Football London

Tottenham are adding two more players to Thomas Frank's armoury but can they be brought into his Champions League squad?

Tottenham are set to seal two new arrivals this week in the shape of Conor Gallagher and Souza and the Spurs supporters will be wondering whether both new signings can play in the Champions League.

Gallagher is undertaking his medical at Hotspur Way on Tuesday to complete a £34.7million move from Atletico Madrid. Meanwhile 19-year-old left-back Souza is set to land in England later on Wednesday so should put the finishing touches on his £13million switch from Santos the following day while awaiting a work permit.

In their final two Champions League games in the league phase, Spurs welcome Borussia Dortmund next Tuesday night (January 20) and then travel to Frankfurt on Wednesday January 28.

The first question is can either Gallagher or Souza play in those two matches? The answer unfortunately is no. The squads are set now for the rest of the league phase of the competition.

Some supporters might be hanging their hopes on the same UEFA rule that allowed Tottenham to bring Mathys Tel into the squad last month to replace the injured Dominic Solanke, when they see Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus out until April with their injuries.

However, that rule only allows a team to bring in a squad substitute if a player has been ill or injured for 60 days and on top of that it can only be done up until the sixth game of the league phase, which fell on the encounter against Slavia Prague.

In more positive news though, either player can be brought into Thomas Frank's squad next month in the Champions League should Spurs, who sit 11th in the table, reach the knockout stages.

Tottenham would have the opportunity to make three changes to their current squad when submitting their list for the knockout stages by 11pm on February 5.

An added bonus is that nowadays you can add players who have already played in the group stages in any European competition so Gallagher, who has appeared six times so far this season in the Champions League for Atletico and scored once, will still be able to be added to Spurs' squad in place of someone else.

Tottenham are about to tie up a couple of transfers in the coming days and we've taken a look at what shirt numbers will be available for them

Tottenham are set to get the ball rolling in the January transfer window with the arrivals of Conor Gallagher and Souza to boost Thomas Frank's squad.

Gallagher will undergo his medical on Tuesday ahead of the 25-year-old England international midfielder sealing a £34.7million move from Atletico Madrid. Nineteen-year-old Souza is expected to land in the UK later on Wednesday so the left-back should tie up the formalities of his £13million switch from Santos the following day and he must also await his work permit.

What squad numbers will the duo be looking to take at Tottenham though as fans begin to decide whether to invest in having either of them on the back of their own shirts?

Let's start with Gallagher. The midfielder has been wearing the number four over the past 18 months in Spain with Atletico. At Chelsea, he had 23 on his back as he also did at Crystal Palace and while on loan at West Bromwich Albion, he wore the number 18. In previous loans at Swansea and Charlton he wore 33 and 11 respectively.

So what's free for him at Tottenham? The number four is taken by Kevin Danso, 23 by Pedro Porro and 11 by Mathys Tel, who has been linked with a loan move that might be problematic due to recent squad injuries. However, 18 is free after being vacated by Yang Min-hyeok during his three loan spells.

For a more traditional number, five remains available since Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's departure to Marseille. There is also 12, most recently worn by Emerson Royal, 16 which was worn by Luka Vuskovic on the bench before his loan move to Hamburg. Higher up the figures, 25 and 27 are available with Kota Takai and Manor Solomon having had the former and latter respectively before leaving on loan.

The number 26 remains unused but has been somewhat unofficially retired since Ledley King hung up his boots in 2012.

There's plenty of choice for Gallagher and there is always the chance that another player might be looking to change number.

When it comes to Souza, the Brazilian wore 33 last season for Santos and three the campaign before. He has also worn 14, 15 and 18 as a youngster at Santos as well as six and 16 for Brazil's youth sides.

The number 33 could become available in the summer if Ben Davies departs at the end of his contract, while Radu Dragusin currently holds the number three shirt but has also been linked with a move out of Tottenham. The number two shirt has been available since Matt Doherty left the club but is more associated with right-backs as well as USA attacker Clint Dempsey in one of the more bizarre shirt choices of recent years.

Five is perhaps a possibility if Gallagher does not take it, while 12, 16, 18, 25 and 27 are all potential numbers for Souza for the remainder of this season or he might go wild and plump for a much higher number. We will discover both players' final choices in the days ahead.

Tottenham are finally starting to move into action in the January transfer window to sign a midfielder they have wanted for a long time

Tottenham are set to see off competition from Aston Villa to sign Conor Gallagher and it is a transfer that has been a while in the making.

Ange Postecoglou privately called for the signing of the England international last summer but Tottenham were not able to get near a deal with Chelsea at that point. The midfielder would instead make the move to Atletico Madrid and now 18 months on, Spurs have come back in to sign the 25-year-old in a £34.7million deal that is being finalised at Hotspur Way on Tuesday as Gallagher goes through his medical and the formalities of his move at a training ground he knows well from his international experience.

