Football London

It's a very different Tottenham Hotspur squad under Thomas Frank nowadays to the one that has been seen in N17 over recent years.

In all 17 first team players have departed the north London club in the past 18 months alone as a huge overhaul has taken place and Ben Davies is the longest serving player at Spurs with those 11 years under his belt. The Welshman is also the last remaining member of the squad from the Champions League final in 2019 still remaining at Tottenham.

It's been a huge turnover of players, but what of those who left N17 in the past 18 months? With Thomas Frank now in charge there were a string of further departures in the summer to add to those who left the previous year.

It's time to take a look at how those 17 players who left the club in the past 18 months have got on after heading out of the Hotspur Way exit doors. Many were big name stars with one a legend of the club, some were among the most expensive players Tottenham have ever bought, while others were long-serving servants of the club.

Let's start with the captain and legend who departed for a new adventure in the USA.

Son Heung-min

Son Heung-min left as a legend following 10 years of service to the north London club, having scored 173 goals and registered 101 assists in 454 appearances. He became the first Asian player to score 100 goals in the Premier League and in May the South Korean star managed to do what so few before him had managed at Spurs in lifting a European trophy as captain of the club.

The 33-year-old told his new head coach that he wanted a new challenge in the summer and duly joined LAFC in an MLS record fee of more than £20million.

There was no doubt Son would star in the USA and he has quickly brought his superstar quality to the MLS stage with eight goals and three assists in his first nine matches.

He also made history on the international stage on Friday by becoming South Korea's most-capped player. Captaining his nation in a home friendly against Richarlison's Brazil, the South Korean star picked up his 137th appearance to surpass the record he had jointly-held with Cha Bum-kun and his current head coach Hong Myung-bo.

Bryan Gil

Bryan Gil left Spurs in the summer after four years at the club but with only 43 appearances and two assists to his name. The Spaniard just never found a place in north London and was loaned out three times over those years.

He enjoyed his final loan spell at Girona and joined the La Liga club permanently for 10million Euros (£8.7million) at the very last moments of deadline day last month.

The 24-year-old had suffered a knee injury towards the end of last season but after a summer of rehabilitation, Gil is back on the pitch and has played in the past five matches for Girona, grabbing an assist last month in the 1-1 draw at Athletic Club in his first and only start of the season so far as he restores his fitness.

Sergio Reguilon

Another Spaniard who exited the club in the summer, Reguilon left at the end of his contract, having made 73 appearances for Spurs, scoring twice and contributing nine assists over his five years at the club since joining from Real Madrid.

That half a decade included an ill-fated loan to Atletico Madrid and then more successful half-season spells at both Manchester United and Brentford with Thomas Frank.

Last season Spurs could not find a move for Reguilon and he ended up playing six times for the club under Ange Postecoglou when needed.

Reguilon is currently without a club after leaving north London but looks set to join Son in the USA with a move to MLS and Lionel Messi's Inter Miami.

Fraser Forster

The 37-year-old played 34 times for Tottenham over his three seasons at the club and managed eight clean sheets but conceded 54 goals during those games. He made four appearances in the Europa League last season meaning he was sure of a winners' medal after the final in Bilbao.

Forster, an England international with six caps and plenty of experience, is also without a club, which has surprised many, but you wouldn't bet against a club snapping him up soon after to provide experienced back-up to their goalkeepers, especially with the rules on bringing in keepers far more relaxed amid injuries.

Timo Werner

Timo Werner left Spurs after two loan spells and plenty of criticism from the supporters as it just didn't go right for the former Chelsea man.

The 29-year-old played 41 times for the north London club, scoring three goals and providing seven assists which isn't horrendous on paper, but his struggles in front of goal were clear and he played very little part in the second half of his last season at Tottenham, with a hamstring injury and then just being left out by Ange Postecoglou.

Werner has returned to RB Leipzig and despite links with plenty of clubs including the MLS, he remained there through the summer and amid more injury woes has played just one minute of football so far this season in the Bundesliga.

Alfie Whiteman

The long-serving Tottenham academy product departed the club this summer after a decade in the Spurs colours. He made his competitive first team debut in a Europa League win over Ludogorets at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in November 2020. Whiteman also had two separate loan spells at Swedish top-flight side Degerfors IF in 2021 and 2022, helping them avoid relegation from the Allsvenskan on both occasions.

The 27-year-old, who has plenty of interests outside football, is without a club currently but has been linked with sides in both England and across the continent so could also pick up a new job as this season goes on.

Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg

It feels like Hojbjerg left Spurs a long time ago, although technically he was only on loan at Marseille and his contract only ended at the north London club in the summer because he joined the Ligue 1 outfit with an obligation to buy that could rise to £17million.

The Dane, who turned 30 this summer, joined Tottenham back in 2020 and played 184 times, scoring 10 goals and providing 17 assists during his four seasons before that loan to France.

