Inside Futbol

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Tottenham Hotspur could ‘top any offer’ made for RB Leipzig’s Yan Diomande from Liverpool, according to journalist Alan Nixon.

Spurs are looking to back manager Thomas Frank in the January window, as the club seek to set themselves up for a strong second half to the campaign.

Conor Gallagher is close to signing for Spurs, after Tottenham hijacked Aston Villa’s move by promising more starts to the Atletico Madrid midfielder.

The north London side are also said to be closing in on Brazilian prospect Souza from Santos, who will shore up Frank’s options for the left-back position.

Sani Suleiman, who leads the charts for teenagers outside Europe’s big five leagues for progressive ball carries per 90 minutes, was also wanted by Tottenham, but it is RB Leipzig who have landed the prospect.

Mathys Tel meanwhile, is unhappy with his situation with Spurs and is seeking a transfer as he wants more game time ahead of the World Cup, though Tottenham are not eager to grant that request.

Brennan Johnson has already departed to Crystal Palace and Spurs will be wanting to reinvest the proceeds to freshen up a labouring frontline.

Liverpool have made a feeble defence to their Premier Leaguetitle and have struggled with both performances and results.

Despite record spending last summer, the Reds look stretched across multiple positions on the pitch.

An injury to Alexander Isak, Mohamed Salah being away with Egypt, and a failure to replace Luis Diaz in the summer has meant that Liverpool have looked blunt in attack, as they fielded Cody Gakpo as a starting striker of late.

The Reds have demonstrated in the recent past that they do not react to injuries or form by splashing out large sums of money on short-term fixes, Ozan Kabak and Ben Davies being brought in for paltry sums during the January window of the 2020/21 season, during which time they lost all three of their senior centre-backs to injury, a case in point of their thinking.

Liverpool though, have also shown that they are willing to bring forward their plans when they risk losing one of their long-term targets to a rival club, as they did with Diaz and Gakpo, to name but a few examples.

Yan Diomande has seen his stock rise rapidly since joining RB Leipzig in the summer from Leganes after the German club paid his release clause.

His meteoric rise is further evident with Diomande’s national team call-up and debut, with the winger starting in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final in Ivory Coast’s loss to Salah’s Egypt.

Diomande has emerged as a long-term target for Liverpool and they might be pressed to act if Tottenham put in a bid, with Spurs’ interest in the player becoming known in the recent weeks.

Tottenham though, it is said, could ‘top any offer’ made by Liverpool, as they seek to outbid the Reds to get their man.

Further, it is suggested that Tottenham view Diomande as somebody who would ‘work for them’ in the present and also as an ‘investment’ for the future, while any deal would require over £40m to prise him away from RB Leipzig.

Both clubs have a history of doing business with the Bundesliga club, as Naby Keita, Ibrahima Konate and Dominik Szoboszlai all took the familiar path when they were recruited by Liverpool, while Fabio Carvalho headed the other way, on loan in 2023.

Tottenham signed Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig in the summer, but the Dutchman has struggled to settle in the Premier League, with one former Premier League star stating his belief that Simons lacks the physicality required to be a success in England.

The previous deals will certainly smoothen negotiations between the clubs, but it remains to be seen how far each club are willing to take the deal in January, with no concrete steps taken yet.

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Santos left-back Souza could have his move to Tottenham Hotspur finalised on Thursday, as he is due to arrive in north London on Wednesday, according to journalist Alasdair Gold.

The north London club have an injury crisis again this season, as a host of their players are currently out; fingers were pointed at Ange Postecoglou for Tottenham’s injuries last term, but the pattern appears to be repeating under Thomas Frank.

Spurs have been looking to bring in players to strengthen their squad to have a smoother second half of the campaign and they are linked with multiple stars across the world.

Most notably, they are set to bring in Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid, as he preferred a move to Spurs over Aston Villa, who were also keen; he believes that he will get more game time at the London club.