Postecoglou saw Gallagher as the perfect number eight in his system and the former Chelsea man will bring plenty of quality and drive to Thomas Frank's midfield and fill the gap left by Rodrigo Bentancur's three-month absence with a different profile of player.

Here are five reasons why Tottenham have made the move for Gallagher to boost their starting XI.

Experienced leader

He might only be 25 but Gallagher has experienced a lot. He has played for three different Premier League clubs and taken on the challenge of La Liga football, while also playing 23 Champions League matches and 22 games for England. He's played for his country at a European Championship and been in the squad for a World Cup. He also played in the Championship as a youngster to fully round out his development.

On top of that, he's a leader which is something this Spurs squad is lacking in the centre of the park and his mentality has always been praised by those he has worked with.

Former Chelsea keeper Petr Cech said of Gallagher in 2024: "He's always been working hard. He's one of the players that's always cared about winning and about the club. You find that even young players can have special abilities to be a leader. Conor is one of those players - he's always worked hard, he's always cared and he always tries his best.

"He's pushing and he is one of the captains in the making, because of the way he is."

There is another Tottenham connection in Mauricio Pochettino, who managed Gallagher at Chelsea and frequently made him skipper in the absence of the injured Reece James.

While the Blues wanted to sell Gallagher because of his profitability as an academy product within the financial fair play rules, the Argentine would fight to keep him.

"He is a player with a great commitment to the team. He is always trying to compensate in every situation, in offensive and defensive situations. It's priceless to have a player like him," said the former Spurs boss.

"‘He is in the starting XI nearly every game and one of the captains. For me, he is the type of player that the club need to have.

"He runs, he plays, he fights. He does everything to win. He is a really important player that the coaching staff want to have on the team."

There's a reason that Unai Emery wanted to bring Gallagher to high-flying Villa and now Tottenham will have him in their ranks instead.

Chances created

Gallagher will step in to fill the hole left by Bentancur's three-month absence but he will bring a different profile to the Tottenham midfield.

If people are expecting a bog-standard sitting midfielder then they will be surprised by the England international. He is comfortable at both ends of the pitch and is an all rounder with ferocious energy levels to press and win the ball back high up the pitch, while creating openings for others.

In the 2023/24 season, Gallagher created 53 chances for his Chelsea team-mates, the tenth highest number on the Premier League list of midfielders that season with most above him being more attacking midfielders.

In a system like Frank's which relies on high, aggressive pressing to turn over the ball in key areas, Gallagher should revel in the midfield.

He has 68 goal involvements in 289 senior games which is more than reasonable for a player in his position. To put that into context with Spurs' other senior midfielders, Bentancur has 44 goal involvements in 388 matches and Joao Palhinha has 35 in 373 games. The out of favour Yves Bissouma has 17 goal involvements in 279 games.

Between them, the younger trio of Pape Matar Sarr, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall have 58 goal involvements in total but almost half of those come from the latter's time in Sweden's different levels and cup.

So the role he will be playing in, Gallagher will be step up in terms of goal creation and scoring while not being expected to be the main playmaker as someone like Xavi Simons and eventually Dejan Kulusevski and later James Maddison will be.

Homegrown

It's not that important to the outside world but Tottenham needed to start replenishing their homegrown numbers in their Premier League squad.

We know all about the Champions League squad issues and the lack of club-trained players and falling number of association-trained players, which you can find the latest on by clicking right here, but you also need to have a minimum of eight homegrown players in your Premier League squad.

Spurs currently have six of those with the departure of Brennan Johnson - albeit they have others on the under-21s list - but they could lose Ben Davies in the summer at the end of his contract and bringing in a new senior homegrown player in Gallagher can only be a good thing in that respect.

There's also a certain sense of pride at the club to have England players in their ranks and Gallagher will be hoping that he can force himself into Thomas Tuchel's thoughts just in time for the World Cup, as will Dominic Solanke, while Djed Spence will be looking to keep his spot in the German's squad.

Few injuries

Yes we know this is Tottenham so the fates will decide that Gallagher will probably end up broken within minutes of stepping through the doors of Hotspur Way, but the 25-year-old does have a ridiculously good injury record.

In fact if you look on Transfermarkt at the former Chelsea man's injury stats it does not have a single injury recorded in his entire senior career. The only recorded absence is through illness from which he missed five days back in March 2024.

For a club that has so many injury problems every season, at least getting someone who has no history of them beforehand should bode well. But yes we know that's happened before at Tottenham. Poor Solanke for example had only missed three matches at Bournemouth since early 2021 before stepping through the doors at Spurs and injured his ankle within a couple of weeks.

We're trying to stay positive here though and hope that Gallagher follows instead in the footsteps of Pedro Porro, who has only so far missed two matches since arriving at Tottenham three years ago.

Future and now

Gallagher ticks the exact description that Frank spoke about when he said the club needed to sign players for the now and long-term.

"I can see this is not a quick fix, unfortunately. This is a longer journey. That doesn't mean that in the longer journey that we don't need to win football matches, we have to, and hopefully a lot of them, and perform well and all that. But to get to where we want to get, it just takes time to build that," he said.

