Cartilage Free Captain

The stories about Son Heung-Min’s Tottenham Hotspur future aren’t going to go away anytime soon. Already this summer we’ve seen rumors that he’s open to leaving Spurs for another challenge, and we’ve seen reports that say he’s more likely to stay at Spurs for at least another season, possibly longer.

So let’s throw another log on the fire, shall we? Paul Tenorio, a senior soccer editor at The Athletic, is now reporting that MLS side Los Angeles FC are “pushing hard” to bring Sonny in this summer, but the decision will ultimately be decided by Son and Spurs.

We’ve written before on how LAFC wouldn’t be the worst place for Sonny to spend his twilight years. It’s a large metropolitan city with a big Korean population. It’s a marginally shorter flight back to Korea for international duty, and it’s a place where Son would do well and enjoy a pleasant lifestyle. LAFC have a Designated Player spot held for Sonny should he decide to take them up on the offer, meaning they could afford a decent transfer fee should they want to pony up the dough. Also Son could play against Lionel Messi a couple of times a season. There’s a lot to like there!

That said, the MLS record transfer is $22m, and people who watch a lot more MLS than me have said that LAFC typically only bring in players that they can later move on for profits. Their record transfer cost $11m. Adding an aging superstar in Son Heung-Min would be a definite shift for them — not that it wouldn’t happen, just that it’d be a change, and it’s unlikely they’ll want to break the bank for him. Even with one year left on his contract, I’d hazard a guess that Spurs would want more than £8m for their club captain and one of the best players in club history.

The report says that nothing is close to finished, just that LAFC want Son pretty badly. I bet they do! Anything is possible and I wouldn’t completely rule out an exit, but to me it feels like a January departure to LA (or elsewhere) is more likely — it’s the start of the MLS season, and it would give Tottenham a chance to find out if Sonny’s still got the juice and is willing to sign a new contract to keep him at Spurs, or not.

We’ve vacillated wildly on the will-he-or-won’t-we spectrum over the past month or so, and I think that pendulum will continue to swing until we get a definitive idea of what Sonny wants to do. I suspect not even he knows that yet.

Apparently the new hotness for 2025-26 is to return to where you were loaned in 2024-25. Days after Alfie Dorrington returned to Aberdeen for the 2025-26 season, fellow Tottenham Hotspur defender Ashley Phillips is returning to Stoke City for next season’s campaign on a year-long loan.

Sure? Why not! Phillips is coming off of a season in which he made 35 starts in central defense for Stoke, playing 3000+ minutes in the second division. They quite like him out there in Stoke, and after spending a few preseason weeks at Spurs he must not be deemed quite ready for the rigors of Premier League football under Thomas Frank.

Phillips’ contract runs until 2028, so there’s no immediate rush. Another Championship loan might feel a little disappointing to some, but Phillips is only 19, and putting in those numbers in the Championship as a teenager is honestly pretty good. He’ll have another chance next season to improve and hopefully get into Tottenham’s first team, and if not he’s certainly done well enough on loan that Spurs will probably be able to flip him for a profit.

Probably no reason to give up on him quite yet, and if this season is anything like last season, he’ll be a key player again for the Potters. Stoke finished 18th in the table last season.

Phillips, Dorrington, Alejo Veliz, and Damola Ajayi are all out on loan this season for Spurs, while Josh Keeley was sold to Luton Town with a buy-back clause.

Friends, I’ve missed you all.

I woke up this morning to a glorious tweet that was sitting in the Carty Free writer’s room. It’s a tweet so beautiful and so hilarious, Dustin had to restore my writing privileges so I could make fun of it.

The good people over at Football Insider on the site formerly known as Twitter claim that Daniel Levy is planning to beat every other big club to the punch by signing Rodrygo. Normally I would say I wish I was making this up, but the tweet is just... chef’s kiss

Semi-related; whoever does the photoshops over at Football Insider needs to take a class because that kit looks terrible.

Anyway, I’m not sure I can put together a more amazing sentence than what they have in that tweet.

The tweet is stemming from an article that was posted yesterday by our old Bat Country merchants from years past, AS. While they’ll occasionally have some juicy news that actually sticks to the wall, this is completely off the rails. In typical Bat Country fashion, the article says absolutely nothing.

Where there’s room for two, there’s room for three. And if three fit, there’s room for four too. As the transfer window ticks down, Rodrygo Goes (Osasco, São Paulo, Brazil; 2001) has more suitors. As AS previously reported , Liverpool and Bayern Munich have entered the race for the Brazilian in practically interrelated deals. From London, and in addition to the (cold) interest from Arsenal and Chelsea , Tottenham wants to capitalize on the situation.

