Football London

Reports linking Burney centre-back Maxime Esteve with a move to Tottenham are wide of the mark, football.london understands.

Some media outlets in both France and Italy reported on Tuesday that Spurs had entered talks to sign the 23-year-old Frenchman this summer. The defender joined the Clarets in January 2024 on loan from hometown club Montpellier before that move was made permanent that summer after their relegation from the Premier League.

The left-footed centre-back then started in all 46 games in the Championship last season and helped Scott Parker's side climb back into the top flight. Esteve was one of the standout players for Burnley but Spurs are not believed to be currently looking at engaging in talks over the Frenchman.

football.london understands Tottenham are currently prioritising the search for a right winger with West Ham's Mohammed Kudus among the players of interest, with a bid having already been rejected by West Ham. Spurs are also expected to look for another central midfielder while new head coach Thomas Frank analyses the rest of his squad to see what he believes is needed to strengthen different areas within his system.

It's also worth noting that the north London club currently have a huge surplus of centre-backs. In terms of senior players they have Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Kevin Danso, the injured Radu Dragusin, as well as the experienced Ben Davies who can play in the role. Then there is 18-year-old Luka Vuskovic who arrived at the club this summer along with new signing Kota Takai, a 20-year-old Japan international who put pen to paper this week on his move.

Takai, who has made four international appearances for Japan, is expected to be part of the first team squad this season while Frank will make a decision on Vuskovic, who made his Croatia debut last month, this summer and whether it's more beneficial for him to learn around the squad in the first half of this campaign or head out on loan with regular football.

On top of that there are Ashley Phillips and Alfie Dorrington, who both impressed out on loan at Stoke and Aberdeen respectively last season.

So in total, Tottenham currently have nine centre-backs, while teenager Archie Gray also filled in last season in the role admirably during the injury crisis if you want to make it a round 10.

If that wasn't enough then there's also the club's European squad to think about and if you want a full explainer of that then football.london has got you covered by going right here.

In short, even with Alejo Veliz's departure this week on loan to Rosario Central, Frank must currently fit 30 players into 22 spots in their Champions League squad and that's before they have made any more signings beyond Takai.

So unless a new centre-back happened to be a former Spurs academy player and therefore club trained and not needing to be registered in those 22 spots, there's no rush right now to get out there and buy another central defender when they have so many. Tottenham need to get players out of the door as soon as Frank decides who is surplus to requirements.

Tottenham are trying to make Mohammed Kudus the first big-money new signing of the Thomas Frank era.

Spurs have already confirmed a deal to sign Mathys Tel permanently for a fee of £29.8million, but the Frenchman is not a new signing as such, having spent the second half of last season on loan with the club.

Kota Takai has also come in to Spurs, signing from Kawasaki Frontale for a fee of £5million. Kudus would be the first new player signed for a big fee to arrive at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, however, if Spurs can agree a fee with West Ham for his signature.

Tottenham have already had a bid of £50million plus add-ons rejected by the Hammers and will need to return with an improved offer to get the deal done.

Kudus returned to pre-season training with West Ham this week, with Thomas Frank at Hotspur Way to welcome his first batch of players back for training too.

The Dane would dearly love to see new faces arrive at the club ahead of the new 2025/26 Premier League season as he prepares to make his first steps as head coach of the Lilywhites.

Strengthening in the forward areas is crucial, with question marks over captain Son Heung-min's future and that of striker Richarlison too.

The transfer window is open until Monday, September 1, but Spurs may well impose their own deadline on completing a deal to sign Kudus.

Like most other Premier League clubs, Spurs will be heading out on a pre-season tour this summer, with Frank taking his new side out to Asia for games with Arsenal and Newcastle in Hong Kong and South Korea.

Frank would ideally like new signings in the door before heading out on that pre-season tour, with Tottenham due to fly out to the Far East on Sunday, July 27, after their game with Luton on July 26.

With Spurs already having had a bid rejected it is feasible a deal gets tied up before then, with another 19 days before they fly out.

Guglielmo Vicario has sent a four-word message to Tottenham captain Son Heung-min amid uncertainty surrounding the South Korean's future in north London.

Son has just 12 months remaining on his contract at the club and may well leave this summer amid interest from Saudi Arabia and the MLS. After 10 years of service, Spurs are happy for Son to decide what his future holds and a lot may depend on what new head coach Thomas Frank tells the 33-year-old.

Ahead of the World Cup next summer, Son is likely to want to feature as regularly as possible and one of Frank's biggest conversations this pre-season will be with the Spurs skipper about his future. football.londonreported last month that an MLS move was something of interest to Son, while he may well decide to stay to have a final crack at the Champions League following their qualification after winning the Europa League.

