Cartilage Free Captain

This week was a big one for the Spurs lads on loan.

While Richarlison was busy banging in goals for Tottenham against Burnley, a few of our academy kids were doing some good work of their own.

First, here’s Mikey Moore with what Menno called the “Tom Carroll assist” for Rangers:

It was his first assist for the 18-year-old since joining Rangers on loan earlier this month.

And then there was Alfie Devine, who scored his first goal for Preston North End.

This was actually a really great effort by Devine to beat the Leicester City keeper and then score from a pretty tight angle. Sure, he has teammates. But why pass when you can just score, baby.

Devine signed a new contract for Spurs upon joining Preston North End on loan. Preston also said that the season-long loan came with an option to buy, which is a pretty interesting one. It doesn’t seem like Devine’s got much of a future at Spurs, so a goal here should give Preston something to think about when the season ends.

And then there’s Will Lankshear, whose goal for Oxford United leveled the match against Hull City. United would go on to lose, but we’ve got this nice goal:

Can we be led to believe that Lankshear saw Richarlison’s incredi-goal on Saturday, and then tried to score off a volley the day after? No, I don’t think we can.

But nonetheless it was a good goal, and it’s nice to see the Tottenham loanees doing some good work.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Eskimo Blue Day, by Jefferson Airplane

And now for your links:

Matt Law: “Tottenham make Cristian Romero highest earner with new contract”

Alasdair Gold: “The big battle building up inside Tottenham after defender decision is made”

BBC: “Exuberance, energy and elation - how Leeds used the Elland Road X factor”

UPDATE: Communicado official! Once again the club isn’t reporting the length of the contract or the wages, but I’d guess he’s probably now on £200k/wk or so which if accurate would put him up there among the highest-earning defenders in the league. But that’s just my guess.

Sorry to give you emotional whiplash this morning, but the news doesn’t stop for our feel-feels. According to multiple reports, newly-appointed Tottenham Hotspur club captain Cristian Romero has signed a new contract with the club!

Woooooooooooo! This IS good news! I half expected something like this the moment Cuti was named club captain, because it sure doesn’t seem like we’d have done that if he were going to try and run down his current deal or force his way out of the club this coming summer. But it sure does feel good to have this one in the bag, considering how convinced everyone was that he was going to be sold to Atletico Madrid this summer in the wake of Ange Postecoglou’s sacking.

Cuti’s one of the best players at the club even before the departure of Son Heung-Min, almost always a rock at the heart of Spurs’ defense and it’s a dang treat to have him commit his medium term future to the club. It’s holding serve, but any replacement for Cuti is unlikely to be as good as, well, Cuti currently is. So this is big, and exciting, and I’m pretty dang stoked.

Hopefully we get confirmation soon, and I’ll update this article if it comes today.

There’s a line in the movie Spaceballs delivered by Rick Moranis playing the role of Dark Helmet that I always come back to — “Evil will always triumph, because Good is dumb.” That’s kinda how I feel after reading the latest update on the transfer of Savinho from Manchester City to Tottenham Hotspur. Balague is reporting now that City have decided NOT to sell Savinho, ostensibly because there no longer appears to be a path for City to purchase Rodrygo from Real Madrid.

Carty Free founder Kim McCauley said something in Carty Free chat just now in the immediate wake of this news that makes a lot of sense — the only way this transfer from City to Spurs makes a lick of sense is if City replaces Savinho with someone better (i.e. Rodrygo) and there’s been almost zero reporting of any willingness of Madrid to sell to City. The suggestion I’m getting is that Rodrygo simply doesn’t want to leave. The replacement has to be interested in coming to City for Madrid to justify selling one of their prize young assets.

Now, Balague has plenty of contacts but if this is the case I’d expect we’ll see confirmation of this from David Ornstein or Fab Romano here before too long. Seems like a pretty huge story that could have massive implications on everyone involved, so… let’s hope Guillem is just wrong.