The England international has now said his goodbyes to his team-mates in Spain and he will be having his Spurs medical today.

The former Chelsea man is not the only player they are bringing in this week and they are set to bring in a new left-back.

Spurs have been working to do a deal to sign Souza from Santos and recently it emerged that only the bureaucratic details remained before a deal was ironed out.

And now it has been suggested that he will arrive in England later on Wednesday to go through his medical tests to complete his move.

Spurs hope to complete the formalities for Souza on Thursday, but he is not expected to be part of the matchday squad against West Ham United on Saturday.

Thomas Frank has been playing Ben Davies as the starting left-back in recent games, but the Welshman has interest from other clubs.

He is also in the twilight years of his career and Djed Spence has mostly featured as the left-back, as Desiny Udogie has not been able to shake off his injury issues.

Souza is only 19 and has 38 senior appearances for Brazilian Serie A club Santos to his name; he will provide the Spurs boss with a natural left-back option going forward.

The former Brazil youth international will need to build his match sharpness as the Brazilian Serie A season ended last month and he has not played a match since.

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Conor Gallagher ‘has said goodbye’ to his Atletico Madrid team-mates as he closes in on a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Aston Villa had been leading the race for Gallagher until Tottenham launched a hijack attempt on Monday.

Gallagher was willing to join either club, but in the end picked Tottenham as he believes he will get more starts in north London and game time is key for the midfielder.

Now Tottenham are moving quickly to get the capture over the line and, according to Spanish journalist Ruben Uria, Gallagher ‘has said goodbye’ to his Atletico Madrid team-mates.

He is heading to England to complete his switch to Tottenham, who will be hoping he can come through his medical without an issue.

Atletico Madrid will bring in around €40m from the sale of the midfielder.

Gallagher came through the youth set-up at Chelsea and had a host of loans away from Stamford Bridge before he was sold to Atletico Madrid in 2024.

He had been reluctant to move to Spain at the time, preferring to stay in London, but was told by Chelsea he would not be considered for selection if he remained.

Tottenham were keen on Gallagher while he was still on the books at Chelsea.

Several loan spells away from Chelsea helped Gallagher to rapidly up his development and one former Tottenham star lauded him for taking his game to another level at Crystal Palace.

Gallagher, who enjoys working hard on the pitch in the view of one of his former coaches, will be looking to instantly put himself in contention to play under Thomas Frank.

Former Brentford boss Frank is now coming under major pressure at Tottenham, with his sides not producing the kind of football many Spurs fans enjoy, while also underachieving on the pitch.

Frank’s Spurs team have won just two Premier League games at home all season and are closer to the bottom three than the top three, sitting a lowly 14th in the standings.

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Tottenham Hotspur are not keen on letting Mathys Tel move on during this month’s transfer window, despite the forward being ‘not satisfied’ with his situation at the club.

Tel arrived at the north London club last winter from Bayern Munich on a loan deal, and was signed permanently last summer from the German giants.

However, he found it difficult to adjust to the pace and physicality of the Premier League, revealing that he often ‘ended up on the ground’.

Tottenham won the Europa League last season, which saw them qualify for the Champions League, but it was not good news for Tel, as he was initially excluded from Spurs’ squad for the competition.

Thomas Frank appears to see the France Under-21 international as a bench option, even though he has featured in 14 Premier League games this term.

The 20-year-old forward has started only three league games for Spurs and two of those came in the last two games; Frank lauded him for his performance against Sunderland earlier this month.

Tel has three league goals to his name, but only 465 minutes of Premier League game time after the first half of the season, the forward is growing increasingly unhappy.

Forward Richarlison Mathys Tel Mohammed Kudus Dejan Kulusevski Wilson Odobert Randal Kolo Muani Dane Scarlett Tottenham Hotspur’s forwards

According to French radio station RMC Sport, the Tottenham forward is ‘not satisfied with the situation’ at the club.

