Inside Futbol

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Tottenham Hotspur have kicked off talks on personal terms with West Ham United‘s Mohammed Kudus and they are happening with a ‘positive approach’, according to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Spurs are bidding to add to the squad to back new boss Thomas Frank and they have Champions League football to deal with next season.

They are interested in landing Kudus from the Hammers, who believe they need to sell to buy and could well cash in.

Kudus has interest from two other clubs too and Spurs are now trying to agree terms with the player before then thrashing out an agreement with West Ham.

The talks are under way and they are happening amid a ‘positive approach’.

Tottenham will tell Kudus where they see him fitting in at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium under Frank as he looks to take the next best step in his career.

West Ham are set for a summer of transition under Graham Potter and selling Kudus would bring precious cash in at the London Stadium.

Team Ipswich Town – home and away Tottenham Hotspur Brighton – home and away Teams Mohammed Kudus scored against last season

Despite Kudus disappointing at West Ham last term as the Hammers struggled badly in the Premier League, his stock remains high.

West Ham splurged out £38m to sign Kudus from Dutch giants Ajax, but the agreement also included a number of add-ons.

Over the course of last season Kudus, who will turn 25 years old in August, made 32 appearances in the Premier League for West Ham, scoring five times and providing three assists.

One of his goals came against Tottenham and that seems to have added to the idea at the club that he would represent a good signing.

Spurs have already added Mathys Tel to the forward ranks this summer and Kudus would be another option for Frank to work with.

Timo Werner was not kept following the end of his loan, while there are question marks over the futures of Heung-Min Son and Richarlison.

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Parma are ready to lower their asking price for Tottenham Hotspur target Giovanni Leoni if they are allowed to keep him on loan for another season.

Tottenham are preparing to start a new era under Thomas Frank and the club management are eager to back him in the transfer market to show their support.

Defence is an area where Spurs struggled last season with several injury issues and they have just agreed a deal to sign Japan international Kota Takai.

The club could want further signings though as Takai is just 20 years old and Cristian Romero could leave.

Spurs are no stranger to the Italian market and it has been a happy hunting ground for them in the past.

Leoni featured 17 times for Parma last season in Serie A, making 14 starts and turned some heads with his impressive defensive attributes.

The Italian outfit want a fee in the region of €30m to part ways with the defender, who they signed from Sampdoria last summer for €5m.

However, Parma want to keep 18-year-old centre-back Leoni, who is chased by Serie A outfits AC Milan, Inter Milan and Spanish giants Atletico Madrid, at the club for at least another year.

Result Competition Atalanta 2-3 Parma Serie A Parma 0-0 Napoli Serie A Empoli 2-1 Parma Serie A Parma’s last three results

According to Italian outlet FcInterNews, Parma could consider giving a discount on Leoni’s price tag if they are allowed to keep the centre-back on loan for next season.

The Serie A outfit could lower their price tag to €25m for the Tottenham target, with both Milan giants keen, AC Milan and Inter Milan being the most interested clubs in his pursuit.

Inter Milan have appointed former Parma boss Cristian Chivu, who handed Leoni his opportunity in the first team and a reunion might interest the player.

Signing Leoni and then loaning him back could suit Tottenham, as it would mean they would secure a talented young defender to come in during the summer of 2026.

It also would raise the intriguing prospect that a Takai-Leoni partnership could be a long-term centre-back solution for the club.

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Departing Tottenham Hotspur loan star Timo Werner has started to draw interest from two Turkish Super Lig sides in the shape of Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor.

Werner featured in just 18 Premier League games for Tottenham this season, without scoring a single goal, and the club have not triggered the option to buy in his loan from RB Leipzig.

The German striker is leaving north London to return to Leipzig, but he is surplus to requirements at the Bundesliga club.

Leipzig have now slashed their asking price for Werner down to just €4m as they seek to shift his high wage off the books.

Werner is the club’s second highest earner, just behind Xavi Simons, and Leipzig want to move him on desperately.

An MLS move continues to be an option for Werner and there has been interest from across the Atlantic for much of the year.

Werner though could look to remain in Europe and now another two options are presenting themselves for the German.

