Inside Futbol

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Tottenham Hotspur full-back Destiny Udogie believes that his team-mate Djed Spence is an incredible player and admits the two are good friends.

After initially falling out of favour with his parent club, Spence had to go out on three different loan spells to Rennes, Leeds United and Genoa.

However, an impressive pre-season with Tottenham this year helped Spence regain his place in the first team squad and he was even given a new contract by the London club.

Since then Spence has played in four Premier League games and one EFL Cup match, with the chances of his increasing his overall first-team minutes being curtailed by injury.

The 24-year-old though has left his mark on his team-mates, one of whom is Udogie, who believes that the full-back is an incredible player and a good friend.

“Obviously I think Djed is an incredible player”, Udogie said at a press conference.

“We’re really close friends, we speak a lot and try to help each other in the game.

“As everyone in the group, you have to help and I hope he can help us as much [as he can].”

Spence’s current contract is set to keep him at Tottenham until at least the summer of 2028.

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has insisted that though he wants to play out from the back he does not need his goalkeepers to be Paolo Maldini or Michel Platini.

Under the 59-year-old manager, Tottenham have adopted an attacking style of football which involves playing out from the back.

Goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario has played a key role in it all but is now set to be sidelined for a significant period of time after fracturing his ankle in the 4-0 win over Manchester City on Saturday.

Now as the manager prepares for his side’s upcoming matches, with veteran goalkeeper Fraser Forster in his plans, he has made it clear what he wants from his goalkeepers.

“I do want to play out from the back but I don’t want them to be Maldini or Platini”, Postecoglou said at a press conference.

“I keep telling our players not to pass back to our ‘keepers because they’re the ones with gloves on.

“Hitting long kicks is actually more difficult, there’s more skill involved.

“I’m asking them to do short passes.

“It’s more taking away the risk for them and having the structure to make it a clean process.

“It’s just about changing their mindset.

Tottenham are in Europa League action on Thursday night when they welcome Claudio Ranieri’s Roma side to north London in a league stage game.

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Tottenham Hotspur out-on-loan prospect Ashley Phillips has revealed that he is learning a lot from Ben Gibson, his centre-back partner at Stoke City.

The 19-year-old centre-back is highly rated at Tottenham and joined Championship side Stoke on loan to aid his development.

Phillips has established himself as a regular starter in Narcis Pelach’s team in the Potteries and on Tuesday helped Stoke to keep a clean sheet in a 0-0 draw against Preston North End.

The Tottenham loan star has formed a partnership with veteran Gibson in the Stoke defence and Phillips revealed that the Potters captain is someone who is vocal and guides him during games.

Phillips also added Gibson is helping him this season and admitted that he is learning a lot from the experienced centre-back.

“He is class to have, to be fair”, Phillips told Stoke City TV.

“He is a top, top centre-back and he is a great leader.

“It is nice to have someone who talks a lot next to you and helps through the game.

“He is definitely helping me this season and I have learned a lot from him.”

The Spurs loanee missed the early part of the season due to an injury and he is now determined to perform his best to keep his spot in Pelach’s starting line-up.

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Former Scotland Under-21s attacker Tam McManus is of the view that Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou is too good to manage Spurs and added he should be with a team like Barcelona.

This season, Postecoglou has received criticism from former players for Tottenham’s inconsistent form in the Premier League.

However, on Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur thrashed Manchester City 4-0 at the Etihad Stadium to register their second win over the Sky Blues this season.

McManus, who has closely monitored Postecoglou since his time with Celtic, was impressed with Spurs’ display and pointed out that he cannot believe that some of the Spurs supporters wanted him to get sacked.

He also claimed that Postecoglou is too good to be a manager of Tottenham and thinks he should be with a team of the stature of Barcelona.

“I love big Ange, I love him”, McManus said on PLZ Soccer.

“I am so glad that he won that [game against Manchester City].

“Some Spurs fans unbelievably wanted him sacked.

“He is too good for Spurs.

“Should be at Barcelona or something.”

Tottenham have managed to climb up to sixth place with their win over Manchester City at the weekend and it remains to be seen if he can guide Spurs into the top four.

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Barnsley boss Darnell Clarke has admitted that it will be strange for Tottenham Hotspur loanee Matty Craig to face his identical twin brother Michael Craig tonight.

Both the Craig brothers were in the Spurs youth academy from 2015 to 2022 before Michael was snapped up by Reading, while Matty continued on his journey at the club.

Matty is on loan at League One side Barnsley this season and has played 15 matches for the Oakwell club already.

Tonight, Barnsley are set to face Reading in League One and Clarke revealed that they joked with Matty that they signed the wrong brother.

The Barnsley boss admitted that facing his identical twin will be a strange one for the Spurs loan star tonight.

“That was joked with Matty early on in the season about that we signed the wrong brother, jokingly”, Clarke said at a press conference about Matty.

“Matty is a great lad, we can see how he has been brought up, that he has had a really good upbringing, a real professional lad.

“Obviously his brother is in the opposite team, which will be a bit strange for him.”

Matty, though, has not featured in Barnsley’s last two matches at all.

He will be hoping to get some minutes on the pitch against his brother Michael tonight.

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Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed a huge injury blow, with one of their regular starters looking at a period out of action.

Ange Postecoglou’s side thrashed Manchester City 4-0 at the weekend in a result which deepened the crisis at the Etihad and stunned Pep Guardiola.

However, post match it was noticed that Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was limping as he passed through the media zone.