On transfers specifically the Dane said this month: "We are out there. We are really alert. The club really want to see what we can do to strengthen the squad and the team. I say many times it's a difficult window, and we still need the short-term solution to be the long-term solution as well."

Gallagher fits that mould as the midfielder arrives with plenty of experience at every level and will quickly become a leading voice in the dressing room and on the pitch, one who also sets the tempo of the team's play.

However, in turning 26 next month, he has not yet reached his peak and could feasibly have a long career ahead at Tottenham if all works out as expected.

Tottenham Hotspur have announced that Rodrigo Bentancur has undergone surgery on his right hamstring. The 28-year-old midfielder suffered the muscle injury during Spurs' 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium earlier this month.

Bentancur will now begin rehabilitation with medical staff at Hotspur Way. In an official statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Lilywhites announced the procedure and said: "We're all with you, Lolo [white heart emoji]."

The Uruguay international was replaced by Archie Gray towards the end of the clash on the south coast. Shortly after Bentancur came off, Antoine Semenyo, who joined Manchester City a couple of days later, fired the Cherries ahead to clinch three crucial points.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday afternoon ahead of Tottenham's defeat to Aston Villa in the FA Cup third round, Thomas Frank offered his first thoughts on the injury. The Dane said: "Rodri has a hamstring injury, looks like a bigger one unfortunately.

"We don't know the time frame, that we also will know later," added the Spurs boss. Bentancur has already featured 28 times across all competitions this season, starting all but six of Spurs' games.

Only Guglielmo Vicario (2,610), Pedro Porro (2,560), and Micky van de Ven (2,510) have played more minutes than the Uruguayan (2,072), who's also a regular in the starting lineup for his country.

In an effort to reward Bentancur and reflect his standing among the squad, he was offered a new long-term contract in October. The midfielder, who joined Tottenham from Juventus in January 2022, was delighted to put pen to paper.

"I feel really good and I'm very happy to continue my story with this fantastic club," said Bentancur. "My family are happy; I have fantastic friends and team-mates who work hard every day. I love this Club and feel really good here.

"Winning the Europa League was a fantastic moment and we want to build on this now, to win more trophies. We have a new Head Coach, a new captain and I want to enjoy many more years at the Club."

Meanwhile, Frank said: "I'm extremely happy that Rodrigo has committed his future to the Club. It shows his belief in what we are building here and that we are starting a journey which we hope will be really special.

"Rodri is a big part of that. He's a fantastic midfielder who can dictate games and be the glue that holds the team together. He also has the ability to arrive in the penalty area, create goals and score them, too."

Tottenham have long had squad registration issues in both the Premier League and Champions League so here's what their two new transfers mean

Tottenham have started to get moving in the January transfer window with players coming in and out of the doors at Hotspur Way and that has a knock-on effort for the various squad rules.

Spurs are set to complete a £34.7million deal for Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid after moving swiftly on Monday to see off competition from Aston Villa, while also closing in on the £13million signing of Santos left-back Souza, who is expected to land in the UK from Brazil on Tuesday to tie up his transfer.

Heading out of the door at Tottenham have been Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace in a £35million deal as well as Kota Takai on loan to Borussia Monchengladbach. A number of players out on loan have returned and moved on to new clubs during this January window although they do no affect the squad rules. because they were not already included.

If we can be forgiven for being presumptuous, here's what the completed Gallagher and Souza deals do to Spurs' Premier League and Champions League squad numbers and what room, or not, it leaves them for further transfers and which stars will have to be left out of Thomas Frank's squad.

Premier League

Souza fits nicely into the Premier League rules for Spurs because in that competition a club's Under-21 players do not need to be included on their 25-man squad list yet are eligible to play in the Premier League.

To be considered an Under-21 player for this current Premier League season, players must have been born on or after January 1, 2004. That means the Brazilian can join the likes of fellow January arrival Mason Melia as well as Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert and Mathys Tel on that list.

Importantly it also means that Tottenham still have one spot free in their non-homegrown player list, because they only have 16 rather than the allowed 17. That list also includes Yves Bissouma, who the club would like to move on in this window, as well as Rodrigo Bentancur and Mohammed Kudus who will not be available until April because of their injuries.

England international Gallagher will replace Johnson in the homegrown player list, meaning Tottenham still have seven of the eight required. Technically they could fit in another homegrown signing this month or give the place to a youngster already on the U21s list.

The Premier League rules state that "a 'Home Grown Player' is a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21)."

Kevin Danso qualifies as a homegrown player in Premier League terms because he was in the youth academies at Reading and MK Dons for years before leaving England at the age of 16 and later returning for a season at Southampton.

Here's how the club's Premier League squad looks now:

Premier League non-homegrown players (16 currently, 17 maximum allowed): Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Joao Palhinha, Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison, Pape Matar Sarr, Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, Randal Kolo Muani.

