Cartilage Free Captain

Good morning dear hoddlers. We are getting closer and closer to the start of the World Cup.

There’ve been lots of friendlies going on in the last few days before the tournament properly starts, but there’s one I want to point out because of a new Tottenham player’s instant impact.

That’s right - I’m talking about Andrew Robertson.

Not only did the new Spurs signing provide an assist during Scotland’s 4-0 win against Bolivia on Saturday, he’s also captaining the squad this tournament.

For those interested in following along our boy Robertson, here are Scotland’s three group games:

vs Haiti (13 June)

vs Morocco (19 June)

vs Brazil (24 June)

Also, speaking of Tottenham players: Djed Spence provided an assist to Harry Kane during England’s 1-0 win against New Zealand. And, for those of us tracking the English team, here are their three group games:

vs Croatia (17 June)

vs Ghana (23 June)

vs Panama (27 June)

Fitzie’s track of the day: Where Are We Going?, by Donald Byrd

And now for your links:

The Guardian: “‘Luckily I play with my feet’: Spence talks up World Cup hopes despite broken jaw”

The Independent: “World Cup 2026 kits: Every home and away shirt ranked and rated”

”I want to let everyone know that I am doing well and that I am home with my family.

As you can probably imagine, receiving a shock from my ICD has had a major effect on both me and my family, but I want to assure everyone that this was a different situation from what happened in 2021.

“I am feeling good and my recovery has already started.

”In addition to being grateful for the support and assistance of all the players and the medical team on the field, I am also incredibly grateful to the doctors who have cared for me and my heart over the years.

”Thanks to their expertise, my ICD did exactly what it was designed to do: protect me when I needed it.

“For now, my focus is on recovering, spending time with my family, going on vacation, and playing football with my children.”

We first reported this back in February, but it’s probably time for a reminder. Remember Alejo Veliz? Spurs signed the then-19 year old Argentine striker from Rosario Central for £13m back in 2023 after he banged in 19 goals for his home club. That felt like a large fee for an unproven teenager who hadn’t played outside of his home country’s league, but hey — that’s what we were doing back then, signing young, unproven talents and hoping we’d hit the winning lotto numbers with at least one of them.

Well, that didn’t turn out so well. Veliz played sparingly in the brief time he was actually at Tottenham, making 8 appearances and scoring one goal in a 4-2 league loss to Brighton. Since then he’s had a couple of unspectacular loans at Sevilla and Espanyol in La Liga before heading back to Rosario Central. Back in February Spurs agreed to sell Veliz to Brazilian Campeonato club Bahia for £7.8m.

Today, Alasdair Gold posted an update on Veliz — that agreement holds and Veliz was apparently spotted in Brazil to lock things up before the transfer becomes officially official this month.

Those of you who have been around the block with Spurs a few times know this isn’t the first, nor the last, time Spurs have whiffed after taking a chance on a young attacking talent. Veliz, however, never once looked like he had the stuff to make it in the Premier League — he was a big fish in a (very) small pond in Argentina and his game just never scaled up to the major European league level. That became pretty evident after he kind of flamed out on both of his La Liga goals.

I have nothing against the kid — far from it, I’d love to see him establish himself in a smaller South American league like Brazil and then potentially go from there. It’s clear, however, that he’s unlikely to crack Tottenham Hotspur’s first team and it’s best that he’s moved on. Bahia finished 7th in the Campeonato and finished third in the league in xG — seems like a pretty good place to land for now, and a nearly £8m transfer fee, which includes a 20% sell-on clause, isn’t awful and probably comes close to breaking even in accounting terms.

I’m sure we’ll get an official notification when it happens. In the meantime, buena suerte Alejo!

You’d think after signing Marcos Senesi on a free transfer (yes, I know it’s not OFFICIALLY official but it’s happening) that Spurs would be done with defensive reinforcements. Well, you’d be wrong. According to Fabrizio Romano, Tottenham are continuing to negotiate with Brighton & Hove Albion for the transfer of Dutch central defender Jan Paul van Hecke, who is set to participate in the World Cup which begins later this week.

