Spurs Web

Amidst speculation continuing to link Jonathan David with a move to Tottenham Hotspur, a fresh report has shed light on which two clubs are currently at the front of the queue to land the Lille star this summer.

David has been one of the most prolific strikers across Europe over the last four seasons, with 109 goals and 30 assists in 232 appearances for Lille.

Given the dearth of top-class number nines across the continent and the fact that the 25-year-old is available on a free transfer, he is unsurprisingly set to be one of the hottest contested signings of the summer transfer window.

Several outlets have reported over recent months that Tottenham have held talks with David regarding a switch to N17, but it turns out that the Lilywhites have now fallen behind in the race for the striker.

Two Serie A clubs emerge as front-runners to sign Jonathan David

Just a couple of days ago, it was reported by Football Insider that Napoli have moved to the front of the queue to land David.

Now, a new report from The Telegraph has said that the Lille man is indeed likely to end up in Serie A, but it is not Napoli who are leading the race to land him.

The outlet states that as things stand, Inter Milan or Juventus are believed to be David’s most likely destination this summer as he gets set to leave the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

MORE SPURS STORIES

The publication adds that the Canadian international is attracting ‘strong interest’ from the Premier League, but the names of the interested clubs are not revealed in the update.

David’s move to Juventus might work to Tottenham’s advantage

While Spurs might be disappointed if they miss out on David, his move to Juventus might open the door for the North London club to land another one of their targets.

Over recent days, it has emerged that Tottenham are ready to turn their attention to Juve striker Dusan Vlahovic, who is expected to depart the Allianz Stadium this summer.

With the Serbian striker having just one year left to run on his deal in Turin, it is asserted that he could be available for as little as £20m.

A report from Italy claims that it is now only a matter of time before we see a big change behind the scenes at Tottenham Hotspur, with a new appointment now just ‘one step away’.

While a lot has been said about Tottenham’s search for a new head coach this summer, there are also expected to be wholesale changes in the Spurs hierarchy.

Some sources indicate that Scott Munn is expected to leave Spurs while Johan Lange may continue as the technical director.

A number of outlets have reported that Fabio Paratici is in line to return to Tottenham in a formal role when his FIFA ban expires this summer.

A report in Il Giorno (as relayed by Sport Witness) has now claimed that Paratici is now edging closer to a Spurs return, with the Italian said to be just ‘one step away’ from taking over in an official role at Hotspur Way.

It is explained that AC Milan initially had Paratici and Arsenal’s Andrea Berta as their two top targets to become their sporting director.

However, the Rossoneri have now accepted defeat in their pursuits and have turned their attention to Igli Tare, who is now the favourite to become the sporting director at the San Siro.

MORE SPURS STORIES

The outlet says that this has enabled Spurs to push ahead with a move for Paratici, with just the final step now to be completed before the 52-year-old seals a return to N17.

Paratici has already started working on hiring a new manager

Several outlets have claimed over recent weeks that Paratici has been tasked with hiring the next Tottenham head coach by Daniel Levy.

According to reports, Paratici wants his compatriot Francesco Farioli to replace Ange Postecoglou, with the Italian viewed as a young, ambitious, and tactically modern coach, who would be the right man to start a new cycle at N17.

Tottenham have received a boost in their pursuit of the 36-year-old over recent days as Farioli has now officially resigned from his role at Ajax.

Darren Ambrose believes Jack Grealish will fit in well at Tottenham Hotspur and predicts that the Lilywhites will make a move for the Manchester City star under one condition.

Back in January, it was reported that Tottenham tried to sign Jack Grealish, with the Lilywhites even thought to have spoken to the Man City star’s representatives over a move to N17.

The England international stayed put at the Etihad at the time, but it has been suggested that he could be on the move this summer, with some outlets even claiming that Spurs are leading the race to sign Grealish.

In fact, CaughtOffside stated a few weeks ago that Tottenham are the ‘most serious contenders’ to sign Grealish, who is expected to be available for a fee of around €45m-€50m (£38m-£43m) this summer.

