Football London

No player at Manchester United is safe. that much is clear with the news that Bruno Fernandes could be set to make a shock exit this summer.

The Portuguese has been Manchester United's best player in a dismal season and is often the go-to guy at Old Trafford. When everyone else around him is struggling, he normally steps up to the plate.

And ahead of a summer which could see huge upheaval at Manchester United, with Harry Maguire admitting "a lot of players will leave", Fernandes was one of the stars many would have expected to stay.

However, reports suggest that Saudi Arabian Club Al-Hilal have made a move to sign the midfielder and that the player is seriously considering a transfer away from Old Trafford, while United are open to selling at the right price.

Fernandes joined United in the January transfer window in 2020, completing a deal worth up to £67.6million. But he could have ended up at Tottenham Hotspur prior to that United move.

Spurs had identified Fernandes as a potential signing in the summer of 2019 and came close to securing a deal, with interest still there in January 2020 when United eventually sealed the deal.

So what happened?

As football.london reported back then, the club's hierarchy saw Fernandes and Giovani Lo Celso as both being replacements for the outgoing Christian Eriksen.

Lo Celso came in, initially on a season-long loan deal, although that was made permanent in January, with Eriksen not leaving until the closing days of the January transfer window in the end. And the fact that Eriksen did not leave in the summer could have stopped Spurs from going all out for Fernandes.

Fernandes admitted a deal had been agreed with Spurs, saying: "In the summer I thought I could go out. I believed it was a good time to leave due to many factors. I made the best time of my career to date.

"After the UEFA Nations League there were already many contacts, especially with Tottenham. It was the team that wanted me the most and was the only one I agreed to talk with, because there were other clubs that didn't interest me or whose project was not up to my expectations.

"Tottenham fit into everything I wish I had at that moment. It is an appealing championship. Knowing that Tottenham would be willing to pay for me and make every possible effort to take me, leaves a player eager to take that step."

However, the deal appears to have broken down due to the add-ons Daniel Levy wanted to insert into the deal to sign him.

Speaking to the club's official website, Sporting CP president Frederico Varandas said: "It was 'impossible' to retain Bruno Fernandes, but we did it. We prepared for his sale by putting a fair price on his worth, and we had bids, but only a Tottenham one that was €45million (£37.8million) plus €20million (£16.8million) in objectives - winning the English League and the Champions League.

"Finding these goals difficult, I understood not to accept.

"The day I turned down the Tottenham proposal, I came to the academy and talked to him, told him why I declined and why he would stay here until the end of the market and he understood perfectly."

It seems he was right, given Spurs have not won the Premier League or the Champions League in the time since Fernandes' missed transfer. Spurs did, however, win the Europa League, beating Fernandes' Man Utd in the final last week.

Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Yves Bissouma is one of the nominees for the Premier League's Oracle's Most Powerful Goal award.

The award is given out in recognition of the goal that carried the fastest average speed from being struck, to crossing the goalline and Bissouma's maiden strike for the north London club has made it into the final shortlist of 10 goals up for the honour. The midfielder's strike came in Spurs' first home game of the campaign.

It arrived just 14 minutes into the 4-0 win over Everton in August as Dejan Kulusevski cut the ball back to the edge of the area where Bissouma smashed the ball in off the crossbar to open the scoring for Ange Postecoglou's men.

The winner of the award will be announced on Saturday and Bissouma faces competition from these other players: Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson (vs Southampton, 19 January), Aston Villa's Ross Barkley (vs Leicester, 4 January), Wolves' Matheus Cunha (vs Aston Villa, 21 September), Manchester City's Jeremy Doku (vs Fulham, 5 October), Newcastle United's Alexander Isak (vs Liverpool, 4 December), AFC Bournemouth's Justin Kluivert (vs Nott'm Forest, 25 January), Chelsea's Pedro Neto (vs Arsenal, 10 November), Arsenal's Declan Rice (vs Newcastle, 18 May) and AFC Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo (vs Leicester, 25 May).

Bissouma's Spurs team-mate, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, has been shortlisted for the Premier League's Save of the Season award. The Italian won the April edition of the monthly award for his terrific one-handed stop to deny Chelsea's Jadon Sancho in our April trip to Stamford Bridge, the goalkeeper has now been nominated for the seasonal title.

Tottenham Hotspur have won a trophy for the first time in 17 years and you would think everything would be rosy in the garden in N17.

But that Europa League title win does not tell anywhere close to the whole story. Spurs finished just one place above the Premier League relegation zone in the 2024/25 season after a horrendous domestic campaign beset by injury problems.

