Football London

Archie Gray has revealed that Tottenham's 3-2 defeat against Galatasaray was a key point for the team on the way to securing their place in the Europa League final. Next Wednesday evening will see Ange Postecoglou's side come up against Premier League rivals Manchester United in the showpiece finale in Bilbao.

Amid Tottenham's struggles domestically this season with the team remarkably losing 20 times in the league, only two sides have defeated them in the Europa League since their campaign got underway in late September. The first of those came in early November as Galatasaray won 3-2 in Istanbul in what was an extraordinary game at RAMS Park.

Playing in such an intense atmosphere, Postecoglou's young Spurs team found themselves 3-1 down at half-time. They were perhaps lucky it was only three prior to Dominic Solanke's goal 21 minutes from time given the hosts had 28 shots on goal compared to Tottenham's five over the course of the 90 minutes.

A first for players such as Gray and Lucas Bergvall with the youngsters experiencing a very hostile welcome to Galatasaray's home, the former has revealed that it was a "big learning curve" for the team in Europe. Only losing one more time against AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of their round of 16 tie, Tottenham will now be doing everything they can to avoid defeat in Bilbao next Wednesday as they bid to put an end to their trophy hoodoo for good.

"Starting against Qarabag, it was a really proud moment," Gray told Tottenham's official website. "Playing in a European competition for this club and playing in Europe in general is something a lot of people don’t get to do in their careers, so I’m very grateful for that.

"Galatasaray, obviously with the atmosphere, I’ve never witnessed anything like that in football. We couldn't hear ourselves... every time we touched the ball it was just whistles. We couldn't hear a thing! It was a tough game, and we learned from it.

"It was crazy, and a big learning curve for us, especially in Europe, experiencing different ways of teams playing, stadiums, atmospheres and just getting used to it all. I'll probably say that was the point we realised, ‘right, we're in for a journey here’ and from there, we’ve looked solid.

"I loved every second of it. You don’t get to experience atmospheres like that too often. That adds more to the game as well. It was an intense game, we had a red card, then we almost brought it back. It’s an experience I’ll never forget."

So what would winning the Europa League in his debut season at the club mean for Gray? The former Leeds United man said: "It would be a very proud moment for me and my family, to us all as a team, especially for my brothers to be able to look up to me and for me to be able to say I’d won a trophy."

Tottenham have confirmed that Dejan Kulusevski has undergone surgery on a knee injury suffered in Sunday's defeat against Crystal Palace. The news regarding the Swede comes at the worst possible time for Ange Postecoglou as it means the attacking midfielder is now set to miss next Wednesday's Europa League final showdown against Manchester United.

Spurs have already seen James Maddison ruled out for the season with a knee injury and Postecoglou recently revealed that it is unlikely Lucas Bergvall will be back for the final following an ankle injury picked up in training at the start of May. That in turn gives the north London club a real headache in terms of creativity from midfield going into next week's European final.

"We can confirm that Dejan Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella in our Premier League fixture against Crystal Palace last weekend," read a Tottenham statement that was published on Wednesday evening.

"Following further specialist consultation, the midfielder has undergone surgery today and will commence his rehabilitation with our medical staff immediately. We're all with you, Deki."

Kulusevski has been a pivotal figure for Tottenham over the course of the season and he will be a huge miss for the team in Bilbao next Wednesday. Prior to making the trip to Spain, Spurs have Aston Villa away to come in the Premier League on Friday evening and that presents Postecoglou with the opportunity to try and find a solution as Spurs look to end their long wait for a trophy.

The Spurs boss is due to hold his pre-match press conference at Hotspur Way on Thursday afternoon and the news surrounding Kulusevski will be top of the agenda.

Much has been made of the teams in 16th and 17th in the Premier League facing off against one another, not just to win the Europa League, but also to secure a place in next season's Champions League.

For one of Tottenham Hotspur or Manchester United will save their dismal domestic season and claim a much-needed piece of silverware and with it qualification for the Champions League.

A number of pundits and former players and managers have had their say on whether or not it is right that either team should be in next season's top European tournament, but the fact is one of them will be, because those are the rules.

Ange Postecoglou is under immense pressure at Tottenham and there are rumours that no matter what happens in the Europa League final in Bilbao next week his time in N17 may be up.

Manchester United have already made a managerial change this season, replacing Erik ten Hag with Ruben Amorim, but away from the Europa League, things have arguably got worse under the Portuguese.

Speaking on the Overlap Fan Debate, United legend Paul Scholes delivered a damning verdict of Amorim and the way he plays football.