Van Hecke is a solid enough defender and Roberto De Zerbi wants him, which in the absence of an Actual Sporting Director™ is probably what is making the difference here. But it IS curious — two central defense reinforcements in a squad that, even with the hypothetical sales of Cuti Romero and Radu Dragusin, still has Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso, Senesi, and (ostensibly) Ben Davies, plus Luka Vuskovic, pending whatever Spurs decide to do with him. Adding Van Hecke to the mix is… weird.

That is, unless De Zerbi is planning on selling another defender and/or playing in a back three formation. I’d say the latter is more likely, even if we hadn’t seen a back three much from De Zerbi in the run-in last season. That’s really the only explanation I’d like to think about, because the alternative is selling Romero, Dragusin, and one of Danso or Van de Ven, and that would probably make me pretty upset.

Now, Van Hecke is a good player would make a fine addition to Spurs’ back line. He’s an excellent passer from deep and is probably going to cost somewhere in the realm of £45m or so when all’s said in done — that’s what the negotiations are for. That’s not a bad price for an international footballer with a solid defensive pedigree on a team that finished in a European qualification spot. It’s just… I’m not sure what we’re actually DOING here and I worry a bit about who’s calling the shots right now until we can appoint that “world class” director of football that’s been talked about lately.

I don’t hate this. Not really. But it’s odd, and that kinda worries me.

good morning hoddlers and welcome after one of the more chaotic French Opens we’ve seen in years.

On the men’s side, Alexander Zverev claimed his maiden Grand Slam title on his fourth attempt. He defeated the Italian (no, not that Italian) Flavio Cobolli in five sets on Sunday, in a match that will be less remembered for the tennis and more for the end of a strange fortnight.

After World No.1 Jannik Sinner and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic were bounced out in the second and third rounds, respectively, the draw was wide open for someone to claim their first major. Zverev’s triumph will be the big takeaway from this tournament here, although it remains to be seen if he’ll be able to compete in a tournament when Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are both healthy.

The longer-lasting legacy of this, however, might be the breakout of rising Brazilian star Joao Fonseca. The 19-year-old came back from two sets down to defeat Djokovic, and then backed that up with a win over Casper Ruud.

The last couple of seasons has left tennis watchers asking who will be the player to insert themselves into the Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry. After this tournament, it looks like we might have our answer: Joao Fonseca.

Speaking of teen sensations, Mirra Andreeva (19) became the youngest woman to win the French Open since Monica Seles in 1992.

Andreeva has had very high expectations for years. She rocketed up to the top five in the world last year after winning two WTA 1000 tournaments.

Andreeva locked in after a shaky second-round match and pretty much coasted the rest of the way, defeating qualifier Maja Chwalinska in the final. Again, a final that won’t be remembered so much for the tennis and more for this being Andreeva’s major breakthrough.

Like the men’s side we also come out of this asking another big question: Just how many of these tournaments will Andreeva win during her career?

Ftizie’s track of the day: Runner, by Tennis

And now for your links:

BBC: “Eriksen conscious after collapsing in Denmark game”

Alasdair Gold: “Dejan Kulusevski delivers positive new injury update after World Cup disappointment”

The Telegraph: “Alexander Zverev finally wins a major – on the court that almost destroyed him”

It’s been a busy summer so far for Tottenham Hotspur Women. In the short weeks since the season ended, we’ve already signed two players with more to come (if you believe what you read), we’ve taken place in a sevens tournament, and we’ve collected some accolades. Here’s the rundown.

Transfer Rumors

We’ve already signed Shekiera Martinez and Caitlin Dijkstra, and according to BBC’s Emma Sanders and Soccerdonna, more are on the way. Sanders (who is usually quite reputable) has reported Kirsty Hanson is set to join Spurs from Aston Villa. You might remember Hanson from absolutely terrorizing us down the wings when we faced her last season. We could use some speed in behind especially with Jess Naz still injured, so I’m a fan of this.