Premier League homegrown players (Seven currently and eight minimum required): Dominic Solanke, Kevin Danso, Brandon Austin, Ben Davies, James Maddison, Conor Gallagher, Djed Spence.

Notable Under-21s players: Souza, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel, Dane Scarlett, Mason Melia.

Champions League

If you've read these before, you'll know that this is the part where all hell breaks loose. Complying with the European squad rules has been a constant nightmare for Spurs and will continue to be for a while longer until the batch of 18-year-old signings eventually become B list players after two years at the club and then club-trained players a further year down the line.

It's all because the major issue in the Champions League, as it was in the Europa League last season, is the difference between UEFA's rules and the Premier League ones.

Let's start with the basics. UEFA's rules state that no club can have more than 25 players on their A-List during the season, of whom at least two must be goalkeepers.

The rules then make it clear that "as a minimum, eight of those 25 places are reserved exclusively for 'locally trained players' and no club may have more than four 'association-trained players' listed among those eight places. If a club have fewer than eight locally-trained players in their squad, then the maximum number of players on List A is reduced accordingly".

So what exactly is a locally-trained player you might ask? Well there are two different types. One is a 'club-trained player', those players who have been on a club's books for three entire seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21. The other is an 'association-trained player', those who were on another club's books in the same association for three entire seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21.

So as an example, while Danso is homegrown in the Premier League, he will not, like Gallagher, fit into that association-trained category in Europe because he left England at the age of 16.

Then another big problematic area for Spurs is the difference in the registering of young players and that will affect Souza.

In Europe, there is a B-List for players born on, or after, January 1, 2004 but they must have been eligible to play for the club for any uninterrupted period of two years since their 15th birthday – or for a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year. Players aged 16 may be submitted if they have been registered with the club for the previous two years without interruption.

So to put it simply, Spurs' Champions League squad is hugely bloated and spilling over in both non-locally trained spots and association trained ones, while having only one club-trained player in goalkeeper Brandon Austin.

As they need to register four in that latter category, Tottenham are required to leave three spots open, meaning what should be a 25-man squad instead shrinks to just a 22-man one.

While Gallagher is a straight swap for Johnson in the association-trained category, Souza replaces Takai in the non-locally trained department. The problem is Spurs have 21 players to fit into 17 non-locally trained spots and six association-trained players for four spots. Any association-trained players over the four allocated spots need to be crowbarred into the main group.

The simplest way to look at it is that with the two new signings and two departures, Spurs still have 27 senior players to fit into just 21 spots, keeping Austin aside.

Mathys Tel replaced the injured Dominic Solanke in the Champions League squad last month but the striker must return to the list immediately when fit, which he is now.

The next opportunity Tottenham will have to make three changes to their squad is ahead of the knockout phase, submitting their list by 11pm on February 5.

So even without further new arrivals and departures, Frank has some tough decisions to make with six players needing to be left out.

Maddison is likely to be kept out again with his ACL injury and decisions will have to be made on Bentancur and Kudus who may not return from injury until the final six weeks or so of the season.

Bissouma could depart from the Lilywhites and will be left out regardless, while Radu Dragusin is fit again after being left out but has been linked with a move back to Serie A. Key man Dejan Kulusevski could return to action next month if all goes well with an injection to stop the pain in his knee is successful. A decision will also have to be made over Tel and the new arrival Souza.

So six of those eight players just named cannot be registered if we're assuming the others all have to be, although there are also question marks about Antonin Kinsky's future. We're not including 18-year-old Mason Melia in our numbers here because we're assuming it's too early in his Spurs career to make it into the Champions League squad and the Irishman cannot be counted on the B list nor club-trained at this point.

With that in mind, here's how it all looks with the Champions League squad before Spurs even look at further new signings:

European non-locally trained players (21 currently, 17 maximum): Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Radu Dragusin, Souza, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Joao Palhinha, Wilson Odobert, Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison, Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall, Mathys Tel, Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, Randal Kolo Muani.

Association trained players (six currently, only four can be used in exclusive slots): Dominic Solanke, Ben Davies, James Maddison, Conor Gallagher, Djed Spence, Archie Gray.

James Maddison was pictured back on the grass and with the ball at his feet on Monday as he continues to recover from the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury he suffered in August

James Maddison has paid tribute to Tottenham teammate Mohammed Kudus and iconic Spurs midfielder Rafael van der Vaart in a training video as he continues to recover from injury.

Maddison, 29, has not featured for Thomas Frank's side since August after rupturing his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) during a pre-season friendly against Newcastle United in South Korea. The England international underwent surgery and has since been working his way back to fitness.

Although the former Leicester man is expected to remain out for several more months as he carries on his rehabilitation, he shared a video of himself with the ball back at his feet on Monday.

While wearing a replica shirt from the 2011/12 season with Van der Vaart's name on the back, Maddison was spotted training in some winter heat, performing a non-contact drill with a mannequin in the background.

