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Tottenham Hotspur may have to battle AC Milan to land a Premier League forward they have had their eye on since the summer.

According to reports, Spurs are prioritising signings who will strengthen their starting eleven in January rather than youngsters or squad players.

The Lilywhites may be poised to re-enter the race for a Premier League striker, who has eight goals this term, after failing with an approach for him this summer.

Tottenham reportedly pushed hard for Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta on summer deadline day, and according to reports over recent weeks, Spurs could try again for the French international in January.

It emerged a few days ago that Palace are worried about losing Mateta after failing to tie him down to a new contract.

AC Milan enter race to sign Tottenham target Jean-Philippe Mateta

Football Insider have now also backed up recent reports on Mateta’s contract talks with the Eagles, revealing that there is some distance between the two parties.

Oliver Glasner’s men are unwilling to offer the 28-year-old the salary that he is demanding.

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There is a growing feeling that the South London club could cash in on Mateta if they fail to make progress in the negotiations until January.

The outlet makes no mention of Spurs but reveals that AC Milan are now keeping tabs on the Palace star’s situation.

Why Milan may have an advantage over Spurs in Mateta race

An update from earlier this week claimed that Mateta is keen on moving to Italy at some point in his career.

That may mean that if the Rossoneri substantiate their interest, the French international’s head may be turned.

A new report has revealed how Tottenham Hotspur will react to the expression of interest from two Bundesliga clubs in their player.

One Spurs defender has been so good this season that he has made WhoScored’s Team of the Season so far across Europe’s top five leagues.

That is not Micky van de Ven or Cristian Romero, but rather the Lilywhites’ young gun, Luka Vuskovic, who is turning a lot of heads with his performances in Hamburg.

It emerged a few days ago that Vuskovic is attracting interest from the likes of Barcelona, who are plotting a move for the Tottenham man next summer.

Tottenham have already made a decision on Luka Vuskovic

According to Football Insider, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig are also showing interest in the 18-year-old after his strong start to the season at Hamburg.

However, the report says that Spurs will not sanction a permanent exit away from N17 for Vuskovic as the North London club view the teenager as a ‘future star’.

Tottenham Hotspur have not yet decided whether to loan the Croat out next season. They are expected to monitor his progress closely over the rest of the season to determine whether he is ready to make the step up into their first-team next term.

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Spurs have held talks with Vuskovic over his future

It was reported by SportBild two weeks ago that Tottenham’s scouts have been closely watching Vuskovic’s performances at Hamburg this season.

The publication claimed that the centre-back is in constant dialogue with his parent club over his next step.

According to a journalist, Tottenham Hotspur are planning to offload a player who has made 21 appearances already this season.

It has been widely reported that Spurs are scouring the market for a centre-forward ahead of the January window.

However, Tottenham are not short of options in the number nine role, with Thomas Frank having Richarlison, Dominic Solanke, Mathys Tel and Randal Kolo Muani at his disposal.

Richarlison has been back among the goals over recent weeks, but it has now been claimed that Spurs have already made a decision on his future.

Tottenham want to replace Richarlison with a new number nine

Even though Richarlison is currently Tottenham’s top scorer this season with six goals to his name across all competitions, journalist Pete O’Rourke has claimed that the Lilywhites are ready to cash in on the 28-year-old.

O’Rourke asserted that Frank would prefer to replace the Brazilian with “out-and-out number nine”, with the former Everton man not being seen as a good fit for the role.

When asked about Richarlison’s future, the journalist told Football Insider: “He’s doing the best he can right now, Richarlison, to try and score goals for Tottenham.

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“Tottenham’s top goalscorer this season, six goals and two assists in 21 appearances in all competitions but, I still don’t think he is probably the answer to Tottenham’s issues.

“For me, I still think Richarlison is probably best playing off as a wide forward rather than as a number nine. So, we know that Tottenham are in the market for a new number nine in January, if they’re able to bring one in, and also they’ve missed Dominic Solanke this season as well through injury. He’s hardly figured at all under Thomas Frank.