He played 32 times for Marseille last season, scoring three times and laying on four assists in a campaign in which the Ligue 1 side finished second behind PSG, albeit 19 points behind PSG. This term the Dane is playing Champions League football and has nine appearances and one goal for his new club.

Some might just wonder what might have happened if he did not have a permanent move lined up because the new Spurs boss Frank worked with Hojbjerg at youth level in the Danish international set-up and might just have had a place for him in his squad.

Tanguy Ndombele

Tanguy Ndombele probably went down as the club's biggest ever flop after arriving from Lyon for a club record fee worth more than £60million in all back in 2019.

The Frenchman played just 91 times over half a decade at the north London outfit before having his contract mutually terminated last summer. Nice signed him on a two-year contract and it was all going reasonably well in the first half of his season back in France with 25 appearances, scoring twice and laying on two assists across 1,407 minutes of football.

Then in March came a sports hernia issue that ended his season prematurely. It looked like good news eventually when the midfielder was pictured in July back in pre-season training with Nice but all was not well and he had to go under the knife in a bid to fix a groin injury. Now 28, Ndombele is yet to return to action after that surgery.

Giovani Lo Celso

Giovani Lo Celso is back on track after some injury issues interrupted his return to Real Betis. At first the 29-year-old Argentine, another high profile expensive signing for Spurs back in 2019, after an initial loan, flew with goals in four consecutive La Liga games - five scored in total across those games.

Injured fragmented the rest of his season, but unlike Ndombele, Lo Celso did contribute in the final months of the season and helped Betis reach the final of the Europa Conference League but another muscle injury suffered the previous week restricted him to just the final five minutes of the 4-1 defeat, having missed the final La Liga game of the season.

In all, Lo Celso started just 15 La Liga games this season, playing 34 times across all competitions with nine goals and three assists.

This campaign has started well though for the Argentine with two goals and two assists in nine matches and he scored the winner for his country in their World Cup qualifier against Venezuela this week.

Emerson Royal

Emerson Royal is back in Brazil with Flamengo after a tough time in Italy with AC Milan. The 26-year-old right-back has mostly been a regular starter and even scored against Juventude last month in a 2-0 win.

A calf problem had kept him out at Milan from the end of January until May after making the move from N17 last summer in a deal worth £12.6million plus add-ons but Emerson had already struggled to impress either the supporters or the media and that injury reportedly scuppered attempts to sell him immediately in the January window after Milan signed Kyle Walker.

Emerson had returned for the final three games of last season, remaining on the bench for them all as Milan lost in the Italian Cup final to Bologna. He had won the Italian Super Cup midway through the campaign though so it was not a fruitless season despite that injury which restricted him to 26 appearances before his move back to Brazil.

Troy Parrott

Troy Parrott is one of the biggest successes among the Tottenham departures in this list. He joined AZ Alkmaar in a £6.7million deal in 2024 with a 20% sell-on clause for the north London side.

The 23-year-old Republic of Ireland international hit 20 goals for the Dutch side last season across 47 matches and came up against his old team Spurs three times in the Europa League, causing them plenty of problems. In that European competition Parrott racked up six goal involvements in 12 games and in the Eredivisie managed 16 goal involvements in 28 games. Parrott ended up as the joint third top scorer in the Dutch flight across the season.

He then stepped up another level at the start of this campaign with 10 goals and two assists in his opening eight matches before a knee injury kept him out for six weeks until he returned last week for Alkmaar from the bench. He will be looking to continue on the goal trail and Tottenham could yet make some money off the Irishman with that sell-on clause.

Oliver Skipp

Oliver Skipp is currently playing in the Championship with Leicester. The now 25-year-old only just managed to surpass the 24 matches he played for Spurs last season with 28 across all competitions for Leicester in his first year there, with just 10 Premier League starts as they got relegated.

Skipp had left Spurs last summer after 18 years at the north London club and more than 100 first team appearances to join up with fellow academy product Harry Winks in a transfer that could eventually bring Tottenham more than £20million plus a sell-on clause.

The problem for Skipp was that while the manager who signed him, Steve Cooper, was keen on the midfielder, Ruud van Nistelrooy seemed less so across the campaign, preferring more physical midfielders as Leicester struggled for wins and were relegated from the Premier League.

Now back in the Championship after his title-winning loan spell at Norwich in the league, new Foxes boss Marti Cifuentes had been using Skipp heavily in the early games of the season but the midfielder has enjoyed fewer minutes in recent weeks.

Ryan Sessegnon

Everyone just wanted to see Ryan Sessegnon playing football again after his years of hamstring injury hell and he's managing that again back at Fulham.

This season he's been a near ever-present for Marco Silva's side at left-back and scored in the Premier League match at Bournemouth before the international break.

Sessegnon made 22 appearances last season, netting four times and providing two assists in his 16 Premier League games for Fulham. One of those goals came against Tottenham in the defeat at Craven Cottage with a well-taken right-footed curling effort that brought no celebration.