But if he isn’t, that really really REALLY changes the calculus for Spurs in what remains of the window. I have to say that even with potentially signing Eze I am not very impressed with this transfer window unless Spurs are able to get a top-tier attacker like Savinho in. Kudus is good and Eze will help, but it’s not a transformational window and a LOT then hinges on players staying healthy and Thomas Frank able to get a tune out of the same players that mostly underachieved under Ange Postecoglou.

Miguel Delaney had something of a weird weekend with regards to his reporting on the deal between Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace over Eberechi Eze. Delaney first posted on social media that things were pointing towards a £55m deal plus incentives for the 27-year-old England international to move across town to North London, then followed it up by saying that things had become “difficult.”

Delaney was one of the journalists who suggested that Eze might not start Palace’s first match this past weekend over concern about his transfer, only for him to then start anyway (and score a banger of a free kick that was called back by a controversial VAR decision).

Clearly Delaney has sources, probably from Eze’s agents, who are feeding him information that changes frequently. It’s the nature of the business. His latest, in the Independent, suggests that the hold-up is Palace insisting that Tottenham spend more of the transfer fee up front so Palace can have more flexibility to bring in Eze’s replacement. Palace are now closely linked with Leicester attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannous, also on Tottenham’s list should the Eze deal fall through, but Spurs may be hesitant to front-load the payment too much out of liquidity concerns. Palace also have an interest in Club Brugge midfielder Christos Tzolis.

How accurate is this? Well, check your watch because by the time you read this it might have changed, but it feels pretty reasonable to me. Palace are also at risk of losing Marc Guehi and while they’re getting good money in for the players they’ve sold in recent seasons, they don’t want to be left too short-handed. I’d say it’s a reasonable ask to have a larger down payment, but it also depends on how much they’re asking for and whether there’s any wiggle room. There’s also the possibility that Palace want to hang onto Eze until after their Europa Conference League playoff match against Fredrikstad on Thursday.

I’m still pretty bullish on this deal and think it happens, but it’s not a Tottenham transfer without a little late drama. In the meantime: calma, calma, calma. Alternately, just lie back and think of Savinho.

Last week the Athletic reported that Tottenham Hotspur were in negotiations with Djed Spence for what would be his second contract extension in less than a year. Today, the club made it official, posting the announcement on their social media channels and on their website.

It’s a nice time to make an announcement like this after a solid win in Spurs’ first Premier League match of the season, and one in which Djed played a pretty important role on both sides of the ball. Curiously, Spurs did not mention any contract details in the announcement — you don’t expect them to say what a player’s new salary is, but you would expect them to say at minimum when the contract expires. But we don’t get that, so my guess is that’s it’s a marginal bump in contract length that is more to do with a pay raise than anything else. Spurs do mention it’s a “long-term contract with the Club,” so… yay?

“I’m over the moon, happy to sign. I just can’t wait to start the season and get going. I just want to keep playing well and reach a higher level.

“Everyone has trials and tribulations, but I’m a fighter. I always work hard, try to do my best and come back from everything. It’s been difficult, it’s been a roller-coaster road for every challenge. I’ve been resilient and fast-forward, I’m here now, I’m playing, I’m happy. I’m just over the moon.

I mentioned this in the player ratings piece, but Djed not only looks comfortable in the left, I think he may actually turn out long term to be Thomas Frank’s first choice. Ironic, considering he’s notionally a right back and you’d expect him to be the rotation for Pedro Porro. Maybe he still is that, but so far in this young season he’s certainly making a case to start out left ahead of the currently-injured Destiny Udogie.

The first Premier League weekend is in the books. And what better way to recap it than by going through some of the best pictures across the league? I’m happy to bring back this feature (hopefully on a more regular basis than last year) for the 2025-26 PL season. Okay, let’s get to it:

We should stress it’s difficult to find one or two images/videos from Diogo Jota, who died alongside his brother Andre Silva in a car crash in July. We knew Liverpool’s first home game of the season was going to be an incredibly emotional one. So I’m just posting this one here:

Elsewhere, Jota’s previous club Wolverhampton paid tribute to him with a Tifo of their own:

Jota joined Wolves on loan from Porto in 2017 and helped the club secure promotion before finishing seventh in the Premier League.

