Cartilage Free Captain

Okay, take this with a HUGE grain of salt (or perhaps many million smaller grains of salt instead) but there’s a new report out of Brazil that says Tottenham Hotspur have made a gargantuan offer to Manchester City for the transfer of Savinho.

If you do the math (and I did), 600m Brazilian Reals comes out to nearly £86m. That’s a LOT of money, but assuming this is accurate and truthful, it means Spurs are making a concerted push to get their man. The report also states that Savinho skipped training, suggesting he is, as we like to say here at Carty Free Towers, “going to the jerk mattress” to force a transfer. Savinho clearly wants the move and is now throwing his weight around to try and get the deal to go through and stop any future Manchester City stonewalling.

Cahe Mota is a GloboEsporte reporter in Brazil. I don’t know him. I don’t really know whether this is a reliable source or not. If it IS a reliable source and turns out to be accurate, we’ll see it from Ornstein, Ali Gold, or one of the reliable English reporters before too long.

But it sure seems like after more than a year of stagnation and Spurs trying to buy this kid, gears might finally be starting to move to get Savinho into a lilywhite shirt for next season. Money isn’t real and Spurs apparently have a lot of it, so this could be something that develops quickly. Stay tuned.

Italian teams in Serie A are, as of now, not beating the allegations that they are all broke bois. According to Gianluca DiMarzio on his website, Juventus are still negotiating with Tottenham Hotspur over Spurs’ (former) starting keeper Guglielmo Vicario. This has been going on for quite some time, but according to DiMarzio, The Old Lady is now trying to see if they get Vicario on a loan-to-buy deal, rather than an outright purchase.

Here’s the gist: Juventus were counting on a short-term one season loan for Japan World Cup star Zion Suzuki, who looks set to sign with Paris Saint-Germain. PSG were apparently willing to loan Suzuki to Juventus for the season, giving them time to work out a more permanent solution to their goalkeeping issues. That deal appears to be fading, according to DiMarzio, and Juventus are heading to plan B — Guglielmo Vicario. But they want him, at least initially, on loan rather than an outright sale.

As hilarious as it is to call Italian teams broke, there’s probably a deal to be made here if Spurs and Juve can work out the details over payment, loan fee, and structure. It’s not the first, nor will it be the last, time that Spurs have sent a want-away player to their future club on an initial loan deal. The key point, obviously, is in the details — if Juventus want a dry loan, that’s not going to serve Spurs well, unless they’re willing to punt for a year and try and sell Googly Elmo all over again next summer. If there’s a purchase obligation (preferred) or a purchase option (less preferred), I think we could probably see a deal here.

Vicario is not in Roberto De Zerbi’s plans and they’re already going with Antonin Kinsky as their No. 1 keeper, with Martin Dubravka as his backup. Spurs are going to want a solution sooner rather than later, as will Juventus. It’ll probably come down to how much commitment Juventus are going to want, and whether that suits Spurs or if they start shopping Elmo around to other clubs in Italy.

Good morning everyone! Do you smell that in the air? That’s football!

We’re very close to returning to Premier League action but first we get a few other leagues kicking off their seasons. The hoddle’s annual EFL Championship predictions will come out tomorrow.

This year I’m also going to go out on a limb and jot a few down for Leagues One and Two. I do the occasional lower-league roundup, so why not do a lower-league prediction?

I’m certainly no expert in either of the leagues, so I look forward to being proven wrong. Still - it should be fun!

The big story here is obviously Leicester City, who are in the third tier for the first time since 2008. They had a tonne of outgoings including Jordan Ayew, Bilal El Khanouss, Janik Vestergaard and Abdul Fatawu. There’s a lot to not like about this team including how broken the squad looks. For those reasons, I think they’ll be down here for at least one more year.

Otherwise I quite like Luton Town and Plymouth Argyle, who also recently suffered relegations from the Championship. Stockport County came very close last season, so why not pick them to make the jump? Otherwise I think it’s a step down for Bradford, while Leyton Orient will again be in a relegation scrap (but survive).