"I spent five years at Spurs and I'm grateful for my time there. So that's why I didn't celebrate," the 24-year-old said after that game. "I'm feeling good, sharp and strong. I just want to play a little bit more. When I get the chances I want to prove I can play at this level."

When Tottenham decided not to take up the option of the additional year on his contract last summer, Sessegnon's return to Fulham meant that all of the club's arrivals in that now infamous 2019 window, including Ndombele, Lo Celso and even Jack Clarke went back to their previous side at some point after joining Spurs.

Joe Rodon

Joe Rodon came up against Spurs as a Leeds United player just before the international to complete his journey of sorts away from the club, having helped the Elland Road side to the Championship title and missing only four minutes of football in the entire season in that competition.

After joining permanently as part of the deal that brought Archie Gray in the opposite direction to north London last summer, the Wales international played all 46 matches for the Elland Road outfit in the league and now in he Premier League the 27-year-old has played every single minute in the top flight.

He also scored against Bournemouth like Sessegnon but did so at the end of last month for Leeds.

Japhet Tanganga

For Japhet Tanganga, as it was with Sessegnon, there was a need to continue to show that he was free of the injuries that dogged his years at Tottenham.

Thankfully that was pretty much the case as Tanganga, now 26, played 43 times for Millwall last season, scoring twice, and helped them rise up the table as the season wore on to an eight-place finish.

As with Sessegnon, Spurs did not take up the option last summer to extend Japhet Tanganga's contract by its final year. Instead he signed on a free transfer for Millwall after impressing for the Championship side on loan last season.

This summer though Tanganga made the move to Sheffield United and he has played every minute barring one match he has missed in the Championship so far.

Ivan Perisic

It feels like the Croatian left a long, long time ago, but Ivan Perisic technically stopped being a Tottenham employee last summer, even if he had already joined Hajduk Split the previous January on loan until the end of his contract.

His time at Spurs ended with that torn cruciate ligament and then his return to Croatia with Hajduk went in the wrong direction with the arrival of Gennaro Gattuso as the now 36-year-old's contract was mutually terminated.

That brought a move to another new league in his remarkable career with a switch to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven and Perisic bagged 16 goals and 11 assists in 35 matches, including three goals in four Champions League knockout matches, including a goal at the Emirates Stadium.

From the mid-March until the end of the season there were only three games the experienced attacker didn't score in in the Eredivisie.

He's been as useful for the Dutch side this season with six assists and a goal in his first 10 matches of the campaign.

Eric Dier

Similar to Perisic, Eric Dier has been gone from Spurs for longer than 18 months but only officially left last summer after the option in his loan move to Bayern Munich was triggered in the second half of that season.

He wasn't always the first choice at the Bavarian giants in the first half of the season, but still played 28 times, with 21 of those in the Bundesliga as Bayern won the title and him a winner's medal, as he scored two twice and provided one assist.

The 31-year-old played all but four minutes of Bayern's Bundesliga matches from mid-February onwards and started in both legs of the Champions League quarter-final against Inter, scoring in the game in the San Siro.

In all Dier played 48 matches at Bayern and left as a title winner for a new chapter at Monaco, where he signed a three-year contract.

He has already scored twice for the Ligue 1 side, including against Manchester City in the Champions League, and he will welcome Tottenham this month in the competition.

Tottenham's teenage centre-back Luka Vuskovic will not return to the club in January and instead see out his season-long loan at HSV Hamburg, according to the German side's sporting director.

Vuskovic joined Spurs from Hajduk Split two years ago but could not make the move to the UK at that time due to work permit regulations. The defender was sent out on loan, first to Radomiak in Poland and then Westerlo in Belgium, before he officially joined the Lilywhites this summer.

The 18-year-old impressed Thomas Frank in pre-season but it was ultimately decided he would be best served getting regular first team football elsewhere, mainly due to the quality of Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven. A deal was struck with Hamburg and the Croatian has quickly become a star there with the team unbeaten with him at the back since his tough debut against Bayern.

Now, with Vuskovic's reputation increasing by the match, HSV Hamburg sporting director Claus Costa has spoken out about the loan deal and the club's intentions. Speaking to Transfermarkt.de, Costa said: "We had very constructive discussions with Tottenham; they’re a top-professional club, judging by the communication with loan manager Andy Scoulding.

“They’re closely monitoring the player, which shows how they assess Luka. Tottenham isn’t interested in weakening us or ruining the loan.

“It’s understandable that they’re trying to protect themselves against possible worst-case scenarios. Otherwise, I don’t want to comment further.

“I believe Tottenham also knows how good the situation here is for Luka. That’s why I hope we never get into a situation where we have to think about anything else.”

It comes after Croatia boss Zlatko Dalic described the young defender as a "huge talent", with Vuskovic named on the bench for his country's 0-0 draw with Czech Republic on Thursday.

"A huge talent, he plays excellently in the Bundesliga, and that’s why he got a chance in the senior national team," he said. "I think he should be with us to feel the atmosphere and what awaits him. With him, Croatia secures its centre-back for the next 10-15 years."