Son scored 11 goals and grabbed 12 assists in 46 appearances for Tottenham last season and will be hoping to improve those numbers should he stay for one more year. A key figure for the club when playing for the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Antonio Conte and Ange Postecoglou, it remains to be seen if Son will be just as crucial under Frank.

Son actually celebrated his birthday on Tuesday, July 8 with the forward turning 33. Vicario took the opportunity to send his teammate a message on Instagram, with the Italian writing: "HB my skipper [trophy emoji] [white love heart emoji]."

Players returned to the grass at Hotspur Way on Monday as Frank prepares for the upcoming season with his new side. Son, as well as the likes of Yves Bissouma, Richarlison and Archie Gray, were not present but are expected to return in the coming days.

Tottenham face Reading in their first pre-season fixture on July 19 and then Luton Town one week later. The squad will then travel to Asia for their pre-season tour where they will face Arsenal and Newcastle.

The Tottenham Hotspur players have been feeling the burn after their first few days of training under Thomas Frank.

The first group of Spurs players have returned to Hotspur Way and after their initial tests and blood work, they began working on the training pitches with Frank and his big new-look coaching staff.

Out there on the pitches were players like Dominic Solanke, Pedro Porro, Lucas Bergvall, Guglielmo Vicario, Yang Min-hyeok, Dane Scarlett, Djed Spence, Antonin Kinsky, Brandon Austin, Ashley Phillips, Jamie Donley, Alfie Devine, Josh Keeley, George Abbott and Will Lankshear. Newcomer Luka Vuskovic was involved as was Argentine striker Alejo Veliz before his loan move back to Rosario Central.

The international players will return later this week before those who played at the U21 and U19 European Championships arrive back a few days later.

Here are five things we noticed from the training footage put out by the club from Frank's first session at the Enfield training complex coupled with what we know.

Conte flashbacks

While not quite to the same degree, the 1km worth of fast shuttle runs the players were put through and the subsequent reactions brought back memories of an Antonio Conte pre-season tour moment when the Italian's session terrified the population of South Korea.

Back in 2022, after two hours of training in the Seoul World Cup Stadium in high temperatures and humidity, in which the Tottenham stars were put through various drills, match situations and two-touch and multi-touch matches, Conte unleashed his renowned pre-season nightmare on the players - 42 pitch-long runs, with very few brief stops, to see who lasted the distance.

Harry Kane was sick by the side of the pitch, Son Heung-min collapsed to the floor at one point to scared silence from the fans in his homeland and it was certainly an exhibition from Conte, with some inside the club believing he did it to show the levels of his training in front of the public, while the sessions behind closed doors never reached that level.

This year's effort under Frank was not to that level. It was a far shorter 1km run at pace, but it still was done to a fast level that left the players exhausted and lying on the grass afterwards in the sunshine as they raced each other. The new head coach went around them all high fiving them and smiling as they tried to catch their breath to speak.

Speedy Abbott

It might not have been a surprise to those inside the club but 19-year-old George Abbott was the fastest to complete the 1km run. The midfielder, who had a great season on loan at Notts County in League Two, is known to have a terrific engine on him and he flew through the distance leaving most others in his wake.

Dominic Solanke came in second with Jamie Donley third and Alfie Devine fourth while many of the senior stars followed behind them.

The Tottenham coaches could be heard shouting to Abbott in encouragement during the run and he did not look half as knackered as his team-mates did afterwards.

Veliz's awkward final moment

The same could not be said for Alejo Veliz in what we now know was his final training session before returning home to Argentina on loan to Rosario Central.

The 21-year-old striker was among those who looked a bit worse for wear after the fast run in the sunshine. Veliz looked more shattered than most, shown by the cameras left sitting alone on the grass before waving a horizontal palm side to side towards the camera, suggesting he was done.

It proved to be something of an awkward final moment for Veliz because his time at Tottenham for this season was certainly done and perhaps for the long term.

Porro advice and early return

If you're looking for great character and top professional, look no further than Pedro Porro. The 25-year-old should really have been part of the group of international players returning later this week after playing in the Nations League with Spain and reaching the final last month.

However, the right-back returned early and was using the club gym on Friday before coming back to sessions with the squad in the days after. As one of the senior players among the group he could be seen dishing out words of advice to teenager Yang Min-hyeok at one stage.

As Porro put his arm around his shoulder, the South Korean was saying something about what he could see the defender doing and Porro in turn could be heard telling him about 'the most important thing to do'. We'll maybe never find out what that was but he was certainly looking to help the young winger.