“Richarlison has stepped up, he’s done okay in places but I think Tottenham would prefer an out-and-out number nine to be playing as their main striker in the team.”

Richarlison could return to Everton

It has been widely reported over the last few weeks that Everton are considering taking Richarlison back to Merseyside, three and a half years on from selling him to Tottenham.

According to a recent update from TEAMtalk, the Spurs striker would jump at the chance to return to his former side in January.

However, the outlet made it clear that Tottenham will not entertain any offers for Richarlison unless they manage to bring another striker through the door.

A new report has shed light on how much Tottenham Hotspur are ready to spend during the January transfer window.

Over the past few months, it has been widely reported that ENIC want to make some statement signings in January to signal their ambition.

This was backed up by a recent report in The Telegraph, which claimed that Spurs are ready to spend money in January to strengthen some key positions.

The report claimed that the Lilywhites will focus on signing players who would improve their starting eleven rather than looking to land squad players.

How much money are Tottenham expected to spend in January?

It has now been asserted by TEAMtalk that a transfer kitty of £100m will be made available by the Spurs hierarchy for the winter.

The club are still making plans on where to spend that money effectively to strengthen their squad.

It is revealed that Frank has requested at least one attacker in January, while the North Londoners are also looking at goalkeepers, left-sided centre-backs and a central midfielder.

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Spurs fans should not expect more than one or two signings in January

We know that only around 10 per cent of the transfer business across Europe each year is done in January, with the remaining being done in the summer.

Finding the right targets is always difficult in January as clubs do not want to lose their players mid-season.

One would thus expect Spurs to put off addressing a few priority areas until next summer, when they will have a lot more options to choose from.

Michael Dawson has sent a message to the Tottenham fans about Thomas Frank after the angry reaction to the club’s loss against Fulham.

Tottenham’s struggles at home continued on Saturday, with the Cottagers becoming the fourth Premier League side to walk away with all three points from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

What will be an even bigger cause for concern at Hotspur Way is the worsening relationship between the Spurs players and the supporters.

The Tottenham fans are now starting to turn on Thomas Frank, who is now under serious pressure just a few months into his stint at N17.

Michael Dawson urges Tottenham fans to give time to Thomas Frank

Former Tottenham captain Michael Dawson has now suggested that the situation is not as dire as it seems, pointing out that the Lilywhites are not far away from the top six points-wise.

He urged the supporters and the club to give Thomas Frank time to build something at the club.

Dawson told Sky Sports after Tottenham’s loss to Fulham: “It was always going to improve from last season [in the Premier League]. They are 10th now but only four points off the top four, so that’s where you have to be realistic. Did I expect them to finish in the top four this season? I didn’t. I thought top six was realistic with Frank going in.

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“With what he did over the last four or five years at Brentford, we can’t now just say Frank isn’t a good coach. The performances have been well below par at home. It is that creativity. It is hard for Thomas, but he has only been in the building for a blink of an eye. You have to give him a chance but you have to see an improvement.

“They are only four points off top four. Top six was a realistic aim. Thomas Frank is a good coach because we have seen it for years, but a big club brings expectation and scrutiny. This group of players aren’t playing to the levels I expect them to be.”

The Spurs board’s hands could be forced regarding Frank

Reports over recent days have indicated that the Tottenham board see Frank’s project as a long-term one and will not make any knee-jerk decisions.

In fact, some sources have even said that Spurs are ready to back Frank the way Mikel Arteta was at Arsenal during his early struggles at the Emirates.

Thomas Frank has reflected on whether there is a growing disconnect between the Tottenham players and the fans.

Tottenham continue to struggle to create chances and pick up wins at home, and the anger of the fan base is now boiling over regularly at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Pedro Porro was angered by Lucas Bergvall when he went to applaud the fans following the team’s 2-1 loss to Fulham, with the right-back clearly not happy with the crowd.

