Cartilage Free Captain

Recent Tottenham Hotspur transfer rumors have been, finally, of the incoming kind with recent strong links to both Manchester City winger Savinho and Crystal Palace attacking midfielder Eberechi Eze. However, there are still more outgoings that are likely as well before the transfer window slams shut, and one of the players closely linked with an exit is Israeli winger Manor Solomon.

Solomon has barely featured for Spurs since his arrival a couple of years ago. Acquired under, to put it gently, somewhat dubious circumstances from Shakhtar Donetsk that had a lot to do with the war in Ukraine, Solomon had a couple of bright appearances early in Ange Postecoglou’s career before picking up a long term injury in 2022-23 and missing almost the entirety of the season. He was loaned to Leeds United last year where he was one of the best players in the Championship.

And in fact, Leeds are the Premier League club most closely linked to Solomon, with numerous reports suggesting they’d love to have him back after they promoted back to the top flight this past summer. Romano (obviously) doesn’t state what La Liga clubs are interested in Manor, but it likely means that Spurs would be able to demand a halfway decent fee for him, considering his 10g+12a Championship campaign.

Is Manor Solomon good enough for the Premier League? Probably. Is he good enough for Tottenham? Well, Ange Postecoglou didn’t think so and neither, apparently, does Thomas Frank. Solomon always seemed like the kind of bargain bin player Spurs would scoop up and eventually flip, and that seems exactly what they plan to do. And with the glut of attacking talent already at the club, trying to fit Solomon in that mix could be tricky. It’s probably best if he goes elsewhere, and Spurs get a little money they can use to invest in other incoming deals.

Less than three months ago, Tottenham Hotspur ended its 17-year trophy drought by beating Manchester United in Bilbao. On Wednesday, the club already has a chance to bring home another piece of silverware, though the competition is just a little bit stiffer. Though few expect Spurs to actually win the UEFA Super Cup, anything can happen in a beginning-of-the-season one-off competition (see: Palace).

Paris Saint-Germain won the Champions League in convincing fashion and looks ready to challenge for an encore this season. However, after a Club World Cup campaign that (annoyingly) ended in defeat to Chelsea, PSG has had little time to rest this summer, which could be a benefit for the underdogs. The French side will be big favorites in Udinese, but hey — a second trophy could be just 90 minutes away!

UEFA Super Cup: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Tottenham Hotspur

Date: Wednesday, August 13

Time: 3:00 pm ET, 8:00 pm UK

Location: Stadio Friuli, Udine, Italy

TV: CBS Sports Network (US), TNT Sports 1 (UK)

Spurs do not have history against PSG in competitive fixtures, though the clubs did meet in the 2017 International Champions Cup in Orlando, Florida, with Tottenham winning 4-2. Meanwhile, this will be PSG’s third opponent from the English capital in the past three months, having also faced Arsenal in last season’s Champions League semifinals, tragically knocking out the inferior North London side.

White Hart Vibes: TBD

Thomas Frank is theoretically much more pragmatic than his predecessor, which helps after a summer of many transitions. Out are Heung-Min Son and a few others; in are Mohammed Kudus, Joao Palhinha, and…hopefully more? Given this is Frank’s first (pseudo) competitive match at the club, options will be limited in terms of both personnel and tactical implementation, but even so, this should look different than last year.

The strength of this Tottenham squad remains the back line. With Cristian Romero staying, Frank at least has this part of the lineup sorted, which is pivotal against an opponent that scored five against Inter in the Champions League final, then put four in against Atleti, two against Bayern, and four more against Real Madrid this summer. While it will take a heroic effort from Spurs to stay afloat, even if the opposition rotates, this will provide a good look at Frank’s defense.

PSG are a fully operational machine, but one has to wonder how highly this fixture will be prioritized. With the highs of the Champions League title and the Club World Cup then taking up most of the summer, there has been little physical and emotional respite for this side. Luis Enrique has plenty of high quality options to choose from, but if there ever was a time to face this sort of titan, this would be it. It should be noted that the Europa League winners have taken just one of the past 12 Super Cups, though (Atleti over Real Madrid in 2018/19).

