The Spurs Web

According to an analysis conducted by Swiss Ramble (as relayed by TBR Football), Tottenham Hotspur are set to announce a profit in the region of £33m when they release their accounts for the 2023-24 season.

Tottenham are expected to announce a profit

Spurs have posted a heavy loss over the last three seasons but it is explained that the big Harry Kane sale is expected to see the Lilywhites post a small profit for the last financial year.

Swiss Ramble explain that Tottenham have a wiggle room of £53m under UEFA’s PSR calculations.

The club are even more comfortable with respect to the Premier League’s PSR rules, which are less restrictive than the European rules.

Spurs posted losses for the last three years

The report points out that this is despite the fact that the North London club posted a cumulative loss of £224m over the last three financial years.

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This is because some of the costs, particularly the depreciation on the stadium, which is more than £70m per year, are deductible from the PRR calculations.

Whatever the case, it appears Spurs are going in the right direction and have money to spend this summer.

Spurs Web Opinion

While Tottenham are in a relatively comfortable position with respect to PSR in comparison to many of their rivals, it is worth noting that the North London club still do not have as much wiggle room as they would want.

In fact, one or two bad transfer windows can put us in real trouble, which is why the Lilywhites would have to be extremely careful to make the right acquisitions this summer.

When it comes to the transfer window, there are always plenty of twists and turns when it comes to Tottenham Hotspur.

Archie Gray’s move to Brentford has encountered issues

Brentford reportedly had a medical arranged for Leeds United‘s Archie Gray, but the bid has since been rejected following a disagreement over the payment structure, opening the race once again.

The report stated a ‘host’ of Premier League and European teams tracked Gray but ‘Brentford manoeuvred themselves into the strongest position and are now working to close out a deal’. (The Athletic)

The fee expected was ‘around £40m’ with add-ons according to Ben Jacobs, however, Jacobs did warn there was ‘caution until the ink is dry because of the sheer volume of suitors’ with Spurs cited alongside sides like Chelsea and Liverpool.

The £40 million fee is set to ease Leeds United’s PSR concerns with the deadline being Sunday the 30th of June. However, despite Leeds requiring a fee and Brentford scheduling a medical, it was warned that Spurs ‘are still one to watch’ regarding a deal with Jacobs explaining ‘there could be a hijack’.

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Tottenham ‘remain strongly interested’ in Archie Gray following Brentford’s rejected deal

Sky Sports have now revealed on Sunday morning (30/6/24) that in spite of agreed personal terms and arranged medicals, ‘Leeds have officially rejected Brentford’s offer of up to £40m for teenager Archie Gray’.

The report continues to explain to details of the now rejected deal claiming the issue was that the ‘two clubs couldn’t reach an agreement on the payment schedule’, continuing to explain that ‘other clubs remain interested in the player’.

One of those with the strongest interest is Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham with The Standard also reporting on Sunday (30/6/24), minutes after Sky’s report, that Spurs ‘remain strongly interested’ in Leeds’ 18-year-old starlet.

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As I commented yesterday on the initial reports that Tottenham target, Gray, had a medical arranged to join Brentford, the teenage star is absolutely tailor-made to Postecoglou’s system at Spurs with his ability to play right back and central midfield ideal for where the Australian is seeking to improve this summer.

The, now rejected, bid for Gray has blown what looked like a done deal wide open again and with Spurs reportedly still interested and ‘one to watch’, signing Gray now is seemingly a possibility once again, an opportunity that if I were Daniel Levy, I would be all over.

The arrival of Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham Hotspur last summer has seen some players left with a lack of game time.

Oliver Skipp was a fringe player for Tottenham last season

The Australian already started to put his stamp on his side with the arrivals of the likes of Gugliemo Vicario, James Maddison and Micky van de Ven.

However, when it comes to midfield selection, both Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Oliver Skipp have not featured as much as they have been used to in previous campaigns.

In the case of Skipp, he started just five Premier League matches last season and came off the bench in sixteen other games (transfermarkt).

Leeds United are interested in Oliver Skipp deal

Football.London are reporting that Skipp is a target of Leeds United this summer and would be interested in taking him on either a permanent or a loan deal.

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Skipp impressed during his season-long loan spell at Norwich City three years ago, under the management of Daniel Farke who is these days in charge of Leeds United.

The midfielder, who was 19 at the time arrived back at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where Jose Mourinho tipped him to be ‘Tottenham’s future’ and also a potential captain of the club, but has failed to kick on with his development (Standard).

