Football London

Mason Melia scored his first European goal and grabbed an assist to boot this week ahead of his January move to Tottenham.

Back in February, Spurs agreed a deal for the 17-year-old forward with St Patrick's Athletic worth an initial £1.6million - a record transfer for the League of Ireland - with the potential for add-ons to double that figure. Melia had been one of the most sought-after Irish youngsters and Tottenham overcame competition from top clubs across the Premier League and Europe to land his signature.

The teenager's ability and physical stature is shown by the fact that he has already played 80 senior matches at his young age across all competitions with 23 goal involvements. He also scored on his Republic of Ireland under-21 debut earlier this year.

Melia agreed a long contract with Spurs until 2031 and the north London club have put him on a tailored conditioning programme to prepare him for the rigours of the Premier League when he arrives early next year looking to impress new Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank.

The UK's exit from the European Union means Melia cannot make the move until after he turns 18, which happens in September, so his transfer will officially go through in the January window.

In the mean time the striker has been going from strength to strength with many in the Irish media believing he is already beginning to outgrow the Irish league level. He certainly gave Lithuanian side Hegelmann a torrid time on Thursday night as he starred in the UEFA Conference League first qualifying round second leg for St Pat's.

It was in this competition last summer that Melia's displays convinced Spurs to push past the opposition to sign him and it took just five minutes of Thursday night's tie in Lithuania for him to push past defenders to score his first European goal. He reacted well to get ahead of those around him to touch home James McClelland's saved effort.

It was his involvement in the Irish side's second goal though 11 minutes into the second half that showed what the big teenager is all about. Melia picked up the ball facing his own goal just inside his own half, touched and turned his opponent and drove through the centre of the pitch and when reaching the Hegelmann box, he played a well-timed pass to Kian Leavy. He took a touch and smashed a shot into the roof of the net to make it 3-0 on aggregate in the tie.

St Pat's will now take on Estonian side Kalju in the second round with the first leg taking place at their Richmond Park home on Thursday.

“I’m buzzing with it. Obviously it’s a proper striker’s goal, just follow in. Kian did brilliant, Jay had a great shot and I was just following in, really. A striker’s instinct. I’m buzzing obviously to get the first goal," said Melia on his opening strike.

"I think it was huge [to get an early goal)] Obviously we got the fans going early and it got us going early. It was a good start and that’s what you wanted in any game of football. I’m buzzing."

The Irish side were supported by a big group of 300 noisy travelling fans, including some of Melia’s family. He was so happy with the raucous support still going on behind him that he accidentally swore during his club interview.

"It's really important," said the youngster. "Listen to them there, it's [insert swear word before he covered his mouth as he immediately realised what he'd done]. It's brilliant, it's brilliant. I’m buzzing to have them. And obviously with family here to support me as well it makes it even better."

Melia will make the move to Tottenham in January and the young striker should have 100 senior games to his name by the time he arrives in north London to help that big step up.

Thomas Frank is just two transfers away from fielding a dream Tottenham XI for the opening game of the 2025/26 Premier League season against Burnley.

Three new signings have been confirmed already which has seen just over £100million spent and depth bolstered in attack. The permanent return of Mathys Tel kicked things off with Spurs able to negotiate a fee that saw them pay less than what the option-to-buy value was that had been included in his loan from Bayern Munich.

The Lilywhites were also targeting Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo and Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze before ultimately focusing on a deal for West Ham attacker Mohammed Kudus.

Negotiations dragged on somewhat before an agreement was struck at £55million with that fee set to be paid through instalments. In between official confirmation of Tel and Kudus joining, Spurs announced the signing of young Japanese centre-back Kota Takai.

With Luka Vuskovic now set to represent the club following loans elsewhere, it is possible Takai is sent somewhere on a temporary basis, though he is very much considered to be part of the first-team.

Midfield is the only position not to have been strengthened thus far, minus in between the sticks, but that has not been through a lack of trying. Less than 24 hours on from finalising Kudus' switch, all focus shifted onto signing Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest in a £60million deal.

However, just as his medical was being scheduled, it emerged that Forest were of the belief Tottenham had illegally approached the player and that details of an apparent release clause in his contract were revealed.

This has resulted in quite the saga developing with an official complaint made to the Premier League that has resulted in Gibbs-White's proposed move to Spurs now being up in the air.

Spurs' interest remains and they will certainly be hoping this just holds up a deal rather than preventing it. Though the 25-year-old can play several midfield roles, Tottenham still need a No.6 and there is a perfect option available.

Just last summer, Aston Villa sold Douglas Luiz to Juventus but the Italian side are already looking to sell. A return to Villa Park may have been his aim but Spurs have something, in Champions League football, that Unai Emery cannot offer.

With just £34.7million (€40) wanted according to reports, it is an absolute no-brainer to sign a Premier League proven midfielder that would go straight into Frank's starting XI.

