Cartilage Free Captain

It’s Tottenham Hotspur News Wednesday™! David Ornstein is reporting, via The Athletic, that Spurs and West Ham have reached full agreement for the transfer of Mohammed Kudus.

£55m is a lot of money for Mohammed Kudus, but importantly it is LESS money than the £65m that West Ham were apparently demanding. Tottenham previously had a £50m bid rejected by West Ham, and it’s not clear whether “in the region of £55m” means Spurs added £5m to the bid, or if there are achievable performance-based escalators that are included.

It’s a six year contract, so Spurs are signing their new attacker for what is likely the entirety of his peak years. No word on wages yet, but considering he’s currently on £90k/wk at West Ham, we can probably safely assume that he’s getting a healthy pay bump in addition to the transfer fee.

I confess to be not overly wild about this signing, but neither do I think he’s a bad player. I think Kudus could be a very good and very important puzzle piece for Thomas Frank next season, despite joining Spurs on the heels of a rather lackuster 2024-25 campaign.

At this rate it sounds as though we might get final confirmation as soon as tomorrow afternoon in the UK. Kudus becomes Tottenham’s second new signing of the summer after Japanese central defender Kota Takai. Spurs have also made the loans of Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel permanent this summer.

Heads up! We have a new Tottenham Hotspur transfer rumor, courtesy of the BBC’s Sami Mockbel. According to Sami (who for years was the best football journalist at a very bad paper in the Daily Mail), Tottenham are in negotiations with Brentford for the transfer of 28-year old Congolese forward Yoane Wissa. The player is said to be open to leaving to come to Tottenham.

So on the one hand, Wissa (along with Bryan Mbeumo, who is probably going to United) were super fun to watch under Thomas Frank at Brentford last season. He scored 19 goals and had 4 assists last season, and was putting up ABSURD xG/90 numbers — 0.65. If you go into FBRef and sort the Premier League players by xG/90, you’ll find him fifth, behind only Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak, and Diogo Jota (RIP brother). He had a monster year for Brentford, is only making £25k/wk in wages, and if you’re a “he score goals” kind of fan, that’s pretty exciting news.

That said, there are reasons to think this might not be the result of a particularly good process. For starters, Wissa is 28 (until he’s 29). Last season was the best of his career by far, and he had a pretty good situation with the Bees. This would not be a long term signing, and there are open questions as to whether he could recreate that level of production at Spurs next season, even under Frank. Brentford are very, very unlikely to want to lose both Mbeumo and Wissa in the same offseason. Yes, Wissa knows Frank and presumably wants to keep working with him, but it scares me a little that Tottenham seem to only be turning over rocks in the Premier League, rather than looking for undervalued talent on the continent.

The only way this deal would make sense to me is if it’s LITERALLY a deal, and a shockingly good one. You can fabricate a rationale in your head that, say, Wissa might be running down his contract and has given Brentford an ultimatum — sell me to Spurs (or some other club), or I’ll leave on a free transfer and you get nothing. If that’s the case, Brentford and Spurs could come to some kind of accord for a low transfer fee, maybe with some performance based escalators or something to sweeten the pot a bit.

Or maybe this is also a means of screwing over Manchester United? If Spurs buy Wissa before United can seal the deal on Mbeumo, that makes Bryan’s transfer a lot less palatable to Brentford. This possibility also opens up all kinds of fun conspiracy theory-ish behind-the-scenes shenanigans.

In the end, as fun as he was last season Yoane Wissa is not a player Spurs should be spending a ton of money on. If he costs something like £40m-50m, I’m out. But if he comes cheap, that re-frames the entire issue for me. I’m still not convinced it would be a GOOD signing, but it’s at least justifiable, especially if Frank needs a Brentford player to come in as a binky.

Let’s see what happens and what details emerge in the coming days.

One of the major story lines for Tottenham Hotspur during this summer’s transfer window is the immediate future of Cuti Romero. The Argentine central defender has quietly made it pretty clear that he’d be okay with leaving the club if an arrangement can be made, and the team most closely linked with a move for Cuti is Atletico Madrid in La Liga.

