Football London

Tottenham need to strengthen Thomas Frank's squad in the remaining nine days of the summer transfer window even after their superb 2-0 win against Manchester City.

Goals from Brennan Johnson and Joao Palhinha saw Spurs pick up all three points for the second consecutive season at Etihad Stadium.

Mohammed Kudus is thus far the only permanent marquee arrival into north London with failed moves for Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze resulting in time being spent on players that did not end up joining the club.

Given James Maddison's long-term knee injury and the fact Dejan Kulusevski is expected to be out for another few months, the Lilywhites are in desperate need of a new No.10. Pape Sarr has done an exceptional job in a more advanced midfield role, supported by creativity from deep by Pedro Porro but a more permanent fix is needed.

Links to Maghnes Akliouche, Nico Paz and Morgan Rogers have surfaced in recent days but it does not appear as though active talks for any of those are ongoing. The same cannot be said for Manchester City's Savinho though, with direct contacts having been made and bids submitted.

City have rejected those advances thus far with his move to Spurs being stopped, however things could change swiftly. Pep Guardiola hinted that developments could take place soon when issuing updates on the respective futures of Savinho and Manuel Akanji.

"I don't know about that," he said at his Friday press conference. "They are our players, and we'll see what happens. I think a few things are going to happen, and we'll see."

Both players were absent from his squad to face Spurs with Thomas Frank's side putting in a superb performance to take themselves top of the table. According to The Times, talks are now likely to accelerate for Savinho following the fixture between the two sides.

City have held firm on their £70 million asking price with Spurs yet to reach it but that could change soon as transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has revealed they are now prepared to increase their bid to beyond £60m to City.

A £65m agreement being reached would see him become their club-record signing with his traits perfect for Frank's team seeing how well Kudus has done since joining.

Even if he does join, Spurs need another attacking signing with Frank making it clear what he wants from any possible addition.

"I think we have a strong squad that I believe a lot in," he told TNT Sport. "We would like to add to it, but only if it can strengthen the squad. The club is working very hard and I trust them."

Eberechi Eze has taken to social media after his move to Arsenal from Crystal Palace was confirmed. The 27-year-old attacking midfielder was heavily linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur before Andrea Berta swooped in and secured his signature.

football.london understands Spurs had agreed terms with Crystal Palace, and Eze was ready to join Thomas Frank's side. The Eagles wanted the England international available for the first leg of their Conference League play-off against Fredrikstad FK on Thursday night, so a deal wasn't wrapped up.

Then, late on Wednesday, Arsenal made a late approach and they quickly agreed terms with the south Londoners. Fortunately for Mikel Arteta, Eze chose to join the Gunners, having grown up as a supporter of the club.

Berta forked out about £68 million for the Crystal Palace talisman, taking Arsenal's total spend for the summer to over £250m. Eze, who underwent a medical on Friday, has signed a long-term contract at the Emirates Stadium.

Eze took to social media to send a message after his move was confirmed. In an emotional goodbye message to Palace, he wrote: "Five years, man. Crazy. It feels like just yesterday I was walking through the doors joining from QPR.

"The day you gave me the chance to realise my dream of playing in the Premier League, For South London’s biggest club. From the start, I had goals set and my targets in place for what I wanted to achieve here at Palace but I had no idea of what these last 5 years would really turn out to be.

"They call us a family club because it’s impossible to truly understand what it’s like to be part of this club unless you’re in it. They’re not wrong. Throughout the challenges of the covid times, from the day I tore my achilles and the long road of recovery to that night at Selhurst against Villa when I came back, up until this very day, the love you have all shown me, the way you have all supported me, and how we’ve stood together no matter what, these are things that will live in my heart forever.

"And thats all before we made history together, lol. Wembley, man. That whole journey. Words aren’t enough to describe what we all experienced that day so I’m not gunna try, but what I will say is that God did something for us that will connect us for generations.

"The most special day of my career because God gave us what no one thought was possible for us! So after all of this, all I really want to say is thank you. Thank you for believing in me, thank you for giving me a chance, and thank you for the love shared that will last a lifetime. Up the Palace. God Bless, Ebz."