Now this is sick.

What a way for Sunderland to reintroduce themselves to the Premier League. Forget the 3-0 win against West Ham (actually let’s not forget that West Ham lost 3-0, lol), this is the highlight of the game:

I did a little digging, and apparently this tifo is in reference to The Lambton Worm, which terrorised the people living around the River Wear.

John Lambton, who had originally caught the then-little worm and then forgot about it, returned to his father’s estate after seven long years to find that it had fallen into disrepair because of the large and angry worm. After conferring with a which, John Lambton confronts the worm and kills it.

Yeah, I’m obviously putting this here.

Your hoddler-in-chief let out a gasp when he saw Richarlison score this worldie, which surely is a lock for goal of the month. Hell, let’s give him goal of the season!

It’s a heck of a start from Richarlison. Let’s keep the man healthy, please.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Straight to Hell, by The Clash

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “Advantage Richarlison in contest to be Tottenham’s first-choice striker”

Alasdair Gold: “Why Thomas Frank shouted at Bergvall, Eberechi Eze and the powerful person sat next to Daniel Levy”

The Independent: “Why Eberechi Eze holds the key to the cruel crossroads facing Crystal Palace”

Ready for an Eberechi Eze to Tottenham Hotspur transfer update? Of course you are. The latest is that Eze has already agreed personal terms with Spurs, and that the rest of the deal is just horse trading. Depending on who you read, talks are “ongoing,” “intensifying,” or “too sexy for this shirt” (ok, I made that last bit up).

It really is feeling like this is edging towards a foregone conclusion. Eze wants to come, we want Eze to come, and all that remains is to figure out how much it’ll take to get him here. Eze’s £68m purchase clause expired on Friday, but that’s kind of a moot point because the numbers being thrown around for Crystal Palace’s demands were lower than that anyway. My guess is that the talks are not just about overall fee, but also fee structure — how much up front, how much in payments, length of the contract, clauses and how achievable they are, etc. Those things take time.

There’s also similarly good news about the Savinho deal. The Brazilian winger is not with the team right now as he’s “injured” (going with “vision problems,” i.e. he can’t see himself at City any longer), and most City sources I’m seeing are expecting Spurs to eventually come to a deal. It’s notable that City play in the late match today and Rayan Cherki, another one-time Spurs target, is on the bench. If Cherki’s not going to play for City, Savinho DEFINITELY won’t.

I know we’re all impatient bastards, but both of these signings are looking pretty great right now. Let’s see what happens next week.

The 2025-26 Premier League season is officially underway for Tottenham Hotspur as the Lilywhites made their debut under Thomas Frank in style, drubbing Burnley 3-0 on Saturday.

Following the Super Cup penalty shootout defeat to PSG on Wednesday, Frank has already seen changes to his Starting XI, rotating the midfield with the likes of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray joining Pape Sarr. Kevin Danso was on the subs bench to start the match as Frank went back to a back four with Djed Spence still at left back, with Destiny Udogie recovering from his muscle injury.

With the excitement and buzz entering the new season as Champions of Europe, Spurs almost bagged the opening goal 30 seconds into the Frank era as Bergvall had a shot inside the six-yard post that had Martin Dúbravka sprawling out to force an early corner.

Only making matters worse for the newly appointed No. 1 keeper for the Clarets, Dúbravka became the first keeper of the season penalized for the new eight-second rule that awarded Spurs a corner kick. It will be interesting to see how refs dictate the counts after a few weeks into the season. Will they forget about it or punish teams more for time wasting?

Spurs scored their first goal of the game nine minutes into the season after Pedro Porro released a driven ball down the right touchline for Mohammed Kudus to chase. Unable to get to the ball, Kudus and Sarr kept the high press on the Burnley defense as a poor clearance allowed the two to connect on the right wing before Kudus dribbled the ball onto his right and whipped a cross into the penalty spot for Richarlison to connect on a half volley and bury his first of two highlight goals on the day.