There was pressure on head coach Ange Postecoglou's shoulders for most of the season, with questions over whether he would last the season in the Tottenham hotseat asked almost daily in the second half of the campaign.

It felt like everything was resting on the club's fate in the Europa League final. But, here we are, more than a week after that incredible night in Bilbao and closing in on a week after the Premier League season ended and we do not know what the future holds for Postecoglou or Spurs.

Postecoglou delivered on his promise to win a trophy in his second season at the club. He delivered the trophy the supporters have been craving for years and with it the Champions League football chairman Daniel Levy demanded.

But there is no getting away from the fact that in the Premier League, Spurs fell woefully short. And that is why we are still asking questions about the Australian's future in north London.

Postecoglou went on holiday straight after the season ended, meaning we are no closer to finding out whether he will be sacked or if he will remain in the post. There is unlikely to be any news this week, football.london understands .

And that, in itself, is a crazy situation in which to find ourselves.

Manchester United endured a similarly dismal season, made worse by losing in that Europa League final to Spurs, but as far as we know, we are not waiting on an announcement to come as to whether Ruben Amorim will remain as the Red Devils head coach.

West Ham finished 14th, yet there is no confusion over whether or not Graham Potter will remain in his job. Ruud van Nistelrooy looks set to be sacked by Leicester, following their relegation to the Championship, but at least he and we know where we stand with that.

Spurs, and Postecoglou in particular, are in limbo.

It is a crazy situation whereby everyone is waiting with bated breath to find out if Postecoglou will stay or if he will go. But what if the club just decided to do nothing - and say nothing?

It is not beyond the realms of possibility for that to happen. There may well not be a decision, nor a statement, to make. Postecoglou still has two years left to run on his current contract and we could all be sitting here, waiting for news to drop that never comes.

The rapid ascent of Lucas Bergvall in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt means the Premier League club are going to have to pay out more quickly for his transfer than expected.

Spurs signed the then 18-year-old for £8.5million from Djurgarden, seeing off Barcelona with a deal in February that brought him to north London in the summer. Bergvall took a few months to settle into the rhythm of the Premier League but once he found it he became a key player in the side.

The injuries at the club ensured he got plenty of game time and in all made 45 appearances under Ange Postecoglou with 2,334 minutes to his name, with one goal against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg as well as four assists across all competitions.

Bergvall suffered an ankle injury on the eve of the Europa League semi-final first leg against Bodo/Glimt which ended his season, but the teenager had more than played his part in that competition before Spurs went on to lift the trophy. The 19-year-old also swept the Tottenham supporters' awards for player and young player of the season and earned a bumper new contract until 2031 with the north London club.

Now Djurgarden sporting director Bosse Andersson has confirmed to Swedish media outlet Fotbollskanalen that Bergvall's remarkable season has resulted in him activating all of the options in his transfer to Tottenham already, meaning the Allsvenskan club get the full windfall from his sale straight away.

"I can confirm that all the bonus parts that are included have clicked in," he said. "Lucas has had such a breakthrough both in the Premier League and in Europe and has been involved in so many games. We can see that what we thought would take several years has happened very quickly."

Andersson believes it is the most expensive sale of a player from the Allsvenskan but when it was put to him about reports that it might cost £17million in all, he said: "I think you're mixing apples and oranges there, but there's no question that it's an extremely large transfer, thanks to the bonus part."

Bergvall's boyhood club Brommapojkarna will also get a slice of the transfer fee, having developed the youngster before his move to Djurgarden about 18 months ahead of the switch to Spurs.

"Djurgarden and BP have had a very nice and successful project together and I am incredibly grateful to BP and the Bergvall family for the trust we received from them," said Andersson.

"We are extremely proud of Lucas, a player who is unique and loves to take his place. He has put himself on the map with all the impressions he has made in the Premier League. It is both a sporting legend and at the same time a purely financial legend for all parties. We are happy to share the pie with BP. They get a very nice cake too."

An update has emerged about Eberechi Eze's future at Crystal Palace amid continued rumours of a potential summer transfer.

Eze played a key role in helping Palace win the FA Cup this season, scoring the winning goal in the final at Wembley Stadium in the 1-0 victory against Manchester City.

The England international's future has been the subject of intense speculation for the last couple of years, with a host of clubs apparently interested in his signature.

Tottenham Hotspur have been mentioned as potential suitors for Eze, particularly after the club qualified for the Champions League with their victory in the Europa League final.