New face and Cochrane's promise

New strength and conditioning coach Tom Perryman, who has made the trip across with Frank from Brentford, could be seen speaking to Dominic Solanke at one point.

Among Frank's large coaching staff is a returning face in Justin Cochrane. The 43-year-old was an academy coach at Tottenham before joining the England set-up and later Brentford.

Now he is back at Hotspur Way as one of the Dane's right-hand men and he was shown speaking to the players at the end of the session. He made it very clear that things will continue to step up.

"What we're going to do is we're going to take it up all the time. We're going to get better at these sorts of drills which take it into the bigger picture," he said. "It's basically about taking up the right positions, passing details, and knowing your way out, in terms of knowing that if Pedro has the ball and he is being pressed by Dom and Dom's left Luka, as Pedro plays me in here, I'll now play in there, okay?

"It's hard to turn in these little practices when there are so many people congesting, then also looking for what I call long line passing or passes down the line or diagonal passing. It's the first day. Top effort over there. Real good energy."

Frank will be hoping that his Tottenham team take that good energy into the season so his era can get off to a fast start.

Tottenham's director of performance services Adam Brett and head of sports science Nick Davies have both left the club after only a year, football.london understands.

Brett arrived last summer after almost a decade at Brighton while Davies joined Spurs at the same time from West Ham and having worked with the Welsh national team. Tottenham struggled with injuries galore last season under Ange Postecoglou, with the Australian at times only having 13 to 14 fit senior players to call upon during the middle of the campaign.

Of particular concern for the former Spurs boss was reinjuries, notably to key players such as Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero as well as the likes of Wilson Odobert, Richarlison and Ben Davies.

“I never think it's just bad luck,” said Postecoglou during the season. "Some of it is. I've never lost a goalkeeper for this period of time [before]. But some of it is recurring, particularly this year in terms of guys coming back and re-injuring. It's something we're looking at.

"We're always trying to explore whether we can do things better. Last year was different to this year. Last year it hit us across the board. This year it's more guys that are coming back who are affected. Knock on wood, we've got a core group who are playing a lot and are getting through it ok. But it is something we are trying to address."

Tottenham have continued to review their medical and sports science departments over the past year after making those changes last summer which came with the departure of head of medicine and sports science Geoff Scott after 20 years at the north London club.

football.london reported previously that there was set to be another big shake-up of the medical side of the club and now Brett and Davies have also departed just 12 months on, with Davies linked with a move to Everton to link up again with David Moyes.

There is expected to be a process to replace both men at the club in due course but in the mean time new Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank will have familiar faces around him for the season ahead with one of his right-hand men Chris Haslam arriving with him from Brentford as head of performance as well as being a first team assistant coach.

Nick Stubbings has taken up a role as the lead of medical following 11 years with the Bees with Tom Perryman coming across as a strength and conditioning coach.

Kota Takai has spoken for the first time as a Tottenham Hotspur player and confirmed the versatility that will be of real use to new head coach Thomas Frank.

Spurs signed the 20-year-old Japan international from Kawasaki Frontale on Tuesday for £5million after the centre-back flew over after his final game for the J.League side. He will now get involved in pre-season training with Frank and his new team-mates this week once his international clearance and work permit come through.

In his first interview with the club, Takai said he was looking forward to the challenge ahead ahead after quickly heading over from Japan, having said goodbye to the Kawasaki fans in an emotional ceremony within a sold-out stadium following their 2-1 win against Kashima Antlers.

"I played in the match with Kawasaki Frontale in the J.League on Saturday and I got on the plane the next day and I'm here today, now," he said. "Having arrived in London I'm full of excitement."

On where he can play at the back, the young defender confirmed that versatility that will serve him well under Frank: "My position is centre-back. I can play either side - right or left.

"I was born in Kanagawa, Japan. I've always played football since my childhood. The reason why I love football is because as a team we can improve our skills together."

Takai's journey at Kawasaki was rapid, making his debut in the first team at just 17 and going on to make 81 senior appearances for the club before making his Japan debut, with four World Cup qualifying appearances so far for the national side around an adductor injury last year.

"The J.League has very high intensity, and its level is high. I won the Young Player Award last year and I was very happy. I joined Team Japan. It was always my dream. I remember I had goosebumps when I went on the pitch for the first team as part of the national team," he said.

Now comes the challenge of the English game and the Japan international is keeping his focus on his initial target at the north London club.

"I've always watched the Premier League a lot, since I was little," he said. "At Spurs, my first aim is to be on the pitch for a match and do my best."