Player Past Premier League club Fred Manchester United Cenk Tosun Everton Diego Carlos Aston Villa Sofyan Amrabat Manchester United Fenerbahce’s former Premier League stars

According to German daily Bild, Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor would both like to take Werner to Turkey.

Trabzonspor have been trying to sign Paul Onuachu from Southampton and are determined to make a big splash in the transfer market this summer.

Landing Werner could be seen as a coup for Trabzonspor, but they face competition from Fenerbahce.

Former Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho is at the helm at Fenerbahce, though there has been speculation about his future at the club.

Mourinho failed to lead Fenerbahce to the Turkish Super Lig title last season and was involved in a number of controversial moments.

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Tottenham Hotspur centre-back Kevin Danso is of the view that Spurs have more fans in north London than their rivals Arsenal and expressed his delight at delivering the Europa League for them.

Spurs signed Danso from French outfit Lens on loan in the winter transfer window after hijacking a swoop in progress by Wolves; he has now joined permanently as the loan contained an obligation to buy.

Since his arrival at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Danso has started games regularly in the Premier League and made ten appearances.

Despite a horrible domestic campaign, Spurs managed to finish the season on a high note by defeating Manchester United in the Europa League final and ending their trophy drought.

Danso came on in the 78th minute in the final in Bilbao and he took part in the celebrations in London with the fans, which left him awestruck.

The player is currently on international duty with Austria national team and he stated that people who do not live in London will not realise how big a club Tottenham are and he admitted that he disagrees with the common notion that Arsenal are the biggest north London club.

Danso thinks that north London has more Tottenham supporters than their rivals Arsenal and admitted that to see them happy gave him incredible joy.

Club Years Augsburg 2016-2021 Southampton (loan) 2019-2020 Fortuna Dusseldorf (loan) 2020-2021 Lens 2021-2025 Tottenham Hotspur (loan) 2025 Tottenham Hotspur 2025- Kevin Danso’s career history

“If you don’t live in London, you might not realise how big Tottenham is”, Danso was quoted as saying by Austrian daily the Kleine Zeitung.

“A lot of people think north London is Arsenal. But in my opinion, there are a lot more Tottenham fans than Arsenal fans.

“It was an incredible feeling to see how much joy we gave the fans.”

Spurs secured a ticket in the Champions League with their Europa League win and they are keen on improving the squad in the ongoing window.

Tottenham confirmed that they have made Danso’s move permanent by paying £21m to Lens and have agreed to a five-year deal with the player.

Now Danso will be bidding to nail down a regular centre-back spot at Tottenham amid competition from the likes of Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Radu Dragusin.

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Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Japhet Tanganga has a release clause in his Millwall contract, but that will likely just apply for clubs in the Premier League, according to journalist Richard Cawley.

The English defender came through Tottenham Hotspur’s youth system and was rated very highly in north London as he broke through in the first team set-up.

The former England youth international has 50 senior Spurs appearances under his belt and was loaned out a couple of times away from the club.

Tanganga joined Championship side Millwall on a free transfer after he was released by the Premier League outfit at the end of the 2023/24 campaign.

He had a fantastic first season at the Lions, where he completed the 90 minutes 39 times in the league in his 40 appearances.

On the back of his impressive campaign, Tanganga won Millwall’s Player of the Season at the Den.

Millwall are likely to have to worry about a possible summer move for the defender on the back of his form.

Now, it has been suggested that the former Spurs defender has a release clause of around £1.2m in his contract.

Competition Appearances Championship 58 Premier League 2 41 Premier League 27 Japhet Tanganga’s most appeared in competitions

However, that release clause will not be for Millwall’s Championship rivals, as it has been suggested that the release clause can only likely be available for Premier League clubs to meet.

The former England youth international has not gone unnoticed and Millwall will be braced for offers for the 26-year-old.

Premier League club Wolves were showing interest in Tanganga back in the winter transfer window.

He is likely to be attractive to a host of top flight clubs looking to strengthen at the back due to his low release clause.

It remains to be seen if Tottenham come to regret having let Tanganga move on from north London.

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Tottenham Hotspur are showing strong interest in experienced Napoli defender Amir Rrahmani, who is being chased by Saudi Arabian outfits as well.

