The Spurs Web

Tottenham Hotspur’s scouting network just got a little stronger, as the club hired a new first-team scout who has previous experience with Bayern Munich.

From Munich to North London

Ever since Johan Lange joined Tottenham earlier this year, the Lilywhites have been looking to put together the kind of recruitment setup that will give them the best chance of success for years to come.

As per Training Ground Guru, the latest addition to that team is Max Legath, who joins the club as a first-team scout.

The report covers Legath’s history with Bayern Munich, where he operated as Head of Scouting for the Under-9s to 23s for the German giants between 2015 to 2021.

Since leaving that post, Legath had been working with Swiss side FC Basel as their Head of Scouting.

Training Ground Guru has previously cited Tottenham’s desire to develop a “world-class scouting and insights department,” with the club looking to fill five roles this summer, including the role taken by Legath.

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Legath himself has seemingly confirmed his new job, as he recently updated his LinkedIn profile with his current position listed as working with Spurs as a First Team Scout as mentioned above.

Spurs scouting network is strong

Legath joins Technical Director, Lange, formerly of Aston Villa. Lange brought two more faces with him from Villa, too: Rob Mackenzie, the club’s Head of Scouting, and Fred Leth, Head of Football Insights and Strategy.

Legath will report directly to Mackenzie, who has a team of scouts working under him.

Spurs Web Opinion

We have made some incredible signings over the last few years, and the recent additions to the scouting team should only serve to make our recruitment even stronger from here on out.

It really feels like everything is coming together behind the scenes right now for Spurs.

Tottenham Hotspur have a number of exciting young players, and one talented teenager has been tipped for greatness, with suggestions he can follow in the footsteps of the likes of Steven Gerrard and Declan Rice.

Archie Gray has a bright future

After his proposed move to Brentford collapsed, Tottenham wasted no time in snapping up Archie Gray in a deal thought to be worth around £40m earlier this summer.

The youngster has been given the number 14 shirt at Spurs, suggesting he is in Ange Postecoglou‘s first-team plans, and he made his debut for the club in the first pre-season friendly against Hearts recently.

After that game, a report from Football.London touched on the feeling around Gray from inside Tottenham Hotspur and externally within the game, and it sounds like Spurs may have one of the brightest young talents in England.

The report claims Gray is generating a real “buzz” around the club for his level of maturity and experience already at the age of 18. Indeed, it is said the youngster behaves like someone ten years older.

It is believed that Gray “could become the next Steven Gerrard or Declan Rice with the right guidance,” and the report adds that he is a real “student of the game” who is not only friendly and conscientious, but also has the ability, confidence, and “tactical intelligence” to succeed.

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A big step up for Archie Gray

Gray played a huge 52 games for Leeds United last season, covering at right-back and in his more favoured central midfield role, bagging two assists and helping the Yorkshire side to the Championship play-off final.

Spurs Web Opinion

If we handle Gray correctly, there’s no reason he can’t be a first-team regular this season, and even start to push into the England setup ahead of the 2026 World Cup. That’s how high his ceiling is.

Journalist Ben Jacobs reveals that Tottenham have a plan to replace Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg with a new midfield signing once he makes the move to Marseille.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to Marseille

It has been a summer of transfer rumours surrounding the future of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, but one thing always seemed certain, he was never going to be a Tottenham player next season.

In fact, he was linked with a multitude of clubs from around Europe over the past two months, including AC Milan (TuttoMercatoWeb), Atletico Madrid (Mundo Deportivo), Borussia Dortmund (Football Insider), Fenerbahce, Galatasaray (Takvim), and Fulham.

Funnily enough, one club he wasn’t linked with until Fabrizio Romano’s transfer announcement was Marseille. However, the Ligue 1 club have stolen a march on their rivals and secured a transfer.

Alasdair Gold claims Spurs could eventually receive up to £17m for the Denmark international, while Romano has reported a guaranteed figure of between £11m and £11.8m.

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Will Tottenham replace Hojbjerg?