Manchester United and Manchester City have also been linked with Eze in the past, now a fresh update about the playmaker's future.

The Mirror have reported that Bayern Munich have now joined the race to sign Eze. Crucially, the report goes on to reveal the that the Palace star will have a release clause in his contract which will come into effect this summer.

The clause is reported to be worth a total of £68million, which includes £8million worth of add-ons.

The clause will reportedly expire two weeks before the summer transfer window closes, with deadline day pencilled in for September 1.

It remains to be seen what the future will hold for Eze, with the Palace star looking ahead to featuring for England under new manager Thomas Tuchel.

Eze was named in the Three Lions squad which will face Andorra in a World Cup qualifier and Senegal in an international friendly, with both matches taking place next month.

You wait 17 years for an open-topped bus in Tottenham and then potentially three come at once with spin-off matches from the Europa League triumph.

Ange Postecoglou led his Spurs players to their first European trophy in 41 years as they beat Manchester United in Bilbao. That achievement not only unlocked Champions League qualification for next season for the north London side but it also handed them a spot in the UEFA Super Cup in Udine in August where Tottenham will take on either PSG or Inter after those two teams meet to decide this weekend's Champions League final.

There was previously another potential cup to be won in the past with the UEFA-CONMEBOL Club Challenge in the fixture calendar. The competition was launched in 2023 for the Europa League and Sudamericana winners to play each other as part of a renewed partnership between UEFA and CONMEBOL.

The game that year saw Sevilla triumph against Ecuador's Independiente del Valle on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán in Seville on July 19.

The event was a successor to the Supercopa Euroamericana, which ran in 2015 and 2016, with Sevilla losing to River Plate and then beating Santa Fe the next year in matches that were technically classified as friendlies. The annual game was cancelled the following year though following the crash that killed most of the Chapecoense squad on their way to the first leg of the 2016 Copa Sudamericana finals.

The current Sudamericana champions are Argentinean side Racing Club, who ended their own 36-year wait for a continental trophy, and reports in that country suggest their club president Diego Milito, the former Inter striker, has opened talks over reviving the UEFA-CONMEBOL Club Challenge to take on Tottenham, with a game in Argentina or the United States mooted.

The main problem, and why such a fixture is believed to be unlikely at this point according to those within UEFA, is finding the time in the packed calendar - with new expanded UEFA competitions - and that is the reason why the UEFA-CONMEBOL Club Challenge did not take place last year because there was no room for a game between Atalanta and Ecuador's Liga de Quito.

All eyes are on whether Racing can get anywhere with their proposals for a game against Tottenham but time and the schedule does not appear to be on their side.

Tottenham coach Sergio Raimundo did not hang around after the Europa League triumph as he had to be back in the classroom the very next day after landing.

The 40-year-old assistant coach joined Spurs last summer alongside Nick Montgomery, with the duo having worked together at both Hibernian in Scotland and Central Coast Mariners in Australia. Both men played their part in Tottenham's European triumph - the club's first in 41 years - to help Ange Postecoglou's side lift the trophy.

However, there was to be no resting on his laurels for Raimundo as the Portuguese had to get home and jump straight on a flight to Ireland to continue his UEFA Pro Diploma course studies with the Irish FA at a session where Northern Ireland boss Michael O'Neill was speaking.

Raimundo, who speaks six different languages, missed the club's parade of the Europa League trophy through the streets of N17 in front of an estimated 220,000 fans because of his commitment to the course.

In a video from the session, the manager of Northern Irish Premiership team Crusaders, Declan Caddell, spoke of his surprise at seeing Raimundo at the event when "in his shoes I wouldn't be here, I'd still be celebrating but that's the calibre of coaches on this course".

Raimundo himself said: "The coaching course changed my life. I started here even before the C lessons, with the youth lessons. At the time Portugal wasn't doing any courses for three years. I've met a lot of great people on the course, one of them was Nick Montgomery. He took me to Australian in 2019 and since then we've been working together.

"We have a journey together in Australia where we were champions together of the U20s, the reserve league and then the A League. We went together at Hibs and now find ourselves together at Tottenham as well.

"It's been a fantastic experience, learning and listening from the best in the business [on this course]. [O'Neill] spoke to us a bit about the challenges of coaching and the staff roles and how to overcome some struggles, because you have positive moments in our jobs but you also have moments where you struggle and you have to overcome them. He gave us some tips to navigate through those times."

Raimundo and Tottenham certainly managed to navigate through the struggles of this season to create a piece of history in north London.

The Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust have called upon the club to make "more robust investment in transfers and wages to fully support the manager and compete on all fronts" as well as senior figures being more visible to fans.

Spurs ended their season on a high with Ange Postecoglou leading the club to its first trophy in 17 years as the team won the Europa League in Bilbao by beating Manchester United. Two days later came an open-top bus parade to show off Tottenham's first piece of European silverware in 41 years and an estimated 220,000 people turned out on the streets of N17 to celebrate.

While the north London outfit also reached the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, they struggled in the Premier League through a combination of an injury crisis midway through the campaign, a number of poor performances and then Postecoglou prioritising the Europa League in the final months of the season. The team finished 17th and also went out in the fourth round of the FA Cup.

Now the supporters' trust have released their end of season statement which includes what went well within the club in their dealings with the fans and what they would like to see improve.

On what went well, the trust statement mentioned three key areas. The first was consultation and pricing, which included regular consultation with the Trust leading to a freeze on season and matchday ticket prices, reversing the ban on new senior concession season tickets - with some limitations - and reinstating the popular auto cup renewal scheme after overwhelming fan feedback.

Then there was governance and values, with the club agreeing to the 'Five Principles for Owners' to "protect the unique relationship between the club and its fans" as well as introducing a touching memorial video to "honour deceased members of the Spurs Family".

The final section of what went well was ticket integrity as the trust pointed out that the club targeted misuse of resale sites for key games (e.g. Manchester Utd and Liverpool) by enforcing ticket ownership rules and there was reduced pricing for most home Europa League and Carabao Cup games following Trust input.

The trust also praised the club's collaborations around the Europa League final, including the ticket pricing, TIFOs, giving the fans special scarves and flags in the latter rounds, the FanZone in Bilbao, the stadium screening of the final, it's media content of the event and the parade on Friday, including adjusting the timing to enable broader participation.

When it came to items for improvement there were seven different areas stated for next season.

The first was squad investment with "more robust investment in transfers and wages needed to fully support the manager and compete on all fronts" and when it comes to chairman Daniel Levy and the club hierarchy, greater leadership communication, with the statement making it clear that "the manager should not be the sole club spokesperson - greater visibility and support from senior figures are essential".

When it comes to affordability and fairness, the trust wants the club to recognise the financial burden on fans, especially those who travel extensively, ensure fair distribution of away tickets and proper use of the loyalty point system and implement rolling QR codes to prevent away fans in home areas.

There is also the area of concessions with the trust wanting Spurs to restore concessions for all cup games, allow concession ticket purchases via Ticket Exchange for children, young adults, and seniors and expand senior concession season tickets to all eligible fans. The trust also wants the club to reverse or mitigate the limitation restricting Ticket Share to members only.

While the trophy parade itself was praised, the statement urged that the club "address reports of crowding and safety concerns during the victory parade".

Finally with the lap of appreciation after the final game of the season, the trust would like Spurs to "allocate sufficient time and space for fans in all stands to be properly acknowledged before players’ families join".

In signing off, the trust said: "We promise to continue as a critical friend, ensuring fans remain central to all club decisions, because as we all know—football, without fans, is nothing."

Premier League clubs will now be making plans for the 2025/26 season following the conclusion of the current campaign. It proved to be a memorable one for Tottenham in regards to Europe as they ended their silverware drought by winning the Europa League trophy at San Mames Stadium in Bilbao.

In the league, however, Spurs finished 17th and there is plenty of work to be done as they look to make big improvements domestically from August onwards. Sunday marks the start of June and the opening of a mini transfer window due to the upcoming 2025 Club World Cup.

All Premier League and EFL clubs will be able to conclude transfer business up until Tuesday, June 10, with the window then reopening on Monday, June 16 until Monday, September 1. The beginning of June does mean that a handful of Tottenham players will enter the final month of their contract.

As things stand right now, six players will be free to leave on July 1 unless there is a change between now and then. Here we take a look at the six decisions Tottenham need to make before the end of June:

Ben Davies

Ben Davies' current contract expires at the end of June and question marks surround whether he will be a Tottenham player or not next season. Back in November, football.london reported that Spurs had decided to take up a one-year extension option on the Welshman's contract, keeping him in N17 for the 2025/26 campaign.

However, the lack of official confirmation from the club regarding Davies' future has left things up in the air. If his contract remains the same then he will be a free agent come July 1.