Three Big Questions

How will this all feel? Tottenham finally broke its trophy drought, then promptly sacked the manager who did it, and now has recently lost its club-legend captain. While the outlook is overall positive — or has at least brought a sense of relief — it has also been an emotionally taxing summer. Perhaps this is felt more by supporters than the players themselves, but the Super Cup could end up being just too big of a moment for this point in time.

Can Spurs score? Even with that stupid defeat to Chelsea, PSG has been absolutely elite defensively, keeping clean sheets in five of its seven Club World Cup contests and allowing just one goal in the final three Champions League matches. Aside from Kudus, Spurs did little to enhance the front line and are now without Son and James Maddison. Maybe another attacker or two will arrive before the deadline, but that will be of no help on Wednesday.

What does Frank-ball look like? In no way should full judgments about the new manager be drawn already after an August contest against the best team in the world, but certainly the attention will be on how Tottenham looks in the first real fixture of the new regime. Preseason has shown signs of flexibility with and without the ball, intelligent pressing, and an asymmetrical structure in attack, marking a difference from the past regime. Even if this does not yield a win in Udine, a positive setup could really set the tone for the start of the new season.

Tottenham Hotspur officially have a new captain. With Son Heung-min departing to Hollywood, Spurs needed somebody to step up and steer the ship in his stead, and there was only one option for Thomas Frank: Cristian Romero.

Have you ever seen as intimidating a smile as in the last frame of that announcement video?

Thomas Frank talked in recent days about the role, indicating he felt that the captain should be someone who set standards, trained hard, and brought the different groups in the squad together; all traits Sonny displayed in spades. They are also qualities Frank seemingly feels, perhaps unsurprisingly, Cuti embodies, with Frank embellishing on his choice of leader via the official website:

In all seriousness though, Cuti is the obvious choice. Part of Ange Postecoglou’s leadership group and arguably the most elite player in the squad (as well as a World Cup winner), Romero is a player who demands respect and leaves it all on the pitch. He’s also one of the best defenders in the league, someone who will never take a backward step, and probably key to Spurs’ attack as well with his passing ability, since Johan Lange apparently doesn’t believe in midfielders who can pass. It’s also a pretty impressive redemption arc after Romero flirted with a transfer away in the summer, something that will now be out of the question.

Thomas Frank also indicated he will be naming a wider leadership group after the closure of the transfer window to give him time to assess the options within the squad. Frank has mentioned the qualities of Ben Davies on a handful of occasions through preseason, and Guglielmo Vicario and Rodrigo Bentancur have also worn the armband on occasion. It’ll be interesting to see which direction Frank goes.

Congratulations, Cuti. You were the best man for the job; now for your chance to lead us to glory!

Good morning and welcome to the first edition of ‘Fitzie’s Gaming Corner’, where your hoddler-in-chief talks about games (video and non-video). During a recent hoddle audit, many of you expressed a desire to have a space to talk about video games. I know very little about video games, but the people want what the people want. So, Hoddle Headquarters is testing out this new feature because this is a hoddle for the people.

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There’s no better place to start Fitzie’s Gaming Corner than with a discussion about Super Smash Brothers. If you ask me, video games peaked with Super Smash Bros Brawl. And it’s probably no coincidence that’s the last video game I bought.

It was the greatest. You had these amazing characters and beautiful graphics. There was a compelling single-player adventure mode, as well as dynamic stages that allowed for some truly fun gameplay. This was the third installment of the Super Smash Bros series, and two came after that. I didn’t purchase the other ones (because I didn’t have gaming systems), but there was one character I really liked.

Which brings me to the point of this hoddle: I’m going to list, in no particular order, my 10 favourite Super Smash Bros characters. Did anyone here play Smash Bros? Gimme your thoughts below. Or, ya know, just chat about video games or whatever. (If yesterday’s hoddle mishap taught us anything, it’s that this truly matters very little).

Wii Fit Trainer: This is what the kids call S-Tier. Who knew downward-facing dog could be so deadly? Apparently the makers of Super Smash Bros 4 (whatever that one was called)! Deal serious damage with volleyball or jumping through hoops, this character does it all. Truly one of the most fun to play.

King Dee Dee Dee: This is the one I was more hyped for Brawl than anyone else. I thought he was the coolest from the Kirby series. So freaking excited. Who doesn’t love an emperor penguin with a hammer?