It has been suggested that the French forward is open to listening to offers this month, as he aims to play in the World Cup later this year for his country.

However, Spurs do not want to lose Tel, not even on a loan deal this month, as they are already short on attackers.

As such, they are not keen on the idea of letting him go.

They have the likes of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke out with injuries, and Mohammed Kudus has joined that list as he is set to be out for a substantial period.

Spurs recently sold Welsh attacker Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace, and now they have no intention of offloading another forward.

However, Tel’s mind could change if he becomes a regular fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium and scores freely to get Didier Deschamps’ attention.

The young attacker, though, will need to be at his very best for the remainder of the campaign to secure a place in France’s World Cup squad, as they have some of the best attackers all around the world at their disposal.

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Tottenham Hotspur believe ‘internally’ that their new proposal to Santos for exciting left-back Souza will meet the expectations of the Brazilian side, with Spurs ‘optimistic’ that the deal can finalised before the January window closes.

Souza made his debut for Santos in 2024, making eight appearances in Brazil’s Serie B as an understudy to Gonzalo Escobar.

After the club secured promotion in the same season, Souza was afforded a more prominent role in the side, going on to make 29 appearances.

Souza has inevitably drawn attention from European clubs, with Chelsea and Barcelona said to have explored a move for the teenager in November 2024.

A lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia was also said to have been on the table for Souza at the same time.

Though nothing came of the links in 2024, Spurs are now keen and looking to make a move to snap up the promising left-sided player.

Thomas Frank has had recurring issues with the position, as Destiny Udogie remains injury prone while Ben Davies, who can fill in at left-back, is ageing and French side Nice are keen.

Davies, who has made only three appearances for Spurs this season, has his Tottenham contract expiring at the end of the season.

Spurs have solidified their interest in Souza, and tested the waters by submitting a €10m bid, which was immediately rebuffed by Santos, with the suggestion being made that an offer in the region of €12m to €15m will be required to land the left-back.

Tottenham then received encouragement from the player, with Souza said to ‘like the option’ of playing for the north London outfit.

Spurs returned with a second offer, closer to the figure demanded by Santos of €15m, but with the figure made up with add-ons rather than a fixed amount.

Santos were said to be analysing the bid, and it has emerged that ‘internally’ Spurs believe their proposal will be sufficient, according to Brazilian outlet Torcedores.

Tottenham are also said to be ‘optimistic’ that Souza can be unveiled in Spurs colours within the month.

Spurs have already sanctioned a number of outgoings, with Kota Takai loaned out to Borussia Monchengladbach, while Fiorentina can count upon the services of Manor Solomon as they seek to avoid the drop.

Yang Min-hyeok has been loaned out to Coventry City to aid with their promotion bid, while the sale of Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace has swelled Spurs’ coffers by £35m.

Mason Melia has been the sole incoming, but the teenager is seen as one for the future rather than an immediate starter for the first team.

Frank will hope to conclude the business for Souza as soon as possible, with domestic and European campaigns left to tackle in the second half of the season.

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Fixture: Bournemouth vs Tottenham Hotspur

Competition: Premier League

Kick-off: 19:30 UK time

Thomas Frank has picked his Tottenham lineup vs Bournemouth for this evening’s Premier League clash between the two sides on the south coast.

Frank continues to struggle to win over many Tottenham fans and a 1-1 draw at home against Sunderland last time out will have done little to help his case.

With Ruben Amorim just having been sacked by Manchester United, while Enzo Maresca was let go by Chelsea, Premier League sides have proven to be trigger happy.

Frank has insisted he is completely aligned with the club, playing down any thoughts of the kind of split which cost Amorim his job.

The Tottenham boss is focused on trying to improve the players he has, but stressed there is a fine balance as he looks to rotate and keep stars fresh.

Xavi Simons is back available for selection after a suspension.