Now Tottenham have confirmed bad news for the club as the Italian shot-stopper has fractured his right ankle.

The injury was so bad that Vicario had to go under the knife and he has had surgery on the fracture.

Now Tottenham’s medical team will look at how the Italian recovers and make a judgement over how long he will be out of action for.

The blow could force Postecoglou to enter the January transfer window to secure a replacement for his injured first choice goalkeeper.

The winter window is just over a month from opening, but Spurs have a busy December to tackle first.

All eyes will now be on 36-year-old Fraser Forster to step up and impress between the sticks for Spurs.

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Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou is leaving the door open for signings in the January transfer window dependent upon the injury situation at the club.

The Spurs board backed up the Australian with multiple signings in the summer as the likes of Dominic Solanke, Lucas Bergvall, Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert came in.

However, Spurs did let a host of players depart and as a result shed a substantial amount in wages, which could put them in a healthy spot for further additions.

Odobert and Richarlison suffered injuries recently, while Micky van de Ven will not be back for a while and Cristian Romero missed the 4-0 win at Manchester City.

With the January transfer window now approaching, Tottenham could back Postecoglou with fresh faces to try to help the side push for the top four, but the boss indicated that decisions will likely be made at the time dependent upon injury factors.

“It just depends. Again, January is always a tricky one”, Postecoglou told a press conference when he was asked if Odobert and Richarlison’s injuries have changed Tottenham’s wish list for the January window.

“You don’t really plan for significant things in January, but a lot of that will be dictated by how we are at that time.

“Obviously, Wilson will be out for a fair chunk of the season, and Richy hopefully will be back in the new year but similar to Micky we just need to be careful every step of the way and Mikey will still be out for a little bit of time.

“So, we’re a little bit short there but it just depends if by January we get two or three back we may not need to but we’ll kind of see as it goes.”

Tottenham’s mauling of Manchester City could convince the club’s powerbrokers that a top four finish is a realistic possibility, which could loosen the purse-strings for January in north London.

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A Tottenham Hotspur player has been spotted ‘limping’ as he walked through the press mixed zone following Spurs’ comprehensive win at Manchester City.

Ange Postecoglou’s side took the champions to the cleaners in the Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening.

Goals from James Maddison (two), Pedro Porro and Brennan Johnson saw the visitors ease their way to a 4-0 win, plunging Manchester City into crisis.

There was a little dark cloud post match though as, according to the Athletic, Spurs goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was ‘limping as he walks through’ the mixed zone.

The shot-stopper completed the full 90 minutes at the Etihad.

How bad the blow is remains to be seen, but Postecoglou could well give the player a rest later this week.

Spurs are in Europa League action against Roma on Thursday night and Fraser Forster has started the last two games in the competition, against AZ Alkmaar and Galatasaray, respectively.

The 36-year-old could be handed another outing and in the process give Vicario extra time to recover from the knock he picked up at Manchester City.

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Tottenham Hotspur legend Graham Roberts has insisted the club must stick with Ange Postecoglou, following Spurs’ 4-0 thumping of Manchester City at the Etihad.

Two James Maddison goals inside the first 20 minutes of the Premier League encounter left Manchester City reeling, while matters then got worse just seven minutes into the second half when Pedro Porro struck.

The icing on the cake for Spurs came in stoppage time when substitute Brennan Johnson added a fourth of the night.

The result was an incredible response to losing at home to Ipswich Town before the international break and moved Spurs up to sixth in the league table.

Roberts explained he refrained from giving his verdict after the Ipswich game, but is convinced Postecoglou is a top manager and Spurs must stick with him even when the going gets tough.

“I stopped myself from posting last week after the loss to Ipswich but as I keep saying we all need to keep with this manager, he is simply wonderful!” Roberts wrote on X.

“You can see more than any manager what he is trying to do at this club. A top, top manager.

“We need to keep the faith when we win and lose.”

Tottenham are in Europa League action in midweek when Roma pay a visit to the capital, while their next Premier League assignment sees Fulham arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next Sunday.

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Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou has revealed that the leadership group in his squad are the first ones to look at what they can do differently when there is a drop-off in performance.

The club’s long-serving South Korean star Heung-min Son has been entrusted with the role of the skipper and remains the side’s talisman.

However, he is not the only one sharing the leadership responsibility in the team, Postecoglou insists.

While Cristian Romero and James Maddison are the other prominent figures, there are those such as Ben Davies, Dejan Kulusevski and Yves Bissouma as well.

The manager insists that the leaders have important roles to play in his team, helping them ignore the noise during both the good and difficult times.

Postecoglou also entrusts the leadership group with the task of working out what they can do differently when there is a drop-off in performance.

“Yes, that’s very important. In every dressing room your leaders, are in difficult and good times, ignore the noise on both fronts”, Postecoglou said at a press conference.

“Certainly, with us, it is part of our growth.

“The leadership in the group is constantly challenged by the moments when we have a drop-off in performance

“They are the first ones to look at what they can do differently.

“Within that, I think you get growth and, not just with Sonny, Romero and Madders, but I think Deki is growing all the time and captained Sweden.

“Ben is captain of Wales, Biss is captain of Mali, we’ve got some leaders in there but t is making sure that the dressing room maintains its focus.”

Tottenham are currently going through a difficult phase in the league having already lost five games of the eleven they have played.

They will look to bounce back from the 2-1 loss to Ipswich Town when they visit Manchester City on Saturday.