Darren Ambrose makes Jack Grealish to Tottenham claim

Ambrose believes the 29-year-old would be a perfect fit for the Lilywhites, suggesting his shackles can be removed if he joins the North Londoners.

However, the pundit insisted that he could only see the deal going through if Spurs beat Man United in the Europa League final and secure passage to the Champions League.

Ambrose told Stadium Astro about Grealish’s future: “Look, I think he definitely has some admirers, he’ll definitely fit in a lot of teams. Aston Villa, he would definitely fit in.

MORE SPURS STORIES

“At Spurs, he would fit in, but that depends on what happens on Wednesday, he’s not going to go with no European football. He needs a manager who can release the shackles and let him do what he can do.”

One stumbling block might prevent Spurs from signing Grealish

The issue for Spurs might be Grealish’s salary, which stands at £300,000 per week at the Etihad Stadium, thus putting him out of Tottenham’s wage structure.

The North London club’s highest earner at the moment is captain Heung-min Son, who takes home just under £200,000 per week.

That means that the former Aston Villa man would have to agree to take a 33 per cent pay cut for Tottenham to be able to sign him without overhauling their wage structure.

Guglielmo Vicario has insisted that he and his Tottenham Hotspur teammates are fully aware of how special it will be for the supporters and everyone associated with the club if they win the Europa League final.

Most Tottenham fans would have woken up this morning with a spring in their step, but that would have almost immediately turned into nervousness as it dawned on them what their side could achieve this evening in the Europa League final against Manchester United.

Almost an entire generation of Spurs fans have never seen their side win any silverware, with the club’s last trophy coming all the way back in 2008 with a League Cup win against Chelsea.

However, given all the heartbreak that they have experienced over the last two decades, there is no doubt that their anxiety will get worse as kick-off gets closer.

Guglielmo Vicario is determined to make history for Tottenham

Guglielmo Vicario is aware that the opportunity to play a European final does not come frequently in a player’s career, with the Italian admitting that he is proud to get the chance to walk out in Bilbao in Tottenham’s colours.

However, the 28-year-old made it clear that he and his teammates are not resting on their laurels and are determined to make history and write their names into Spurs folklore.

The Tottenham number one said (via Football.London): “I cannot be more proud of what my journey has been until this point. Now it is just about trying to finalise the last step we have. When I signed for this football club, to imagine about 22 months later, I would have the opportunity to play a European final, it is something I am very grateful for.

MORE SPURS STORIES

“Of course, the hard work has been put in, so I am very glad about that. It would be massive for the players, for the staff and especially for the fans. We know we can create history for this football club.

“We know that probably next year when we walk through the corridors into the dressing room we will see some photos of us lifting that trophy, but now it is not certain, so we have to keep working as best we can to try to arrive on the day as ready as we can to create history.”

Vicario speaks on his role as a leader

Postecoglou added Vicario to Tottenham’s leadership group last summer, and the Australian has repeatedly praised the Italian for the way he carries himself.

Vicario’s Tottenham teammates spoke glowingly about the goalkeeper’s influence in the dressing room, and the Tottenham number one will thus have a huge role to play this evening.

When asked what he feels his role is as one of the most influential voices at the club, the former Empoli man responded: “It is just to try to lead them because I think words can sometimes, you speak a lot, but it is the way you act.

“In the way you behave in the dressing room, or during training and being the first to go to the gym and last to go away from the training ground on a daily basis is a good commitment because people can see how committed you are and how much you embrace the challenge.

“I think that is a big part of my journey, of my life, and then try to just give them the best example of how to behave on the pitch, off the pitch and try to be the best human being you can be.”

Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker have both backed Tottenham Hotspur to beat Manchester United in the Europa League final.

The Europa League final clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United is set to see 16th-placed United take on 17th-placed Spurs at the San Mames Stadium in Spain.

Both sides have had dismal domestic campaigns, but have held their own in Europe, beating everyone that has come their way, and now they stand one victory away from total triumph.