He said: "We talk about the system as well, how many times have we talked about the system and he's still not getting results? OK Europa League, yeah, but surely you can't just carry on doing the same thing every week? You don't even watch games at the weekend anymore because you know they're going to lose."

The same can be said of Postecoglou at Spurs. Supporters have grown tired of the same high defensive line, attacking football that has failed to yield results in the Premier League..

The Australian has changed things in the Europa League and there have been good away performances against the likes of Eintracht Frankfurt and Bodo/Glimt that have been more pragmatic.

Sheikh Jassim could have another opportunity to invest in a Premier League club with Manchester United and Tottenham as the two main options.

The Glazer family have just surpassed 20 years as the owners of Man United but full takeover talk has arrived in the last few years. Qatari banker Jassim attempted to purchase the club and take full control but a deal never materialised.

Instead, INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe instead became minority shareholders with their 33 per cent stake in United finalised in February 2024.

Despite that, he could actually lose his stake in the club as the Glazers will soon have the power to activate their drag-along rights. That means the majority shareholders could force minority shareholders, such as Ratcliffe, to sell their shares when the majority sells their stake to a third party, according to The Athletic.

Their report adds that those rights will come into effect in three months. This development could see Jassim return to try and buy the football club with it having been made clear he is still interested.

An advisor, back in December, shared with the Daily Mail: "Sheikh Jassim is still a rich guy. He is still a United fan. He is not going to rush off and try another Premier League club.

"If the opportunity to buy the whole of Manchester United arose again at some point in the future, it is hard to see there not being a big level of interest. The plans are still there."

That stance remaining the case would likely rule out a takeover attempt of Tottenham following Daniel Levy's honest comments about accepting outside investment.

Just over 12 months ago, Levy was quoted saying: "To capitalise on our long-term potential, to continue to invest in the teams and undertake future capital projects, the club requires a significant increase in its equity base. The board and its advisors, Rothschild and Co, are in discussions with prospective investors."

However, he also admitted the process will not be rushed. "Any recommended investment proposal would require the support of the club's shareholders," he clarified.

Jassim's interest in Spurs was first suggested back in 2023. Speaking to The United Stand YouTube channel, journalist Mark Ogden said: "They want the Premier League footprint.

"Somebody told me recently, they said that if the Qataris don’t buy Manchester United, they'll be back and they might end up buying Tottenham. "He said, look, if you've got Manchester City owned by Abu Dhabi, you've got Newcastle owned by Saudi Arabia, if Qataris maybe buy Tottenham, then you've got three clubs who can pull away.

"Every year, it would be United, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal fighting for fourth spot, which is quite a terrifying prospect for (them)."

It all comes down to Wednesday evening for Jamie Donley, Josh Keeley and Leyton Orient. Triumph at Stockport County and they will take their place in the League One play-off final. Lose, however, and their Championship promotion hopes will come to a devastating end.

Playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw in the capital on Saturday afternoon, the sides meet again at Edgeley Park later tonight with a place at Wembley up for grabs. Dave Challinor's side are the favourites to progress but you certainly cannot write off Richie Wellens' Orient team.

After all, they've picked up some notable results this campaign, including impressive victories over high-flying Wrexham and Wycombe Wanderers, with Keeley and Donley at the heart of their promotion push. The former has been a commanding figure in goal with 16 clean sheets from 36 League One appearances, with the latter pulling the strings in the final third and contributing with eight goals and ten assists in 39 league appearances.

Donley is going to be a pivotal player for the team at Stockport and he will be intent on conjuring up some more magic to ensure that he has one more Orient game remaining on the calendar. Ahead of his return to Tottenham in the summer, it would be the perfect way for him to bow out by guiding his loan club to the Championship with a win at Wembley later this month.

It has been a quite remarkable season for the Tottenham youngster as there was a point earlier in the campaign when he wasn't even getting in the matchday squad. Since forcing his way back into Wellens' plans in late November, the attacking midfielder and the team haven't looked back.

Donley in fact topped the League One charts for the most assists across the season after registering 10. Add in his eight league goals, as well as a Northern Ireland senior debut, and it has been some season for the 20-year-old.

What makes it even more remarkable is that it is his first loan spell away from Tottenham and his first real taste of senior football on a consistent basis. Donley has certainly whetted the appetite of Spurs supporters and many are looking forward to seeing him in Tottenham colours next season.

What comes next for the player remains to be seen as he will want to build on a fantastic year away from N17, with another loan spell in a higher division something that cannot be ruled out. A chance will be there for him in pre-season and that may well open the door to become part of Tottenham's first-team plans in 2025/26.