James Maddison and Jordan Henderson caught up for brunch on Friday as the Tottenham star continues his recovery from an ACL injury and the Brentford man represents England on the international stage.

Maddison suffered the injury to his right knee late on in the friendly against Newcastle in South Korea on August 3. The 28-year-old is expected to miss much of the 2025/26 season but is working harder than ever to come back fitter and stronger.

Henderson, meanwhile, is enjoying life at Brentford back in the Premier League and with that has returned to the England camp under Thomas Tuchel. The former Liverpool man came on in the second half of Thursday's 3-0 win over Wales at Wembley Stadium and wore the captain's armband for the 21 minutes he was on the pitch.

Maddison and Henderson are good friends on and off the field and met up for brunch on Friday. Sharing a picture of Henderson eating what looks to be scrambled eggs, sourdough and avocado, Maddison said on Instagram: "Brunch and coffee catch up with the skip."

Henderson shared the image to his own Instagram page with the words: "Always good to catch up with the sheriff."

While Maddison continues his recovery programme, Henderson is preparing to face Latvia in a World Cup Qualifier on Tuesday. Maddison is clearly trying to keep his spirits high through this difficult period and even released a YouTube video on Friday evening showing the first three weeks of his recovery.

On his first visit back to Hotspur Way after his operation, the creative midfielder spoke to his team-mates. Maddison thanked both Rodrigo Bentancur and Cristian Romero for sitting with him while he was emotional inside the stadium after the game in Korea.

Spurs captain Romero simply said: "We're family." Bentancur gave Maddison a boost by explaining that his recovery was longer and he needed nine months out because the Uruguayan also damaged the meniscus in his knee, which the England international did not.

When speaking to club doctors, Maddison admitted that he is going to make sure that he is completely ready before coming back, but is hoping to return eight months after the injury which would see him back in April for the Premier League season's final couple of months.

"I've already looked [at the average time out], if it's eight months, six months isn't a question. The stage I'm at now, this needs to be right now," he said. "I'm 28, I'm going to be 29 when I return, I'm in my prime, really. These are my peak years ahead of me. I need to come back and I need to stay fit. So actually I'm not going to be pushing to say 'oh why are you taking so long', sort of thing.

"But if it gets to eight months and we're flying or whatever, if I'm in the right frame, that will allow me to play this season won't it, towards the end."

Lucas Bergvall missed an open goal during Sweden's clash with Switzerland on Friday evening.

The Tottenham Hotspur star has impressed in the Premier League this season under Thomas Frank, with a goal and an assist from six outings. And as a result, the 19-year-old was called up to represent his nation by Jon Dahl Tomasson, as Sweden look to stamp their ticket to the 2026 World Cup.

After holding Slovenia to a 2-2 draw in their opening match of the Qualifiers last month, and suffering a 2-0 loss at the hands of a ten-man Kosovo, the pressure was on for Sweden to succeed when they faced Murat Yakin's Swiss side at the Friends Arena on Friday evening.

However, Blagult failed to impress in the fixture, suffering a 2-0 loss at full-time and seeing their hopes of qualifying for next summer's tournament grow slimmer and slimmer. Granit Xhaka opened the scoring for his nation 65 minutes into the fold, coolly converting a penalty after Djibril Sow was brought down by Alexander Bernhardsson.

Johan Manzambi then doubled Switzerland's lead four minutes into stoppage time, as his shot from close range bobbled off the foot of Isak Hien and past a rooted Viktor Johansson.

However, Bergvall had the chance to change the outcome of the game moments before half-time. With the game level at 0-0 Viktor Gyokeres put Alexander Isak through on goal at the half-way line, with the Liverpool striker bundling goalward with an excellent touch to take the ball away from Manuel Akanji.

With two on his tail as he approached the edge of the box, Isak played a pinpoint ball to an unmarked Bergvall, who had the job of tapping it into an open goal. However, the ball ultimately found itself stuck underneath the feet of the centre-mid, who tripped over and left the ball in its place before Ricardo Rodriguez cleared his lines.

It comes as Sweden now sit rock bottom of Group B in the World Cup Qualifiers with one draw and two losses to their name. The nation will also face Kosovo once more come Monday, October 13, before Bergvall returns to Premier League action with Spurs.

Bergvall has impressed since joining Spurs in an £8.5million move from Djurgarden last February. To date, the youngster holds two goals and seven assists in from 55 appearances across all competitions for the Lilywhites.

He will hope to put behind the momentary blip he suffered against Switzerland ahead of his nation's clash with Kosovo, before he returns to club football with Spurs to face a struggling Aston Villa on Sunday, October 19.

Tottenham youngster Luca Williams-Barnett has landed the Premier League 2 Player of the Month award for September despite only turning 17 last week.

The attacking midfielder, who made his Spurs debut for Thomas Frank's first team in the Carabao Cup third round tie against Doncaster, won the monthly prize for what is an U21 league despite his age. Williams-Barnett signed his first professional contract on his birthday at the start of this month.