Indeed, the midfielder was seen cutting inside and out and then back on to his favoured right foot before reversing an inch-perfect strike into the corner. He then appeared to dedicate the goal to teammate Kudus, who is set for a three-month spell out after sustaining an injury against Sunderland earlier this month.

Maddison ran over to a chair behind the goal before performing Kudus' trademark celebration. In a caption on the post - which was shared on TikTok, Maddison said: "My guy Kudus [chair emoji and white love heart emoji]."

After scoring 12 goals and providing 11 assists in 45 appearances for Tottenham last season, Maddison was hoping to kick on and continue his form into 2025/26 with a World Cup around the corner.

However, Maddison last featured in a competitive game for Spurs now in April and is not expected to return until the back end of this season. Speaking about his recovery from his ACL injury, Maddison said last month: "When I realised, obviously, I was going to be out for the majority of the season, if not the whole season, that kind of crushed that dream of going to the World Cup. It was a tough one to take.

"That's the cons of football and one of the negatives of missing out through injury. It's about dealing with that mentally. And that's partly why there's been some dark days.

"You want to represent your country, you always want to be in a position, especially off the back of a good season last year. Personally, with good numbers, I felt like I was close with Thomas Tuchel coming in.

"The first and foremost thing for me is just to come back safely and be fit. It's such a long injury. There are so many ups and downs that I just want to be in a place, returning and having a smile on my face and being fit for Tottenham Hotspur, whenever that is. It's going to be towards the end of the season, so the World Cup is probably going to be ruled out, if not definitely. So, it's one of them things.

"As I said, I'll take it on the chin and, yeah, it's one of those things that will drive me going forward."

Conor Gallagher is close to a return to the Premier League, with Tottenham agreeing a deal with Atletico Madrid

Tottenham are closing in on the statement signing of Atletico Madrid star Conor Gallagher.

football.london revealed on Sunday that Spurs stepped up their pursuit for the former Chelsea favourite despite strong interest from Premier League rivals Aston Villa.

The north Londoners escalated their search for a new midfielder on Monday after it was confirmed that Rodrigo Bentancur requires hamstring surgery and is set to miss at least three months of action.

Spurs and Atletico are understood to have now agreed a deal worth around €40million (£34.7m), with Villa - who wanted to sign Gallagher on loan with an option to buy - never striking a formal agreement with the Spanish giants.

Gallagher will travel to London early this week to undergo a medical and finalise the transfer. He will sign a long-term contract, with personal terms not expected to be an issue.

football.london understands Atletico preferred to sell the 25-year-old permanently this month rather than a loan with a view or obligation to buy in the summer.

Spurs' willingness to do a straight purchase has played a key role in helping them edge Villa in the race to sign the midfield maestro.

Other clubs are understood to have been interested too, but they were reluctant to fork out on a permanent deal this month or would have preferred a loan with a view to buying the midfielder.

Spurs' apparent success in landing Gallagher will be a big blow for Villa, with Unai Emery short of midfield options due to injuries sustained by Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana and Ross Barkley.

For the north Londoners, it's a huge statement signing as Frank looks to recover from a disastrous winter period, with a run of two wins in 12 Premier League matches leaving them down in 14th in the table.

Ultimately, Spurs have learnt from past mistakes including the messy Eberechi Eze saga in the summer, which saw the playmaker change his mind late on and instead move to fierce north London rivals Arsenal.

This time, though, Spurs have seemingly claimed bragging rights over one of their Premier League rivals and it's a signing that should benefit both parties.

Gallagher has struggled for regular first-team action under Diego Simeone this season, making just four starts in LaLiga, and he is now on the brink of a return to the Premier League.

He will be hoping a fresh start boosts his chances of winning over Thomas Tuchel as he aims to earn a spot in the England squad for the World Cup this summer.

Gallagher enjoyed a hugely successful spell in the English top-flight before his move to Atletico, having announced himself during an impressive loan spell with Crystal Palace in 2021-22. He returned to Stamford Bridge to become a key part in the first-team and captained the Blues before being pushed towards the exit in a £33million move.

He has 136 Premier League appearances to his name, having also had a spell on loan at West Brom before his breakout season at Palace, with 18 goals and 13 assists.

At 25, he still has plenty to offer and will bring a wealth of experience to a squad that needs a big boost.

Frank has endured a tough start to his tenure after arriving from Brentford in the summer, with the FA Cup third-round defeat by Aston Villa piling more pressure on the head coach.

He has won only five of his last 20 matches and lost seven of his last 13 in all competitions - and he will be hoping fresh faces can improve his fortunes.

Spurs are on the brink of completing another signing too, with highly-rated Brazilian left-back Souza closing in on a £13m move from Santos.

It's time to look at what Tottenham need to do in the January transfer window and what has already taken place in the opening weeks

Twelve days have passed of the January transfer window and the Tottenham supporters are waiting for confirmation of moves as injuries hit hard.