There have been plenty of rumors already about Atletico’s interest in Cuti — talks of bids, potential bids, personal terms agreed, etc. But it seems as of yet there hasn’t been any concrete happening. Here’s Fabrizio Romano.

So: no actual bids, no talk of personal agreements, nothing advanced, and Spurs don’t want to sell. Sounds about right! Cuti is not only Tottenham’s best defender, he’s one of the best defenders in European football at the moment. That’s not to say that he WON’T leave the club this summer, but if he does it won’t be anytime soon and it very likely won’t be for cheap.

Of course a lot can change during a transfer window, especially if Cuti decides to “go to the jerk mattress” over a transfer. We haven’t really seen any indication that he’s willing to go there yet, though like Fab says he’s only just returned from vacation.

What also seems clear is Tottenham are actively succession-planning. Kevin Danso is more than capable of stepping into Romero’s role (even if not quite as effectively), Spurs just signed Kota Takai and have Luka Vuskovic for the future, and have been linked with players like Nathan Collins and Maxime “MAXIMUM STEVE” Estève. That’s not only smart, it positions the club well to be able to sell someone like Cuti at a premium should they decide it’s the right time to do so.

But for now, calma calma calma. Nothing appears imminent, it’s ridiculously early, and I have a feeling all will be well.

We celebrate yesterday’s announcement of Koto Takai’s arrival at Spurs by resetting the clock on our hoddle hero. While Micky van de Ven’s reign as hoddle hero is over for now, he will forever be a hero in our hearts.

Hoddle Headquarters will announce a new hoddle hero shortly, but first - today’s hoddle:

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Could there be a Tottenham Hotspur reunion at FC Como?

According to one report from Fabrizio Romano, the Italian club are interest in former Spurs centreback Davinson Sanchez.

As you can see in the tweet, Big Dave is right now characterized as an “option on the shortlist”, with Celta Vigo centreback Carl Starfelt also being considered by the club.

Sanchez left Spurs in 2023 for Galatarasay, with whom he won the Turkish Super League in 2024 and 2025 - congrats Davo!.

There’s still a lot to go through for Davinson Sancez to make the move, but if he does he would be joining our beloved Dele.

Dele signed an 18-month contract with the Serie A club in January, and made his first and only appearance (a rather forgettable one) against AC Milan on 15 March. It was his first match in over two years.

Considering manager Cesc Fabregas had previously said Dele was unlikely to make his debut for the club until later in the season, I hope his and our patience is rewarded with some more time on the pitch. But what’s most important, obviously, is Dele’s health.

Who doesn’t love a good reunion story? And in a location as beautiful as Como? That’s the dream.

Fitzie’s track of the day: The Changeling, by The Doors

And now for your links:

Jay Harris ($$): “Brentford contacted Ange Postecoglou about replacing Thomas Frank after Tottenham exit”

Matt Law: “Thomas Frank faces Champions League squad headache at Tottenham”

Alasdair Gold: “Awkward Veliz, a new face and one Tottenham star returns early - Inside Thomas Frank training”

The Independent: “New football watchdog set to be established as MPs back independent regulator”

Move over, BIG WILLY LANKS, because Tottenham Hotspur appear to be working on signing another player with a memeable name. According to L’Equipe, Tottenham and Burnley have restarted negotiations over 23-year-old central defender Maxime Estève.

That’s right — MAXIMUM STEVE. BRING ME MAXIMUM STEVE!!

The report is short, and notes that Tottenham made a €24m approach for Estève back in January. I remember this because it happened on transfer deadline day and, y’know, MAXIMUM STEVE. You tend to remember things like that. I also remember that a Burnley beat writer almost immediately rubbished this. But now that report is getting new credence from L’Equipe, so what is even reality? I don’t know, and neither do you. We are through the looking glass, people!

The difference between then and now is that Spurs now have Champions League football, whereas in January they did not. All else is the same — Good ol’ Steve is a young, French, ball-playing defender who can pass the crap out of the ball and has experience playing in a possession football system — first under Vincent Kompany and then RAF Captain Scott Parker. With Thomas Frank likely to deploy some flavor of possession ball at Spurs this season, that would make him an attractive target. He’s also a left footed defender, and we need another one of those.