Tottenham have struggled with a lack of creativity at times over the course of the season and Donley has proved that he can be the creator in the final third going on the excellent numbers he has posted for Orient. That will all come down to Ange Postecoglou - or whoever is in charge of the team next season amid question marks over the Australian's future - giving him that chance to show what he can do in the first team.

It is a big summer coming up for Donley and all will be hoping it leads to the Tottenham first-team opportunity he has been dreaming of. Before that, however, he has League One play-off matters to see to first as he attempts to deliver another masterclass and guide Leyton Orient to promotion via Wembley.

While the current Premier League campaign has been one of misery for Tottenham Hotspur fans, the Europa League final and a potential spot in next season’s Champions League offers the chance to end on a major high.

Looking for other positives from the season is more of a challenge given the fact that Spurs could yet finish just one place above the relegation zone, something that a club of Spurs’ stature, with the resources and infrastructure, should not be delivering. Next year they face a real battle to get back to competitive success to ensure that their position as one of the so-called ‘big six’ doesn’t become challenged.

Recruitment at Spurs in recent seasons has come under scrutiny, with some big-money signings not delivering the return on the investment that was expected, with Richarlison being a case in point.

Finding players at the right price point, of the right profile, with a high ceiling for growth is important for any club wishing to work the transfer market effectively, and while those additions have been in short supply at Spurs, the addition of Swedish teenager Lucas Bergvall last summer was an important one.

Bergvall arrived from Djurgarden as an 18-year-old last summer in an £8.5m deal. The midfielder has this season gone on to establish himself in the Spurs first team, making 45 appearances in all competitions, netting once.

His exposure to Premier League football and European football, showcasing his talent and skill set despite a challenging season has given some reason for hope moving forward as he continues to develop and improve. It has also provided a major boost to his valuation, which while Spurs fans won’t want to consider the prospect of selling him, shows the direction the club should be following in the Premier League. After such a poor campaign, maybe rebuilding in this manner may offer a greater chance of success in the years to come.

Bergvall, who turned 19 in February and signed a contract extension at Spurs in April that runs until 2031, has seen a huge increase in his value over the last year. Arriving for £8.5m, analysts at CIES Football Observatory in Switzerland have pegged his current market value at €55.4m (£46.7m), a rise of £37.6m, up 449% since his signing. That is a huge mark-up in such a short space of time, and one that places him ninth on the overall list of players who have seen the biggest capital gains since moving to a new club over the past 12 months.

The statistical model adopted by CIES to reach their findings included a number of variables, including; contract, age, sporting level, domestic minutes, international minutes, goals, results, starting 11, position, international status, releasing club selling potential, releasing league selling potential, destination club buying potential and destination league buying potential.

Other players to appear in the top 10 included Kylian Mbappe, Dean Huijsen, Michael Olise, Savinho and Desire Doue.

All eyes will be on Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham team selection at Aston Villa on Friday night in preparation for next week's Europa League final. The game at Villa Park was initially in the calendar for this Sunday but a request to the Premier League from Spurs saw the fixture moved forward a couple of days.

It now takes place on the same evening as Manchester United's game away at Chelsea, meaning neither side has an edge in terms of rest days ahead of next Wednesday's showdown in Bilbao, Spain. As both sides will want to wrap up their key players in cotton wool over the next week, starting XI decisions are going to be very interesting indeed.

In terms of Tottenham, Son Heung-min is one player who is guaranteed to play a part in the Midlands as Ange Postecoglou looks to build up his fitness following a recent foot injury. The Spurs captain did make his comeback in last weekend's 2-0 home defeat against Crystal Palace, playing the final 32 minutes after replacing Pedro Porro just prior to the hour mark.

Postecoglou did have the opportunity to introduce the South Korean a lot earlier in the contest but he elected against doing so following Dejan Kulusevski's early substitution through injury on 19 minutes. Speaking in a special Europa League final media day press conference at Hotspur Way on Monday, Postecoglou provided a further update on Son's current fitness levels.

"Firstly, from a physical standpoint he's good. It's important he got some minutes yesterday, he needed them. More for himself psychologically more than anything else," explained the 59-year-old.

"He had a good session today. He was never going to do the whole session because he played yesterday. He feels good so we've still got eight or nine days to go and a game on Friday where we can build him up.

"It's great to have him available. He's been a big catalyst this year and a driver of... he understands better than most what a trophy would do for this football club and for him personally because he's had an unbelievable career here in which he's done just about everything. But the key bit, that silverware which every player craves, he knows how significant it would be for the club and him personally. So the fact that he's back available is good."