Thomas Frank is discovering that unavailability is a theme at Spurs, as it was for his predecessor Ange Postecoglou. This week he found out that Rodrigo Bentancur is out for three months with his hamstring injury and requires surgery, which will bring him back at around the same time as Mohammed Kudus from his serious quad issue.

Frank already had a squad that required improving but now it also needs strengthening due to the lack of numbers, with Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison long-term absentees.

Joint sporting directors Fabio Paratici, who is staying on until the end of the window before departing for Fiorentina, and Johan Lange will be looking to add quality to Frank's squad that works for both the short and long-term.

It's time to take a look at the state of play within the Tottenham squad in terms of outgoings and incomings.

Goalkeepers

This could be a category with more change in the summer as Tottenham decide exactly what the long-term make-up of the goalkeeping department is with Guglielmo Vicario linked with a return to Italy and Inter Milan especially interested.

Antonin Kinsky has been linked with a loan move pretty much since the moment he walked into Spurs from Slavia Prague last year. The 22-year-old was touted as being the one to push Vicario for his spot and Frank ruled out a loan departure for the Czech stopper during the summer window, saying he had a great career ahead of him at Tottenham.

However, Kinsky has played just two Carabao Cup games since that point and with Spurs out of that competition and now the FA Cup, the opportunities for him to play are dependent on Vicario either getting injured or dropping completely out of form. That means Tottenham could allow the young keeper to leave if they get a good enough offer and decide they have cover.

Currently that cover is Brandon Austin and academy stopper Luca Gunter so Spurs would maybe have to bring in experienced cover. If Kinsky was sold rather than loaned out, with West Ham and Besiktas among those believed to be interested in him, then it would have been an indicator that Tottenham believe he has not developed as expected.

Full-backs

Spurs are set to add Souza to their full-back options with the Santos left-back on his way to north London in a £13million deal this week.

That should give Spurs a full-complement of balanced full-backs with the Brazilian 19-year-old left footer competing with Destiny Udogie on that flank, along with the veteran Ben Davies, who has impressed in recent performances despite his contract coming to an end this summer.

Djed Spence has been utilised on the left but with Souza's arrival will be able to concentrate mostly on competing with Pedro Porro on his more natural right-hand side. There is also Archie Gray who can fill in other side but will be required in his natural role as a midfielder this season.

Centre-backs

Tottenham exiting all the cup competitions may free up Radu Dragusin to depart and get first team football and potentially a move for the future but Frank will have to think carefully about such a move and there will be concern over his options if injuries bite.

The Romanian has made his comeback after 11 months out with his ACL injury but opportunities are currently limited with Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven and Kevin Danso all ahead of him in the pecking order. Dragusin is yet to get his chance under Frank but there is interest in his services from clubs in Italy, with Roma one of the more persistent.

Spurs are understood to have rejected a loan approach from the Serie A side ahead of the weekend's defeat to Aston Villa. Whether that stance changes after that result remains to be seen with Dragusin's talkative agent Florin Manea telling Italian media without a hint of irony: "The decisive days will be between today and tomorrow. I’d like to avoid talking, but we hope to reach a conclusion in the negotiations with Roma."

The other issue for Dragusin is that there is currently no space for him in the Champions League squad so matches are going to be hard to come by if injuries do not occur, although this is Tottenham we're talking about.

football.london reported before the window opened that Spurs were considering bringing in a new centre-back if one left. Kota Takai has already departed for Borussia Monchengladbach and if Dragusin were to depart, with reports of interest from a few clubs in a loan with an option to buy, the Frank would have to decide if it's enough cover to have three natural centre-backs with Davies and Gray able to step in.

There are also the players for the future in Luka Vuskovic and academy prospects such as Jun'ai Byfield and Malachi Hardy. Vuskovic, 18, has starred in the Bundesliga with Hamburg and is working with personal trainers on the one aspect of his game that needs improving for the Premier League, his acceleration and anticipation in dealing with faster attackers.

Alfie Dorrington has been recalled from his loan at Aberdeen with clubs in both the Championship and League One looking at the big academy defender. James Rowswell has been included on the first bench three times this season and the 19-year-old could be due a loan move in this or coming windows.

Midfielders

football.london reported before the window opened that Spurs were looking for a new midfielder for Frank but that has now become a priority in the wake of the Bentancur news. Lucas Bergvall is also out with what looked to be a recurrence of a muscle injury although the Tottenham boss did not speak about the teenager in the same serious way he did about Bentancur.

Step forward Conor Gallagher. The Lilywhites have been long-time admirers of the Atletico Madrid midfielder and Postecoglou was desperate to bring him to N17 for his ability and energy in the midfield as well as his leadership.

Now for his successor Frank, after football.london reported on Sunday that Spurs had entered the race, they finally look like seeing off competition from Aston Villa to seal a £34.7million deal with the 25-year-old England international said to be keen on the switch back to London.

