Cartilage Free Captain

While the opening weeks of the summer transfer window were defined by incomings for Tottenham Hotspur, more recently the focus has appeared to have shifted to player sales. The latest of these is young striker Will Lankshear, with the club confirming his departure Wednesday morning:

Lankshear joins the North Yorkshire club for what could rise to a club-record fee: an initial fee of somewhere between £10-14 million, raising to £20 million based on certain escalators. It’s a big show of faith in the young forward, who was reportedly in high demand after an interesting campaign with Oxford United last season.

That performance would have intrigued Spurs fans as well, with the team in dire need of club-trained players should Spurs return to Europe. The hope would have been Lankshear could have been one of these, with his excellent movement, physicality, and finishing indicating at least a squad role could be in his future. In some ways, you could call this a short-sighted move.

That transfer fee, however, changes things. It’s a significant monetary gain for a player that has cost Spurs very little, and given reports indicating both a sell-on percentage and matching rights for any future bids, this seems like very smart business; even though it could impact Spurs’ hypothetical future European squads.

It’s sad to see Lankshear go, but an exciting opportunity for him. After tearing it up at youth levels, he adapted pretty well to the step up last season, performing admirably in a struggling Oxford United side. The challenge now will be for Lankshear to establish himself as a regular starter at Boro, with last season’s fifth place side also signing another striker in the form of Hull City forward Kyle Joseph.

Good luck Big Willy Lanks - we’re rooting for you!

Football is back! Ok, it never really went away what with the whole World Cup thing, but CLUB football, and specifically Tottenham Hotspur club football, is returning today. Spurs are playing their first preseason friendly this morning by hosting MK Dons at the Hotspur Way training center.

We don’t know much of anything concerning this match. We know there are a few players, Pedro Porro, Djed Spence, and Cuti Romero among them, which have yet to return from their post-World Cup break and so definitely won’t be participating. Other than that, we have no idea who’s playing, who isn’t. I suspect we’ll get a mix of youngsters, U23 players, and senior players that will rotate in and out. There might even be wholesale changes of 11 players at halftime. It’s a closed-door friendly, it doesn’t matter. Preseason matches are about fitness and learning tactics, not about winning

As for how to watch it, well your only option is SpursPLAY, which is Tottenham’s in-house subscription streaming package. Any other source is incredibly illegal, and you shouldn’t put links in the comments to any pirate site that pops up or you will be banned. And yes, this is probably a very good reason why you should read the articles.

The other mitigating factor in this match is that it kicks off at 7:00 a.m. ET, noon in London. That’s early for a Wednesday match, though I imagine you’ll be able to watch it on replay. That’s what I intend to do, since tomorrow is a biweekly chemo treatment and I doubt I’ll be doing anything related to Spurs during that time.

This is the first warmup match of the preseason, and Spurs are preparing to head to New Zealand for their preseason tour Down Under; Spurs play Auckland FC on Saturday (at 12:45 a.m. ET, 5:45 a.m. BST) before heading to Australia to play Chelsea in Sydney on the following Wednesday.

How to Watch

Tottenham Hotspur vs. MK Dons

Wednesday, July 22, 2026

TV: not televised! Duh!

Stream: SpursPLAY (£)

good morning everyone and welcome to the latest edition of What Are You Reading Rifht now?, where your hoddler-in-chief takes the pulse of the hoddle’s literary commentariat.

Great news, everyone. I’ve finished Say Nothing, the historical nonfiction book about The Troubles and Northern Ireland (and frankly so much more). I want to set a good example for you all in not discussing #politics, so I won’t discuss this book much further. All I can say is that it’s definitely not what I had anticipated.

The pacing was also quite interesting. I could feel points where it slowed down and then, all of a sudden, speed up like some bullet train.

Now I find myself staring at my bookshelf and asking, “What next?”

All that is left on there that I have not read is Vladimir Nabokov’s Ada, or Ardor. I don’t want to read it. Lolita and Invitation to a Beheading were challenging enough. This one is, apparently, Nabokov cranked up to yet another level. No thanks, not right now.