The Tottenham academy graduate has found himself down in the pecking order behind the likes of Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr and Rodrigo Bentancur, who returned to action from a knee injury.

It is said that there could also be interest from other Premier League clubs if Skipp was deemed as surplus to requirements in N17.

SpursWeb Opinion

Whether the impending departure of Archie Gray to Brentford would hamper any prospect of Skipp moving to Leeds remains to be seen.

Tottenham may have wanted to use Skipp as part of their negotiations to land Gray, however, as things stand, the highly-rated teenager will be heading to the Bees.

Skipp seems a great character, but sadly he has not developed into a midfielder in the style that suits Postecoglou’s style of play.

He has great stamina and his work rate is one of the best in the Tottenham dressing room, however, he lacks the ability on the ball to progress the ball into attacking areas.

Dutch journalist Valentijn Driessen has aimed a strange attack at Radu Dragusin ahead of Romania’s pre-quarterfinal showdown against the Netherlands on Tuesday.

Radu Dragusin vs Micky Van de Ven

Dragusin is set to come up against his Tottenham teammate Micky van de Ven at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday as the Romanians take on the Dutch for a place in the quarterfinal of the Euros.

The former Genoa man has been one of Romania’s best players at the tournament so far, delivering solid displays in their three matches and helping his side finish top of Group E.

Van de Ven has been a bit-part player for Ronald Koeman’s side so far in Germany, having made two appearances as a substitute, with the Organje making it to the knockout stages of the competition by the skin of their teeth after finishing in third place in Group D.

Strange attack on Radu Dragusin

Ahead of the big showdown on Sunday, Driessen has now suggested that the Netherlands should start Van de Ven, just to have the psychological edge over Dragusin, with the journalist opining that the 22-year-old is not as good as his agent suggests.

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Driessen told FC Update about the Romanian defender: “He has a strange haircut. A woman’s hairstyle like that, with two ponytails He didn’t achieve anything at all last season.

“He plays for Tottenham Hotspur, where he is under contract. His agent thinks he’s great. He is always stalking Daniel Levy about his player, that he should get a salary increase and should play.

“(He doesn’t play) because he is simply not good enough and Van de Ven plays there. In that respect, we might be better off playing with Van de Ven than with Virgil van Dijk, because he will keep Dragusin out of the match.”

Spurs Web Opinion

This is an extremely strange comment by Driessen, perhaps an attempt to get under the skin of Dragusin ahead of the big clash on Tuesday.

I doubt the Tottenham man will pay any heed to this weird statement.

RMC Sport have claimed that former Tottenham midfielder Nabil Bentaleb could be forced into retirement after being taken to the hospital due to a major health emergency earlier this month.

Nabil Bentaleb came through Hotspur Way academy

Bentaleb came through the Tottenham academy and made 46 appearances for the Lilywhites before departing the North London club in 2017.

He has subsequently had spells at Schalke and Angers (along with a loan spell at Newcastle) before making a switch to Lille 12 months ago. It emerged last week that the Algerian international had suffered an illness and had to be hospitalised.

In their most recent press release, Lille claimed that the 29-year-old was on the road to recovery at the Lille University Hospital, revealing that his test results were positive.

Bentaleb could be forced into retirement

RMC Sport have now provided more details on Bentaleb’s condition, explaining that the midfielder’s illness actually turned into a cardiac arrest, with the use of a defibrillator required.

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The report says that the former Spurs man was put into an artificial coma and has since undergone successful surgery that’s seen him fitted with a pacemaker to stabilise his cardiac activity.

He is now set to return home but could be forced into retirement this summer, with the publication adding that his playing career will now be in the hands of the FFF medical commission.

Spurs Web Opinion

Firstly, it is great news that Bentancur is now okay after this sudden health scare.

However, it would be devastating for the midfielder to suddenly have his career taken away from him just when he is entering his peak years as a footballer.

Ange Postecoglou has been a refreshing addition to the punditry panel at Euro 2024 where he has been honest and open with his opinion.

Postecoglou admits set-piece decisions frustrated him last season

The Tottenham Hotspur boss‘ services were secured by broadcaster ITV despite also having interest from the BBC.

Postecoglou was part of the punditry panel alongside Ian Wright and Roy Keane for this evening’s fixture between Germany and Denmark.

The hosts were denied an opening goal in the round of sixteen match against Denmark when from a corner kick, Joshua Kimmich blocked the path of Andreas Skov Olson, which allowed Nico Schlotterbeck a clear run to power a header home.