Quickly becoming a fan favorite for many reasons before touching the pitch, Kudus backtracked to stop a Burnley counterattack down the left wing and would later prove why he is a force on the wing in the second half.

At times in the first half, the Spurs’ defense was shaky as Cristian Romero misplaced easy passes in the midfield that were typical easy passes for the Argentine defender. But the defense stood firm as the side closed gaps and put in strong tackles and blocks to stop the Burnley attack.

Leading 1-0 after 45 minutes into the new season, Spurs had to fight an early barrage of Burnley attacks before putting the nail in the coffin in the 60th minute.

Once more, it was Sarr and Kudus connecting down the touchline as the two played quick passes that allowed Kudus to run onto the ball and whip a corner into the box. Already connecting with Richarlison 10 minutes into the contest, the two connected yet again as the acrobatic display from Richarlison showed glimpses of the 2022 Qatar World Cup goal against Serbia.

Health is the most significant factor for the Brazilian striker, but when he is healthy, he is a force to be reckoned with, as his skills are one thing. Still, his ability to lead the high press will be a significant factor for this upcoming season.

Tottenham added a third and final goal six minutes later as Richarlison’s hold-up play near midfield allowed Sarr to collect the touch and release Brennan Johnson down the left channel. Beating the Burnley defender on his first touch, Johnson tapped the ball past Dubravka. He continued the celebrations inside Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as Johnson Again, Johnson Again, Johnson Again Ole Ole Ole rang through the stadium with Champions of Europe echoing around the ground.

Finally! One day before Tottenham Hotspur kick off their Premier League season against Burnley, the club has confirmed its kit number assignments for the 2025-26 campaign. You might remember that there were no names on the back of the kits throughout the preseason, and that’s usually because players can opt to change their kit numbers or their name on the back of their shirts at any time up until registration is complete. Now it’s locked in.

The big changes are Radu Dragusin switching from kit #6 to kit #3, and new signing Joao Palhinha taking #6, one of the numbers he wore at Sporting. (Palhinha has also worn kit #16, #26, and #66, so I’m guessing he likes the number six, ah ah ahhhhhhhh [thunder rolls].) Mohammed Kudus takes kit No. 20.

Everything else is the same as last season. Here are the finalized kit numbers. Go forth and order your Tottenham replica kits with full confidence that they will have the right number on the back!

Tottenham Hotspur Women will face Sevilla Femenino in a friendly today (August 15, 2025) at 7 pm UK time, 2 pm ET. The match will be available to view on Spursplay–the first time the club has ever televised a Spurs Women friendly.

Although fans have been clamoring for the club to show these games for literally years, Spurs have always kept women’s friendly matches behind closed doors. In fact, they’ve hardly ever announced them until after the fact. Though it’s long overdue, I’m excited we’re finally getting one, and I hope it’s just the first of many to come.

As such, I’m basically beside myself with curiosity about this game. Spurs finished the 2024-25 season in a demoralizing 11th place in the WSL out of 12, one spot above relegation. Since then, Spurs have sacked Robert Vilahamn and replaced him with Martin Ho. Ho is very well-regarded in women’s soccer circles, but he’s spent most of his career as an assistant coach so there’s not too much info out there on how he likes to play. Unless you’re a big fan of his previous club, Brann, this friendly will be a first glimpse of Ho-ball, and whether he can make something out of last season’s weak squad.

To be honest, I don’t really know what to expect from Sevilla as opponents. Sevilla finished 9th in La Liga F last season. I understand La Liga F drops off sharply in quality after you get past Barcelona and Real Madrid, but, well, so does the WSL. We’ll find out together, and given Spurs have been known to base any international recruitment largely on teams they face in friendlies, maybe we’ll get a cheeky transfer out of it, too.

Other than the trip to Spain and today’s friendly, it’s been all quiet for Spurs Women. There haven’t been any business developments since the club announced the transfer of goalkeeper Becky Spencer to Chelsea. Here’s hoping for a bit more August news, and we’ll be back after the game with our first thoughts on Martin Ho!