Spurs Web

One journalist has now revealed why Tottenham Hotspur’s winter pursuit of Maghnes Akliouche fell through.

Tottenham Hotspur have long been admirers of Monaco’s Maghnes Akliouche, with the Lilywhites exploring a move for him back in the summer transfer window.

However, a move then did not materialise, with Spurs signing Xavi Simons instead. But given Tottenham’s injury struggles, with several attackers out injured, there were whispers that Tottenham were willing to make a move once more for the Frenchman during the winter transfer window.

Akliouche was rumoured to be worth around £50m in January.

Again, that deal fell through, and now Pete O’Rourke has revealed just why Spurs were not able to land the midfielder, who has four goals and five assists in 29 appearances so far this season.

Why Tottenham’s attempts to sign Maghnes Akliouche fell through

According to the journalist, Monaco’s desire to go further in the Champions League meant they kept hold of their top players, including Akliouche, and as a result, priced Spurs out of a winter move.

As it stands, the French side sits 10th in Ligue 1 but has progressed to the Champions League play-off stage, where they will face fellow French side Paris Saint-Germain over two legs for a place in the last 16.

MORE SPURS STORIES

Monaco need their best players if they are to move into the next round, and Akliouche was kept for the remainder of the season.

Explaining the situation and Tottenham’s interest, Pete O’Rourke said on the Transfer Insider podcast that the attacker remains on Spurs’ radar, while outlining why a January deal proved impossible.

“I am sure he is somebody who still remains on their list. Akliouche is a top player. Spurs did explore the possibility of a deal for the attacker in the last summer window.

“They did not really pursue it in the January window because there was no chance that Monaco were going to sell.

“They would have been looking at big money to even consider cashing in on the player, and obviously with Monaco still in the Champions League, they wanted to keep hold of their best players.

“He fits the profile for the type of player that Tottenham are looking for to add to their attacking options, a very creative player, a good ball-carrier, and he can score and assist goals.”

Summer move for Akliouche still unclear

Given how much interest Tottenham have shown in Akliouche, the question remains as to whether they will make a move for the number ten in the summer.

That does remain to be seen, especially after a report from Tom Barclay claimed that Spurs were not keen on signing Akliouche in the winter because he was viewed as a secondary number ten for Simons back in the summer.

As pressure mounts on Thomas Frank at Tottenham, it seems former boss Mauricio Pochettino is not doing anything to dismiss rumours he could return to the club.

In many ways, Spurs have never found the right replacement for Pochettino all these years later. Obviously, Ange Postecoglou ended the club’s wait for a trophy, but he was unable to survive long-term in N17.

Now, Thomas Frank is struggling. The Lilywhites are yet to win a league game in 2026 and the defeat against Man United this weekend will do little to ease pressure on the Danish manager.

Whether the club’s hierarchy would actually go back and give Pochettino another chance as Tottenham manager remains to be seen, but he’s clearly not about to let the rumours fade away.

Pochettino is said to be on a three-man shortlist at Tottenham, while Poch himself is interested in a return to Spurs after the World Cup.

Mauricio Pochettino spotted with Tottenham legends

Over on Mauricio Pochettino’s Instagram account this week, the Argentine posted a story which featured a photo of him and Spurs icon Ossie Ardiles hanging out in the UK once again.

The story had the caption “COYS” attached, which shows the former manager has never let go of his affection for Spurs.

MORE SPURS STORIES

Obviously, we should take this with a pinch of salt, as Pochettino and Ardiles do spend time together fairly often and they both have that connection to Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs fans are split on Pochettino’s potential return, but it certainly looks like he’s more than happy to be associated with the club once more.

Pochettino spoke about Spurs again recently

We may well learn a lot more about Pochettino’s thoughts on the matter when he appears on the High Performance Podcast next week.

A promotion post from the podcast advertised the fact that Pochettino will be speaking on the next episode. And, in the post, there is a shot of a whiteboard featuring a message that references Spurs directly.

It’s pretty cryptic, though. The message reads: “Mbappe. Mason. Champiñon. [Champions] League. Spurs.” It’s worth noting the word “Spurs” is also heavily underlined.

The caption on the post even says “Spurs fans might want to take a look at the final slide.” What this means right now, we don’t know, but all will be revealed on Monday.

A new report in Italy has revealed what is likely to happen with Dusan Vlahovic in the summer after heavy reports linking the striker with a move to Tottenham over recent months.