Postecoglou had plenty of experience last season with Tottenham Hotspur with controversial decisions having gone against his side from set-pieces.

The FA Cup fourth round tie against Manchester City at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in January proved to be the catalyst for Spurs’ problems when Pep Guardiola’s side put a huge amount of physical pressure on goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario in what resulted in the winning goal.

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Tottenham were targeted at set-pieces after Man City goal

Subsequent matches saw more of Tottenham’s opponents look to operate similar tactics towards the Tottenham keeper.

Speaking during his punditry appearance on ITV 1 (29/6/24 – 20:46), he said: “I was really frustrated in the Premier League this year, we were on the end of a few of them.

“It’s a fine line between when they are sort of blocking intentionally the person who ends up scoring the goal. Again, there has to be a bit of cleverness around it.”

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Ange was right to draw comparisons between how he had been left frustrated last season when there was clearly a lack of consistency from match to match with such incidents.

One thing that must happen next season is for Vicario to be much more physical in set pieces and learn to command his six-yard box better when under pressure from the opposition.

Too many times last season, there was a lack of protection for the Italian with the coaching staff often not putting an outfield Spurs player between Vicaro and the opponent to offer another level of protection.

According to Calciomercato, AC Milan are not expected to make a move for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for a few more weeks as the Italian club are waiting for Tottenham to lower their asking price.

AC Milan are interested in Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

The report points out that Hojbjerg is represented by Unique Sports Group, an agency that Milan have a good relationship with since they also represent another one of their players, Malick Thiaw.

The outlet says that the Spurs star was first offered to the Rossoneri back in April and that the parties have been in contact since.

The Italian side are now said to be ‘concretely evaluating’ the option of singing Hojbjerg, with manager Paulo Fonseca said to be a fan of the 28-year-old.

AC Milan are willing to wait for Spurs discount

The report claims that as things stand, the Premier League side are demanding €20m (£17m) for the Denmark international, who has one year left on his deal in North London.

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The outlet points out that Hojbjerg is not Milan’s number-one priority at the moment, with AS Monaco’s Youssouf Fofana and Feyenoord’s Mats Wieffer ahead of him on the club’s wishlist.

The publication adds that for the moment, the Serie A side are prepared to wait until the end of July to see if Tottenham are willing to lower their demands.

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Hojbjerg will likely want his future sorted out quickly once the Euros are over and Tottenham certainly have no need to wait for Milan to make a bid, with the midfielder not short of suitors across Europe.

Hopefully, his performances in Germany will only reinforce Tottenham’s price tag.

Archie Gray has agreed personal terms and is set for a medical at Brentford, but the possibility of Tottenham or another team hijacking the deal is still very real.

Archie Gray is set for a medical at Brentford

The Athletic broke the news at 4:35 pm on Friday (29/6/24) that Leeds United’s Archie Gray, who was being monitored by various big clubs such as Tottenham, Arsenal and Chelsea, was set for a Brentford medical after agreeing personal terms. (The Sun)

However, journalist, Ben Jacobs, has admitted that there is ‘caution until the ink is dry because of the sheer volume of suitors’, one of which is Tottenham Hotspur who have a ‘strong interest’ according to Football.London with Gray’s ability to play right back and central midfield suiting Postecoglou’s Spurs perfectly.

The ‘total package’ for Gray is reported by Jacobs on X to be ‘around £40m’ when add-ons are included.

A deal that would count as pure profit for Leeds would help them elevate their PSR concerns with The Athletic explaining the fee involved for the youngster is one the Yorkshire club had to ‘reluctantly sanction’.

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Keep an eye out for a Tottenham hijack

Jacobs’ report reflects that Brentford are well aware of the demand for Gray and that such a deal won’t be pulled off easily, even ‘despite a scheduled medical’.

The post continued stating that there ‘could be a hijack’ with Spurs being ‘still one to watch in particular’ along with Aston Villa, Liverpool, Chelsea and West Ham all having looked at the 18-year-old ‘in the past’.

It wouldn’t be the first deal that Tottenham have hijacked, the most notable one in recent memory being Everton’s organised loan for Arnuat Danjuma in January of 2023 when Spurs swooped in after hearing about The Toffees agreement with the Dutch forward. (Football.London)

Like David Ornstein’s report, Jacobs also confirmed that the sale of Gray, who was a constant fixture in Leeds’ promotion push last season, would ‘allay’ the club’s PSR concerns, however, claimed the club, who have recently received Red Bull investment, ‘don’t need anywhere near £100m in exits’.