Sergio Reguilon

Sergio Reguilon will have the opportunity to get his career back on track in the summer as his Tottenham deal comes to an end. The Spaniard was not in Ange Postecoglou's thinking this season but he still made six appearances in all competitions and came away with a Europa League winners' medal.

It's a fairly simple decision when it comes to Reguilon's future.

Fraser Forster

The time is also right for Tottenham and Fraser Forster to go their separate ways. The shot-stopper has served Spurs so well over the past three seasons but he is now 37 years of age and Tottenham are planning for the future.

Antonin Kinsky jumped ahead of him in the pecking order following his January transfer and Brandon Austin also leapfrogged the veteran goalkeeper in what remained of the season.

Alfie Whiteman

Alfie Whiteman is at the age where he really needs to be playing regular first-team football after only making one senior Tottenham appearance. The academy graduate has a real lack of experience to his name due to a lack of time on loan and that needs addressing.

It looks a fairly straightforward decision for Whiteman if he wants to play week in, week out rather than watching from the stands.

Mathys Tel

Mathys Tel's Tottenham loan deal expires at the end of June and Bayern Munich would no doubt prefer a quick decision when it comes to their player. As part of the loan agreement between the sides, Tottenham can sign the highly-rated attacker permanently for £45.7million with a six-year contract already agreed.

A decision on Tel's Tottenham future may well rest on what comes next for Postecoglou amid so much uncertainty surrounding his position right now. Ahead of Tottenham's final game of the season against Brighton & Hove Albion, football.london asked the head coach if he wants to sign the versatile attacker on a permanent basis.

"I guess they're the kind of discussions that we start to need to have," said the Australian in his pre-match press conference. "But again, without myself gate-crashing meetings, I need to be invited to them, but we'll assess all those things. Matty's done really well for us. We put him in a real difficult position in that as a young player who hadn't played a lot, probably wasn't fit enough, we just threw him straight in but he's handled it really well.

"I think he's been a real important contributor for us and he'll definitely play tomorrow at some point whether he starts or come off the bench. I'm sure those decisions we'll kind of look into post-season."

Timo Werner

Timo Werner is another loan player who will soon see his time at Tottenham come to an end. The former Chelsea man did make an impact in his time with the club during the second half of the 2023/24 season but the same cannot be said about this term.

It's a straightforward decision for Tottenham and it will ultimately see Werner return to parent club RB Leipzig.

Tottenham will be keen to confirm some huge transfer decisions early into the summer window with the (initial) trading period closing after just 10 days because of the Club World Cup.

With Champions League qualification for next season secured, Spurs are in need of a blockbuster summer to add needed depth in order to compete in several competitions. Other than the addition of a No.6, there is no obvious positions that desperately must be strengthened.

Finances picked up, and allure of Champions League football, should make the club target an elite-level attacking signing, however. Potential exits could also impact recruitment with Destiny Udogie and Cristian Romero linked to Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, respectively.

With that said, football.london has taken a closer look at three deals that Spurs can complete from the moment the summer transfer window opens;

Mathys Tel

Regardless of what Tottenham's summer plans end up being, a decision must first be made on Mathys Tel. Having joined on loan from Bayern Munich in January, Spurs must choose whether to either activate their £45million buy-option in that deal or turn that down and send him back to Germany.

With the upcoming trading period about to open, Spurs could hypothetically sign him as soon as they are able to do so.

Given what he has shown during these last four months, the Frenchman has not quite justified that amount being spent on acquiring his services on a permanent basis. If Spurs can negotiate a lower fee, it is a deal worth pursuing with it clear the 20-year-old has bags of potential.

Leroy Sane

Another winger on the books at Bayern is also of interest to Tottenham with Leroy Sane - potentially - set for a move when his current contract expires on June 30.

As has been evidenced by Jorginho joining Flamengo before his Arsenal deal expires, plus Real Madrid's desire to get Trent Alexander-Arnold out of his Liverpool contract so he can play in the Club World Cup, there is a way that Spurs can snap-up Sane before the end of next month.

Bayern being in the tournament over in the United States could also make them keen to part ways if Sane turns down any further contract offers.

Kevin Danso

Tel's situation is somewhat similar to the one involving fellow January arrival, Kevin Danso, however the £20.9m (€25m) clause included in that loan move must be activated at the end of the season.

That is because Spurs agreed to sign him permanently from Lens with an obligation-to-buy placed in that move to ensure it is completed.

The Austria international has impressed during his appearances thus far for Tottenham and, therefore, it is unlikely they will have any issue paying that fee for a more than capable centre-back.