It was reported right until the final weeks of the January window that Tottenham were keeping themselves informed of Vlahovic’s situation.

The Serbian international ended up staying at the Allianz Stadium even though he has just six months left on his contract at the club.

The centre-forward has scored six times and provided two assists in 17 appearances for the Bianconeri this season, but his time at the club may come to an end soon.

Tottenham target Dusan Vlahovic is unlikely to sign a new Juventus contract

Vlahovic is now free to sign a pre-contract agreement with non-Serie A clubs after entering the final six months of his deal.

A new report from CalcioMercato claims that, as things stand, signing a new deal with Juve is the ‘least likely option’ for the striker.

No meetings have been scheduled between Vlahovic’s entourage and the Old Lady hierarchy over a contract extension.

MORE SPURS STORIES

The parties are still a long way away from reaching an agreement, and it is suggested that the player may be lured to England, given the financial resources possessed by Premier League clubs.

Spurs may have to battle three clubs for Vlahovic’s signature

Interestingly, CalcioMercato do not mention Tottenham in their report, instead naming Newcastle United and Chelsea as the two Premier League clubs that have inquired about Vlahovic.

Additionally, AC Milan are also monitoring developments regarding the former Fiorentina man, who has already been in contact with the club’s sporting director, Igli Tare.

The report adds that Milan’s chances of landing Vlahovic may be ‘significantly impacted’ by whether Massimiliano Allegri stays at the club.

Guglielmo Vicario has now delivered his honest verdict on Tottenham Hotspur’s relegation fears after their latest defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Tottenham Hotspur once again failed to secure a victory in the Premier League after losing 2-0 to Manchester United, with the Lilywhites still winless in 2026.

Spurs’ last five outings in the league have seen them pick up a disappointing two points from a possible 15, with two draws and three defeats from their last five games.

The Man United defeat brought an end to Tottenham’s run of eight games without a defeat to the Red Devils in all competitions, and it also leaves Spurs with two wins in their last 16 games.

Guglielmo Vicario addresses Tottenham relegation concerns

It was only 2-0 against Michael Carrick’s side, but it could well have been more had it not been for some Guglielmo Vicario heroics. The Italian managed an impressive eight saves against United to help keep the scoreline respectable.

Speaking to TNT Sports (07/02/26 14:50) about the possibility of Tottenham being dragged into a relegation scrap, Vicario admitted results have not been good enough while also pointing to the demands placed on the squad.

He said: “It depends how you see things in life. The reality is that in terms of results we have struggled a lot. Two wins in the last 16 is not acceptable for this football club but we do not have to forget how we are trying to push ourselves in tough conditions.

MORE SPURS STORIES

“This is the reality. Of course we have had a brilliant Champions League campaign so far and playing every three games I have already played 36 games and I am proud of myself for doing this but for the outfield players it is tough, so it depends how you see things in life.”

Spurs’ relegation rivals find form as pressure mounts

Regardless of how Spurs choose to look at things, the reality is that they are now being dragged into a full-on relegation scrap.

West Ham United are in good form and have been getting wins under their belt in recent weeks, slowly closing the gap between themselves and Tottenham.

A victory against Burnley in their own matchweek 35 fixture will pretty much see the gap between themselves and Spurs cut down to six points with 13 games to go.

Atletico Madrid are ready to take advantage of the discontent aired by one Tottenham Hotspur star and strike a deal for him in the summer transfer window.

Romero termed it ‘disgraceful’ that Tottenham had just 11 fit players against Man City, clearly sending a sign to the Lilywhites hierarchy that the squad needed more reinforcements in January.

It has since been reported by multiple sources that Romero has decided to leave Tottenham at the end of the season.

This is despite the fact that Romero only signed a new contract last summer, with his current deal running until the summer of 2029.

Alteitco Madrid ready to poach Cristian Romero from Tottenham

The Sun have revealed that the Tottenham man’s outburst has caught the attention of Atletico Madrid ahead of the summer window.

The report says that while the La Liga giants were keen on landing the 27-year-old last summer, they were unable to fund a move.

Diego Simone’s men are keen on bolstering their defence at the end of the season and are ‘ready to pounce’ if Romero becomes available.

MORE SPURS STORIES

The report adds that it is unclear at the moment if Spurs would entertain any offers for the Argentine.