Roy: The absolute coolest of the charactes representing the Fire Emblem series. Sure, Marth had this demure aura about him, but did he have Roy’s rage? NO! This is what made Roy the best character in Super Smash Bros Melee.

Link: This one’s a classic character and is deserving of everyone’s top 10. The bow and arrow makes link an excellent long-range damage character, but they’re also pretty dang good in close range. Plus the little bomb droppings are fun (or is that Samus? Someone fact-check fitzie).

Pokemon Trainer: Now get this. You don’t get one character - you get THREE. Who doesn’t wanna play as Squirtle, Ivysaur and Charizard? There are a lot of Pokemon in the Super Smash universe, but none compare to the incredible Pokemon Trainer.

Ice Climbers: Speaking of plural, these characters also deserve a shout. I love playing with them. They’re so fun, so cuddly. But, man, if one goes you are screwed. It’s worth it though because they’re just so freaking fun.

Captain Falcon: Show me your moves! Who didn’t love to punch with this guy during Melee, especially in that one stage of his? He was supremely fast, which I think makes him one of the most fun to play.

Princess Peach: Another classic. But does your classic character’s attacks include a frying pan, parasol and Mr Toad? No? Well then maybe you should reconsider your life choices. It doesn’t get better than Princess Peach.

Ike: The angriest of the three Fire Emblem characters. He also seems to be the strongest, but I’ll let others make that judgment. The Brawl stages were pretty easy to clear when Ike was around town. We like Ike!

R.O.B.: I was also pretty happy with his inclusion in the Brawl series. I mean, it’s a freaking robot post-Wall-E. And it shoots lasers out of its freaking eyes!!

Fitzie’s track of the day: The Pretender, by Jackson Browne

And now for your links:

Jack P-B ($$): “Tottenham Hotspur return to the biggest stage – but have they narrowed the gap on the elite?”

Sami Mokbel: “Spurs start new era under ‘glass half-full’ Frank”

The Telegraph: “Yves Bissouma dropped by Thomas Frank for disciplinary reasons in first test of Spurs manager”

Tottenham Hotspur: “Loan update | Ajayi scores, Donley spot on for Stoke”

For the second time in two seasons, Djed Spence is in talks over an improved contract at Tottenham Hotspur. According to Jack Pitt-Brooke in The Athletic (£), Spence, who signed an improved deal in October, 2024 that extends through the 2027-28 season, is in negotiations over another improved contract thanks to his good performances at fullback last season.

Pedro Porro is Tottenham’s best fullback and I don’t think there’s much of a question about that, but Spence is right up there with Destiny Udogie in second place. And weirdly, considering Djed is ostensibly a right back, he’s played the best on Destiny’s side of the pitch as a LB.

There was once a time when Antonio Conte called him a “club signing” and Djed was considered surly and very much on the fringes of Spurs’ squad. That all changed once Ange Postecoglou came in — Djed was brought into the fold early on last season and he forced his way into Postecoglou’s team plans. The 2024 extension was very much deserved, and this one feels deserved too.

The Athletic doesn’t go into any details about the new deal — whether it would add any extra years to the length of his stay. I assume it includes a healthy bump in salary as from what I can gather he’s still only on £40k/wk in wages. To Johan Lange and Daniel Levy, I say: double it. He’s earned it.

Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur are set to compete in the Super Cup tomorrow against Champions League winners Paris St. Germain, a match that is either a fantastic opportunity for more continental silverware (if Spurs win) or a glorified preseason friendly (if Spurs lose).

But one player who will not feature in this match is Spurs midfielder Yves Bissouma. Thomas Frank, speaking in a press conference ahead of tomorrow’s match, said Yves was left in London for disciplinary reasons after showing up late to training on multiple occasions this summer.

Frank said that while Dominick Solanke has now returned from injury and is available to play tomorrow, Destiny Udogie is still recovering, and Bissouma was left out of the squad.

‘Dom [Solanke] is the positive one and available for selection. Destiny [Udogie] is close. Bissouma has not travelled due to disciplinary reasons.

“He’s been late several times and now this time the latest time was one too many. With everything you need to give your players a lot of love. There need to be demands and consequences and this time there was a consequence.”