Speaking to the club website, Arteta expressed his delight with the move. The Spaniard said: "We are absolutely delighted to bring Eberechi to Arsenal. He is a powerful and exciting player who will give us a new dimension in our attacking game.

"What stands out just as much as his talent and intelligence as a player, is the way he has worked hard throughout his career to get where he is today.

"His journey, his mentality, and his ambition are exactly what we want in our team, and we love how much it means to him and his family to be joining our club. We all look forward to start working with Eberechi soon."

Meanwhile, Berta said: "We are so pleased to have completed this deal to bring Eberechi to Arsenal. Eberechi is a creative and explosive talent with huge technical quality – also a big-game player, with his experience at international level with England also underlining his quality and character.

"There has been excellent teamwork across the club to make this transfer happen and we are very confident Eberechi will be an important addition to our squad as we continue to build for success."

Thomas Frank had plenty to say in his press conference after Tottenham won 2-0 at Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday.

City had most of the first half pressure in the opening half an hour or so but Spurs turned the game on its head on 35 minutes. Pape Matar Sarr headed on a Pedro Porro ball down the right into Richarlison's path and the Brazilian fired the ball across for Brennan Johnson to smash home with James Trafford only able to get a hand to it on its way in. The Wales international was flagged offside but VAR overruled that call on the pitch.

Tottenham's pressing then earned them a second goal before the break. City keeper James Trafford hit a short pass in his box that Sarr intercepted and while the goalkeeper managed to get a hand to the ball at Richarlison's feet, it went sideways for Joao Palhinha to smash home his first goal for the club.

City could not find a way back in the second half and it was the visitors who looked more likely to score with a string of chances for Richarlison, one for Dominic Solanke and two for Wilson Odobert as Spurs took home all three points and a clean sheet.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Frank after the game. Here's a full transcript from the press conference at the Etihad Stadium.

Another clean sheet, another three points, you must be delighted?

Thank you, yeah, very delighted. Extremely proud of the players' performance. I think it was an exceptionally good performance. I think the first 35 minutes, we know a couple of things, we know it's always difficult to play against City. Here at the Etihad it's even more difficult.

The first 35 minutes I thought was fairly even, but with City on top, I think they were more on top than us. There was a big mentality shift in terms of staying in the game and keep doing what we wanted to do, scoring a great goal. Maybe that changed a little bit of momentum, but we definitely stayed on top and went 2-0.

Second half, I think we were very good. The big spell where we could think that they would put pressure on us, I think we were very aggressive in the high pressure, that we were very front-footed, with the mindset to constantly go for the 3-0 goal.

And then, then I must say that the clean sheet makes me very happy. It's a big thing we've been working on, not on clean sheets as that's easier said than done, but on the defensive side of the game, high pressure, middle block, low block, defend the box mentality, blocking shots, everything.

Because if you get clean sheets you're closer to winning a game and also last year we had six clears, so yeah, that's very big for me.

So many good individual performances, but you've got Joao Palhinha in, scoring his first goal for the club, how important is that combination between him and Rodrigo Bentancur?

I think it's fair to say that we got a few questions about the transfer market yesterday, a lot about why not and what if and all that. What is 100% sure we brought two top players into the club, Kudos and Palhinha, both of them have performed very well, which I'm very pleased with, and then Palhinha, yeah, wow, you know, sometimes players need confidence and they need to be on top and I don't think he's fully fit yet, where I want him to be, but very pleased with his performance and he's definitely helping the team.

You were 2-0 up in the Super Cup but held on this time, what were the lessons learned?

I referenced it at half-time. When you’re tired keep going. That was one thing. Two that we had to keep being brave on the ball. Three that we had to keep being good in the high pressure. But also that’s easier said than done. But from every game you learn. From games where you don’t get the result you want, you learn maybe even more. And then I think in some ways of course the other thing was a foul, this was away at the Etihad. One of the most difficult places to go to. But the defensive principles are more and more and then I think the mentality is the key thing. You need mentality to win games like this.