So now I must find something else to read. I kinda want to explore Scandinavian literature again. I’ve got two on my list so far:

A Time For Every Purpose Under Heaven, by Karl Ove Knausgård

The Brothers, by Asko Sahlberg

You know, something light-hearted.

I’m not really sure. But I want to explore fiction again. And I specifically want to return to the Nordic and Scandinavian authors. There is also some book out there about The Navigator: A Journey Through the Lost Empire of the Portuguese. It ostensibly isn’t fiction, but it’s by a Norwegian author, so maybe it’s worth a shout.

Gimme your other recs and share all your reads here. I don’t care if it’s Mad Libs or The Iliad (no spoilers yet!). I wanna hear em!

Fitzie’s track of the day: Don’t Go Puttin Wishes In My Head, by Torres

And now for your links:

BBC: “What can Hearts pick from debris of ongoing summer of hurt?”

The Guardian: “Manchester United supporters groups in uproar over suspension of season tickets”

Another one! We reported yesterday the sad news that Tottenham Hotspur had been in negotiations with several clubs, notably Middlesbrough, for the permanent transfer of young striker Will Lankshear. Today, Alasdair Gold (and others) are reporting an agreement has been reached for BIG WILLY LANKS -- Spurs have accepted a £14m bid for Lankshear, with escalators that could make the final fee more than £20m.

Spurs purchased the then-17-year-old Lankshear for £2m in 2022 from Sheffield United’s academy. He spent two seasons in the academy before heading out on loan, first to West Brom in January 2025 for a half season, and then to Oxford United last season, where he scored 11 goals in 44 appearances for an Oxford club that got relegated from the Championship.

That’s put him on the radar of a bunch of clubs, mostly in the Championship. Boro finished fifth in the table and made the playoffs last season and are pushing to be in the mix to promote next season. Lankshear is a strong dude, a fox-in-the-box style goal poacher who will thrive on a team that gives him better service than Oxford did. If BIG WILLY meets his escalators, this could end up being Boro’s all-time most expensive signing. It’s a statement of intent for them, no question.

£14m-20m for a 21-year-old striker is good business, no matter how we feel about Lankshear. I like him a lot and I’m sad to see him go but it’s hard not to view this as a success for the academy, even if we’re not, at least for now, planning on bringing him through. This is breaking news so there aren’t any indications (yet) about any additional clauses, such as a sell-on or price matching buy-back clause, but it wouldn’t surprise me if we find out that they’re in place -- those Manchester City-style “loans” are almost certainly the work of Rafi Moersen and will give Spurs options if Lankshear goes nova in the Championship and starts breaking out.

Lankshear still needs to agree personal terms with Middlesbrough so it’s not a done deal, but this sure seems like it’s going to happen. It’s excellent business for Spurs, especially in a period where Tottenham are clearly building to win now and not bring players through.

I’m still sad about it, though.

UPDATE: According to Sky Sports’ Lyall Thomas, Tottenham have a 20% sell-on clause AND a price matching clause in Lankshear’s sale contract, matching what Spurs have been doing with other young players this summer.

UPDATE 2: Gold has a revised take on the offer, saying that it’s actually £10m guaranteed and £10m in add-ons.

”We’re delighted to welcome Alice to Tottenham Hotspur. She’s a player we’ve followed closely for some time and one who fits the profile of what we’re building here. She has already shown real maturity in her performances, and we believe she has all the qualities to continue developing into a top player within our environment.

”Alice is an aggressive defender who is comfortable in possession, competitive in her duels, and has the ambition to keep improving every day. Those characteristics are really important to us, and we’re excited to help her take the next step in her career while strengthening the squad.”

good morning everyone! After a long 24 hours with no sport (other than baseball or some minor tennis tournaments) to consume without abandon, we return to the final stages of the Tour de France.

What else can we talk about than the Tour de France? Is it possible this event held the biggest story in global sport on Sunday? If you ask fitzie, it might have.

Jonas Vingegaard, two-time Tour de France champion and archrival to Tadej Pogacar, crashed out of the tour on Stage 15 on Sunday. First, a look at the crash itself:

Now, for the backstory.