Napoli signed the 31-year-old Kosovo international from fellow Italian side Hellas Verona in the summer of 2020 and he has featured in 175 games for them so far.

Rrahmani turned out in all 38 league games for Antonio Conte’s side this season, showing his durability and reliability, and helped them lift the Italian league title.

His performances have not gone unnoticed and Rrahmani, who has two more years left on his Napoli contract, is gathering interest from abroad.

According to Italian outlet CalcioNapoli24, he has admirers in the Premier League in the form of Tottenham, who have strong interest in Rrahmani.

Spurs, despite a disastrous domestic season under Ange Postecoglou, managed to secure a spot in the Champions League next season by defeating Manchester United in the Europa League final.

There could be change in the centre-back department with continued speculation about a possible exit for Cristian Romero, while Radu Dragusin is injured and Ben Davies into his 30s.

Player Age Ben Davies 32 Radu Dragusin 23 Micky van de Ven 24 Kevin Danso 26 Archie Gray 19 Cristian Romero 27 Tottenham’s centre-back options

Tottenham struggled with injury issues in the defensive department last season, which forced them to sign Danso from Lens.

Now Napoli’s Rrahmani is on the radar, but the Azzurri consider him to be an important player and are plotting to hand him a fresh deal.

He has gathered interest from Saudi Arabia as well and it is still unclear whether he wants to leave the Naples outfit in the summer.

With Postecoglou’s position at Tottenham remaining a source of huge uncertainty, any move for the Napoli man may need to be run past a new manager.

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RB Leipzig are ready to accept a cut-price offer for Timo Werner, who is departing Tottenham Hotspur this summer, as they have no plans to use him following his return from north London.

Werner has struggled in his second successive spell at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with his only goal in 27 appearances coming in the EFL Cup against Manchester City last October.

Tottenham have an option to make Werner’s loan move permanent for a fee of €10m, but it has been clear for some time they would not be taking it up.

Spurs confirmed the news recently when they announced that Werner will be departing following the end of his loan.

Now the future looks uncertain for Werner as he is firmly out of the picture at RB Leipzig.

And, according to German daily Bild (via Fussball Transfers), RB Leipzig are prepared to sell Werner for just €4m this summer.

They want to move the 29-year-old on at all costs to get him off the wage bill, as he is the second highest earner at the club.

Game Result Brighton (A) 3-2 Manchester City (A) 0-4 Fulham (H) 1-1 Timo Werner’s Premier League assists this season

Werner would likely need to take a pay cut to help smooth an exit from the Bundesliga side.

A move to Saudi Arabia has been ruled out, but a transfer to the United States remains a possibility.

Eyebrows were raised in some quarters when Tottenham decided to re-sign Werner on loan last summer and include a purchase clause.

The striker struggled to succeed in the Premier League when he was on the books at Chelsea and that did not change at Tottenham.

Werner appeared in 18 Premier League games for Spurs this season, with ample opportunity to stake his claim amid massive injury issues in north London.

He did not though find the back of the net once, though he did provide three assists for his team-mates.

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Turkish champions Galatasaray will make an offer to Chelsea for Tottenham Hotspur target Christopher Nkunku this summer.

Chelsea beat off stiff competition and paid a big transfer fee to sign the 27-year-old centre forward from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2023.

The 2023/24 season for Nkunku was marred with injuries and he featured only eleven times for the Blues in the league, scoring three goals.

In the recently finished season under Enzo Maresca, Nkunku struggled to get regular game time and he made 27 league appearances while starting only nine of them and netting three times.

Nkunku is not happy with his game time with Chelsea and the London outfit are now favourites to land Ipswich Town star Liam Delap, which would potentially shrink his game time even further.

Tottenham have been linked with a raid on Chelsea for Nkunku, with Spurs having let Timo Werner go after the end of his loan, while there is no decision yet on keeping Mathys Tel, despite Bayern Munich being prepared to be flexible.

However, Tottenham are not alone in their admiration of Nkunku and they look set to face competition from Turkey.