He added: "In terms of his fitness, he's progressing well. He played 25-30 minutes yesterday, we should get him some game time against Villa on Friday. If he trains right through he should be in a good condition.

"He's worked hard to get back with the medical team. It was a funny injury. There was no kind of pre prescribed length of time, it was just how he felt and progressed. But he worked hard with the medical team. It was important he gets some game-time so hopefully he kicks on now."

As part of increasing Son's minutes ahead of the Europa League final, the Tottenham head coach now needs to decide whether the 32-year-old starts at Aston Villa or he is again introduced from the bench. Whichever options he chooses, it is vital that Tottenham's No.7 gets a good amount of pitch time as he will not want to go into the European final having next to no minutes in the tank.

As was the case back in 2019 with question marks over Harry Kane's place in the Tottenham team for the Champions League final after he last featured in early April due to an ankle injury, the same may happen six years on with Son. When it comes down to the player possibly starting at San Mames Stadium, the best thing for the Tottenham captain is to prove his fitness and match sharpness at Villa Park in Friday's 7:30pm kick-off, thus leaving Postecoglou with a couple of days to stew over handing him a starting berth in Bilbao.

"It comes down to getting him ready to play and then making a decision. It's nothing more than that," said the former Celtic boss when asked in his press conference about a starting spot for Son in the final.

"One thing I do know about finals is there are always moments and players who can change it. But it's going to take a collective effort, it's what we do as a team that will be much more important than individuals on the day."

Before the showpiece finale comes around, Postecoglou must decide his Son approach at Villa Park this Friday evening. The amount of minutes he plays could possibly in turn drop a hint when it comes to the Tottenham team to take on Manchester United in Bilbao.

We got an insight behind the scenes at Tottenham Hotspur this week as football.london was invited among the assembled media to the Europa League Final open day at the club.

As part of the UEFA day, put on by Spurs, reporters got to observe a full training session at Hotspur Way with Ange Postecoglou and his coaching staff and watched the players being put through their paces. Postecoglou then held his press conference looking forward to next weekend's showpiece game in Bilbao against Manchester United on May 21.

Various players were then brought out to speak to the media on a training pitch at the Enfield-based complex and gave plenty of insight into life inside the club and within a season of ridiculous extremes that has brought a European final, only the club's second in 41 years, but also a record 20 Premier League defeats and a current 17th place in the table.

Our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold and head of football.london Lee Wilmot discussed all of the above in the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham and Alasdair discussed the various things he saw around Hotspur Way, including Lucas Bergvall and who the teenage Swede was walking around with, Postecoglou's jokey moment with Yves Bissouma beside the academy building and his sit down with Pedro Porro and Rodrigo Bentancur, as well as an accident between Brennan Johnson and Sergio Reguilon in the training session.

You can listen to the show in podcast format by heading right here or watch the episode on YouTube right here.

Tottenham's Rodrigo Bentancur will be unavailable for Uruguay's next four games under the CONMEBOL umbrella after his suspension, handed out after their clash against Colombia descended into chaos, was upheld.

Following his nation's 1-0 defeat to Colombia in the Copa America group stages, a number of Uruguay players, including Bentancur and Liverpool's Darwin Nunez, entered the stands where supporters had been brawling close to where the players’ families were seated.

In the wake of the incident, liverpool foward Nunez was handed a five-match suspension by the South America football federation while Bentancur was hit with a four-game ban.

Napoli’s Mathias Olivera, Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo and Atletico Madrid’s Josema Gimenez meanwhile, will be banned for three Uruguay games in CONMEBOL if their suspensions are not overturned.

Attempts to do so began in September but they were upheld, however a suspension of those sanctions was granted the following month for a new hearing to take place. The outcome of that came to light on Tuesday with the Athletic revealing CAS rejected the players' defence.

“The principle of self-defence does not apply and … the conduct of the players constituted a voluntary, violent and unjustified action," it stated.

Bentancur has endured a challenging last 12 months with injuries and another ban seeing him struggle to get into a rhythm of games. That domestic suspension arrived in December after he was punished by the FA for using a racial slur when referencing teammate Son Heung-min.

A suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards followed almost immediately after that seven-game ban concluded with injury striking as well.

The 27-year-old has been able to build some consistency since February however, and he has been instrumental in Spurs reaching the Europa League final.

Alongside both Lucas Bergvall and Yves Bissouma, he has been a constant in Ange Postecoglou's favoured midfield three with every minute played in Europe since he served another suspension for the last-16 second leg win over AZ Alkmaar.

Bentancur and his teammates will now be preparing for the showpiece clash against Manchester United in Bilbao later this month.