For Spurs, they have had to overcome Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the round of 16, beating them 3-2 on aggregate, German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter-finals, beating them 2-1 on aggregate, and Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt in the semi-finals, with a comfortable 5-1 aggregate scoreline.

Alan Shearer and Gary Lineker back Tottenham to win Europa League

With a clash now with fellow English side to come in the final, football pundits Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker and Micah Richards have now given their predictions on who they think would come out on top.

Speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, Shearer and Lineker boldly predicted that Spurs would end their trophy drought, but Richards had other ideas, with the pundit tipping Manchester United to beat Tottenham and naming Casemiro as the key difference-maker.

Starting the predictions, Shearer said: “My prediction is going to be 2-2 or 3-3 after extra time and Spurs to win on penalties.”

MORE SPURS STORIES

Lineker then replied: “Oh, he has gone full on there, sounds like a World Cup final. I am going to have to go for Spurs, I could not not.”

Shearer: “After 90 minutes?”

Lineker: “Well, I have got this feeling that it is the teams that have not won for ages this year. And I think they are going to, I do not know about 90 minutes or, I think it could easily go to extra time.”

Adding his own shout, Richards said: “I am going to say, I think a lot of people have laughed off Casemiro or laughed at him for a while now. But I think in these competitions, sometimes it goes down to set pieces. So I am going to say Bruno assist for a Casemiro goal, one nil.”

Spurs seek to join long list of drought-ending clubs

Indeed, this season has seen several sides end long waits for trophies, with Crystal Palace beating Manchester City in the FA Cup to win their first ever major trophy.

Newcastle United also beat Premier League champions Liverpool in the Carabao Cup this season to end their 70-year wait for a major honour.

Bologna overcame AC Milan in the Coppa Italia to win their first major honour in decades, while Harry Kane finally ended his personal wait for silverware, lifting the Bundesliga title with Bayern Munich.

Tottenham would be hoping that they can join these clubs come Wednesday, by ending their 17-year wait for a major honour with a victory over Manchester United.

Micky van de Ven has spoken about the North London rivalry and revealed what took him by surprise ahead of his first derby game against Arsenal.

The North London derby is arguably among the intense, hotly contested and entertaining derby clashes in English football.

It is not just people associated with the two North London clubs saying it, but also neutrals, with Gary Neville admitting that the Tottenham-Arsenal clashes are his favourite games in the calendar.

For much of the last two decades, the fixture has been dominated by the home side, but that has started to change over the last couple of years, with Mikel Arteta’s men making it a habit of winning at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium of late.

Micky van de Ven makes an admission about the North London derby

Micky van de Ven, who has now had a few tastes of the fixture, both at home and at the Emirates, has now opened up on how it feels to be involved in the rivalry.

The Spurs centre-back admitted that while he knew of the bad blood between the two clubs, he did not realise how intense the rivalry was until he experienced it first hand.

When asked if he was aware of the rivalry between Tottenham and Arsenal before he signed for the Lilywhites, Van de Ven responded (via GQ Magazine): “I always knew it was a big thing but I’m close with [Jurrien] Timber, and I remember when I joined Spurs, he just joined Arsenal and posted a pic from an Arsenal game.

MORE SPURS STORIES

“I liked it, and everybody reacted like, “What are you doing? Why are you reacting to him?” Then, ahead of my first north London derby, I started feeling the hate they have for each other, so it was like, Oh, this is way bigger than I thought it was. And to be honest, I like it!”

Tottenham can have the last laugh over Arsenal this season

Despite threatening for much of the season, Arsenal have once again ended their season empty-handed.

Tottenham now have an opportunity to get the bragging rights over their local rivals if they can get their hands on the Europa League trophy.

With the Europa League final only a few hours away, Rio Ferdinand is unable to back Manchester United over Tottenham in his Europa League final prediction.

The stage is set. later this evening, Tottenham Hotspur will lock horns with fellow English side Manchester United in Spain at the San Mames Stadium in the UEFA Europa League final.

The two sides are fully aware of just how crucial a win would be, especially given their dismal domestic campaigns, with Man United sitting 16th and Tottenham 17th in the Premier League table.