He netted his first hat-trick at Premier League 2 level in a 6-3 victory at Leicester City last month while still 16, also providing an assist in that game. The youngster then sent in a corner from which Dane Scarlett set up Jun'ai Byfield to knock home the winning goal in a 1-0 home victory over West Bromwich Albion a week later.

After his impressive step up to join Wayne Burnett's development squad, the Premier League Football Development Panel named the teenager as the winner of the latest Player of the Month prize. His Tottenham U21s team-mate Rio Kyerematen was also shortlisted for the award after a strong month in the competition.

Frank said of William-Barnett's debut against Doncaster: "Very happy with that. I think it's always a pleasure to be part of a young player's debut. So, yeah, happy with that.

"Definitely over the last many years the focus on the talent development and academies across the world is so big. So the talent pool is bigger. There are these talents coming through that are younger and younger. But one thing is the debut when you're 16. The next step, and much more important, is how Luca or other players take those steps forward. It's very tough to keep going and then get into the first team as a really regular player. But the first step is very important."

If Williams-Barnett continues at his current pace and with the required work ethic, then there are high hopes for him to continue his first team exploits under Frank.

James Maddison is aiming to be back in action for Tottenham before the end of this season but will not rush his recovery from his anterior cruciate ligament injury.

The Spurs midfielder suffered the injury to his right knee late on in the friendly against Newcastle in South Korea on August 3, which was Son Heung-min's farewell match for the club. It came after Maddison had only recently returned having missed the Europa League final because of a medial ligament injury in the same knee.

The 28-year-old released a YouTube video on Friday evening showing the first three weeks of his recovery and on his first visit back to Hotspur Way after his operation, he spoke to his team-mates. Maddison thanked both Rodrigo Bentancur and Cristian Romero for sitting with him while he was emotional inside the stadium after the game in Korea.

Spurs captain Romero simply said: "We're family." Bentancur gave Maddison a boost by explaining that his recovery was longer and he needed nine months out because the Uruguayan also damaged the meniscus in his knee, which the England international did not.

When speaking to club doctors, Maddison admitted that he is going to make sure that he is completely ready before coming back, but is hoping to return eight months after the injury which would see him back in April for the Premier League season's final couple of months.

"I've already looked [at the average time out], if it's eight months, six months isn't a question. The stage I'm at now, this needs to be right now," he said. "I'm 28, I'm going to be 29 when I return, I'm in my prime, really. These are my peak years ahead of me. I need to come back and I need to stay fit. So actually I'm not going to be pushing to say 'oh why are you taking so long', sort of thing.

"But if it gets to eight months and we're flying or whatever, if I'm in the right frame, that will allow me to play this season won't it, towards the end."

There were plenty of other interactions between Maddison and his team-mates including one with his fellow midfielder Pape Matar Sarr at the training ground.

"You're my favourite player in the group at the minute. You look sharp," said Maddison. "You look good. It makes me feel better when you play like you did the other night [against PSG]. I think you can get 15 goals this season. I want you to. Promise. 15 goals and I'll get you a gift."

Sarr replied: "Yeah I'll do it for you."

There were also early signs of Dominic Solanke's ankle problem when early in the season the striker said about his ankle when asked by Maddison how it was: "As good as it can be."

Tottenham have identified Brentford winger Kevin Schade as their potential Son Heung-min transfer replacement, according to latest reports. The South Korea international, who culminated a staggering 10 years at the club by winning a trophy, departed this past summer to join MLS side Los Angeles FC.

Attempts were made by Spurs to sign a permanent replacement immediately with Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo linked before a move for Manchester City star Savinho was actively pursued, though that switch did not materialise.

Randal Kolo Muani was brought in on loan from Paris Saint-Germain on deadline day, but he has played just 13 minutes due to injury. The Frenchman played a half of football on Friday in a behind-closed-doors friendly against Watford.

Wilson Odobert looks to be Thomas Frank's chosen left-winger currently, but a new addition is seemingly still wanted - judging by a transfer update from Sky Sports Germany's Florian Plettenberg.

He wrote on X: "EXCL | Tottenham are among the teams closely monitoring the development of Kevin #Schade. The 23 y/o left winger is under contract with Brentford until 2028, and #Tottenham have shown interest in a potential transfer in the summer of 2026. One to watch this season — he is currently part of the German national team."

Schade has only managed one Premier League goal this season, but it is fair to say he is now part of a very different Brentford attack after both Yoane Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo departed the club for Newcastle United and Manchester United, respectively, this past summer.

Since moving to the Premier League, the German forward has picked up 20 goal contributions from a total of 82 appearances.

Given the output Son was able to maintain over a prolonged period, it is not quite the dream replacement, especially after a cash injection.

As confirmed in a club statement, the Lewis family "through ENIC Sports & Development Holdings Ltd (“ENIC”), injected £100 million of new capital into the Club."