This is the hard-hitting journalism we strive to cover.

Wait, there’s more you say? Oh, maybe it’s not Bat Country after all!

After winning the Europa League almost two months ago, Spurs are looking to make a statement this transfer window . Thomas Frank took over the reins of the project following the dismissal of Ange Postecoglou. The Dane was promised one thing: “ investment and more investment .”

Okay, so basically you pulled a random quote from when Thomas Frank was hired and somehow manifested this into Tottenham are going to sign a wantaway Real Madrid player? Oh but we’ve already spent a lot, pending the completion of a sale for Morgan Gibbs-White once their owner stops throwing a tantrum. That has to be considered!

For now, they’ve already signed Mohammed Kudus (West Ham, €63 million), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest, €70 million), and exercised the purchase options on Mathys Tel (Bayern Munich, €35 million) and Kevin Danso (Lens, €25 million). In total, a net outlay of almost €200 million, in which they will try to include Rodrygo. Of course, they won’t go crazy. Given the good relationship between the two institutions, Daniel Levy will try to lower the Brazilian’s price to below €90 million.

Ah yes, through the power of friendship, Daniel Levy will convince Real Madrid to sell him for roughly £78 million. This is a real thing that is actually happening and we can take it to the bank.

Alright, snark aside, let’s actually break this down because Spurs are not signing Rodrygo.

The reports that come from actual journalists are that Rodrygo is currently making 200k/week net. If he’s going to leave Real Madrid, that number will go higher. His camp apparently wants to double that, but I’m not sure I believe that’s correct. There were more concrete reports that I cannot find now which suggested that the number was around 300k/week net, so he’s looking for a 50% increase on his wages to leave Madrid. That sounds more realistic, but it also limits the clubs that can afford him down to a very small number.

The bottom line is this: Spurs aren’t in this. This is 100% agent yapping to stir things up and if Madrid decide to cut him loose, I’d imagine we’ll see PSG, Liverpool and Bayern, get involved in an actual race for his signature.

Or, maybe I’m wrong, and Daniel Levy acquired the Heart Ring from Ma-Ti and became a Planeteer.

Well, this is a new one. This coming Saturday, Tottenham Hotspur will play not just one, but two preseason fixtures.

With a match against League One side Luton Town already scheduled on the books, Spurs announced via their website this morning a second match earlier the same day: a behind-closed-doors match against Wycombe Wanderers, also of League One.

From Spurs’ announcement, the idea is to treat each match like a proper competitive fixture, with a different XI in each game starting and playing around 60-75 minutes. It’s something Spurs can do due to both their bloated squad and the relative talent of their youth; plus we still have guys like Bryan Gil kicking around!

A number of talented players didn’t even see the pitch in the weekend against Reading, and that was with the likes of Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert, and Mathys Tel missing due to U21 international duty, and James Maddison, Radu Dragusin, and Dejan Kulusevski still working their way back from injury. It’s a BIG squad, and this is a good chance to both build fitness and give minutes to some of the fringe players to see what they can do.

Even better: though the match is behind-closed-doors, it will be streamed via SPURSPLAY. It’ll be a veritable feast of Spurs football!

Programming note: We are taking a one-day break from the hoddle hero for Ozzy Osbourne. The hoddle hero - Yves Bissouma - will return tomorrow.

I’m not sure what more I can say about Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath that is more insightful or impactful than what his family, bandmates and slate of legendary musicians have already shared.

One tribute I was particularly keen to look at was Queen guitarist Brian May, who inducted Black Sabbath into the UK Music Hall of Fame.

A few years ago I was record shopping in Connecticut. I don’t often seek out specific records, but there was one I was searching for that day: Master of Reality, by Black Sabbath.

I had never listened to it, but I was drawn to it. Was it the cover art, with its wavy words and purple lettering over Master? Was it the slight contrarian in me seeking that out over Paranoid (which I picked up on a later day)?

I flipped through the Black Sabbath bin, only to find it not there. I searched through every single new arrivals bin and flipped through hundreds of records, only to find it not there.

It was a surprisingly difficult find, as I later learnt that it’s been some time it would be reissued.

But as I was about to call it a day, my ears caught wind of the unmistakable sound of Black Sabbath playing in the shop.

Wouldn’t you know it, the record store owner took it out of the bin and was spinning it. I immediately went up to him and said, Dear Mr Record Store Owner, please may I purchase this copy of Master of Reality?

Of course he said yes. What luck!

I brought it home with me and spun it on my turntable. What I heard was something so bombastic and daring. It was sludge metal at its best.