You spoke yesterday about for each match you compile three key themes or principles, what were the three today?

Defensive side of the game, be brave in phase one and two and set pieces.

Did you use the Eze thing as inspiration this week or just not mention it at all?

I think that's very, very easy [to answer]. I never ever use one word about any player that's not at our club.

I think it was Jurgen Klopp who said there's no better playmaker in football than an effective press essentially, what do you make of that statement?

Yeah it was good, he was a clever man. I need to text him and say 'hey, that's awfully clever'. I definitely believe in the aggressive press as you saw today, as you saw with my Brentford team, you know, I believe in the high pressure. I believe in if we can be front footed. I like that mentality. I think it's offensive, you know, it's a more offensive way of defending and then it's more fun to defend in the opponent's half, and of course today I think we were very successful also to score a goal from it.

With Sarr in that position does he bring that effective pressing in that central role?

Yeah, definitely and you say there's a few things. It depends from game to game, players in different positions, systems, but today he was very good like the rest of the team. I think it was difficult to pick one player today. I think everyone performed fantastically.

For the first goal, you managed to beat the Man City offside trap, and it seemed to cause a lot of uncertainty, putting the ball over the top, is that something that you pinpointed to exploit?

Yeah we talked about the high line, and one thing is to talk about it and try to train it. It's never that easy. So to be fair, I think we ran into offside six times before that. So of course the goal looks very successful and that's what we look at. Well there's a few times where we didn't do it well enough, but yes, of course, we tried to do it.

You were here a couple of years ago with an outstanding performance from your Brentford team, was this performance even better given that you've only just started to put your fingerprint on this Spurs side?

I think it's two different teams, two different contexts, but I think that both performances were top and both performances, when I look back at them, I'll be very proud of.

You said you had quite a lot of questions about the transfer market in the build-up to this game, but is this performance a timely reminder that the success of a season, the success of a team is not just about what you can do in a transfer market and the players you can bring in?

Yeah, I think it's extremely important that, a couple of things that we understand we have a good group of players, a talented group players, a group of good quality players that I'm very pleased with. So that's why we brought in two good players to help. Can we improve it? Perfect. If we can't, you know, then we have very good players and we just showed that today, so yeah, very happy with that.

Tottenham won 2-0 at Manchester City in the Premier League's Saturday lunchtime game and here are our Spurs player ratings.

Spurs boss Thomas Frank stuck with the 4-2-3-1 he used in the 3-0 opening weekend win against Burnley, albeit with some personnel changes in the centre of the pitch. Without a playmaker after the failure to sign Eberechi Eze, Tottenham again turned to Pape Matar Sarr in the role playing between Mohammed Kudus and Brennan Johnson. Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha came back into the side and Richarlison kept his place ahead of Dominic Solanke following his two goals against Burnley.

City had most of the first half pressure but Spurs scored on 35 minutes. Sarr headed on a Pedro Porro ball down the right into Richarlison's path and the Brazilian fired the ball across for Brennan to smash home with James Trafford only able to get a hand to it on its way in. The Wales international was flagged offside but VAR overruled that call on the pitch.

Tottenham's pressing then earned a second goal before the break. City keeper James Trafford hit a short pass in his box that Sarr intercepted and while the goalkeeper managed to get a hand to the ball at Richarlison's feet, it fell for Joao Palhinha to smash home his first goal for the club.

It was Spurs who had the better chances in the second half, including late efforts from Dominic Solanke and Wilson Odobert as well as a few Richarlison headed efforts, while City struggled to create much.