I know even less about League Two. The Guardian’s done a nice preview and it says Salford, Chesterfield, Grimsby, Walsall, Rotherham and Port Vale could all be contenders. It’s also got Barnet as a “hopeful” while two supercomputers have them getting promoted, so I will too. I do enjoy rooting for Barnet.

Then on the other side it looks like Newport County had some managerial drama, while Tranmere Rovers barely hung on last year.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Yip Yip Yow, by Caroline Rose

And now for your links:

Jack P-B ($$): “Why Spurs selling Romero and Spence would signal a big shift in their transfer policy”

The Telegraph: “Spurs’ troubled Cristian Romero era ends with £34m move to Atletico”

BBC: “Can Mourinho restore Real Madrid to former glory?”

The Guardian: “Doué seals Super Cup glory for PSG after Madjo makes history for Aston Villa”

Netherlands NT: “Xavi Hernández new head coach of the Dutch national team (m)”

Well, THIS has been an eventful day, huh? On the heels of the news that Djed Spence is on his way to Inter Milan, we have another outgoing bomba — according to Fabrizio Romano (sigh), Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid have come to a full agreement for the sale of Cristian Romero.

Honestly I could take the paragraphs about the financial context of this sale from the Djed Spence article and just copy-paste it here, because I think the context is pretty much identical. Romero wanted to leave, we weren’t going to sell him to a Premier League rival (much less to Arsenal who actually were interested, we were not), and Atletico just don’t have the same kind of money as a Premier League club.

Honestly though, is there a player who is more Diego Simeone-coded than Cuti Romero? I can’t think of many. He’s absolutely PERFECT for Atleti and will almost certainly crush it there. Good for him. He finally gets his wish to play in Spain and for a club that will absolutely adore him. He put in some absolutely massive performances during his time at Spurs, and despite a portion of the fan base turning on him, I feel like he will be warmly remembered in the fullness of time. I wish him well.

Don’t make me say the phrase, I’m not going to say the phrase. But Fabrizio Romano (sigh) has now tweeted that full verbal agreement has been reached between Tottenham Hotspur and Inter Milan for the sale of Diop Tehuti Djed-Hotep Spence. The fee is reportedly £31.5m (£27m).

I know a decent section of Spurs fans are either baffled or apoplectic about the low transfer fee for a player like Spence, but there are a couple of factors at play here. First, Tottenham fans tend to overrate their own players, which is natural. Spence is coming off of a fantastic World Cup and his stock is probably never going to be higher, but the reality is still that he’s a backup at both LB and RB at Spurs, and he wants regular first team football, something he’s not going to get this season. He also asked to leave the club, and Spurs are honoring his request, knowing that while they’re letting a good (but not world-class, whatever that means) player go, they feel they have adequate cover at both positions.

The other factor is financial — no matter how much we dislike it, there is a huge financial gap between the Premier League and every other European continental club, barring the juggernauts like Madrid, Barca, and Bayern. That’s just where the market is for a sale outside Premier League. We clearly made the choice not to sell Spence to a league rival and nobody on the continent can afford PL transfer fees, and as much as we might like him, he’s not a good enough caliber of player to command £40m+ on the continent. It is what it is.

In the end, this is a fantastic move for Djed. He leaves a club where he’s behind a World Cup winner and some established fullbacks and going to one of the most storied clubs in European football, one who made a Champions League final just a year ago. He’ll get regular minutes and will be appreciated in Milan. I’m not thrilled with the transfer fee, but considering the other factors at play here I find it difficult to get too upset about it, and will note that the same factors are at play with the sale to Cuti Romero. So long as money isn’t real in the Premier League and we decide not to potentially strengthen league rivals through player sales, this is just what we get.

I really, really like Djed Spence. He’s a real character, has become a good teammate (after a rocky start at the club), and is a solid professional footballer. He’ll be missed, for sure. That said, while you can disagree with Tottenham’s decision, I don’t think it’s one that’s a wild outlier, especially in the current market.