There is so much to love here: the coughing fit at the start of Sweet Leaf, Geezer Butler’s bass riff bringing us out of After Forever, the hardcore drumming in Children of the Grave (oh yeah, Tony Iommi on guitar too), the structure of Into the Void. Even softer sounds like Orchid feel iconic.

It quickly catapulted into my all-time favourite albums list. And as I spin it tonight I try to go back to the first time I listened to it. It blew my freaking mind. It still does.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Master of Reality (in full), by Black Sabbath

(quick note - you’ll have to manually start it at 00:00. Or you can just start at Children of the Grave)

And now for your links:

Alasdair Gold: “Morgan Gibbs-White and the Tottenham winners and losers after Thomas Frank debut”

The Telegraph: “Yoane Wissa leaves Brentford training camp amid Newcastle and Spurs interest”

BBC: “‘Is this a movie?’ - England overcome odds to reach final”

The New York Times: “Ozzy Osbourne, the Lovable Prince of Darkness”

AP: “Ozzy Osbourne, who led Black Sabbath and became the godfather of heavy metal, dies at 76”

Tottenham Hotspur captain Son Heung-min is one player clad in Lilywhite for whom the future is uncertain. With only a year remaining on his contract, and his name written into Spurs folklore, there’s been a number of sources through the summer transfer window thus far that have given a varied account as to what Sonny chooses to do next.

If he feels his future is elsewhere, however, any move is unlikely to happen until after Spurs’ preseason tour of Asia, where the Lilywhites take on Arsenal in Hong Kong, before heading to Sonny’s home country of South Korea to face Newcastle United. This is due to an apparent “key player clause” in Spurs’ contract for the Coupang Play Series, reported by Matt Law in the Telegraph:

Law buried the lede a little with this one; the piece initially seems like it’s focused on a transfer move for Marc Guehi, but doesn’t say much on the topic, outside of the fact that Spurs have some interest following their late bid in January.

The details around the preseason tour I think are slightly more interesting... because of the implication. If Son is not included in the preseason squad, Spurs could apparently forfeit as much as 75% of their fee; if he doesn’t play, specifically in the Seoul fixture against Newcastle, Spurs could lose half - meaning Spurs would prefer to hold onto him, at least until the squad returns to England.

There are no specific numbers quoted in the piece, but one would imagine the return on these tours would be significant - and giving up a sum of money that size would really be folly. There’s still plenty of time left in the window after the tour if Son wanted to leave, and while we’re not entirely sure that he does, the article does state that the impression within the club following the conclusion of the season was that Sonny did indeed feel his time at Spurs was complete.

Whatever he and the club decide to do - this likely means we get to hold onto our club legend just a bit longer, and that’s something I’m more than okay with.

To those of you who watched Tottenham’s friendly against Reading, I would like to know how it went. While I presume all of you were glued to the television, your hoddler-in-chief was wallowing at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

I am happy to report I made it back in time to watch the final 10 minutes of the game, at which point Spurs were already up 2-0. But that’s not good enough.

So I’m going to pick a few pictures from the game that I think are kinda cool.

Kevin Danso

Here is Kevin Danso in action. The man looks like he’s carved out of marble. Just look at those biceps! If anyone can speak to his performance, do share.

Luka Vuskovic, Will Lankshear and Yves Bissouma

There are a few things I’d like to point here.

It features both of Tottenham’s goal-scorers from Saturday: Vuskovic and Lankshear.

This is my first time actually seeing Vuskovic. That’s one tall dude.

I can’t claim to know a whole lot about either of them, but I’m pleased to see they put their names on the scoresheet. What will this lead for them heading into the season? First-team football or a loan spell?

The away kits

Wow - these kits look pretty dang sick. I love the black and white. This picture of Lucas Bergvall also gives us a closer look at the grid pattern on the shirts.

It’s been a couple seasons since I last got a Spurs kit. This one sure is tempting me.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Used To Know, by Lord Huron

And now for your links:

Matt Law: “Tottenham weigh up rivalling Liverpool for Marc Guehi”

Alasdair Gold: “Son Heung-min concern, his Thomas Frank chat and five things you may have missed in Tottenham game”

BBC: “Taking the knee ‘not good enough’ - Wiegman”

The Independent: “Lionesses have the power to rise to their biggest moment of Euro 2025”

Our long international nightmare is officially over. Former Tottenham Hotspur director of football and current Spurs “consultant” Fabio Paratici has officially concluded his 30 month football ban and is now cleared to work in the game again. He is expected to take another job in football shortly.