Vingegaard won the Tour de France in 2022 and 2023. He would be the greatest cycler on earth if not for Pogacar. The Danish cyclist was runner-up in the 2021, 2024 and 2025 TDF’s behind Pogacar. Vingegaard was on course for another second-place finish behind Pogacar this year. It’s a remarkable rivalry.

In 2024 Vingegaard suffered a punctured lung, broken collarbone and several ribs during the Tour of Basque Country, held about four months before the Tour de France. My observations watching the 2024-26 TDFs since then is that Jonas became a far more cautious rider after this and, coupled with his inferiority to Pogacar, grew slightly jaded to cycling. But that is for him to answer, not me.

He entered this year’s tour having won the Giro d’Italia, another big cycling event.

The night of the race, Vingegaard was awoken at 2am to participate in a drug test. Pogacar was woken up at 5am.

The final bullet point dangerously points to a correlation between the drug testing and the crash, although that is not what I am doing. But, since the crash occurred, the timing is now being questioned. Even Pogacar suggested that the testing call had some fault for the crash. However, protocols are in place for a reason, and there are scientists who know far better about how doping works than I - an amateur football blogger / Haim enthusiast - do.

Now, to the crash itself. We’re midway through Stage 15. Vingegaard and Pogacar are in the Peloton, with the Jumbo Visma boys leading the Dane. It appears as if they circle the bend too quickly, Vingegaard loses control and skids onto the pavement. From watching the replay it’s pretty clear he suffered a broken collarbone.

Just like that his tour was over. He was taken into an ambulance. A few hours later JV confirmed the broken clavicle, adding that he’d need surgery.

Remco Evenpoel, the Belgian cyclist playing third wheel to the storied rivalry, went on to win the stage. It appeared as if Pogacar had no interest in winning it, and frankly Pogacar looked to be affected upon hearing news of Vingegaard’s abandonment.

Pogacar had some nice words for his rival and friend after the race:

The tour continues today, and the race is surely on. Not for first, but for second. Leading that is the aforementioned Evenpoel. But there’s also the 19-year-old French cyclist Paul Seixas (wearing the white jersey), Pogacar’s teammate and Mexican champion Isaac Del Toro, and British cyclist Tom Pidcock.

However, the race is far from won for Pogacar. The tour can change in an instant. It was a brutal lesson that was dealt on Sunday. Right now, for Pogacar, the primary goal is staying safe and healthy - and possibly to help launch Del Toro onto the podium.

As for Vingegaard, it’s a brutal way to exit the tour. And, frankly, unfair. Who knows what this means for his career but I definitely hope it doesn’t end with a crash.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Idiot Box, by Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory

And now for your links:

BBC: “Gifted, charismatic and passionate amid highs and lows - Keegan obituary”

The Guardian: “A pioneer and a superstar, Kevin Keegan’s achievements were extraordinary”

The Telegraph: “Ungracious in victory, disgraceful in defeat: Argentina attack Spain with kicks and punches”

ESPN: “Lionel Messi thanks Argentina, says pain from loss ‘immense’”

Yikes, this is the kind of transfer update I do NOT like. According to Alasdair Gold, Tottenham Hotspur are currently in “advanced talks” with Championship side Middlesbrough for the permanent transfer of Will Lankshear.

No more details than that at the present, but… man, I kinda hate this move if it happens. BIG WILLY LANKS hasn’t broken through yet into Spurs’ first team, but he’s coming off a pretty great loan with a bad Oxford United side and at least to my eyes he has a lot in common with a young Harry Kane. That doesn’t mean he’s Kane 2.0, clearly, but he’s also both homegrown and club-trained, and with the club only having two recognized strikers on its roster you can make a strong case that Lankshear could get a shot as a reserve striker this season.

But no? Apparently we’d rather sell him for a profit. This implies that either Spurs aren’t as high on Big Willy as I am, or they’re getting an offer they can’t refuse. And actually, they might — while Boro’s all-time transfer record fee is £15 for Britt Assombalonga in 2017, they just got a huge sell-on windfall from the sale of Morgan Rogers, so perhaps they’re willing to make a big splash for Lankshear.

