I am not really surprised.

“But of course, it is great fun [to watch him play].”

Frank has given Lucas back-to-back starts and all eyes will remain on the Spurs boss to see whether he will give the Swede the nod against their game with Brighton & Hove Albion this weekend.

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Tottenham Hotspur talent Alfie Devine has ‘done really well’ for Preston North End so far this season, Ali McCann feels.

The 21-year-old attacking midfielder spent last season on loan with Belgian side Westerlo, where he made 30 appearances for them while making seven goal contributions.

This summer Preston were keen to bring him to Deepdale and they managed to agree a loan deal with Tottenham to sign him.

Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom mentioned that Devine’s flexibility is something that attracted his attention and he has featured four times for North End in the league so far.

He played a key part in helping his team snatch a point against Middlesbrough, where Aston Villa loanee Lewis Dobbin scored a goal.

McCann thinks that Preston lacked individual flair last season, but this season players coming on loan like Devine and Dobbin have done really well so far for them to add that quality they needed.

When asked about whether the new signings have improved them this season, McCann told Preston’s in-house media (4:40): “Yes, maybe at times last season we lacked some sort of individual flair at times.

Loan club League Port Vale League One Plymouth Argyle Championship Westerlo Belgian Pro League Preston North End Championship Alfie Devine’s loan spells

“Where this season you have seen so far, you saw Lewis’ [Dobbin] goal at the weekend, Alfie has come in and done really well and the likes of Pol [Valentin] and Smudge [Michael Smith] coming in have added experience and that quality as well.

“So I think the squad is in a really good place and like I said, going forward, it can be only good for us.”

Devine has featured in a total of six games in all competitions and he has made a good start of his career at Deepdale with one goal and one assist already in his bag.

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Tottenham Hotspur star Cristian Romero has claimed that he never came out and said that he wanted to leave the London outfit and stressed that Spurs feel like a family to him.

During the recently closed transfer window, Romero’s future came under the scanner as he was linked with a move to Atletico Madrid and it was suggested that the Spanish giants held talks with Spurs for the Argentinian.

Spurs were insistent on keeping him at the club, but it was said that Romero was looking for a new challenge and wanted to join the Spanish giants managed by former Argentina international Diego Simeone.

However, in August, the Tottenham captain signed a new long-term deal with Spurs which will keep him at the club until 2029 and put all the news regarding his departure to bed.

Romero stressed that he never personally said that he wants to leave Tottenham this summer and the Argentinian international added that he likes new boss Thomas Frank.

The defender also added that he likes the way Frank works and highlighted that the club feels like a family to him.

When asked about the transfer claims regarding him in summer, Romero said at a press conference: “I never said I wanted to leave the club.

Club Belgrano Genoa Juventus Atalanta Tottenham Hotspur Clubs Cristian Romero has played for

“Nothing came from me in that effect.

“It is important what the manager and president say.

“I am very happy here, it is like a family.

“I like the manager. I like the way we work, the way we train.

“Things can always improve but I think everyone here at all levels are taking the right steps to improve.

“I am very happy here.”

Romero has featured in all four league games for Tottenham so far this season, helping them to keep three clean sheets in the process.

Tottenham are set to face Villarreal on Tuesday to begin their Champions League campaign in front of the home crowd and it will be Frank’s first game in Europe’s premier competition.

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Fixture: West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur

Competition: Premier League

Kick-off: 17:30 UK time

Tottenham Hotspur boss Thomas Frank has picked his starting lineup and substitutes to face West Ham United at the London Stadium in the Premier League this evening, with new boy Xavi Simons given a debut.

Spurs went into the international break on the back of a disappointing 1-0 defeat at home at the hands of Bournemouth, which halted their momentum.

Frank will want his side to show that was just a blip and to resume their progress this evening against a West Ham team whose campaign has gone the opposite way.

The Hammers had a disastrous start to the campaign, but then ended before the break on a bright note as they thrashed Nottingham Forest 3-0 at the City Ground.

Tottenham will have to flip recent history on its head to claim the win here though as they have not won at the London Stadium in their last five visits, with two of those ending in defeat for Spurs.

Spurs did manage to add striker Radal Kolo Muani before the transfer window closed in an eye-catching move, which does boost the feel-good factor for the visitors.

In goal for Tottenham this evening is Guglielmo Vicario, while at the back Frank picks Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence.

The engine room sees Spurs go with Pape Matar Sarr and Joao Palhinha, while Lucas Bergvall also plays. Mohammed Kudus and Xavi Simons support Mathys Tel in attack.

If Frank needs to make changes to try to influence the game then he has options on the bench available to him and they include Kolo Muani and Richarlison.

Tottenham Hotspur Lineup vs West Ham United

Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence, Palhinha, Sarr, Bergvall, Simons, Kudus, Tel

Substitutes: Kinsky, Danso, Richarlison, Udogie, Johnson, Odobert, Bentancur, Davies, Kolo Munai