Since leaving Spurs, Son has been in great form with eight goals and two assists arriving from his opening 10 games. He is certainly taking in all the new experiences since moving to the United States, with that continuing in his visit to watch the LA Rams in action at the SoFi Stadium last weekend.

In a video uploaded to their social media account, he said: "I've never seen a better stadium than Tottenham, but this one....So much better."

Despite scoring some memorable goals at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it is understandable that he made such a claim with the SoFi Stadium quite the spectacle.

Tottenham Hotspur welcomed Watford in a behind-closed-doors friendly at Hotspur Way on Friday which gave a trio of first team players some much-needed minutes.

Spurs took the opportunity to hand a few of Thomas Frank's squad a run-out against the Championship visitors, who now have a new but familiar face in charge in the shape of Javi Gracia after Paulo Pezzolano was sacked with the Hornets in 11th spot in the table.

Watford brought a strong side to Tottenham's Enfield training ground and duly ran out 2-1 winners on the day against a Spurs side mostly containing young players, but this was more about getting some game time into the legs of players, including summer arrival Randal Kolo Muani. The France international arrived on deadline day in a loan move from PSG and has thus far only made a brief 13-minute substitute appearance from the bench in the Champions League win against Villarreal.

That's because in a training session in the days after, the 26-year-old was involved in a collision with midfielder Pape Matar Sarr, which left him with a dead leg that did not heal quickly and kept him out for the next month.

Now Kolo Muani is back in training though and played 45 minutes in the behind-closed-doors friendly as he stepped up his recovery from the injury. The Frenchman had already been working on his fitness before the injury as he had not played a minute of competitive football since early July at the Club World Cup for Juventus before that Spurs debut and had not been involved in pre-season work with PSG.

The other two first team squad members involved in the friendly against Watford were striker Dane Scarlett, who has been playing for the U21s in recent games, as well as goalkeeper Brandon Austin.

With most of Tottenham's players on international duty, it proved a helpful opportunity to get some fitness into various legs and it could mean with another week of work Kolo Muani might be available to take a spot on Frank's bench for the game against Aston Villa next Sunday at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Even Djed Spence's Tottenham team-mates cannot escape his "penitentiary", so what hope do his opponents have?

The 25-year-old has enjoyed a strong start to the season under new head coach Thomas Frank after turning his Spurs career around under Ange Postecoglou last year when it seemed like his Premier League dreams might take longer to get going than he expected after struggles in his first couple of years at the north London club.

Spence roared back though and worked his way into the Tottenham starting line-up, mostly providing another option on the left rather than his natural right-back role, and his form not only earned him his England debut last month but on Thursday night he made his first start for Thomas Tuchel.

England kept a clean sheet as they swept aside Wales with three goals in the opening 19 minutes and that allowed Spence to add a very familiar name to the list of wingers he has in his "penitentiary".

The full-back had started to hint on social media about dispensing with the wingers he came up against in pre-season with an image of Arsenal's Bukayo Saka after Spurs' 1-0 win in Hong Kong. Spence used a photo of the England winger on the floor in front of him with the caption "On to the next one".

That of course may just have meant Tottenham's next friendly in South Korea against Newcastle, but the captions began to get clearer. After the 2-0 win at Manchester City, Spence was up against Oscar Bobb and Rico Lewis down his flank and he posted after the game at the Etihad Stadium "Bring me your favourite winger" along with a devil's face emoji.

A few weeks later and another future England colleague got the treatment with Jarrod Bowen pictured, along with the first reference to Spence's winger prison after the 3-0 victory at West Ham with the caption "Who doesn't love a derby win. Penitentiary expanded".

Even his Spurs team-mates did not escape being locked up on social media. In Tottenham's 3-0 win against Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup, the visitors had 19-year-old Tottenham winger Damola Ajayi on loan and playing on the right. Spence later posted an image of the teenager behind bars with the words "I'm sorry Lil bro. Welcome to the penitentiary". To his credit, Ajayi responded to it well with a gif of Neil Warnock, a rather pivotal character from Spence's past.

It was no holds barred for Spence now and that mean Brennan Johnson got the treatment after Thursday night's England win against Wales.

Spence has begun tucking the penitentiary images at the end of his Instagram collages and there it was with the Spurs winger's head on a leashed dog with the full-back holding the chain, using the Grand Theft Auto V meme.

"Very happy to get my first England start with a great win, but forget about all that emotional stuff for a second.. YOU CANNOT ESCAPE THE INEVITABLE. LETS TAKE A WALK TO THE PENITENTIARY BROTHER," posted Spence in the captain alongside.

So who is next to be potentially locked up in the Tottenham defender's infamous penitentiary?

Next up after the international break is Aston Villa, who will arrive at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on October 19. If Spence plays at left-back then he will likely be up against 24-year-old Ivory Coast attacker Evann Guessand.