Gallagher, who has 22 caps for England, will being plenty of experience to Frank's midfield, having played for three different Premier League clubs in Chelsea, Crystal Palace and West Bromwich Albion. He captained Chelsea on numerous occasions under Mauricio Pochettino before making the move to Atletico to experience life in La Liga and has 23 Champions League appearances to his name with two goals and one assist in the competition.

The midfielder played regularly under Diego Simeone last season, making 50 appearances and scoring four times. This season has seen starts harder to come by but Gallagher has still made 27 appearances for Atletico with three goals and one assist. He will bring more progressive passing to Frank's midfield along with the leadership required in the centre of the pitch.

He is also a homegrown player for a Tottenham squad that needs more of those to continue to comply with Premier League rules.

Archie Gray and Joao Palhinha are currently Frank's only fit central midfielders. The out of favour and soon-to-be out of contract Yves Bissouma is on his way back from the Africa Cup of Nations after Mali's exit, with a move likely to be sought, while Pape Matar Sarr is still out in Morocco with Senegal.

Maddison is unlikely to return until the season's final weeks, if he does come back from his ACL injury before this campaign's end.

West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta, who can play in midfield or on the wing, has been the subject of interest from Tottenham and was long before this season. However, the 28-year-old appears to have set his heart on returning to Brazil and his former side Flamengo this month.

In terms of academy prospects, George Abbott has been recalled from his loan at Wycombe Wanderers after returning from a serious quad injury. Spurs are monitoring his fitness ahead of deciding what comes next for the 20-year-old.

Alfie Devine is loving life at Preston North End on his season-long loan with the Championship side holding an option to sign the midfielder permanently if they want to. However, with his rapid development there, football.london understands that there has been interest from clubs in both the Premier League and other Championship in taking the 21-year-old from Spurs permanently and on loan.

Tyrese Hall is also impressing at Notts County and the current plan appears to be for him to remain there unless an offer that's too tempting to turn down comes in. Callum Olusesi has been impressing for the U21s and named on Frank's bench five times with a loan move likely for the 18-year-old at some point in 2026.

Attackers

Tottenham went into the window looking for a left winger and now after selling Brennan Johnson to Crystal Palace days before losing Kudus until April, they also find themselves short on the right wing.

That makes it difficult for Mathys Tel to head off on a loan he probably needs because right now the Frenchman is likely to play a fair amount of football in the weeks ahead.

Dominic Solanke's return means the England international is likely to come back into his Champions League spot in the squad as per the rules. Gallagher will likely take up Johnson's association-trained spot if Spurs make it through to the knockout stages which means no space for Tel unless another comes out.

Wilson Odobert filled in on the right in the absence of Kudus and while Frank was keen on a new left winger walking through the door, a player who can play on either side would be ideal.

Kulusevski, when he eventually returns from a patella injury that is rare in football according to Frank, will be such a key player because he can fill the role on the right and also provide another central playmaker alongside Xavi Simons.

The issue for Tottenham is that many of the most exciting talents they would love to bring in are wanted by all the top teams, or in Savinho's case are injured.

Nineteen-year-old Yan Diomande, who was at the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast, is of course a player of interest with 11 goal involvements in 16 matches in his first season for RB Leipzig.

It would take a remarkable move to bring in the teenager with Diomande wanted by the world's biggest clubs. He admitted in a TikTok live stream: "I want to play at Anfield, I want to play for Liverpool. I’m a big fan of Liverpool. I’m a big fan of Liverpool because my father’s dream is to see me play at Anfield. So that’s my dream. You know, to fulfil my father’s dream is a dream for me too."

Spurs have held a long-time interest in Monaco's Maghnes Akliouche and had to watch the 23-year-old, who mainly plays on the right, rip them apart in the Champions League earlier this season. football.london understands the French club are looking at players in his position in case he does depart anywhere this month or in the summer.

The Lilywhites are also among the long, long line of clubs interested in Juventus' Kenan Yildiz but who isn't? The Italian media also believe the 20-year-old is set to sign a new contract in Turin. Tottenham are also one of the many in the European game keeping an eye on Porto's Spanish striker Samu Aghehowa, with the 21-year-old hitting 19 goals in 25 matches this season.

Solanke's return, although he will take time to get sharp, comes just as Richarlison looks to have succumbed to a hamstring injury. Randal Kolo Muani is versatile but is yet to do much to suggest his loan move from PSG should be turned into a permanent move.

In the academy, football.london understands that Spurs have knocked back a couple of bids so far this month for Will Lankshear as they are happy with him this season as he has taken a big leap in his development at Oxford United, where he has now been joined by Jamie Donley. United have an option to buy Donley worth between £4.5million and £5million, although it is deemed unlikely at this point that the relegation-battlers will be able to pay out for that.

Mikey Moore is now loving his loan at Rangers and is keen to remain there for the entire season. Dane Scarlett has interested suitors for a loan move, with League One sides among those considering him. The 21-year-old is nearing that point where a move away from Tottenham could be on the cards as he struggles to break through and he could potentially follow in the footsteps of Troy Parrott in developing abroad.