Spurs Web Opinion

Hijacking a big money move as this deal is for Gray would be a great statement move from Tottenham to kick off the summer, if they do decide to do so.

It may be tricky especially considering the club has only announced end-of-contract departures so far and are yet to receive any transfer fees.

Gray may be a player that Spurs have to stretch the current finances for though. Most big clubs would invest in a player they have a long-term interest in, and this is Tottenham’s chance to do so.

Archie Gray’s value should only appreciate from now if he is managed correctly, which shouldn’t be an issue when the 18-year-old fits Ange Postecoglou’s system like a glove.

David Ornstein has revealed Leeds United academy graduate, Archie Gray, has agreed personal terms with Brentford despite being linked with Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs had been linked with Archie Gray

Gray, 18, has well and truly broken through at Leeds United this season, featuring 52 times in all competitions this season for the club that his great uncle, Eddie Gray, played for and managed.

Archie, who is an academy graduate of Leeds, has strong connections with the club due to his father and grandfather, as well as his great uncle all pulling on the famous white Leeds shirt in their lifetime.

Being at the club since the age of nine, in addition to his personal links to the club, it was always going to be hard to prize away the Championship Young Player of the Season from Leeds, even with clubs such as Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal circling around the teenager. (The Sun)

A shock report from The Athletic on Saturday (29/6/24) however suggests that Gray will be moving to London this summer, but it will be to the unforeseen destination of Brentford.

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Archie Gray is ‘set to undergo a medical’ at Brentford

Football.London as recently as last week, reported Tottenham have a ‘strong interest’ in Gray although acknowledging a host of other top Premier League clubs are also chasing the youngster who can play both right-back and central midfield, making him a perfect candidate for Postecoglou’s system.

The Athletic have now revealed though that ‘Brentford manoeuvred themselves into the strongest position and are now working to close out a deal’.

Gray appears to be set for the move with the report also revealing that he is ‘set to undergo a medical at Brentford after agreeing personal terms’.

£35 million is reportedly the fee that Brentford are ‘expected to reach an agreement with Leeds’ over, with that price being widely touted throughout the transfer saga.

The player will pocket Leeds 100% profit which will go a long way to protecting the club from PSR sanctions, The Athletic confirmed it had a factor in the transfer with their financial positions leaving them ‘no choice but to reluctantly sanction this exit’.

Spurs Web Opinion

Having paid close attention to the Championship last season, and subsequently, Leeds, Gray possesses all of the top qualities to allow him to reach the very top of world football, his versatility, first touch, engine and passing range at such a tender age are outstanding.

The fact that Gray can play both right-back and central midfield did make him almost tailor-made for Ange Postecoglou. That, partnered with the player’s professional and polite demeanour does make the blow that little bit worse to hear Spurs have lost out on him.

Brentford will presumably offer Gray consistent Premier League game time for at least next season with Thomas Frank likely building his team around the talented teenager.

This does feel like one of those deals Tottenham will miss out upon for £35 million, only to be interested again in two seasons for double that price.

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Tottenham target Kyle Walker-Peters has now given the green light for a transfer to West Ham United this summer.

Spurs were linked with a Kyle Walker-Peters return

Walker-Peters has been linked with a return to Spurs over the last few months, with reports indicating that Ange Postecoglou’s men are eying the Tottenham academy graduate as a potential replacement for Emerson Royal.

The latest such update came from GiveMeSport, who revealed a few days ago that the Lilywhites see the 27-year-old as a ‘good low-cost option’ and the fact that he is homegrown and qualifies as club-trained makes him an attractive target.

However, the report explained that he would have to be convinced about his role in Ange Postecoglou’s squad before agreeing to the move.

West Ham step up pursuit of Walker-Peters

According to Romano’s latest update, it is West Ham who have made the first move for Walker-Peters this summer, having begun talks with Southampton over a deal.

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The two clubs are said to be discussing a direct swap deal for the England international and Hammers midfielder Flynn Downes, with the former Spurs man alleged to have given his approval to move to the London Stadium.

The journalist adds that while a deal is now a ‘concrete possibility’, there is still ‘work to do’ for the two clubs to strike a final agreement.

Spurs Web Opinion

I would be quite surprised if Tottenham allowed West Ham to swoop for Walker-Peters without a fight.

However, it is possible that Spurs approached the right-back and he simply was not keen on the idea of returning to N17 to be an understudy to Pedro Porro.