Hey, here’s a story I missed yesterday. Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed new head coach Thomas Frank’s assistant coaches, listing the full coaching staff on their website.

First of all, I love that photo. While it’s not entirely clear why Johan Lange is in a photo of Frank’s assistant coaches and not, y’know, Frank himself, the fact that Frank is wearing black pants and a white shirt while everyone else is wearing training gear just makes me giggle for no good reason. It’s like Lange was so busy looking at Wyscout videos that he didn’t get the memo from the comms team.

Anyway, much of this is info that we knew already. Justin Cochrane will serve as Frank’s top first team assistant, along with Chris Haslam, Andreas Georgson, and Joe Newton. Interestingly (and gratifyingly), Ange Postecoglou’s chief deputy Matt Wells is also staying on as a first team assistant under Frank.

The club also confirmed roles for Fabian Otte (goalkeeper coach), who joins of late from Liverpool replacing the departing Rob Burch, and Cameron Campbell (strength/conditioning coach), from RB Leipzig. Tottenham academy coaches Stuart Lewis and Dean Brill have also been promoted — Lewis will serve in a role that helps academy grads transition to the first team, while Brill will be an assistant to goalkeeper coach Otte.

And there’s more! In news announced by Alasdair Gold at Football.London, Spurs have overhauled the medical team... again, one year after doing so for Ange Postecoglou. Gold writes that Spurs director of performance services Adam Brett and head of sports science Nick Davies have both left the club and will be replaced. The relationship was reportedly “contentious” at times between the medical staff and Ange Postecoglou, especially in the midst of their awful injury crisis in the middle of last season. Spurs fans love to criticize the medical team whenever a player gets injured and for the most part I think those criticisms are unfair, but it’s clear there was a disconnect there and a lot of room for improvement.

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Alejo Veliz is returning home. Two years after the Argentine striker joined Tottenham Hotspur, Veliz is returning to the club that originally sold him, returning to Rosario Central on a season long loan, according to Football.London’s Alasdair Gold.

According to Gold, the loan is a straight and “dry” loan that does not include a purchase option or obligation, meaning he’ll return to Tottenham a year from now. The 21-year old Veliz has made 8 senior appearances for Spurs, scoring one goal, but spent the season on loan at Sevilla and Espanyol last season.

I think it’s pretty clear at this point that Veliz is not going to make it at Tottenham. His stature and ability as a target man made us in Carty Free Towers affectionately nickname him “Big Lumpus” and we all hoped there would be something in his game that we could hang our hat on, but it’s not looking likely now, is it?

I’m sure that returning to Rosario Central is a lovely and sentimental choice for Alejo, but it’s unlikely to help prepare him to become a Premier League level striker. That’s not to say that he can’t be a good professional football player, but it really feels like he’s just not at the level required. Thomas Frank was said to want to take a look at all his players before making a decision about loans, and it’s pretty telling that after a couple days of preseason training he’s already said Veliz is not in his plans.

Normally, that’s okay. I’ve always thought that Spurs should be signing a couple of out-of-nowhere players who show promise at small clubs and who could become amazing. Brighton have feasted on players like this. Sometimes they work out. Often they don’t. But Spurs must have seen something in Veliz, because they spent £13m on him back in 2023 and signed him to a long term contract; he still has four years remaining on that deal. That takes him out of the range of “lottery ticket” and into the range of “bad talent identification.”

Hope I’m wrong and he turns a corner and becomes at least serviceable. If nothing else, I’m sure he’ll enjoy spending a season back home among familiar surroundings.

It’s like a new signing - in fact, it is an actual new signing! Tottenham Hotspur have announced their first new signing of the summer (because Vuskovic, Danso, and Tel don’t count): Kota Takai from J1 League club Kawasaki Frontale.

This transfer has been a few weeks in the making, and not exactly a shining example of Johan Lange moving in secrecy, as we have come to expect. Numerous legitimate reports had declared this was happening with Kawasaki Frontale themselves announcing via a statement last week that Takai was heading offshore to sign with another club.

Kota Takai is a talented, young center back, skilled on the ball and aggressive in defense. Stylistically, he almost brings to mind Cristian Romero; albeit much, much more inexperienced and less physically developed. He does though come with a level of pedigree, earning the J1 League Young Player of the Year award in 2024, and securing four caps thus far for Japan’s national team - no mean feat for a player of his age.