Soccerdonna reported that Arsenal midfielder Victoria Pelova could be on her way to Spurs. Here’s your habitual reminder that transfers between rival teams are a lot more common on the women’s side. Even knowing that, it’s still a bit of a jumpscare to see it on the Soccerdonna graphic. In footballing terms, I’m not too sure about this because we already have one million midfielders. I’ll save the rest of my head scratching for a later date should we actually sign her.

World Sevens

Spurs didn’t take this tournament particularly seriously. This was more the vibe. There were plenty of minutes for squad, fringe and academy players, although heavy hitters like Olivia Holdt and Signe Gaupset had their chances to light up the half-pitch too. The team lost 6-3 to Aston Villa, then beat West Ham 4-1 and lost to Manchester United 8-1 on the second day. This was not enough to progress to the final round but it looks like the players all had a blast and came out (as far as we know) uninjured so I’ll call it a success.

Accolades

Tōko Koga is up for the PFA young player of the year. You might recall she was named to the WSL team of the season a few weeks ago. She was also named Adult Supporter’s Player of the Season at the club’s end of season awards, along with Clare Hunt who was the Junior Supporter’s Player of the Season, and Tinka Tandberg, who won Goal of the Season for her 40-yard hit against Everton.

Elsewhere, Martin Ho apparently set a new WSL record for most points in a debut season by an English manager which sounds like a made up stat but whatever, I’ll take it. And while not an official accolade, it looks like Olivia Holdt made quite an impression for Denmark in their World Cup qualifier against Sweden earlier this week. We already knew she was like this, but it seems the rest of the world is starting to take notice. Thank god we locked her down to a new contract earlier this year.

I’ll leave you with a video of Olivia destroying some souls for good measure, and I’ll see you later this summer to talk transfers:

It’s all done except for the official announcement. According to multiple sources online (including, yes, Fabrizio Romano), Marcos Senesi has signed his contract, confirming his free agent move from Bournemouth to Tottenham Hotspur. Senesi joins on a four year contract and becomes the second signing of the summer after the free agent signing of Scottish fullback Andrew Robertson last week.

AI photo-slop aside, to my mind Senesi is the signing that makes the most sense for Tottenham Hotspur this summer thus far. Although at 29 he’s a bit far along the age curve, the Argentine Senesi is a very solid all-around central defender. He’s good with the ball at his feet, is good in the air, and is comfortable in possession, all things that will endear himself to Roberto De Zerbi. Senesi is a high volume passer but his passing completion numbers take a hit because he’s more likely to go for a longer, higher-risk pass from deep than a comfortable short pass to the defensive midfielder. Like Micky van de Ven, Senesi also likes to step forward out of the defensive line to make defensive plays further up the field, and he’s fifth among all defenders in major European leagues in possession adjusted defensive action VAEP.

Due to his age he’s unlikely to be a long term signing for Spurs, but the skills he brings to the table are ones that will hopefully help transform Tottenham into a team that fits De Zerbi’s pressing and mid-to-high block tactics a little better than they do now.

His signing likely means the departure of at least one Spurs CB this summer, a shortlist that likely includes Cuti Romero and Radu Dragusin, both of whom are linked with moves away from the club.

Best of all — he’s free. As his Bournemouth contract has now expired, he comes to Spurs for no cost, but likely with a healthy wage bump; considering he was apparently only on £50k/wk at the Cherries, a hefty wage hike will be absolutely something Spurs can handle.

Spurs have a lot of work to do this summer to overhaul the squad, and that’s going to take a lot of money. So it’s nice to see Tottenham going after some of the low hanging fruit early on and before the World Cup basically shuts down the transfer window for top players over the next month. Senesi was not named to Argentina’s World Cup squad, but with the injury and withdrawal of Leonardo Balerdi there’s a chance Senesi, who was ostensibly left out for Nicolas Otamendi, could be called up.

While this isn’t a long-term signing, I’m okay with this one as he’s a clear upgrade to Dragusin and could push Romero (if he stays), Kevin Danso, and Van de Ven for starting minutes, or could feature alongside them in a hypothetical back three. It’s a good signing for right now, and after two consecutive 17th placed finishes, right now is probably what matters.

We await the official confirmation, which will probably come early next week if not first thing on Monday.