If you’re a newer Spurs fan you might not be as familiar with Don Fabio and his history with Spurs. A former top executive at Juventus, Paratici left Italy under a cloud of suspicion after involvement with two Juventus financial scandals. He took the jot of Director of Football at Tottenham Hotspur for a couple of seasons, notably signing Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski from his old culb. Eventually his financial shenanigans caught up to him; FIFA issued him a 30 month ban from all football related activities for his time at Juventus, which resulted in him resigning from his official position with Spurs.

For the past couple of years and during his ban, Paratici has been acting as an “unofficial advisor” to Tottenham, a unique position that has allowed him to skirt the ban somewhat — he’s been connected to the club in many ways, but not in a way that would get him or Spurs in trouble with FIFA. In the meantime, Spurs restructured their backroom staff with Johan Lange assuming a leadership role in player recruitment and acquisition.

There’s been a ton of discussion about Paratici rejoining Tottenham Hotspur in some official capacity once his ban is over, but as of yet nothing official has been announced. But I’d be shocked if he didn’t rejoin Spurs in some way, working with Lange and the rest of the recruitment team. Based on his previous time at Spurs, his methodology is vastly different than that of Lange — while Lange keeps leaks to a minimum and is highly secretive with his targets, Paratici was by contrast almost flamboyant. He was known for publicly working on several targets for the same position before identifying one to finalize, which we dubbed the “Paratici scattergun.” If he does join Tottenham’s backroom staff again, it will be interesting how that dynamic works... and even if it does.

I’m sure we’ll get clarity about Paratici and what he wants to do in due course. In the meantime, let’s celebrate Don Fabio’s return and remind him not to do Crimes while he’s here.

Dear hoddlers, I am proud to present to you our newest hoddle hero: Yves Bissouma.

Is there a better representative for this blog than the Vibemaster General of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club? I think not.

His future at the club also seems to be the most uncertain among the senior players lately, and so I think it’s important to celeberate him whilst he’s still here.

It can be so easy to focus on the incomings that we may not fully appreciate those who are already here, including Bissouma.

As you all know, there are certain rules we must abide by during the hoddle hero’s reign. Yves Bissouma will remain hoddle hero until one of the three happens:

For those of you who forgot or are new here, these are the rules. Micky van de Ven will remain the hoddle hero until one of these happens:

Tottenham Hotspur announce a senior team signing

That player leaves the club

Spurs go through the rest of the window without signing anyone

I don’t think Bissouma will last the rest of the summer as the hoddle hero, and so I’m curious which of these will lead us to changing the image. Nevertheless, he deserves his roses.

Til he departs, we’ll be throwing ‘em to him in bunches.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Free Me, by Otis Redding

And now for your links:

The Telegraph: “Paul Gascoigne rushed to hospital after being found collapsed at home”

The Athletic ($$): “Morgan Gibbs-White is back in a Forest shirt – but the uncertainty is not over”

The Standard: “‘Everything is perfect’: Luka Vuskovic reflects on Tottenham debut under Thomas Frank”

Yesterday, at roughly the same time Tottenham Hotspur was playing against Reading, Nottingham Forest played a preseason friendly of their own, a scoreless draw against Monaco. Tottenham Hotspur target Morgan Gibbs-White started the match and nearly scored on a header. He’s kept his head down despite being at the center of one of the stories of the preseason — Tottenham’s £60m transfer bid for him, a number that meets his contracted release clause but which has resulted in Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis issuing a complaint against Spurs with the Premier League for an “illegal approach.”

Since then we haven’t really gotten many updates on the status of that complaint and whether it’s a legitimate grievance or merely a delay tactic from Forest. But Gibbs-White has notably refused to force the issue, instead reporting for Forest training and keeping his mouth shut.

Now, the Athletic is reporting that Gibbs-White is set to be named as part of the Nottingham Forest squad that will travel to Portugal on Monday for a preseason training camp. Aggregator accounts are calling this a “preseason tour” but while Forest will play against Liga NOS side Estoril Praia, on July 30 it’s mostly a warm-weather training camp and not a full tour.

Nevertheless, that would seem to put the kibosh on any hopes that Spurs might negotiate a deal with Forest over MGW’s transfer anytime soon. With Gibbs-White seemingly content to not rock the boat, it leaves his transfer in limbo, with no resolution anytime soon. We’ll have to see what that means — Spurs are already linked with Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott, suggesting that Johan Lange and Tottenham’s recruitment team may be preparing to pivot to other targets. Or they may play the long game and wait to see if the Premier League rules in their favor before deciding what to do.

Strap in, because this looks like a SAGA that will not be resolved anytime soon.