As for the other 10 spots, a number of those will be up for grabs but the best-choice back five is quite clear. The two centre-backs ahead of Guglielmo Vicario have to be Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero especially now links for the latter to join Atletico Madrid have dissipated.

Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie will then be the full-backs with Luiz filling in at times to allow both to bomb on. In just a few months at the club, Lucas Bergvall became an instant starter and as he has recovered from an ankle injury, the young Swede is a shoe-in to start.

James Maddison is also recovering from a muscular issue and though he has started some light training, deploying Gibbs-White in the No.10 role is the smart move given what Frank will want and to ensure Maddison is fully back fit.

The front three will be made up of Kudus, Dominic Solanke and Tel with the likes of Wilson Odobert, Brennan Johnson and Richarlison ready to make an impact. Club captain Son Heung-min is likely to depart before the new campaign commences with his contract expiring in 12 months.

Dream XI vs Burnley: Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie, someone, Bergvall, Gibbs-White; Kudus, Solanke, Tel

The Morgan Gibbs-White transfer saga continues with everyone waiting to see exactly what happens to his protracted transfer to Tottenham from Nottingham Forest.

The move for the 25-year-old England international currently sits parked in limbo after Spurs triggered a £60million release clause in the midfielder's contract only for Forest to claim that an illegal approach had been made by the north London club and that the confidentiality of that release clause had been breached.

The plan for Gibbs-White to head to Hotspur Way for a medical was scrapped with the player remaining in Nottingham and he has since returned to training with Nuno Espirito Santo's side on his expected return date this week.

Both Spurs and the player still want the transfer to happen, with the England midfielder having turned down attempts for some time from Forest to discuss a new contract which would make him the club's top earner and would alter that release clause or remove it. His current deal runs for another two years.

However, the potential transfer to N17 is now ensnared in legal matters between the two clubs and all eyes are on how it concludes with Gibbs-White reportedly seeking a conclusion before the Forest squad embark on their training camp in Portugal on Monday.

Our Tottenham correspondents Alasdair Gold and Rob Guest discussed the transfer mess around the player and the five ways in which it can come to an end in the latest episode of their podcast Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham. They also spoke about one young player set to leave the club this week and looked forward to Thomas Frank's first press conference as Spurs boss and his first game in the dugout on Saturday at Reading.

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

Tottenham have been active in the summer transfer market as they look to give Thomas Frank the best possible squad to attack the new season. The Dane's squad has been boosted by five permanent signings and a few more could be set to follow in the weeks ahead.

Signing Kevin Danso on a permanent basis for £21million due to an obligation to buy the defender in the loan agreement the club struck with RC Lens in February, Spurs also turned Mathys Tel's loan into a permanent transfer. The north London club did manage to get a £15million discount off the original £45million option to buy the player after coming to a £30million agreement with Bayern Munich for the Frenchman.

Luka Vuskovic is now officially a Tottenham player after finally linking up with his teammates for the first time almost two years on from the club striking a £12million deal with Hajduk Split for his services.

Fellow centre-back Kota Takai has joined from Kawasaki Frontale for £5million and Mohammed Kudus has moved across the capital from West Ham for £55million. Tottenham could be set to splash out more big money on Morgan Gibbs-White in an eye-catching £60million move.

Nottingham Forest have put the transfer on hold for now and it is very much a waiting game when it comes to the England international potentially joining Tottenham. Spurs could very well look to strengthen other areas of their squad prior to their new campaign kicking off with a UEFA Super Cup final against Paris Saint-Germain in Udine, Italy.

One glaring issue that still needs fixing is the troublesome No.6 position. Tottenham have really struggled when it comes to finding the perfect midfielder who can sit deep and give the backline a protective shield.

Johnny Cardoso is not going to be the long-term option there after completing a move to Atletico Madrid from Real Betis despite Tottenham having the option to sign him. Spurs may indeed already have their solution as part of their squad in Archie Gray.

Midfield is seen as the position the England Under-21 international will spend his career in but so far the majority of his Tottenham appearances have come in defence. The teenager played as a No.6 on a handful of occasions last season and struggled when deployed there, notably against Liverpool when he was hooked at the break.

Frank is a huge fan of Gray having tried to sign him for Brentford and he may want to play him in midfield rather than use him at right-back or centre-back. Fellow midfielder Yves Bissouma has not proved to be the answer to Tottenham's midfield issues following his fluctuating form after previously wowing for Brighton & Hove Albion.

Bissouma has had his moments, though, but consistency has proved to be a big problem in his three seasons at the club. The Mali international may depart in the weeks ahead as he is now in the final year of his contract and Tottenham need to make a decision over him.

As things stand right now, Frank has plenty of midfield options in Bissouma, Gray, Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Alfie Devine and Jamie Donley. However, a specialist No.6 is something they dearly lack heading into the 2025/26 campaign.

Frank may well have the answer up his sleeve but it will no doubt continue to be a talking point if Tottenham do not strengthen there and the recurring issues continue to persist.