At only 20 years of age, time is on Takai’s side, and Spurs will be hoping this will be yet another young signing that can develop into a quality player for the first team. Whether this will be as depth for the senior squad this season, or further in the future with a loan planned for 2025/26, remains to be seen.

It’s a new signing - let the gif party commence!

Sport can be cruel somestimes. And, sometimes, it delivers that lesson more than once a day.

Monday was such a day.

First we look at Grigor Dimitrov, the 34-year-old Bulgarian who was once touted as Roger Federer’s heir to the World No. 1. Dimitrov’s career never shaped like many expected (largely because of the Big Four).

On Monday he had a chance to do something incredible: Take down World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the fourth round at Wimbledon.

It was a dominant display by Dimitrov, whose serve and sharp angles troubled Sinner on the grass - a surface he has never been comfortable with.

Dimitrov fought to take the first two sets of the match against Italian. And then, at 1-2 in the third set, sport delivered its first cruel lesson.

After serving an ace to level the set at 2-2, Dimitrov immediately grabbed his right pectoral muscle and fell on the floor. Sinner and the medical staff rushed to his attention before treating him on the sideline.

The roars of Centre Court quickly descended into stunned silence, with Roger Federer looking on as Dimitrov fought back tears. Sinner would be by his side.

Dimitrov ultimately was forced to retire, marking this the fifth consecutive Grand Slam where he had to pull out mid-match because of an injury. He would need his left arm to support his right to shake the umpire’s hand.

In another sport on the continent, Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen was forced to pull out of the Tour de France after a nasty crash on Stage 3.

From the video it appears that another cycle had collided with Philipsen, who was wearing the green jersey, who then tumbled over his bike while riding at approximately 61kph (according to the video).

Alpecin-Deceuninck boss Philip Roodhooft described the cyclist’s condition as a “broken collarbone, devastated, a lot of pain”.

In an instagram post, the team said a preliminary diagnosis found that he also suffered at least one broken rib - maybe two - and will require surgery.

It’s a horrible and nearly unimaginable way for Philipsen to exit the Tour. He is one of the most prolific sprint cyclists out there. He was expected to feature heavily feature again this year after winning three stages last year.

It’s hard to find positives when cruelty strikes like this. The only one I can muster (“It could’ve been a lot worse”), feels hollow. And the strange thing is, sport will continue to carry on because that’s the nature of sport.

Sinner will be back on the court Wednesday and the tournament will crown a men’s champion Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Tour de France continues with Stage 4 on Tuesday.

Fitzie’s track of the day: Lucinda, by Suzanne Vega

And now for your links:

The Athletic ($$): “Fabian Otte among five new appointments to Thomas Frank’s Tottenham staff”

Alasdair Gold: “Tottenham will have familiar feeling after Cristian Romero latest transfer update”

The Guardian: “Putellas at the double as rampant Spain hit rain-soaked Belgium for six at Euro 2025”

A surprise Tottenham Hotspur Women transfer? Sure seems that way! Spurs Women announced on their social media channels that they have finalized the permanent transfer of goalkeeper Becky Spencer to Chelsea. According to the BBC, Spencer is signing on a one year contract.

Spencer, 34, has been a fixture between the sticks for Spurs since the club promoted to the top flight a few years ago, and for most of her tenure she’s been a very competent keeper — she’s certainly had some monster games for Spurs in goal. But Spencer saw her involvement at Spurs decline over the past few seasons. Tottenham brought in Lize Kop from Liverpool to serve as first choice keeper and have Eleanor Heeps behind her. Last spring, Chelsea signed Spencer on an emergency loan to serve as cover when they had an injury crisis with three months to go in the season. Now it looks like they’ve made that move permanent.

The writing was more or less on the wall for Spencer at Tottenham after last season. She was starting to show her age and her reflexes weren’t what they once were, so it’s not a complete surprise that Spurs have decided to let her go. I honestly don’t know what her contract situation was at Spurs Women but it seems like a distinct possibility that Spurs may have just made a small amount of money for the sale of a 34-year old keeper.