Damola Ajayi has returned from his spell at Doncaster Rovers with a new loan being sought, while Oliver Irow has departed on his first loan spell at League One side Mansfield Town.

U21s goal-laden starlets Luca Williams-Barnett and Tynan Thompson, both 17, are trying to catch Frank's attention in training in the hope of getting first team minutes, with the former having made his debut in the Carabao Cup against Ajayi's Doncaster side.

football.london understands that Tottenham are making sure a minor back issue for January arrival Mason Melia is completely gone before the highly-rated young striker gets to work. The 18-year-old is one of the biggest young talents in Irish football and Tottenham saw off competition from top clubs across the Premier League and Europe to land the striker's signature.

Melia has already played 98 senior matches, including Europa League games, despite his age and been directly involved in 33 goals, scoring 25 and recording eight assists. He has a very minor back complaint, which he played with during his final months at St Patrick's Athletic, and that is being dealt with to ensure he can hit the ground running at 100 per cent with the club.

Frank is then expected to decide whether the teenager will be involved in first team training to help his development or if the Republic of Ireland U21 international will head out on loan during this January transfer window to begin his senior experience in the English game.

Tottenham are closing in on the permanent signing of Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid, according to David Ornstein. It has been claimed that the two clubs are nearing an agreement in the region of £34.7million (€40m) with the player keen on a move to north London.

Spurs joined Aston Villa in the race for his signature following the serious injury to Rodrigo Bentancur, as reported by football.london.

The midfielder is set to be sidelined for the next few months with a hamstring injury which has resulted in the Lilywhites moving into the market in search of a new central midfielder and it certainly appears as though they have found their short-term replacement.

The England international left Chelsea in the summer of 2024, but now looks set for a return to the Premier League following a mixed 18 months in Spain.

Villa were leading the race for Gallagher having lost Boubacar Kamara to injury just minutes into their FA Cup win over Spurs at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this past weekend.

However, Spurs have been pushing for a permanent deal which was also the preference of Diego Simeone's side.

Spurs were interested in signing the 25-year-old when he was made available for transfer by the Blues but he opted for a move to Atletico.

The expected arrival of Gallagher could hint that the buy-option in Joao Palhinha's loan switch from Bayern Munich will not be activated with Bentancur having also signed a new contract recently.

It has not been an easy last few weeks for Thomas Frank with Mohammed Kudus picking up a long-term injury to join Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison as influential attackers absent. Richarlison was also forced off with a muscular issue on Saturday evening.

The departure of Fabio Paratici at the end of this month further clouds matters for the club with the Italian having only recently officially returned.

The Spurs boss was asked about transfers after the recent loss to Unai Emery's side and provided a clear response.

He said: "I think we definitely need to do everything we can to play two good halves, which is, I think every team wants to do that. Every team wants to be consistent in that aspect.

"In terms of transfer market, as I said many times, we are out there working very hard, trying to improve the squad."

Spurs currently sit fourteenth in the Premier League table and are now out of both domestic cup competitions. They occupy eleventh in the Champions League standings are likely to have a play-off to reach the proper knockout stages.

Ruben Amorim is out of work since leaving Manchester United and has been tipped to replace Thomas Frank at Tottenham Hotspur

Former Premier League star Sol Campbell has tipped former Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim to take charge at Tottenham Hotspur as his next job. Amorim is now out of work having been sacked by the Red Devils last week, with Darren Fletcher since being installed as interim boss until a replacement is appointed.

Thomas Frank was appointed as Tottenham boss last summer following Ange Postecoglou’s departure.

Frank has been under increasing pressure since his switch to North London following his stint at Brentford, most recently overseeing a 2-1 home defeat to Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup.

Tottenham are also in 14th place in the Premier League table and are without a win in their last three top-flight matches.

As reported by football.london, Frank is currently fighting to save his job at Tottenham, although the Spurs boss does still have the backing from the club hierarchy.

Despite this, former Spurs and Arsenal defender Campbell believes that Amorim would be a wise choice for Tottenham to replace Frank, should they decide to make a change of manager.

“Ruben Amorim [would be the ideal manager for Tottenham]. They’ll be looking at him,” Campbell told Sky Bet.

“They’re probably talking to him now; it wouldn’t surprise me. I don’t think he’ll go back to Portugal.

"Tottenham will be talking to him to see if there’s any situation going on – there’ll be people talking behind the scenes.

“Thomas Frank is a top manager, but he’s not at Brentford anymore – it’s a different animal. Tottenham is a big club and people are demanding.

"They want success and they want to keep moving forward in a successful way. So, I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re talking to other managers.

“Obviously, if he starts turning it around and winning games and having good performances, that helps. Sometimes you don’t need to win, but if you can have good performances and show you’re moving in the right direction, that can help.

“But they will be talking to other managers. It’s part and parcel until you show who you are and start winning on a regular basis.”