Player League goals Victor Osimhen 26 Baris Alper Yilmaz 12 Yunus Akgun 7 Alvaro Morata 6 Dries Mertens 5 Galatasaray’s top Super Lig scorers this season

Galatasaray might lose Victor Osimhen, Mario Icardi and Alvaro Morata in the same window and they are looking to strengthen their forward line with the Spurs target.

According to Turkish daily Takvim (via A Spor), Galatasaray will go to Chelsea with an offer to sign Tottenham target Nkunku in the summer.

It is unclear whether Spurs supremo Daniel Levy is planning to make a move any time soon, as he have yet to decide on Ange Postecoglou’s future.

It has been suggested that Tottenham were leaning towards sacking Postecoglou before their Europa League final win and Levy will make the final decision this week.

Any delay could mean losing vital ground in transfer chases such as the push for Nkunku, giving Galatasaray a chance to steal in.

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Tottenham Hotspur have shown interest in Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi as they consider what to do post Ange Postecoglou, according to the Sun.

Postecoglou met his remit to deliver Champions League football to Spurs for next season and did it by winning a trophy to boot in the shape of the Europa League.

However, dire Premier League form which saw the side finish just one place above the relegation zone and lose 22 games has left his position hanging by a thread.

And the rules that have given Tottenham a spot in next season’s Champions League need to be looked at in the opinion of Andy Gray.

Spurs supremo Daniel Levy has yet to decide whether or not to sack the Australian, but the club are looking at potential replacements.

The likes of Brentford’s Thomas Frank and Fulham’s Marco Silva have been mentioned, but Tottenham have shown interest in Inzaghi.

He led Inter Milan to the Champions League final this season, where they lost 5-0 to Paris Saint-Germain.

It was a second Champions League final in three years for the Nerazzurri, who were beaten by Manchester City in the 2022/23 affair.

Inzaghi has been lauded for the work he has carried out at the San Siro and landing him would be a real coup for Tottenham.

Club Trophy Lazio Coppa Italia – 2019 Inter Milan Serie A – 2024 Inter Milan Coppa Italia – 2022, 2023 Simone Inzaghi’s managerial trophies

The 49-year-old has been in charge of Inter Milan since 2021, when he joined following a stint as Lazio boss.

With Fabio Paratici expected to return to Tottenham soon, the Italian connection could be rekindled by bringing in Inzaghi.

Tottenham will have Champions League football on the agenda for next season, which is sure to give them added attraction in the transfer market and extra funds to reshape the squad.

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Tottenham Hotspur have received a blow in the chase for Johnny Cardoso as the player is preferring a stay in La Liga over a move to the Premier League at the moment.

The north London outfit managed to secure a ticket for the next Champions League by defeating Manchester United in the Europa League final.

Spurs supremo Daniel Levy is now focused on helping Ange Postecoglou strengthen areas of his squad to not repeat their dire domestic campaign in the following season.

A defensive midfielder is on the agenda of Spurs and they have a player already in their mind in the form of Real Betis star Cardoso.

Spanish giants Atletico Madrid are also chasing the USA international’s signature, as he is high on Diego Simeone’s list.

However, Tottenham agreed to a deal with Betis to have an option to buy Cardoso during a set window for €25m when they negotiated a transfer for Giovani Lo Celso.

Spurs could look to pay the agreed fee for the defensive midfielder to secure him, but Atletico Madrid are also ready to surpass Tottenham’s offer.

Player Loaned to Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg Marseille Yan Min-hyeok QPR Manor Solomon Leeds United Ashley Phillips Stoke City Alejo Veliz Espanyol Alfie Devine Westerlo Bryan Gil Girona Tottenham Hotspur’s loaned out stars

Despite having an option on Cardoso, the Premier League outfit will need to convince the Real Betis star to move to north London in the summer.

And according to Spanish journalist Manu de Olmedo, Spurs have received a blow in their chase for Cardoso as the player wants to stay in La Liga.

It is suggested that Atletico Madrid have already agreed to terms with Cardoso, which will see him stay with them until 2030 if they manage to secure his signature.

However, in the event of another club signing Cardoso, the Premier League outfit will receive 20 per cent from the sale as agreed by Levy previously with Betis.

Now it remains to be seen whether Spurs will give up and move on to other targets or they will try to convince him of a move.