Here are our Tottenham player ratings from the match:

Guglielmo Vicario

Had to make a couple of interventions in the opening 20 minutes, including pushing away Marmoush's effort from the edge of the box. Made a terrific save to deny the same player in a one-vs-one situation before the half-hour mark. Had less to do in the second half but he's laid the foundations for the clean sheet. 8

Pedro Porro

Sent a shot into the side-netting after his free-kick hit the wall and moments later undercooked a header back to Vicario that resulted in Marmoush firing an effort across the face of goal. Curled the ball up the pitch to Sarr in the build-up to Spurs' first half goal and put in some great crosses in the second half that Richarlison should have done better with. Made a great run in the 86th minutes before releasing Bergvall in a move that led to an Odobert chance. Other than that weak header in the first half, the Spaniard was superb. 9

Cristian Romero

The captain made so many blockbuster challenges and really led by example from the back. Picked up a ridiculous yellow card for a perfect tackle. 9

Micky van de Ven

Got away with what looked like a penalty missed for catching Bobb on the foot early in the second half. Made a brilliant sliding block to deny Foden from scoring with about 12 minutes to go. Another terrific display alongside Romero. 8

Djed Spence

Showed a great engine like Porro to get up and down the flank, linking up well with Johnson at times. Was still running in the final moments. 8

Rodrigo Bentancur

If composure had a name it would be Rodrigo Bentancur. So unflappable in the Spurs midfield and the go-to outlet for the defence in tight spots. 8

Joao Palhinha

A constant huge presence in the centre of the pitch, looking much sharper and fitter now. Fired home his first goal for the club when the ball fell his way in the box before the break. So little got past him. He's going to be such a big signing for Spurs. 9

Mohammed Kudus

So strong and a great outlet down the right whenever Spurs needed to get out. City just couldn't really deal with him. 8

Pape Matar Sarr

Headed on the ball to Richarlison in the build-up to Spurs' first half goal and pressed well in the build-up to the second. He's a machine and he's going to become a star in this set-up. 9

Brennan Johnson

Goals in back-to-back games with his low finish from Richarlison's ball, making it back to back goals at the Etihad. Worked so hard as he grew in confidence, occasionally dropping deeper and spraying some passes around as well as tracking back. One of those performances where he did far more than simply score even if he had one shot that should have been a pass in a Spurs break. 8

Richarlison

Battled from the off and grabbed an assist with a perfect pass across for Johnson. Was involved in a lot of the good things Spurs did, including the pressing for the second goal. Had a hat-trick of second half headers that he needed to get on target. 8

Subs

Dominic Solanke

Had a late shot saved and kept City on their toes. 7

Wilson Odobert

Sent one shot wide and had his header following up Solanke's shot saved. Kept stretching the defence. 7

Lucas Bergvall

Came on in the final 10 minutes and set up Odobert for a good chance. 7

Kevin Danso

Thomas Frank is speaking to reporters after Tottenham won 2-0 at Manchester City in the Premier League's Saturday lunchtime game and here are our Spurs player ratings.

City had most of the first half pressure but Spurs scored on 35 minutes. Sarr headed on a Pedro Porro ball down the right into Richarlison's path and the Brazilian fired the ball across for Brennan to smash home with James Trafford only able to get a hand to it on its way in. The Wales international was flagged offside but VAR overruled that call on the pitch.

Tottenham's pressing then earned a second goal before the break. City keeper James Trafford hit a short pass in his box that Pape Matar Sarr intercepted and while the goalkeeper managed to get a hand to the ball at Richarlison's feet, it fell for Joao Palhinha to smash home his first goal for the club.

City could not find a way back in the second half and it was the visitors who looked more likely to score as they took home all three points and a clean sheet.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is among those putting the questions to Frank after the game. Scroll down for his latest updates from the press conference at the Etihad Stadium.

Thomas Frank has named his Tottenham team to take on Manchester City in the Premier League's Saturday lunchtime game.

Spurs kicked off their league campaign last weekend with the 3-0 win against Scott Parker's promoted Burnley side at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a double from Richarlison, including a spectacular bicycle kick, and a killer goal from Brennan Johnson. The north London outfit now take on a very different challenge in Pep Guardiola's side, who have spent big this summer in trying to challenge Liverpool to wrestle their league crown back.

Frank has not decided to return to the 3-5-2 formation that served Spurs well in the UEFA Super Cup game against PSG for 85 minutes or so earlier this month. Instead he has stuck with the 4-2-3-1 used against Burnley, albeit with some personnel changes in the centre of the pitch.