We’ll be back once the transfer is fully confirmed.

We reported on this a couple of days ago and now it’s official — Tottenham’s young Korean winger Yang Min-hyeok is heading to Belgium on loan, and will spend the year at Westerlo. The loan is apparently “dry” with no purchase option or obligation.

Westerlo and Tottenham must have a pretty cordial relationship, because Min-hyeok is the third player to go on loan there in the past few seasons. Both Luka Vuskovic (technically not yet a Spurs player but we’ll ignore that) and Alfie Devine were at Westerlo in 2024-25 and both reportedly did quite well. Westerlo are a club that are pretty good at developing young players, though we should note that neither Vuskovic nor Devine are at Spurs anymore sooooooooo…

Even so, this feels like a good loan to me. In retrospect chucking Min-hyeok straight into the Championship after barely acclimating to England and English football might not have been the best decision. The Championship is a very physical league and there are suggestions that Min-hyeok might have struggled with some of that physicality. Belgium is a more technical league and in terms of league strength is actually pretty solid, probably comparable to the Championship in terms of talent. I like the loan. I hope Min-hyeok can actually establish himself there and get some good minutes because I still think that there’s a potentially good player there.

Great news: Conan O’Brien’s travel show is coming back! Here’s a sneak peek:

The late-night icon and Tilda Swinton stand-in is embarking on his third series of Conan O’Brien Must Go, where he visits fans in different countries around the world. It’s kind of a spin-off to his podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Fan, which itself is a spin-off from his main podcast Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend.

The ConeZone is getting his miles in this season. He’s travelling to the Philippines, Morocco, the Netherlands and India. That all sounds like great fun!

I’ll be interested to see how this show continues to develop. The first series was brilliant because Conan literally showed up unannounced to some of these fans’ homes. Series 2 they could see it coming (and I don’t think he planned any of it as a surprise). Still, an engagement and a hit Norwegian song came out of it.

You’re asking what Conan might be up to now. Well you might find him listening to Geese at the Outside Lands festival in Northern California. Or you might find him playing with his band, The Vigodas.

The man is living his best life, and he deserves it. The Hoddle remains firmly #TeamCoco.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Like Swimwear (part one), by Jeff Parker

And now for your links:

Jack PB and Co ($$): “Tottenham owners exploring bid for London NBA Europe franchise”

Alasdair Gold: “Lucas Bergvall Tottenham transfer latest as Roberto De Zerbi makes case to youngster”

San Francisco Chronicle: “Conan O’Brien says he ‘fell in love’ with Outside Lands. Here’s why”

Well, finally. After several weeks of garbage sources and ITK circling around this idea, we finally have some real reporting about Tottenham Hotspur’s suggested interest in Monaco and USA international striker Folarin Balogun. French paper L’Equipe, in a multi-byline article that includes journo Loïc Tanzi, writes that Spurs have “laid the groundwork for a discussion” about Balogun in what remains of the transfer window.

Now, if you read the above and think “well, that sounds pretty nebulous,” well it is! But it’s coming from L’Equipe and Tanzi who are at least a couple of reliability steps above the gutter rumor-mongering where this story has existed for the last while.

Balogun, 25, is the most prolific scorer on USA’s national team (yaaay!) and is also a former Arsenal player and graduate of their academy (booo!). He had his breakout year in 2023 when he scored 17 goals on loan at Reims, and was subsequently sold to Monaco. Last season he scored 19 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions for Monaco. That includes 5 goals in 10 Champions League starts, including a brace in a 2-3 loss at PSG in the first knock-out round. While my go-to source for advance statistics is down at the moment, his raw shooting numbers are nothing to sneeze at, though they have the “in French football” caveat.