The Corsica-born forward was signed for £30million in the summer from Nice and is yet to get off the mark with a goal or assist for Villa and has mostly been playing off the right for Unai Emery's side. Spence will be hoping to prevent him from getting his landmark first goal for the visitors.

Spence is likely to rotate with Destiny Udogie, and even Pedro Porro on the right, with games coming every three days but for the purposes of this article we're selecting Spence as the left-back for every match and running the England international into the group.

That means he would likely come up against a much-linked Spurs target in the summer window, Maghnes Akliouche, as the north London club travel to Monaco in the Champions League on October 22. The 23-year-old France international has two goals and one assist to his name in six Ligue 1 games so far and will present plenty of trickery and ability down the right-flank for Monaco.

Up next is a trip to Everton on October 26 and potentially another Tottenham transfer target from the past 12 months in the shape of Tyler Dibling. The 19-year-old has played on the right in the past couple of games for Everton, although David Moyes had been using Iliman Ndiaye a fair amount in the role and the Senegal international has three goals and an assist from his seven Premier League games so far so could get the nod against the Lilywhites.

October 29 brings the Carabao Cup fourth round trip to Newcastle, where Sweden international Anthony Elanga has mostly been the right winger of choice but has failed to provide a goal or assist yet in the Premier League since his move from Nottingham Forest. Jacob Murphy has also been turning out on the right for Eddie Howe, so Spence could come up against either if he starts at St James' Park.

To complete the run of the next five matches is a home derby on November 1 against Chelsea when Spence, if he is at left-back, will likely have to deal with Neto and his array of talents. November brings plenty more challenges with games against Manchester United, Arsenal and PSG among the bunch.

That means Spence will have plenty of opportunities to add more names to his penitentiary and Thomas Frank will be hoping he does, because the more wingers who get locked up behind those social media bars, it can only mean good things for Tottenham.

Thomas Frank's tenure at Tottenham has started strongly and some of his players have begun the new campaign well while others are yet to find their feet under the Dane.

Going into the October international break, the 51-year-old head coach has got Spurs sitting third in the Premier League table, unbeaten in the Champions League so far and through to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup where they will face Newcastle at St James' Park.

With a string of new faces, some injury problems and a range of differing performances across his opening 11 matches at the helm, Frank has used 22 players so far for Tottenham.

We're going to rate all of the ones who have played 90 minutes or more so that means three miss out on ratings because there's just not a strong enough of a sample size to go off for Dominic Solanke and Randal Kolo Muani, who have played 49 and 13 minutes respectively, while 16-year-old Luca Williams-Barnett got his debut against Doncaster Rovers in the 87th minute and will hopefully get plenty more minutes over the coming months and years.

Here are our Spurs player ratings for the season so far plus the head coach, and yes we're using half marks to help us out. As usual we're rating the players against their own expectations for this season rather than against each other.

Guglielmo Vicario

Vicario has appeared in 10 matches and kept clean sheets in four of those games. The Italian has had some sticky moments, occasionally in not pushing the ball far enough from danger with reaction saves, but his mistakes have been somewhat exaggerated when on the whole he's been solid enough. His stats up against other Premier League goalkeepers have him top for prevented goals, save percentage, touches, passes completed and short passes completed. The stats from DataMB suggest no goalkeeper has completed more passes or short passes in Europe’s major leagues this season. He's not perfect but some of what he's done has gone under the radar, such as the huge late save at Leeds to help Spurs win the game last weekend. 7

Antonin Kinsky

Just the one game for the Czech keeper with a clean sheet against Doncaster Rovers in the Carabao Cup and he made a terrific save during that otherwise quiet encounter in goal. Not much of a sample size but the 22-year-old will get more minutes this season. 6

Pedro Porro

One of only three players to have played in all 11 matches for Spurs and has played more minutes than anyone else with 907 which is no surprise after last season. The Spaniard has contributed two assists and should have had more. Defensively he's helped Spurs to five clean sheets even if he's had some tough moments with wingers, not least in the matches against Bodo/Glimt - although he did grab an assist and play a part in the late equaliser - and Bournemouth, although Porro won't be the last full-back to struggle with Semenyo. 6.5

Djed Spence

Spence keeps going from strength to strength. He hasn't been perfect and definitely looks better on the left but he's played in 10 of the 11 Tottenham matches and has added plenty of wingers to his penitentiary. His form has been rewarded with his England debut and first start on Thursday night as well as a new Spurs contract. Just needs to add some assists and better final third play to his game while his European performances haven't been his best, but this has been overall a good start to the season. 7

Destiny Udogie

The Italian returned from injury to play in eight games this season and has looked bright with some strong displays as his fitness has improved. 6

Cristian Romero

The new Tottenham captain has led by example across the nine matches he's played in and very little has got past him as he's played his part in the clean sheets. Fresh from that new contract he also scored in the UEFA Super Cup and provided that perfect assist for Bergvall's goal at West Ham. Spurs missed him when he didn't play in Bodo and that says plenty. 7.5