Meanwhile, Thomas Frank has blasted the Spurs fans who booed Guglielmo Vicario after his error against Fulham, with Dane stating that it is ‘unacceptable’ to boo your players during the game.

Thomas Frank tells Tottenham fans that the players do not lack commitment

The Tottenham boss has now remarked that the team’s losses are not down to a lack of commitment or effort from any of his players.

He asserted that the players are more desperate than anyone else to turn around their predicament and win matches at home.

When asked if there is a huge disconnect between his players and Spurs fans, Frank told Football.London: “I think there’s nothing that the players, I, everyone want to get the win here. Nothing we want more. And I hope the fans can see that they were running out there today, giving everything. But football is so beautiful and complex.

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“It’s 11 players that need to be in sync and play and run at the same time. And there are small setbacks during games, you need to get through it and stick to the plan, stick to the bits. And sometimes it’s just more tough.

“And sometimes you’re in a spell where it’s difficult, which it is right now. But there’s only one way, it’s going forward and do everything you can to get out of it together. So there’s only one thing, we keep going and do everything we can to win the next home game.”

Frank is between a rock and a hard place at Spurs

Many Tottenham fans are now calling for Frank to be sacked, and an increasing number of them are turning on him.

In this context, the worst thing the 52-year-old could have done is to criticise the supporters, but perhaps he felt he had to defend his players, which is why he spoke out in favour of Vicario.

The former Brentford boss is between a rock and a hard place as he will lose the dressing room if he does not stand up for his players, but at the same time, he will not stay in the job for long if the supporters completely turn against him.

Pedro Porro has come out with fighting words following his antics after Tottenham vs Fulham on Saturday, which has created much controversy.

Just when you thought the relationship between the Tottenham players and the fans could not get any more strained, we saw scenes that we had never witnessed before on Saturday.

As has become the norm at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season, the players were booed incessantly by the fans, both during the game as well as at half-time and the full-time whistle.

Clearly upset by the supporters’ behaviour, Pedro Porro was angered when Lucas Bergvall decided to applaud the fans, with the Spaniard shouting at his teammate before heading straight down the tunnel.

Pedro Porro says he will not tolerate Tottenham fans who disrespect his teammates

Thomas Frank played down the Porro incident, and one would have expected the Spaniard to apologise.

Instead, he has now taken to social media to state that his behaviour was down to the fact that he and his teammates felt disrespected.

The 26-year-old reminded supporters that just like last season, it is not about how the campaign begins, but rather about how it finishes.

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Porro wrote on Instagram stories: “Football is emotions. In football, as in life, there can always be mistakes. What I will not tolerate is hearing disrespect from the fans to my teammates, hence my frustration at the end of the game.

“And we will get up, we remind you six months ago, everything was so bad, and in the end, it is not how it begins but how it ends. To the true Spurs fan, I love you.”

Spurs fans need to do better

The supporters have every right to be frustrated and angry, and booing after the game is understandable, given how poor the results have been at home.

However, what happened to Vicario is extremely unfortunate, and one can understand why the players and Thomas Frank have reacted so angrily to the incident.

Booing your own players in the middle of the game when they have just made a mistake is only going to destroy their confidence.

The excuses from some Spurs fans of paying high ticket prices or being angered by the performances completely miss the point.

The question they have to ask themselves is simple: Do they want to make it harder for their own team by booing them during a game?

Tottenham supporters are trying to process Thomas Frank’s pointed comments after the Fulham defeat, and the manager’s choice of words has stirred a sharp reaction across the fanbase.

It all unravelled quickly in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium when Tottenham faced Fulham at the weekend, as the Cottagers defeated Spurs 2-1.

Guglielmo Vicario’s mistake early in the game proved costly and led Fulham to take a two-goal lead, leaving Spurs with a mountain to climb early on in the game.

Tottenham Hotspur fans were not best pleased with the Italian’s performance, leading to boos during the match.

Spurs boss Thomas Frank did not hold back in his assessment of his own supporters, labelling sections of the fanbase as fake for the boos during the game.