Thomas Frank plays down Romero’s outburst

Frank played down Romero’s ‘disgraceful’ comments, suggesting that the centre-back is the only one who knows what he really meant by that. However, the Dane confirmed that the issue had been dealt with internally at Hotspur Way.

This ties in with a recent update by TEAMtalk, which claimed that Tottenham insiders have reassured Romero that there are plans for a significant squad rebuild in the summer.

The full list of officials has been announced for Tottenham’s trip to Man United, and it is good news for Spurs captain Cristian Romero.

According to Opta, Tottenham are massive underdogs heading into the clash against Man United, who are now a side reborn under Michael Carrick.

While Spurs historically had a poor record against the Red Devils, the trend has reversed over the last few years in a big way.

It has been nearly four years since United beat Tottenham. The Lilywhites beat the Manchester club on four occasions last season, including in the Europa League final in Bilbao.

Michael Oliver will take charge of Man United’s clash against Tottenham

The Premier League have now confirmed that Michael Oliver will take charge of the clash at Old Trafford, while Stuart Burt and Nick Greenhalgh will be his assistants.

Sam Allison will be the fourth official, while the VAR will be overseen by Paul Tierney, who will be assisted by Marc Perry at Stockley Park.

MORE SPURS STORIES

Tottenham have won 18, drawn 11 and lost 14 of the 53 matches overseen by Oliver (Transfermarkt), but there is one other stat that a senior Spurs man will be rather happy with.

Cristian Romero will be relieved by Oliver’s reluctance to go to his notebook

Interesting, Oliver has only shown a total of 93 yellow cards to Tottenham players in his 53 matches, which is just 1.7 per game, while he has produced just two straight red cards to Spurs players.

This is particularly good news for Romero, who is now two yellow cards away from incurring a two-match suspension.

Thomas Frank has named his Tottenham Hotspur squad for the Champions League knockout rounds, and he has made some interesting decisions.

Tottenham Hotspur are not causing much excitement in the Premier League, but European football is once again proving to be a very different story.

Spurs landed a top-four spot in the league phase of the Champions League, therefore bypassing the play-off round to secure a place in the round of 16.

Thomas Frank already has one eye on his team’s next tie in the competition, and he has named his updated Tottenham squad for the remainder of the Champions League campaign.

Let’s take a look at the three biggest takeaways from the announcement:

Yves Bissouma’s Tottenham first-team return could be short-lived

It looked as though Yves Bissouma would never play for Spurs again earlier in the season. The midfield’s off-the-pitch antics have certainly hindered his career, and he has already faced disciplinary action twice in the space of half a year.

Despite this, Bissouma has made three appearances since returning from AFCON due to the overwhelming number of injuries affecting the Tottenham first-team squad.

MORE SPURS STORIES

However, the Malian has not been called up to Frank’s updated Champions League squad, which appears to indicate he is still heading towards a summer exit.

Mathys Tel could be important to Spurs

There were questions surrounding a loan move for Mathys Tel in January, with the 20-year-old constantly in and out of the first-team this season.

Despite this, he has not only been kept at the club, but could feature for Tottenham in the Champions League last 16.

This is big news for Tel, as he was initially left out of the league phase squad and was axed again to make way for the returning Dominic Solanke. With a lack of options on the left wing, the young Frenchman could have an important part to play as Spurs look to push on in Europe.

Dejan Kulusevski is not close to a Tottenham return

Everybody has known for a while that James Maddison is highly unlikely to play for Spurs this season, but there was more optimism surrounding Dejan Kulusevski.

Following the Champions League squad announcement, this is no longer the case. After all, if Kulusevski was close to making his comeback, why would he be omitted from the list?

This certainly suggests the Swede will continue to be unavailable for most of what remains of the season, which is a massive blow for Tottenham. Having a player who possesses his level of skill and innovation would certainly be useful right now.

A new report has looked into the financial cost of Tottenham’s injury crisis, which continues to get worse with each passing week.

This is the third season in a row where Spurs have been hit with a major injury crisis midway into the season, and the scale of the problem appears to be getting worse each year.

Thomas Frank just about had enough senior players available to him to name an eleven against Manchester City on Sunday, with Cristian Romero being forced to play through illness in the first-half.

Tottenham currently have an astonishing 12 first-team players out injured, which is why some Spurs fans were livid that the squad was not reinforced further in January.