This will do very little to quash the rumors that Bissouma is likely to be sold this summer as Frank continues to put his own stamp on the playing squad. It’s also not the first time Bissouma has been disciplined while at Tottenham — he missed the first match of last season under Ange Postecoglou after a photo of him inhaling nitrous oxide appeared on social media. Postecoglou at the time made plain his disappointment to the media, saying the player needed to do more work to regain his trust.

It’s not a good look. If you’re a professional footballer, one of the easiest bars to clear is “be on time” and apparently Bissouma isn’t capable of doing that. As a consequence he could miss one of Spurs’ biggest matches of the season and an opportunity to win the club’s second European trophy in three months.

Frank also refused to be drawn into speculation over who might be joining the club in the near future. as of this morning Spurs are strongly linked with both Manchester City’s Savinho and Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze as they look to strengthen with less than a week before Spurs’ first Premier League match against Burnley and 19 days to the close of the transfer window.

He did, however, say that Spurs fans can expect a new club captain to be named tomorrow.

“The captain will be named tomorrow in the team and the leadership group will be known by the end of the month.”

Frank has been notoriously tight-lipped about who might be in the running to be club captain with Son Heung-Min now at LAFC. Cuti Romero or James Maddison, the two vice captains from last year, would be natural choices, but Frank will make his own decision. One person I think I can safely say it will NOT be, however, is Yves Bissouma.

Today is Mikey Moore’s 18th birthday, which means two things: he’s able to be formally registered with Rangers for his season-long loan in Glasgow, and we can no longer refer to him on this website as “literally a child.”

But there’s more news — the club just announced that, on his birthday, Mikey Moore has also signed an improved deal at Tottenham Hotspur!

Like with the Rangers registration, I’m 99% certain that Mikey couldn’t sign a long-term contract at Tottenham until he became a legal adult, but that the dominoes had been set up a long time in advance of this announcement.

The club doesn’t state any details of his new contract, neither length nor wages. I’d imagine those details will probably come out via one of the club-friendly journalists like Alasdair Gold or the like, if we get them at all. Sometimes Spurs can be a little cautious with leaking or stating contract details for young players or those on the fringes of the first team, and it’s not a bad precaution to take, especially with a young guy like Mikey.

But regardless, this should calm down the people who were freaking out online that Mikey hadn’t been in any Rangers matchday squads up to this point. Pretty sure he will be going forward, and we can hopefully look forward to Mikey being a part of Tottenham’s first team plans for many years to come.

Last night, a Tottenham Hotspur transfer rumor bombshell dropped with numerous highly reliable sources reporting that Spurs and Manchester City are in talks over the signing of 20-year-old Brazilian winger Savinho. This morning, new details are starting to trickle in.

Previous reporting from yesterday had suggested Spurs had made an initial inquiry of around €40m, but Tom Allnut at the Times now writes that City are demanding a fee of around £50m to make sure the transfer goes through.

…Okay?

Look, my initial feelings about Savinho was that, despite being signed for just over £30m just last summer, it would probably take over twice that to get him out of City. I guess I wasn’t too far off, but honestly I’d have been just fine spending £65m or so for a 20-year-old dribbly winger who has a proven assist record and who underperformed his xG by 4 goals last season in limited minutes.

£50m for a player like Savinho feels like a no-brainer, and since yesterday’s bombshell there has been subsequent reporting that Savinho is keen to leave City and is very willing to move to Spurs. Savinho is currently making just £40k/wk at City, so Tottenham would easily be able to give him a significant bump in pay. Since the initial reports, David Ornstein has also posted that Tottenham’s interest in Savinho is very, very real and that things are progressing. Getting Savinho in plus an (eventual) backup 10 like Bilal El Khannouss from Leicester City, and baby you got a stew going.

It still begs the question why City are willing to let Savinho leave just 12 months after signing him, but I think we know the answer to that now.

Well, there we go. Spurs were of course somewhat spuriously (see what I did there?) linked with Rodrygo earlier in the window until reports came out that the player had no intention of leaving Real Madrid for Tottenham. But City selling a player or two to fund a £100m bid for Rodrygo would explain why they might be willing to let Savinho go.

This is a story that is continually developing, so I have no doubt there will be some important update as soon as I hit “publish” on this story, but at this point it does really feel like more of a matter of time before we get confirmation that an agreement has been reached. Y’all, the vibes around Spurs have been pretty rancid lately, but there’s nothing a new signing can’t cure, and I fervently hope that this is one that happens sooner rather than later.