Ben Jacobs has now reported that Tottenham plan on bringing in a new central midfielder to replace Hojbjerg before the transfer window slams shut.

This means that Postecoglou and Spurs do not see Archie Gray as the direct replacement for Hojbjerg and instead want to bolster their midfield ranks even further this summer.

Spurs Web Opinion:

This is music to my ears. Replacing Hojbjerg with Gray might not be a bad move, but it would hardly be strengthening the depth of the squad as a whole.

Postecoglou wants depth and competition to compete on four fronts next season and he needs a new number six in order to do that.

Following the loss of Michael Olise to Bayern Munich earlier in the window, Crystal Palace are desperate to keep their other star man in Eze, however, new reports suggest the attacking midfielder desires a switch to Spurs.

Crystal Palace remain intent on keeping Eze

Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze has continued to reach new heights each year since joining Palace from QPR back in 2020, contributing to 43 goals in 124 appearances for the side. (TransferMarkt)

Oliver Glasner guided the side firmly away from the bottom third of the table after taking charge of Crystal Palace but will have to deal with the loss of star winger, Michael Olise, next season as the 22-year-old completed a move to Bayern Munich which pocketed the South London club £50.8 million in the process. (Sky Sports)

Glasner will therefore be disappointed should the club lose their other star man, Eberechi Eze, with Football.London reporting that despite Tottenham’s interest in the England international, Crystal Palace remain confident about keeping the midfielder for this summer at least.

Tottenham reportedly have Eze’s approval

The Daily Mail have previously revealed Eze’s deal with Crystal Palace contains a release clause of around £60 million with Tottenham among many other Premier League suitors interested, although it appears that Postecoglou’s side may have an edge over rival bidders.

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In the latest report from Football Transfers, it has been stated that Eze is keen on joining Postecoglou’s Tottenham, more so than a switch to the red side of North London.

Eze is apparently apprehensive over the number of minutes that Mikel Arteta’s team can offer him next season and has subsequently led the 26-year-old to favour a switch to Tottenham instead while Crystal Palace continue to try and convince Eze that remaining with them is the best decision.

Spurs Web opinion

Eze is Premier League-proven quality and also possesses plenty of flair and magic that is very much within Tottenham’s style and history.

Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham struggled many times last season against teams who deploy low blocks, with Eze’s Crystal Palace side being one of those whilst under the management of Hodgson. But the midfielder’s inventiveness would mean that Spurs wield the ability to unlock the deep-sitting defences by beating a man or two and opening up the play.

Tottenham Hotspur have big ambitions for next season, but to make those happen, big moves will need to be made in the transfer market this summer, especially in one area.

What does Postecoglou need?

Ange Postecoglou has already done fine work in revamping the Spurs squad over the last 12 months, and has been given the backing of Daniel Levy to make big signings like James Maddison, Micky van de Ven, Brennan Johnson, and more recently, Archie Gray.

But, he still needs more. Namely, he needs attacking options, especially since the club has still not replaced Harry Kane.

As per a report from GiveMeSport, Postecoglou has “warned” Levy that he absolutely needs to sign at least one attacking player this summer.

However, his “ideal plan” would be to bring in two players to add to his forward line before the season begins.

The report names three players Postecoglou is looking at specifically. Eberechi Eze is thought to be the top target, while Pedro Neto and Desire Doue are seen as backup options for Spurs.

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Where do Spurs stand for those three?

According to The Sun, Spurs are prepared to pay Eze’s £60m release clause this summer in order to make a transfer happen.

The Lilywhites will have to act quickly and decisively if they are to nab Doue, however, as PSG have just submitted a £42m bid for the Frenchman (Florian Plettenberg).

As for Neto, nothing major has happened yet, but Spurs and Newcastle are thought to be the two clubs showing the most interest in the Wolves star (Rousing the Kop).

Spurs Web Opinion

We need a new winger and a new striker, simple as that. In particular, we need the striker, because at least that would allow Sonny to drop back to the wing.