Tottenham supporters have now reacted to the manager’s words on social media. One fan said: “Says a not real Spurs manager – how long until we can get Poch back?”

Another added: “And when I see a manager on millions a year try to lecture working class fans who spend £60 to see their team lose, I think ‘That is not a true manager’.”

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One Tottenham fan was not pleased with Vicario: “Vicario is a mistake waiting to happen. As a manager, you have to sometimes back players but also make necessary changes. This is a problem with Vicario being part of the so-called leadership group.”

Another added: “You mean to tell me the guy that has been there for a couple of months is making statements about who is a true Spurs fan? My guy do not let the door hit you on the way out.”

However, one supporter accepted parts of Frank’s view, saying: “Not happy with Frank whatsoever but he is right… was shameful from our fans today, embarrassing. I was angry with Vicario but booing thereafter…. Grow the f**k up.”

Spurs focus must shift to performances after Frank remarks

Thomas Frank needs to tread carefully with his dealings with fans, as picking a fight with the fanbase could unravel quickly.

Focus needs to be on getting things right on the pitch, and if the Tottenham boss fails to do so, then the boos will simply continue to ring loud.

Tottenham Hotspur’s awful home form has been ongoing for 12 months, and some of the numbers behind their struggles make for shocking reading.

Following their loss against Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur have now lost four and drawn one of their six home games in the Premier League this season.

Only bottom-of-the-table Wolves have accumulated fewer points at home than Thomas Frank’s men have this term.

However, North London clubs’ home malaise stretches back a lot further than this season, with the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium being an extremely happy hunting ground for visiting sides over the last 12 months.

Numbers show Tottenham’s home form is hitting record-level lows

Sky Sports have now provided six stats that show just how poor the Lilywhites have been in front of their home fans over the last 12 months.

Spurs’ home form is on a downward trend

What will worry Tottenham fans is that rather than improving, their side is getting worse and worse at home.

There may be several factors behind that, and one of those that cannot be ignored is the growing disconnect between Spurs fans and the team.

The atmosphere at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is only going to keep getting progressively more toxic unless the Lilywhites are able to reverse this slide very fast.

Thomas Frank has spoken about the lobsided Tottenham formation that he used against Fulham and why it failed to work.

The Dane has been throwing several surprises with his selections over the last few weeks, and he did so again on Saturday.

While it was not a surprise to see Randal Kolo Muani and Richarlison starting together after they scored three goals between them against PSG, the midfield left many confused.

Lucas Bergvall was operating in the inside spaces, and as a number 10 on occasions, with Mohammed Kudus on the right, but the Lilywhites did not line up with a left-winger.

Thomas Frank reveals why Tottenham played a lopsided formation against Fulham

The Spurs head coach has now admitted that the lobsided formation was by design as he wanted to play with two strikers.

He confessed that his players were rushing things too much in the first half and did not make the right decisions in possession.

When asked about the formation being overloaded on the right, Frank said (via Football.London): “That’s true. I wanted two strikers in and around each other, which looked good at times, but of course, the game plan was definitely way more difficult after the 2-0.”

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When asked if the formation made Tottenham too predictable as everything was going down their right, the 52-year-old responded: “Yeah, I think for me the first half was clearly we were rushing things too much. We were going in behind when we shouldn’t go in behind, we were playing in the middle when we shouldn’t play in the middle and all those bits because we were rushing too much.

“I think it is difficult to judge the first half. Of course, it is a part of everything, and it looked much better in the second-half and also before I made three changes.”

Frank accused of sending mixed messages to Spurs players

The Tottenham boss has been chopping and changing his formation and his team over recent weeks, and that has seen him garner criticism for being reactionary.

Ahead of the Fulham game, Ramon Vega accused Frank of sending mixed messages to the Tottenham players on how he wants to play.

The Swiss defender suggested that the Dane lacks the courage to play on the front foot and claimed that he is losing the Spurs dressing room.