Tottenham are paying more than £1m per week to injured players

Spurs have been without James Maddison, Rodrigo Bentancur, Mohammed Kudus, Micky van de Ven, Ben Davies, Lucas Bergvall, Richarlison, Pedro Porro, Dejan Kulusevski, Kevin Danso and Djed Spence in the past month alone.

According to Football Insider, Tottenham are paying £1.02m per week to those 12 who are currently on the treatment table, which is around £4.5m per month.

That works out to an astonishing £145,000 each day in wages to players who are currently are not available for selection.

MORE SPURS STORIES

Maddison is the highest earner out of this list, with the attacking midfielder, who could miss this full season, earning £170k a week.

Two key players will be back soon for Spurs

While many on this list are long-term absentees and some are not expected back for a few more months, a couple of key players only have minor problems.

Thomas Frank has said that Micky van de Ven could feature against Man United, while he also revealed that he expects Djed Spence to be back soon.

Tottenham’s attempts to sign a Napoli midfielder in January may have been stopped by the North London club’s former boss.

It proved to be a disappointing transfer window for the Lilywhites, who only managed to add Conor Gallagher and Souza to their senior squad while letting go of Brennan Johnson.

Many Tottenham fans have vented their frustration that more players did not come through the door, particularly given the club’s current injury crisis.

It has now emerged that the North London club were keen on adding another young midfielder to their squad, but their attempts were stopped.

Napoli turned down Tottenham’s offer for Antonio Vergara

According to a report in TuttoSport, Spurs expressed an interest in Napoli starlet Antonio Vergara during the January window

The 22-year-old attacking midfielder, who can also operate on the right wing, has found form over recent weeks in Naples, taking advantage of the Serie A club’s injury crisis.

It is revealed that Tottenham Hotspur were particularly impressed by how Vergara performed against Chelsea after the Italian embarrassed Wesley Fofana before finding the back of the net.

MORE SPURS STORIES

The report claims that the Lilywhites sent an offer of €20m (£17.4m) for the youngster, which was turned down by Antonio Conte’s side, who were keen to keep hold of the player.

Will Spurs try again for Antonio Vergara in the summer?

According to reports, Tottenham were also exploring adding a creative passer to their midfield in January, but in the end, they were unable to add that profile to their squad.

It has been suggested that Spurs are planning for an ‘ambitious’ summer spending spree as they look to strengthen their squad in several areas.

One would thus expect the club to address that position in the next window, and we will have to wait and see if the Lilywhites make another move for the Napoli starlet, who is continuing to impress at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur fans will not like what Ramon Vega has just said about Luka Vuskovic amidst the speculation over the centre-back’s future.

Vuskovic continues to win admirers with his performances on loan at Hamburg, with the 18-year-old quickly establishing a reputation as one of the best young defenders in Europe.

Unsurprisingly, the teenager’s performances have turned the heads of some big clubs on the continent.

Just a few days ago, it emerged that Bayern Munich are ready to test Tottenham’s resolve to land Vuskovic in the summer, and one Spurs defender believes that the Croat is on his way out of N17.

Ramon Vega does not expect Luka Vuskovic to return to Tottenham

Reacting to the speculation over the centre-back’s future, Vega has now declared that Tottenham ‘made the wrong decision’ to loan out Vuskovic and that the youngster ‘is not coming back to Spurs’.

He claimed that he has heard through the grapevine that Vuskovic is likely to join Bayern Munich for a fee of around £100m.

The former Tottenham man initially wrote on X about the Croat: “This player is not coming back to Spurs! Another of many players the Spurs had a chance with, but they made the wrong decision.

MORE SPURS STORIES

“This is an example of the problem Spurs have been having within the football department! A total neglect. They will make good money, for sure, but there’s no football direction within the club. Off to Bayern he goes, no wonder I will not blame him.”

Then, responding to some fans, Vega followed that up with: “Let’s just say it. Heard it through the grapevine. Of course, Spurs still have to accept the fee they are offering.” Finally, he added: “£100m, they will take the money as usual.”

Should Spurs fans be concerned about losing Vuskovic?

It is unclear where Vega heard this information, but it may leave some Tottenham fans concerned about the teenage startlet’s future.

However, recent reports in the media contradict his statements, with some outlets stating Spurs have already decided that Vuskovic will return to Hotspur Way next summer.