Without a playmaker right now after the failure to sign Eberechi Eze, Tottenham again turn to Pape Matar Sarr playing between Mohammed Kudus and Brennan Johnson.

Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha formed a strong pairing in midfield against PSG and it was when the latter had to come off due to his fitness levels in Italy that Spurs' system went awry so the experienced duo are paired together again. Richarlison keeps his place ahead of Dominic Solanke.

Here's the Tottenham team that Frank has selected:

Tottenham Hotspur could still have time to strike a deal for Savinho after Pep Guardiola admitted he is unsure about the future of several Manchester City players ahead of the transfer window closing on September 1.

The Europa League winners were reported to have opened talks with City over a deal for the 21-year-old earlier this month.

Fabrizio Romano claims that after Spurs ' first approach for the Brazilian was rejected by the City hierarchy earlier this week, though the North Londoners are willing to table a bid in the region of £60m to try and lure Savinho to North London before the window closes on Monday week.

On Friday, Guardiola admitted that he is unsure about the future of several first-team players, seemingly referencing the Brazilian and his team-mates Nathan Ake and Ederson, who have also been linked with moves away from the Etihad this summer.

“To be honest, I don’t know what is happening with a few players – I don’t know who is coming, who is staying, who is leaving, I don’t know," said Guardiola.

“All the clubs I had the feeling that it is the same, we are not an exception. Because the agents make the roles, the club have their opinions, the players have theirs, and after that we see what happens.”

Spurs are in the market for attacking reinforcements after missing out on the signing of Crystal Palace midfielder Eberechi Eze.

Savinho, meanwhile, joined Manchester City from fellow City Football Group outfit Troyes last July in a deal worth roughly £30m.

After making the move to the Etihad, though, the Brazilian struggled to nail down a regular spot in City's starting XI and started 21 Premier League games last term.

The Brazilian has four years remaining on his current deal at the Etihad.

Tottenham Hotspur are back in action for their first away game of the new Premier League season as they travel to Manchester City on Saturday afternoon.

Spurs take on Pep Guardiola's side in the early kick-off on Saturday looking to build on their opening weekend 3-0 victory at home against Burnley under new head coach Thomas Frank. City will provide a very different kind of test at the Etihad Stadium with the hosts having spent plenty of money in the transfer market this summer in an attempt to reclaim the Premier League title from Liverpool.

Tottenham have struggled to reinforce their squad with Thomas Frank admitting to football.london on Friday that with the arrivals of new faces in Mohammed Kudus and Joao Palhinha being offset by the exit of Son Heung-min and James Maddison's ACL injury, his squad is similar in terms of numbers to the one he inherited before the transfer window opened.

He still believes in the players he has though and after playing well against PSG in the UEFA Super Cup earlier this month the Dane is hopeful that Spurs can put in a similar display against City, only with a more positive result after that penalty shoot-out defeat in Udine.

Our Tottenham correspondent Alasdair Gold is at the Etihad Stadium covering the match. Scroll down for his latest updates from the Premier League clash in Manchester.

Tottenham take on Manchester City in the Premier League's Saturday lunchtime game and Thomas Frank has some decisions to make.

Spurs began their league season well with the 3-0 victory against promoted Burnley last weekend at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with a brace from Richarlison and another goal from Brennan Johnson. They will face a very different threat though in the shape of Pep Guardiola's side, who have spent big money this summer in trying to challenge Liverpool to wrestle their league crown back.

Frank could decide to return to the 3-5-2 formation that served Spurs so well in the UEFA Super Cup game against PSG for 85 minutes or so.

Without a playmaker right now after the failure to sign Eberechi Eze, Tottenham will instead use their runners and the combination of Richarlison and Mohammed Kudus up front worked well in Udine with Pape Matar Sarr behind them and able to slot back into the midfield when required. Dominic Solanke will be fitter and sharper now but the Brazilian has earned the right to remain up front with his previous two performances and those goals against Burnley.