He’s also an American hero, and a lot of people reading this blog will remember what he did in the World Cup this summer and be very excited about the possibility of him lining up for Spurs. Tactically he excels in a pressing style, which should suit him well under Roberto De Zerbi, and he’s a willing presser and defender, notably while playing at Reims. He can hold the ball up well and is adept at making late runs into the box, but his best performances have come in a counter-attacking system, and De Zerbi is more likely to want to have and keep the ball at Tottenham.

Is he a guaranteed scorer? Hard to say. He’d be pretty cromulent, I’d say, though he’s be a less high-profile option than some of the other players Spurs have been linked to in this window. The Premier League is a lot tougher and more physical than Ligue 1 so there would likely be some adjustment should Spurs opt to bring him in, but I do think he has the physicality to adapt and be successful at a club like Spurs. But it’d be more of a gamble.

Mostly this article is just an excuse to talk a little bit about Balogun. Spurs haven’t had an American on its squad for a while now, and signing Balogun would certainly turn a lot of USA eyeballs Tottenham’s direction. That’s not a bad thing, but nor is it a particularly compelling reason on its own for signing Balogun. There’s not a whole lot of THERE there in this particular rumor, and that should be considered. But this is some pretty tasty red meat for a fan base that’s clamoring for some attacking reinforcements. Folarin Balogun may not be the slam-dunk young attacking signing that everyone wants, but I think he could be a pretty nice cog in Roberto De Zerbi’s machine. Let’s not get too excited just yet, but keep an eye on this rumor now that it’s emerged from the Bat Country cloud.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who has been reading this website regularly since the design and color scheme has been leaked for months, but at least now we get to see Tottenham Hotspur’s third kits for next season in person. Spurs formally released the new “Spurple” change kits this morning, and it’s going to be interesting to see what people think of the final design.

I don’t recommend that anyone click through to Twitter these days but if you do you can see a pretty good carousel of images that show the new kits and their design. Honestly, I don’t hate it! Spurple is always a popular choice for a kit color amongst Tottenham fans, and there’s a lot to like here, from the two-tone purple colors and the white sponsor logos and accents to the subtle geometric design on the background. I even like the vertical stripes!

What I don’t like is the collar, which in my mind lowers the overall kit from a potential classic to “meh, pretty good but not perfect.” I hate the collar, and think the weird white accent is off-putting. But the rest of it? Banger.

I love a good Spurple kit — I own two of them from over the years and love the idea of purple being the color scheme that Spurs come back to every few years. It’s a good look. But like the two-tone green Champions League semifinal kits (that I still dislike, honestly), Spurs might have to do some amazing things while wearing this one for it to get into the all-time greats category.

Well, we kinda thought this might be coming. Numerous reporters and transfer mongers, including Fabrizio Romano (sigh) are now reporting that Inter Milan and Tottenham Hotspur are in negotiations for the potential sale of Djed Spence. Romano is reporting that Spence is keen on a move to Italy, and other reports a potential sale of around €40m (£34.5m).

It feels weird to consider selling a World Cup bronze medalist who was, honestly, one of the most impressive players on that World Cup squad, but here we are. I was listening to the Game is About Glory podcast this morning and one of the hosts made the suggestion that Roberto De Zerbi might think that Spence, while an excellent defender, might be a little too dribbly a fullback for RDZ’s tactics, which rely on short, quick passing to progress the ball up the field.

That could very well be the case but selling Spence means Tottenham have a fullback corps of Destiny Udogie, Souza, Pedro Porro, and… various other players playing out of position, like Micky van de Ven and Archie Gray. Selling a fullback who can provide relief on both sides of the pitch feels weird, but then again, Spurs will only rarely play more than one match a week, and Djed is clearly looking for a starting role somewhere. I don’t know if he gets that here unless Udogie or Porro are injured or out of action for a significant amount of time.

There’s no deal in place yet and we know Inter are going to try and cheap out on the transfer fee. They actually do have some money, but not a ton of it and they have conflicting priorities this summer, so it’ll be interesting to see whether a deal can be made. But Spence seems to want this, and if we can get a decent price for him it’ll be sad but quite possibly the correct decision. We’ll see.