Off the pitch, Tottenham are trying to be active in the transfer market and are bidding for Santos talent Souza.

Tottenham were turned over 1-0 by Bournemouth in August and were beaten by the same scoreline on the south coast on their last visit to the Cherries.

Bournemouth will head into tonight’s game having not won since late October.

Guglielmo Vicario is in goal in the Tottenham lineup vs Bournemouth, while in defence Frank goes with Pedro Porro, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Djed Spence.

Controlling the midfield battle is likely to be key and Frank picks Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Bentancur, while Lucas Bergvall and Xavi Simons support Mathys Tel and Randal Kolo Muani.

If the Spurs boss needs to change his Tottenham lineup vs Bournemouth in the 90 minutes then he has options from the bench to call for and they include Richarlison and Kevin Danso.

Tottenham Hotspur Lineup vs Bournemouth

Vicario, Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence, Bentancur, Palhinha, Simons, Bergvall, Tel, Kolo Muani

Substitutes: Kinsky, Dragusin, Danso, Richarlison, Gray, Odobert, Davies, Scarlett, Williams-Barnett

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Tottenham Hotspur have submitted a second bid for Santos’ young left-back Souza, who is awaiting the next steps as the Brazilian club evaluate the offer.

Thomas Frank is looking for reinforcements after selling Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace for a £35m fee; Johnson snubbed moves to Bournemouth, Everton and Sunderland.

He has identified the left-back position as one needing reinforcement and the search has taken the club to the Brazilian shores.

Santos teenager Souza is a player of interest and the London club have gone a long way in their pursuit of the player.

Their initial bid of €10m was knocked back by Santos, who are looking for more to let go of someone they feel is a top prospect.

Santos have been fully expecting Tottenham to come in with a fresh offer, with Souza keen to make the move to Spurs.

Now, according to Spanish journalist Eduardo Burgos, a second bid has indeed gone in and ‘is being analysed’.

Left-back option Destiny Udogie Djed Spence Micky van de Ven Archie Gray Ben Davies Tottenham Hotspur’s left-back options

The proposal is worth a total of €15m to Santos, but that amount is made up with add-ons.

Santos, on their part, want the €15m to be paid to them as a fixed amount, with add-ons added on top of that sum.

The Brazilian giants are also keen to make sure they can include a sell-on clause in the agreement with Spurs.

It now remains to be seen what Santos’ final response to Tottenham’s offer is as they continue to analyse it.

Tottenham are looking to get the deal done to bring Souza in this month, but with talks continuing, may well be wary of another side coming in to try and hijack the deal.

The London club could soon have one option in the full-back position reduced, with Ben Davies drawing attention from French club Nice.

Frank does have a number of players who can operate a left-back, with Djed Spence, Destiny Udogie, Archie Gray, Davies and even Micky van de Ven capable of operating in the role.

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Tottenham Hotspur target Souza ‘likes the option’ of playing for Spurs and his club side Santos are waiting for the north London outfit to return with a new bid.

Spurs boss Thomas Frank is looking for reinforcements to be added to the mix this month after sanctioning the sale of Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace.

They have identified the left-back position as an area to invest in and Santos full-back Souza has caught their attention.

Tottenham have already tabled a €10m bid to take the player to England from Brazil, but that bid has been knocked back by Santos, who feel it undervalues Souza.

There are busy days up ahead, though, with the London club set to return with yet another offer which could be almost double the last one, according to Spanish journalist Eduardo Burgos.

There is also fresh encouragement for Tottenham from the player’s end, as Souza ‘likes the option’ of playing for Spurs.

He is pleased with the project that Tottenham have presented and likes the idea of living in London and playing in the Premier League.

Star Destiny Udogie Djed Spence Ben Davies Archie Gray Tottenham Hotspur’s left-back options

The news will be a boost for Spurs as convincing the player will be seen as half the battle.

Now though a fee must be agreed with Santos who are awaiting the new proposal from the Premier League side.