This still seems very short-sighted from Spurs. Lankshear has value beyond his playing ability and selling a home-grown/club-trained striker when we’re trying to get back into European competition just seems pretty silly. Let’s hope it’s a big (for Boro) fee with a sell-on and a price matching clause, because otherwise I’m going to be very, very mad.

There’s more coaching news today — on the same day that Tottenham Hotspur announced that one of their academy coaches is leaving for Ipswich Town, there’s new reporting from Sami Mockbel at the BBC that Roberto De Zerbi is adding another assistant. Mockbel writes that longtime Brighton assistant Andrew Crofts is joining De Zerbi’s coaching staff.

I really can’t tell you much about Crofts — he had a 20 year career as a player, retiring in 2021 at Brighton where he was a player/coach for the Seagulls academy. Afterwards, he continued coaching in Brighton’s academy and has worked his way up the Brighton coaching ladder. He even served as interim head coach in 2022 after the sacking of Graham Potter. He was promoted to first team assistant coach under Roberto De Zerbi when he was at Brighton, so we know that RDZ knows Crofts and what he can bring to his staff. As of last season, Crofts was assistant head coach under Fabian Hurzeler. He also serves as an assistant for the Wales national team.

There’s no real indication that I’ve seen as to what Crofts will be doing on De Zerbi’s staff at Spurs, but I can’t think of a reason why hiring an assistant who’s worked under De Zerbi before could be construed as a BAD thing. He’ll be one of several new faces in Tottenham’s coaching ranks.

Spurs play their first preseason friendly this coming Wednesday against MK Dons at Spurs’ Hotspur Way training center. The match is not televised, but will be streamed on SpursPLAY, Tottenham’s in-house subscription video platform.

Another academy departure, and this time it’s one of the coaches. Tottenham Hotspur announced today that Stuart Lewis, First Team Academy Transition Coach, has left the club and is heading for a similar role at newly-promoted Ipswich Town.

Lewis’ role at the club was to help Spurs academy graduates transition from U23/U21 football to the Spurs first team, and while I don’t want to make assumptions, I certainly wonder if Tottenham’s focus on “oven ready” players this summer hasn’t had an impact on his decision to leave. There certainly doesn’t appear to be much of a pathway to the first team at the moment and likely won’t be for the next couple of seasons, unless a few of Spurs’ younger players really turn Roberto De Zerbi’s head. There just isn’t much of a pathway to the first team right now, and you have to wonder whether a certain level of recognition and frustration in that reality might have affected Lewis’ decision to leave.

But I’m projecting. I don’t really know — it could also be that Ipswich needed someone like Lewis and made him a better offer than Spurs. That might be the simplest, and most likely correct, reason. Lewis is also a product of Spurs’ academy and had a solid career in the lower levels of English football before transitioning to coaching, but coaches are naturally ambitious and it’s not surprising to see assistants leave for other opportunities, no matter how much they like the club they’re at.

From what I’m reading, Spurs are going to miss Lewis in his role, but I hope he’s able to make a good impact at Ipswich.

Some slightly sad news if you’re a Tottenham Hotspur Youth Watcher™ — 18-year-old attacking midfielder and academy graduate Tynan Thompson has been sold to Manchester United.

Thompson is one of the academy’s more promising players in recent years, and his sale price and clauses reflect that view. £4m plus an equal amount in incentives, a 20% sell-on clause and matching rights is significant and actually reflects excellent value on a young player whom Spurs clearly didn’t want to sell.

But if what Gold says is accurate, this is about more than football. I don’t know what happened in Thompson’s personal life that might have precipitated this move, but it seems like a family decision to get a fresh start away from London and in Manchester. And well, you have to respect that. Sometimes the best thing for a young player is to let them go and establish themselves somewhere fresh.

There doesn’t seem to be much of a pathway for young players to break into this current Tottenham Hotspur side at the moment, and I can understand if that also factored into Thompson’s decision to leave Spurs for another club. I’m not sure he’ll have a better pathway at United than at Spurs, though.

It’s sad when you lose a promising young player to another club, but that’s football. I’ll keep an eye on his development over the next couple of years and hope he’s able to establish himself.