Hey, an outgoing rumor! Tottenham Hotspur, at least on present evidence, appear to be collecting central defenders, but here we have an actual rumor about an outgoing player, and one that most fans have tipped to leave for months if not longer.

According to Fiorentina blog Firenzeviola.it, La Viola and their Sporting Director Fabio Paratici (remember him?) are targeting Spurs’ Romanian CB Radu Dragusin this summer. The gist is that Paratici and Fiorentina believe Dragusin to be the profile of the kind of defender they want to play in Serie A. And truthfully, Serie A is probably a good place for Radu to land if he should be sold.

I don’t think Dragusin is necessarily a BAD central defender, but even being out for a year with a knee injury we’ve seen enough to know that he’s probably not suited to Roberto De Zerbi’s high line and high pressure tactics — he’s not especially fast, doesn’t really pass the ball that well, and is more suited for a slower-paced, maybe a bit less physical league like in Italy. And he’s already played in Italy for the bulk of his career, so a return feels natural.

The article suggests a price north of €20m. That would be slightly less than the €25m Spurs paid for him when they signed him from Genoa in January 2024. No idea if this is a real rumor or just aggregator slop, but I do like the symmetry of Paratici arguably helping Spurs sign Dragusin and then saving them by taking him back to Italy with his new club. If this happens, thanks Don Fabio, for saving us from ourselves.

Consider me mostly underwhelmed by Tottenham’s kit offerings for 2026-27. The home kit is, well, a white shirt with some minor design elements, same as it always is. The away kits are this weird dark irregular neon slashy stripes thing that frankly remind me of the Galaxy kits from a couple years ago, except if designed by a 10-year-old. Ew. No thanks.

But kit design leaker website Footy Headlines has now dropped a bomb with a leak of what they purport to be Tottenham’s third kits for next season and holy crap take my money right now thank you!

HOLY CRAP. Now, it must be said that these, as are most Footy-Headlines leaks, are not the ACTUAL actual kits but “early predictions.” So there’s a strong possibility that the final kits wont’ look exactly like this.

But GODDAMN. I’m a sucker for a Spurple away kit — I own three of them. Even if the designs are moderately different to the ones shown above, I’m all in for the Spurples. As depicted, this might actually end up being my favorite Nike kit ever made. But they actually have to make them first.

In the age of generative AI slop, I find myself no longer trusting kit release websites fully, especially when they essentially guess on the actual design based on whispers and color swatches. But if these are actually the 2026-27 away Tottenham kits, well, I’ll be first in line to schedule a pre-order.

Most of the transfer rumors we’ve seen regarding Tottenham Hotspur so far this summer have been of the incoming kind, which makes sense since Spurs are a horrifically constructed team that is coming off of back to back 17th place finishes. They need better players, so it’s natural that they’re linked to practically everyone under the sun.

But here we have a different transfer rumor — an outgoing one, and remarkably, one that isn’t centered on Cristian Romero. According to Twitter journalist Sebastian Vidal, Mathys Tel is considering pushing for a move to leave Spurs in search of more playing time, with Bournemouth one of the clubs interested in his services.

Brazilian journo Joao Van Boysen is also claiming Tel could be sold this summer, suggesting that in addition to Bournemouth, Porto, Lille and Frankfurt are also interested in signing Tel this summer.

It’s not entirely surprising. I’d be willing to bet that, despite a lot more playing time than we would’ve expected at the start of the season, Tel probably didn’t have too fun of a time trying to help the club avoid relegation. And the way things are going, Tel’s probably looking at a spot primarily on Tottenham’s bench next season, especially if Spurs bring in Savinho and Mohammed Kudus rounds back into fitness. Tel’s young and has a high ceiling, but it’s pretty clear he’s not ready for a regular starting role at Spurs… yet.

I wouldn’t mind keeping ahold of Tel and ideally we’d have a squad that’s ready to play fewer matches without European football, which would make Tel a strong candidate for a loan, possibly with an option. But if Spurs want to cut bait on Tel and maybe flip him for a moderate profit, it sure does seem like he has a market all of a sudden.