Rodrigo Bentancur and Joao Palhinha formed a strong base in midfield and it was when the latter had to come off due to his fitness levels in Italy that Spurs' system went awry so the experienced duo are likely to be paired together again.

Frank was asked about playing with a back three against City and said: "I treat every game a little bit different, but it’s definitely in my mind the 3-5-2, it’s definitely in my mind the 4-2-3-1 and I will take a decision on what we do and you’ll see that tomorrow. I am always thinking hmm how can we tweak a little bit inside our principles.

"Then of course the system can give us something, but principles are the most important thing. So, yeah I will be pragmatic, I will use different systems and different ways to win football matches."

Having Kevin Danso in a back three also allows Spurs to continue to utilise the Austrian's powerful, flat long throw-ins that caused PSG all kinds of problems and they could do the same for City.

Here's the Tottenham team that we reckon Frank could select.

Tottenham have an awful lot of work to do in the transfer market with time quickly starting to run out. Thomas Frank's team are in need of a new centre-back, left winger and No.10 before the window closes for business at 7pm on Monday, September 1.

At a time when clubs such as Liverpool, Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea did the bulk of their business in good time ahead of the new Premier League season, Spurs are going to be facing another last-minute dash to bring in the players they require. As things stand right now, Tottenham have signed Mohammed Kudus, Kota Takai and Joao Palhinha for the new season, with Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel turning their previous loan moves into permanent transfers, and Luka Vuskovic has finally become a Tottenham player almost two years on from the club striking a deal with Hajduk Split.

The Morgan Gibbs-White transfer saga was a major blow to Tottenham in their search for a new No.10. They were then to be a hit by a further bombshell after a move for Eberechi Eze fell apart after north London rivals Arsenal launched a late move for the England international just as he appeared to be signing on in N17.

The failure to sign Eze has not gone down well with the fanbase and that leaves Daniel Levy and Johan Lange with a huge challenge going into the final days of the window as they attempt to lift the current doom and gloom. As important as it is that Tottenham get players in through the door to solve those three positions they are looking to add to, they need to remember what Ange Postecoglou said in his final press conference as head coach.

"If we do some good business in the transfer market, obviously bring some experience in, I'm not talking about age, I'm talking about players who have played at this level and can help the team, then I've got no doubt we can make the impact we want," he said after the 4-1 defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion on the final day of the 2024/25 campaign.

He added: "Yeah, I think not just us but any club that gets into the Champions League, I think understands that. It's the most elite competition in Europe and it's a great demand.

"So yeah, I think every club that gets into the Champions League sees it as an opportunity to strengthen with experience is the right word, but players who have played at that level, who are going to be comfortable at that level, not players who are stepping up to that level. That's the difference."

Tottenham's team is rather youthful with players such as Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall only having one season of Premier League football to their name. Adding that experience to the playing group is going to be vital as the Lilywhites look to climb up the Premier League table and also go far in the cup competitions.

Amid the disappointment of missing out on Eze, Spurs have been linked with a couple of transfer alternatives as they look to bring in a new attacking midfielder. Nico Paz of Como has been mentioned, with football.london reporting earlier in the month that the club do have an interest in the 20-year-old.

The Argentina international is a very promising player but he has only played 44 senior club games in his young career. Whether he could come in and make an immediate impact due to a lack of experience remains to be seen.

Monaco attacking midfielder Maghnes Akliouche has also found himself in the headlines regarding a move to Tottenham. The Frenchman has made a name for himself for the Ligue 1 side in the past couple of seasons and so far has 97 Monaco appearances to his name.

Ten of those have come in the Champions League, with the 23-year-old scoring in wins over Barcelona and Red Star Belgrade last season. Akliouche is more experienced than Paz and now it is down to Tottenham whether they move for either of the duo or look elsewhere.

Experience is needed in what remains of the transfer market and the answer should not be signing promising youngsters who can develop into major players for the club in the years ahead. Transfers are needed at Tottenham and what comes next is going to be fascinating.