Tottenham have been going through busy days in the January transfer market, having also sanctioned several loans.

Kota Takai has headed to Borussia Monchengladbach, delighting the German club.

Manor Solomon has also been sent out to Fiorentina, where he has vowed to keep the club in Serie A.

Julian Finney/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur target Souza ‘likes the option’ of playing for Spurs and his club side Santos are waiting for the north London outfit to return with a new bid.

Spurs boss Thomas Frank is looking for reinforcements to be added to the mix this month after sanctioning the sale of Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace.

They have identified the left-back position as an area to invest in and Santos full-back Souza has caught their attention.

Tottenham have already tabled a €10m bid to take the player to England from Brazil, but that bid has been knocked back by Santos, who feel it undervalues Souza.

There are busy days up ahead, though, with the London club set to return with yet another offer which could be almost double the last one, according to Spanish journalist Eduardo Burgos.

There is also fresh encouragement for Tottenham from the player’s end, as Souza ‘likes the option’ of playing for Spurs.

He is pleased with the project that Tottenham have presented and likes the idea of living in London and playing in the Premier League.

Star Destiny Udogie Djed Spence Ben Davies Archie Gray Tottenham Hotspur’s left-back options

The news will be a boost for Spurs as convincing the player will be seen as half the battle.

Now though a fee must be agreed with Santos who are awaiting the new proposal from the Premier League side.

Tottenham have been going through busy days in the January transfer market, having also sanctioned several loans.

Kota Takai has headed to Borussia Monchengladbach, delighting the German club.

Manor Solomon has also been sent out to Fiorentina, where he has vowed to keep the club in Serie A.

Alex Pantling/Getty Images

Tottenham Hotspur manager Thomas Frank has emphasised that it is essential for players to feature consistently and build confidence, ahead of this evening’s Premier League clash with Bournemouth.

Spurs sit 13th in the Premier League with 27 points from 20 games under Frank, while the north London side have also kept their Champions League hopes alive, occupying eleventh place after six matches with knockout stage qualification well within their grasp.

The left-wing position in particular remains unsettled at Tottenham, with Frank having tried several players in the role, including Brennan Johnson, who recently moved to Crystal Palace, Xavi Simons and Wilson Odobert, among others.

Mathys Tel started in that position against Sunderland at the weekend and showed promising glimpses, though not enough to make a decisive impact as the match ended 1-1 at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Tel has been looked at by Italian sides for this month’s transfer window, with his lack of regular game time noted.

Frank addressed the challenge of rotating players in positions without a settled starter, specifically focusing on the left-wing role.

He explained that there is a fine balance between giving certain players the trust to play consecutive games to build rhythm and improve their performance, and selecting the right combination of players to suit the tactical approach of the opposition.

The Danish tactician acknowledged that Tel made a positive contribution against Sunderland, but stressed that the priority remains on maintaining overall team balance, ahead of his side facing Bournemouth tonight.

Player On loan to Manor Solomon Fiorentina Kota Takai Borussia Monchengladbach Min-hyeok Yang Coventry City Tottenham’s loan exits in January

Frank said at a press conference (11:22): “I would say that he [Tel] definitely had a positive impact. Let’s see what will happen against Bournemouth.

“There is also that fine balance of giving some players the trust for a run of games, so that maybe, hopefully, they can find a bit of rhythm and also increase their performance level, and then the tactical approach of the opponents, which players fit to that, and getting the right mix and balance in the team.

“But Mathys in general was positive.”

Tottenham face Bournemouth tonight, followed by an FA Cup clash with Aston Villa on Saturday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Frank expected to rotate his squad to keep players fresh across two games in four days.

The Lilywhites will be looking to extend their three-match unbeaten league run as they aim to climb the table.

The Danish tactician will also be hoping for support in the January transfer window to strengthen his squad and boost Spurs’ push for a European spot, with the team currently just four points off the top five.