Alejo Veliz is set to depart Tottenham Hotspur on loan back to his former club Rosario Central.

football.london understands the 21-year-old is currently set to head back to Argentina on a straight loan that contains no option nor obligation to sign him permanently. It is expected to have an option to recall Veliz in the January transfer window should the loan not be going as planned or if another club wants to buy the striker.

Veliz was back in pre-season training with new head coach Thomas Frank and his staff this week, but he is not part of the Dane's plans for the coming season.

The young forward has made just eight appearances for Spurs since signing in 2023, scoring once, before being sent out on loans to La Liga to Sevilla and Espanyol, with varying degrees of success. He played just six times for the former in a half-season loan and got 29 appearances at the latter, scoring four times with a Copa del Rey hat-trick.

Tottenham's issues with club-trained numbers make it difficult to register Veliz in their European squad and he has struggled to break past homegrown strikers like Will Lankshear and Dane Scarlett at the club since his £13million move.

Now Veliz is set to head back to Rosario where he made his name, a club where he makes constant returns during his free time, including this summer, and both he and his former side have been keen on a reunion for the coming season. He will now play alongside Argentina legend Angel di Maria after his return to his boyhood club.

Tottenham have confirmed the signing of Kota Takai from J.League side Kawasaki Frontale, subject to international clearance and work permit.

The 20-year-old Japan international centre-back has agreed a deal with Spurs that will run until 2030. The Yokohama-born defender mad his first team debut for Kawasaki in April 2022 in an 8-0 victory over Guangzhou in the AFC Champions League. He said since earned the J.League’s Best Young Player award while making a total of 81 senior appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals, and he helped his team to the 2025 AFC Champions League final.

On the international stage, Takai has made four senior appearances for Japan in World Cup qualifying fixtures and in 2024 helped his country to win the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup. He also represented his country at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, reaching the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Takai becomes Spurs' third signing of the summer, albeit their first new face, with his £5million switch after the loan moves for Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso became permanent. Another new defender has also joined, having signed two years ago, in the shape of Luka Vuskovic from Hajduk Split after loan seasons in Poland and Belgium.

Takai said farewell to the Kawasaki fans with an emotional ceremony on Saturday after their 2-1 victory against high-flying Kashima Antlers in the J.League. Now he will take part in new Spurs head coach Thomas Frank's first pre-season at the north London club.

Monday brought the return of the Tottenham players to the Hotspur Way pitches but under a new head coach in Thomas Frank.

The Dane has begun to work with those squad members who have returned to the Enfield training complex with grass work beginning on Monday after the early time spent with the sport science staff, going through testing in the gym and blood work. The group of remaining international players will return later this week, while those involved at the under-21 and under-19 European Championships will be back a few days later.

Frank's big coaching staff includes Justin Cochrane, Chris Haslam, Matt Wells, Andreas Georgson, Cameron Campbell, Stuart Lewis and goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte and his assistant Dean Brill as well as analyst Joe Newton and the new-look team will be getting to work with the Spurs players and feeding back information to the head coach about them all.

So which players will be fighting for their Tottenham futures at the club over the next couple of weeks? Here are five members of the squad who could be heading out of the door if they do not catch the eye. We're not going to include Bryan Gil or Alejo Veliz here because the feeling seems to be that their futures already lie elsewhere.

Yves Bissouma

The Mali international played his part in the final few Europa League matches of last season but ultimately it was a difficult campaign for Bissouma which began with those disciplinary issues.

The midfielder, who turned 29 next month, started just 16 Premier League games and is now in the final 12 months of his contract. It was perhaps notable that Frank mentioned Rodrigo Bentancur in his first interview and wanting to fit him into his team, even though the Uruguayan is in the same contract position, but there was no mention of Bissouma.

It feels like Bissouma is heading towards the exit door this summer unless he can save his Tottenham future with a pre-season that wows the new head coach.

Ashley Phillips

Ashley Phillips never really got a chance under Ange Postecoglou, or was not rated by the Australian and his coaching staff, but did have two impressive loan spells in the Championship at Plymouth and Stoke where he earned plenty of plaudits.

The centre-back turned 20 a couple of weeks ago and he will be fully aware that the arrival of Luka Vuskovic and the soon to join him Kota Takai is going to only block the path further to ever playing a competitive match for Tottenham.

Frank will want to have a proper look at the big centre-back but Phillips is going to need to have the pre-season to end all pre-seasons to ensure his Spurs career doesn't just become a temporary rest stop between loans before leaving permanently.

Manor Solomon

The winger, who turns 26 this month, wants to stay and impress Frank but for a player signed on a free, Tottenham will know they can get good value for him after a big season in the second flight.