It is certainly not an easy tie to call, yet unsurprisingly, several pundits have had their say. Paul Scholes believes Tottenham can beat Manchester United, but he remains confident his former side will get the job done.

Rio Ferdinand unsure as Tottenham and Manchester United clash in Europa League final

Owen Hargreaves believes Manchester United’s European pedigree should be enough to see them through. Michael Dawson has gone the other way, predicting a comfortable Tottenham win, while Harry Redknapp has backed Spurs to get the better of Man United.

However, former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has refused to stick his neck out. The ex-England international has admitted he simply cannot pick a winner, citing the staggering inconsistency shown by both sides this season.

Speaking on Optus Sport, he said: “I have to be honest, I cannot call a Manchester United result – they are so inconsistent, or they have consistently been bad in the Premier League.

MORE SPURS STORIES

“But the fact they are playing against Spurs, another consistently bad team in the Premier League, but they have players who can win a match.

“It makes it such a hard game to call. I think Manchester United have not done enough this season for me to go convincingly, ‘right, they will win this game’ – at any point I have not felt like that, other than maybe against Leicester.

“So to call this game will be difficult. I think it is a huge opportunity for both clubs, but for Manchester United I think the manager has been very open about putting all of his eggs in one basket.”

Tottenham edge head-to-head but Micky van de Ven plays down favourites tag

Indeed, both sides have been frustratingly inconsistent all season, and their respective Premier League positions only reinforce that fact.

However, when assessing the head-to-head record over their last six meetings, Tottenham appear to have a slight edge, as they remain unbeaten against Manchester United in that run.

This season alone, Tottenham have recorded three wins over United – a 3-0 thrashing at Old Trafford, a 1-0 victory in the reverse league fixture at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and a thrilling 4-3 triumph in the Carabao Cup, also in north London.

While Spurs may take confidence from those results, defender Micky van de Ven has been quick to play down the significance of previous victories.

He said: “I would not say it is an advantage because it is games in the past, so this is a game, it is a final and I know in a final anything can happen. We won three times against them so hopefully we can do the same thing for the final.”

Manchester United have been handed a huge boost ahead of the Europa League final showdown against Tottenham Hotspur after a big update has emerged about three of their key men.

Some Spurs fans had faint hope that Lucas Bergvall may recover in time to feature in Bilbao, but that was squashed in the press conference on Tuesday.

Ange Postecoglou confirmed that Bergvall will not play in the final, with the Swede joining his compatriot Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison and Radu Dragusin on the sidelines.

Tottenham will be under-strength in midfield for the final, and Postecoglou faces a big dilemma on who to play as a number ten, but his opposite number, Ruben Amorim, has just received some positive news ahead of the big clash.

Three injured Man United players trained before the final

Three of United’s players, who were all injury doubts have trained with the squad in the lead up to the final as they make their final preparations.

Joshua Zirkzee, Leny Yoro and Diogo Dalot were all part of Amorim’s training session in Bilbao last night.

Zirkzee has been out since mid with a hamstring injury, Dalot went down a week later suffering a calf issue, and Yoro has missed one match with a foot problem.

MORE SPURS STORIES

However, just because they have travelled with the squad does not guarantee that they will play a part in the final. Many of Tottenham’s injured players have also made the trip to Bilbao despite being ruled out of the final.

What Ruben Amorim has said about the injured Man United trio

Amorim decided to keep his cards close to his chest in his pre-match press conference when asked about just how much involvement Zirkzee, Yoro and Dalot could have in the European showpiece.

“They recover quite well, they push,” Amorim told The Athletic.

“We have to respect the feeling of the player, we push a little bit because they want to be part of the team, a very good sign, and they are limited in the minutes but they can help us to win the game.”

Tottenham Hotspur fans have now delivered an emotional verdict ahead of this evening’s Europa League final against Manchester United.

For Tottenham Hotspur fans, there are only two possible feelings when the final whistle blows in the Europa League final clash with Manchester United in Spain at the San Mames Stadium.