I really hope the club shows the ambition to get these deals done.

Aston Villa look set to lose Moussa Diaby this summer with a move to Saudi Arabia on the cards, while Spurs are thought to be starting discussions with Pedro Neto. All of this could pave the way for one Spurs star to be moved on in the near future.

One in, one out for Spurs?

There could be big changes afoot in the Tottenham attacking roster, with a number of transfers causing a domino effect throughout the Premier League.

According to Football Transfers, Aston Villa are targeting Dejan Kulusevski as a replacement for the outbound Diaby, and they may get their way if Spurs are able to strike a deal for Wolves winger, Pedro Neto.

It is thought Tottenham’s sporting director, Johan Lange, has now “initiated discussions” with Wolves for the Portuguese attacker and is attempting to agree a price for a transfer this summer after being knocked back in January.

With this in mind, Villa may pounce and try to lure Kulusevski away from North London. The Swede has one year left on his current contract and could find himself down the pecking order at Spurs if transfer targets are acquired.

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Eze deal could still be on

The report adds that Spurs are still working on a deal for Crystal Palace star, Eberechi Eze, too. If the Lilywhites meet the £60m asking price for the England international, it is thought Palace will let him go.

Eze is mentioned as a long-term replacement for Heung-min Son, though the arrival of both Eze and Neto would naturally have implications for the likes of Kulusevski, too.

Spurs Web Opinion

On his day, Kulusevski is one of our most valuable and creative attacking players.

He has been quite inconsistent over the last couple of years but I still wouldn’t think about selling him this summer.

The revamp of the Tottenham Hotspur squad under Ange Postecoglou is set to continue with another outgoing on the verge of being confirmed.

Fabrizio Romano has taken to social media platform X to give his famous ‘here we go’ sign of confirmation to reveal that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg will now join Olympique Marseille.

The 28-year old has also had interest from Atletico Madrid and Fulham but is said to have been keen to link up with Roberto de Zerbi, the former Brighton manager was confirmed as the new man in charge of the Ligue 1 outfit last month.

Hojbjerg made 184 appearances for across all competitions Tottenham and scored ten goals since joining the club from Southampton in 2020.

Romano wrote on X: “Pierre-Emile Højbjerg to Olympique Marseille, here we go!

“Documents set to be signed for Danish midfielder who’s joining from Spurs.

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“Tottenham will receive fee around €13.5/14m as PEH was not intentioned to sign new deal.

“Højbjerg accepted after speaking to de Zerbi.”

SpursWeb Opinion

With Hojbjerg being in the last year of his contract, it was inevitable that he was going to leave this summer after a lack of regular first-team football last season.

Marseille have had something of a bargain with a fee in the region of £11.3m – £11.7m considering Hojbjerg is still only 28 and showed with Denmark at Euro 2024.

He showed, especially against England, that he is a top player and if he had a longer contract, Spurs could have commanded a much higher fee.

Fabrizio Romano reveals that Tottenham Hotspur are close to agreeing the permanent sale of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, four years after signing him from Southampton.

Hojbjerg was destined to leave Spurs this summer

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has been linked with more clubs than we can count on one hand this summer, so an exit out of North London always appeared to be likely for the Denmark international.

AC Milan (TuttoMercatoWeb), Atletico Madrid (Mundo Deportivo) and Borussia Dortmund (Football Insider) were all said to be interested in the 28-year-old.

Meanwhile, Fenerbahce and Galatasaray were also reported as potential suitors (Takvim), and even Fulham were linked with the midfielder this week (Football Insider).

However, another club has seemingly won the race for Hojbjerg.

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Marseille close to signing Hojbjerg from Spurs

Fabrizio Romano has now revealed that Marseille are close to completing a deal to sign Hojbjerg from Tottenham, with an agreement already reached with the player himself.

Talks are said to be ‘almost done’ between Spurs and Marseille, with just the ‘final details’ to be completed before Hojbjerg can make the move from England to France.

The journalist even added that we can expect his trademark ‘here we go’ soon.