Solomon helped Leeds win the Championship and scored the goal that sealed it and in all he registered 23 goal involvements in 41 matches for the Elland Road side. The issue for the Israel international is that the club-trained issues mean he's unlikely to get into the European squad so appearances could be thin on the ground for him this season if he were to stay.

He's going to be full of confidence after that season at loan though and he should look bright in pre-season. Returning later this week following his international exploits, Solomon needs to make the case to stay at the club otherwise the exit door beckons.

Dane Scarlett

Dane Scarlett has two years left on his contract and this feels like the season when the 21-year-old striker needs to show that all of the praise he's received from previous Spurs managers about his potential was justified.

With a couple of homegrown players likely to stick around because of those club-trained requirements in the Champions League, it could be a shoot-out between Scarlett and Will Lankshear to remain with Frank and the squad this coming campaign.

The one who impresses the most in pre-season is likely to get the nod. Last season it was Lankshear with the two strikers swapping halfway through the campaign with Scarlett returning and Lankshear heading to West Brom. A few years back, Brentford had a bid accepted for Lankshear before he went to Spurs from Sheffield United so Frank will know all about him and want to see how he's developed.

Alfie Devine

Alfie Devine clearly has talent and has impressed in each of the past two pre-seasons at Tottenham and he has also worked with Justin Cochrane in the England set-up which bodes well.

Coming off a good season with Vuskovic at Westerlo, the problem is will the midfielder, who turned 21 next month, ever break through at the club due to the sheer numbers in his position?

With two years left on his contract, Devine is probably due another deal, but would need to see a future for himself rather than just heading out on a third loan. He is a homegrown player for Spurs but sticking around purely for that might not be beneficial to his development. Frank will ultimately make the decision on what comes next for the England U20 international.

It comes as no surprise to see Tottenham fans focus on transfer incomings in N17 this summer. Plenty of work has to be done to improve Thomas Frank's squad as Spurs look to challenge on four fronts this season.

The north London club have already confirmed the permanent signings of Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel from Lens and Bayern Munich respectively, with Kota Takai to follow from Kawasaki Frontale in a £5million deal. Mohammed Kudus could potentially join them in making the move to Tottenham if a fee can be agreed on with West Ham for his services.

In terms of outgoings, Cristian Romero is constantly in the headlines regarding a switch to Atletico Madrid and Son Heung-min could head elsewhere after ten years at the club. One player Tottenham do have to make a decision on sooner rather than later is Yves Bissouma.

The Mali international is now in the final year of his contract at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Spurs must decide whether to extend his stay or sell him. It just hasn't quite happened for Bissouma at Tottenham with the midfielder unable to replicate his incredible Brighton & Hove Albion performances on a regular basis.

Bissouma has had his moments in a Spurs shirt, notably putting in a big shift to help Tottenham win the Europa League final against Manchester United back in May. Inconsistency has plagued his Spurs career, though, and it wasn't long before Lucas Bergvall moved ahead of him in the pecking order last term following his move from Djurgarden.

Just where exactly Bissouma is in Frank's Tottenham plan should become clear in the weeks ahead. The Dane is clearly a fan of the 28-year-old after namechecking him during his post-match press conference following Tottenham's win at Brentford in February.

“Their midfield – Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma – that is a very, very, very good Premier League midfield," claimed Frank. Having opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation at Brentford last season and possibly set to do the same at Spurs, it may be a question of who is the player to join Bentancur in the midfield two.

Bissouma, Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr and Archie Gray are the midfielders for the 51-year-old to consider, with the possibility of Spurs moving for a new No.6 given they have been crying out for one over the past two seasons. There will be movement across the Tottenham squad in the weeks ahead, with midfield, the heartbeat of Frank's team, one position that could see alterations take place.

Reports from Italy suggest that Juventus could make a move for Bissouma as a replacement for Douglas Luiz. The ex-Aston Villa man could be set for a return to the Premier League after one year away and the 27-year-old will need to be replaced, thus seeing TuttoMercatoWeb mention Bissouma as an attainable target. The outlet report that Spurs want around €20million (£17million) to allow him to leave.

Cashing in on the ex-Lille man would allow Spurs to put the money towards other deals, perhaps the signing of a No.6 to take his place in Frank's midfield. Due to his inconsistent performances and his current contract status, it does make sense for Tottenham to part with him prior to the transfer deadline as they plan for the years ahead.

A new head coach does bring about a fresh start for all and Bissouma will be using this summer as an opportunity to make himself a permanent fixture of Frank's Tottenham team. It is a big few months coming up in the player's career.