It is either complete joy, celebration or elation; this either becomes the best ever season in almost two decades, or it is heartbreak, sadness, and more misery added to an already bleak campaign.

Spurs would need to dare to do, they would need to leave everything out on that pitch come Wednesday, they would need to repay this loyal fanbase who have supported them despite their horrendous domestic display. They need to win the Europa League.

Tottenham fans emotional ahead of Europa League final vs Manchester United

On social media, several Tottenham fans have now given their final thoughts before what can only be described as warfare against Manchester United.

It is all or nothing. Tottenham’s fate is in their own hands; this group can rewrite history, and that is what the Spurs faithful want.

When asked how they would feel should Tottenham win the Europa League, the Lilywhites fans did not hold back.

MORE SPURS STORIES

One fan said: “It is for us to win, we are in it to win it.” Another added: “Might miss the train home if this happens 😂.” One simply stated: “I will cry.”

A different fan could not even imagine defeat: “I legit cannot imagine it. My stomach has been chaos since before the away game against Bodo. This is not healthy, I legit do not know what I am going to do if we lose. No, we will not lose, I cannot even imagine it.”

Another got emotional: “I will be in floods of tears, thinking about my dear old dad, who I was with at Wembley all those years ago, the last time we won anything. COYS for always 💙.”

One fan wrote about Heung-min Son potentially lifting the trophy: “What a crowning moment this would be. Cement himself up there with the greats. I would go as far as saying he would be more of a legend than Kane.”

Another added: “Elated. Honestly, it has been 17 years since I saw us lift the League Cup, but this would be something else. I will not lie, I would probably cry 😂.”

One more said: “I think I would actually pass out with crying so hard. COYS.” Another simply concluded: “Tears, raw emotion. I have not cried since I was a little kid but that might do it.”

Champions League qualification, transfer impact and Tottenham’s travelling support

Indeed, a lot is at stake for Tottenham, who have failed to utilise their domestic route to Europe and now need to make it all count internationally by winning the Europa League if they are to play in the Champions League next season.

Victory here and the summer window could look completely different for the Lilywhites, who would bolster their transfer pot and be able to attract top talent with the lure of UEFA Champions League football.

Tottenham fans have booked their tickets, 15,000 of them are heading to Bilbao to cheer the Tottenham players when they go marching in.

It could be tomorrow we are crowned champions of Europe, or it could be even more heartbreak. COYS!!

Tottenham Hotspur have successfully managed to tie down one of their most highly-rated academy starlets to a new contract after the youngster rejected a host of offers, including several from Premier League sides.

While a lot has been said and written about the young talents which Tottenham have in and around the first-team, the club are also blessed with some highly-rated starlets in their academy set-up.

One of those is striker Ellis Lehane, who has had an outstanding season for the Under-18s, having found the back of the net 13 times in 21 games in the U18 Premier League this season.

The youngster signed a two-year scholarship deal with Tottenham back in 2023, and with his deal about to run out this summer, some outlets have claimed over recent months that Spurs ran the risk of losing Lehane this summer.

Ellis Lehane signs his first professional deal with Tottenham

Football Insider have now claimed that Spurs have successfully managed to ward off interest in the striker, who has now signed his first professional deal with the North London club.

The report says that Lehane was the subject of interest from Aston Villa, Brentford, and Norwich, while he also received offers from an Italian trio, Lecce, Verona and Cagliari.

The update claims that the 18-year-old striker has pledged his future to Tottenham as he hopes to follow in the footsteps of Harry Kane and break into the Spurs first-team in the near future.

MORE SPURS STORIES

Tottenham prodigy wanted by Borussia Dortmund

While tying down Lehane is a huge boost for Spurs ahead of the new season, the North London club will be even more desperate to ensure that Mikey Moore remains at the club on the back of his breakthrough campaign.

Over recent weeks, it has been rumoured that Borussia Dortmund and others are eyeing a summer deal for Moore, and their interest comes at a time when the Tottenham teenager has hired a new agent, which is potentially a worrying sign for the Lilywhites.