Hoddler’s note: I totally forgot Tottenham signed Pahlinha on loan, which means that it’s time to reset the counter on the whole “hoddle hero” thing we’ve got going on. Let’s see how things progress in the next couple days and then I’ll make a determination from there if we’ll have a new one.

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Great news, everyone. Ryan Mason is 1-0 in his stint as West Bromwich Albion’s head coach so far.

The Baggies began their 2025-26 EFL Championship campaign with a 1-0 win against Blackburn Rovers at home, with Isaac Price scoring in the 15th minute.

I only watched about 30 minutes of the game but it wasn’t the most inspiring football I’ve seen. But, as Ryan Mason said, “The most important thing today was to win.” Here’s some more from the gaffer:

The man also really likes a hoodie.

I think Ryan Mason’s got a great chance to succeed at WBA. It’s one of the better-equipped clubs in the league. But with that also comes bigger expecations.

Your hoddler-in-chief predicted last week that Mason’s WBA would finish eighth in the league. That’d probably constitute a disappointing season for a club that realistically should be aiming for the top six.The hardest thing with Mason is we’ve only seen him in interim spurts, so it’s tough to tell just how talented of a manager he is.

But, hey, the man’s off the mark in his first game which is good. Plus a clean sheet, who doesn’t love that?

West Brom next play Derby County in the League Cup on Tuesday.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Funeral For My Future Children, by Anna Von Hausswolff

And now for your links:

Jay Harris ($$): “Thomas Frank interview: Spurs summer work, Levy relationship and partying until 5am”

ESPN: “Son makes instant impact in LAFC debut, wins penalty in draw”

Football London: “Thomas Frank has seven Tottenham transfers for Johan Lange to complete in summer masterplan”

BBC: “‘Sell up, you plonker’ - how Sheff Wed fans united against owner”

This is why I love the transfer window. One moment the vibes are putrid and nobody expects any more Tottenham Hotspur signings before the close of the window, and the next moment Fabrizio Romano is tweeting that Spurs and Manchester City have begun talks over 21-year-old Brazilian winger Savinho.

I KNOW!

OK, a couple of things — first, Savinho is fun as hell. He’s young, direct, dribbly, and fast. He can pass, he can shoot. His stats aren’t phenomenal — 1g+8a in 1700+ minutes — but those relatively small number of minutes are only because he’s at Manchester City and there are just tons of players that are older and (currently) better. He had 9 goals and 10 assists in just shy of 3000 minutes as a 19-year-old in Girona the year prior, though.

I admit to being puzzled by this rumor, because I can’t figure out why in the world Pep Guardiola would want to sell him except that he’s a friggin’ weirdo and maybe wants a small squad? Or maybe there are FFP issues at play here as well? Holy smokes y’all, I have no idea. But as much as I dislike Fabrizio Romano, if he’s tweeting this rumor, it’s real.

It’s also a weird link for Tottenham, because Savinho mostly plays as a right winger, and we already signed one of those guys in Mohammed Kudus. Savinho CAN play centrally and he did it a bit at City last season, and lord knows we need someone who can play the 10 role this season, so maybe he gets added to the 10 rotation should he sign. That said, if you’re a club like Tottenham and you are given the opportunity to sign Savinho, you do it and figure out how he fits later.

Maybe that means a potential exit, someone like Wilson Odobert or Brennan Johnson? One thing Spurs certainly aren’t short of are wide players. Or maybe we just let everybody fight and let the chips fall where they may.

I would very much enjoy watching Savinho play football for Tottenham Hotspur. The irony here is that, after sacking Ange Postecogolou after last season, by signing Savinho we’d finally have the dribbly wingers he asked for but never really had during his tenure. I can almost hear him cursing.

I have no idea what Savinho would cost to get out of Manchester City. They signed him from Girona for £30.8m last summer and you’d think he’d now cost significantly more, maybe double. But what we do know is that Spurs have at least £65m to spend (probably significantly more) plus the £20m from Son’s sale and any future sales. I don’t know if this rumor makes any sense, but holy smokes y’all, I’m HERE for it. Come on Silly Season.