The season is coming to a close for Tottenham's loan players and some are trying to write their name in their various clubs' history books with big ends to the season.

Spurs have got players out across England, Scotland and the continent with some of them trying to gain promotion, others having done that and won the title, one with a cup final to come and a few who managed to help their teams escape relegation from their respective divisions.

Tottenham have had 13 players out on loan, or 14 if you want to count Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg who is to join Marseille permanently. There is also teenager Luka Vuskovic, who will join Tottenham this summer after his loan at Westerlo in Belgium from Hajduk Split, alongside Spurs midfielder Alfie Devine, so we've been including him in our loan round-ups throughout this campaign.

Bryan Gil's season at Girona was prematurely cut short following knee surgery last month while Manor Solomon made history with the wonderful goal that sealed the Championship title for Leeds United. Ashley Phillips helped Stoke avoid relegation with a final day clean sheet against Derby earlier this month.

Yang Min-hyeok's time at QPR came to an end with 14 appearances in the Championship and Will Lankshear saw out his mixed spell with managerless West Brom. Matthew Craig's injury-hit spell at Mansfield ended this month as they escaped relegation as did Luca Gunter, who finished out his time at Wealdstone on the bench but did get to see them stave off the drop from the National League.

Some supporters have asked whether Ange Postecoglou could use some of the club's players out on loan in the Europa League final or last two Premier League games when their seasons are over with their current club. Unfortunately that is not the case as loan contracts are window to window affairs rather than until the end of the season, so loan contracts signed last summer or in January will last until June 30.

football.london has taken a look at how those Tottenham loan players still with fixtures to play got on this week.

Jamie Donley and Josh Keeley (Leyton Orient)

Jamie Donley and Josh Keeley have it all to play for in the League One play-off semi-finals after a 2-2 draw between Leyton Orient and Stockport in the first leg at Brisbane Road.

It was a game of drama as Orient scored an opener through Charlie Kelman when he appeared to be well offside and the same player then slotted home an 88th penalty to cancel out Stockport's goals from Oliver Norwood and Fraser Horsfall.

Donley played the full 90 minutes and worked hard defensively with three ball recoveries, four clearances, three headed clearances and one interception. He also won half of his 14 duels on the ground and in the air, while sending two shots at goal.

Keeley made three saves on the day and had an 80% pass accuracy with his kicks while having to act as a sweeper twice during the game.

Both players will need to be on top form if Orient are going to get through the second leg away from home on Wednesday night to take their place in the final.

Alfie Devine and Luka Vuskovic (Westerlo)

Alfie Devine grabbed an assist in his first start for almost a month since being ill but the attacking midfielder could not stop Westerlo from going down 4-3 at Charleroi in the Jupiler Pro League play-offs for a Conference League spot.

Luka Vuskovic also played the full 90 minutes but was in the centre of a defence that could just not keep out the hosts after Westerlo had put themselves into a great 3-1 lead 10 minutes into the second half only to collapse in the final 33 minutes of the encounter.

The two players face two more matches in the play-offs, starting with a trip to Oud-Heverlee Leuven on Friday night.

George Abbott (Notts County)

George Abbott played the full 90 minutes as Notts County lost 1-0 at home to AFC Wimbledon in the first leg of their League Two play-off semi-final.

It was an all-action performance from the 19-year-old with two shots at goal, five ball recoveries, two interceptions and one clearance. The teenager also won both of his two aerial duels and half of his 12 ground ones.

Abbott, who won the EFL Goal of the Season award this month will be looking to pull off a big result at Wimbledon on Saturday. He has now made 43 appearances for County, with 13 goal involvements.

Alfie Dorrington (Aberdeen)

Alfie Dorrington missed Aberdeen's 4-0 defeat at Rangers with illness on Sunday and the centre-back will be hoping to be back to full fitness in good time for the Scottish Cup final on May 24 against Celtic.

The dress rehearsal for that game comes on Wednesday night when the Dons host Brendan Rodgers' side before a game at Dundee United on Saturday and then a clear week until the final.

The 20-year-old has now made 14 appearances for Aberdeen, getting 975 minutes of senior football under his belt north of the border.

Alejo Veliz (Espanyol)

Alejo Veliz got 45 minutes to his name on Sunday as Espanyol lost 3-2 at struggling Leganes. He was brought on at half-time with the visitors 2-0 down at the break and while Espanyol technically won the second half it was not enough to emerge victorious on the day.

The 21-year-old striker has made 27 appearances for the La Liga side this season and scored four times, including a hat-trick in the Copa del Rey earlier in the season.