Micky van de Ven

Stepped up another level this season under Frank and has added goals to his game with three in his 10 matches after the Dane challenged him to score more. Van de Ven captained the team against Bodo and scored that night before taking his place in the new leadership group ahead of older players like Porro and Bentancur. That leadership ability might have come as a surprise for some but Frank saw it immediately in the young Dutchman. Has the second highest amount of minutes for an outfield player in the squad with 890 and that shows his growing fitness. 8.5

Kevin Danso

In and out of the team with seven appearances, but only three starts and none in the Premier League. He's helped close out some games but his lack of rhythm has showed at times, especially with his passing. 5.5

Joao Palhinha

One of the bargains of the summer transfer window and he's been pivotal to Spurs playing well with his assured, combative displays in anchoring the midfield. The Portuguese has appeared in all 11 games and scored three goals, which has been an unexpected bonus with important strikes at Manchester City, against Wolves and that acrobatic effort against Doncaster. 8.5

Rodrigo Bentancur

Another to get a new contract, the Uruguayan has been inconsistent this season so far. At times, he's been superb with his composure on the ball, at other times that composure has vanished as the games have worn on and he's put Spurs in trouble at times. Frank loves him though and he should benefit from that trust to get back to some consistency. 6.5

Lucas Bergvall

Another season of development for the young Swede, often playing in a more advanced number 10 role than he was last season. He's contributed one goal and three assists, while also forcing the Villarreal own goal that ended up being the winner that night. It's easy to forget Bergvall is still only 19-years-old because he's played 55 times for Spurs since arriving last year. So much more to come which will frighten opposition players everywhere. 8

Pape Matar Sarr

Started the season well and has one goal and two assists to his name, but has lost his rhythm a little bit in recent weeks after a little thigh issue kept him for a couple of games. 7

Archie Gray

Finally getting the chance to play in midfield and Gray has mostly impressed when he's got his chances across five matches, albeit often coming off the bench late on, including playing a key part in forcing the late own goal at Bodo. Just the 188 minutes so far under his belt this campaign. 6

Xavi Simons

Just the seven games at this point and he's been mostly put out on the left. The Dutchman is adjusting gradually to the pace and power of the Premier League, with one assist to his name, but there's been recent signs that he's starting to pick up the rhythm required, especially when played in the number 10 role. 6.5

Wilson Odobert

Just the one assist from nine matches but the young Frenchman has also started to show signs of getting into the swing of Frank's system. The Dane really likes the winger and if he improves his strength and decision-making then he could become a real handful on the left as he hasn't got the end product right now that his skills suggest he should have. 6

Mohammed Kudus

Spurs' player of the season so far with five assists and that first goal last week from his opening 10 games in a Tottenham shirt. So much strength and trickery and he's been the outlet for the north London side when the going has got tough. His team-mates always look for him because they know he can hold the ball-up. There's a more advanced and goal-threatening Mousa Dembele vibe to Kudus with his ability to twist and turn with the ball at his feet. He's going to become a Spurs star because there's even more to come. 9

Brennan Johnson

Kudus' arrival has impacted Johnson the most even though he started off well with back-to-back goals in the opening two Premier League games and the 24-year-old bagged another against Doncaster Rovers. It says plenty about the Wales international that he's had a disappointing season so far yet is Spurs' joint top scorer - behind Mr Owen Goal - after topping the goal charts last season. Needs to add more to his game, especially his one-vs-one play and grab any opportunities that come, wherever Frank uses him. 6.5

Mathys Tel

Everyone was delighted for the 20-year-old Frenchman when he scored at Leeds last weekend after a tough few weeks, including being left out of the club's Champions League squad. He's being used though across the other competitions with seven appearances so far and he's adjusting to that striker role with each passing appearance. The key though will be how much game time he gets, and where he plays, when Solanke and Kolo Muani return. 6

Richarlison

Started the season superbly, including that brace against Burnley, and he netted to spark the comeback at Brighton while also grabbing an assist at Manchester City, but he's looked like a player overplayed because of the injury situation up front. The Brazilian's consistency has dropped, as has his movement into dangerous areas. He's staying fit though at the moment which is a huge plus and he will benefit, even if he might not like it, from the other strikers returning to give him a rest. 7

And the manager...

Thomas Frank

You can't really argue with 11 opening matches that have brought just one defeat since that UEFA Super Cup penalty shoot-out. The Dane has come in and tried to build a strong foundation to the team and he hasn't been helped by the injuries up front at the other end of the pitch.

Yet to be third in the Premier League table at this point, unbeaten in the Champions League so far and in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup is exactly what the 51-year-old was asked to come in and do - compete across all competitions.

It hasn't always been pretty and Frank's team is definitely still trying to figure out how to create and play more fluid football going forward, even if they've scored the joint-third most goals in the Premier League.

You can see the development in some players already and what will now be key is building on the manner of the attacking performances and how the Dane deals with the inevitable injury crisis to come with so many fixtures in the schedule.