He tweeted: ‘BREAKING: Olympique Marseille are closing in on deal to sign Pierre-Emile Højbjerg! Agreement in place with the player and also almost done with Tottenham, now working on final details. Pablo Longoria and Mehdi Benatia, on it with THFC. Here we go, soon’

Spurs Web Opinion:

Well, this one came out of the blue!

Hojbjerg was always destined to leave Spurs this summer but Marseille have come from nowhere to win the race. Hopefully, Tottenham are getting a decent fee of around £15m for his services.

Tottenham Hotspur’s search for a new striker has been handed a boost after one Premier League side slashed their asking price for their star forward due to a number of top clubs ruling out a move.

Two-horse race for Ivan Toney

Ivan Toney looks set to leave Brentford this summer, but the list of clubs chasing him has dwindled to leave only Spurs and London rivals, West Ham.

With other club dropping out of the race, Brentford are thought to be ready to bring their asking price down substantially.

That’s according to a report from The Sun, who claim Arsenal, Chelsea, and Manchester United have all told Brentford they no longer have an interest in signing Toney.

The Bees were hoping they could spark a bidding war this summer for Toney, with a valuation of around £80m, but have been surprised to see a distinct lack of interest in their player so far.

It is thought Manchester United are done with attacking reinforcements after signing Joshua Zirkzee, Arsenal are not looking for a striker this year, and Chelsea believe Toney is too old.

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What next for Toney?

The 28-year-old now has just Spurs and West Ham to choose from, it seems. Toney has previously spoken about his desire to join a top team competing for trophies.

The report adds that Toney may even elect to see out the final year of his contract and join a club on a free transfer next year, but this decision would cause issues for Brentford who have already planned for his departure and signed a replacement.

Spurs Web Opinion

I wouldn’t pay £50m for Toney, especially when it’s thought we could sign Jonathan David for half that price.

Spurs should be in no rush to meet Brentford’s reduced asking price, and to be honest, I can see Toney struggling to get a move this summer.

Ange Postecoglou deployed two separate teams for each half of Spurs’ pre-season clash against Hearts with a lack of centre-backs meaning the Australian didn’t name a single one in the starting XI. However, the position isn’t a priority for Tottenham this summer.

Tottenham added to their defensive ranks in January

Central defence was an issue in the first half of the 2023/24 season as injuries to both Cristian Romero and Micky Van De Ven left Postecoglou with the choice of either starting a youth defender or shoehorning a full-back into a more central role.

The Tottenham manager went for the latter, incredibly, playing a back line of four full-backs at one point – Pedro Porro, Emerson Royal, Ben Davies, and Destiny Udogie. Spurs addressed the issue in January by signing Romanian international, Radu Dragusin, for £26.7 million. (Sky Sports)

The involvement however of Dragusin, Romero and Van De Ven in this summer’s national tournaments has left Postecoglou with only Ashley Phillips as the only recognised central defender this pre-season.

Centre-backs are not a priority for Spurs

An update provided by Sky Sports states that while other clubs at Newcastle are seeking another central defender this summer, Tottenham don’t currently consider the position a priority.

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The news is in spite of Ange Postecoglou’s comments towards the latter stages of the 23/24 season where the Australian stated: “If you’re saying, ‘is it an area we can strengthen?’ [central defence] Yes, it’s probably an area we will look at.” (Football.London)

Caveating the statement later by explaining: “I think we’ll look to strengthen all areas of the park come the end of the season. That’s planning that’s already underway, and other people are in charge of it at the moment.”

Spurs Web opinion

Signing a fourth, or fifth if you count Ashley Phillips, centre-back is a difficult scenario to manage. It will be hard to agree a deal with a player who is good enough for the role, but also willing to play hardly any games.

It’s also understandable that Tottenham may not want to fork out a large fee for a player that Is likely to be merely a second back-up option.

Personally, I believe Phillips will be playing the fourth centre-back role next season, and even then, that decision will likely hamper the ex-Blackburn defender’s development.