Kota Takai has finally been able to take part in Tottenham training after securing his work permit and there was plenty to notice in his early sessions.

football.londonrevealed on Tuesday that the 20-year-old Japan international had been given his work permit that morning a week after his £5million move from Kawasaki Frontale. That meant Takai could begin his pre-season work which included testing and bloodwork in the gym with the sport science department before taking to the training pitches of Hotspur Way with his new Tottenham team-mates.

The Yokohama-born defender signed a contract with Spurs that will run until 2030. He was named the J.League’s Best Young Player last year and made a total of 81 senior appearances in all competitions, scoring four times, and played a key part in helping the team reach the 2025 AFC Champions League final.

Spurs released some footage of the centre-back's first couple of days training at the Enfield complex this week and here are five things we spotted from his early steps into life under new head coach Thomas Frank.

Translating time

football.londoninterviewed a J.League expert last month about the centre-back in the shape of in freelance football editor and former Goal.com Japan chief editor and DAZN news Japan chief editor Tasuku Okawa and he told us that Takai's English was a work in progress.

"When it comes to language, his English is limited, so how quickly he can grasp tactical instructions is uncertain," he said. "Personality-wise, he’s calm and perhaps a bit unconventional. He might need time to adjust to a very different environment. He’s not very talkative and doesn’t speak to the media much. He has a laid-back demeanour, which could make integrating into a new team a bit of a challenge — though with a young Spurs squad including players like Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, there may be a smoother path for connection."

As Takai took on his early gym work this week, the footage appears to show a translator in the background because off camera one could also be heard speaking Japanese to him at times.

However, it did appear that the young defender could understand various things said to him and used a little English at the start and end of the video which suggests he's been working on his language skills.

New face helps

Takai is not the only newcomer to the building during a summer of change at the north London club and he was getting plenty of help in the gym work from another new face at Spurs.

Tom Perryman has joined the north London club as a strength and conditioning coach from Brentford, following Frank and various members of staff in making the trip across the capital to Hotspur Way.

The 45-year-old could be seen working with Takai in the gym and appeared to be using his phone to show him what he wanted to do a couple of times, presumably using something like Google translate to help make it clear.

Hanging on to Destiny

The Japan international was later shown heading out to training with his new Tottenham team-mates and there were plenty of happy faces among the bunch as they emerged into the sunshine.

As they were jogging out across the pitches, Micky van de Ven grabbed the back of Destiny Udogie's training shirt and was either trying to hold him back for a while or was holding him like a toddler or horse on reins.

Takai will be one of the taller players in the squad and the 6ft 3ins centre-back certainly looked that way while jogging alongside Manor Solomon, who is only just over 5ft 5ins.

Bit of pace

Next up it was that dreaded 1km run that has had the players looking shattered this pre-season so far and if they thought it was just the first session that would involve it under Frank then they were wrong as it is a test that will repeated a couple of times during pre-season to check on their progress.

"I don't know if I'm a modern coach or not sometimes but we started running today!" said Frank last week. "I think old school is still good school, I think that's still important to have a bit of that. Now we had a running test today and we'll have that again when the internationals are back and probably also a little bit later down the season.

"But, in general, that was just a short test, basically a 1km test. So if they did it well enough they're below three minutes 15 seconds, So that sounds easier, with turns by the way. So that's one thing that is done and then it's it's football. Everything with the ball, everything is on that, and then we will top up with some runs because I believe there's a big bit in that mental part of pushing."

Takai was running in a group that involved the likes of Brennan Johnson, Richarlison, Lucas Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr, Rodrigo Bentancur and Ben Davies. The Japanese defender appeared to get back before many of them which proved what Okawa had told football.london in that interview about his "good pace".

Match sharp but knackered

It shows the difficulty of these tests in the heat that even a match-sharp player - Takai is halfway through the J.League season - can still be shattered after

The young centre-back collapsed to the floor as he crossed the line at the end of the run, coated in sweat, and lay on his back, arms outstretched and breathing heavily.

When he eventually sat up, he was asked "how was that, good?" by the cameraman, before replying "not good" with a shake of the head and smile.

It's going to be tough work in the Premier League for Takai and it all starts now.

The Morgan Gibbs-White transfer saga continues to rumble on. Following the news one week ago that Spurs were in advanced talks with Nottingham Forest to bring him to the club in a £60million deal, the move hit a stumbling block last Friday.

The Lilywhites were set to trigger a £60million release clause to sign the England international, who looked set to complete a medical on Friday ahead of his switch to N17. However, the transfer came to a halt as Forest cut off communications and consider legal action against what they believe to be an illegal approach from the north London club along with the potential revealing of a confidential release clause.

Almost one week on from that Tottenham transfer blow, Gibbs-White still remains a Nottingham Forest player. Due to the current situation regarding the 25-year-old, it is not exactly clear when he will become Tottenham's latest summer addition.

As things stand right now, Gibbs-White continues to train with his Forest teammates as Nuno Espirito Santo's side step up their pre-season preparations. The ex-Wolves man was photographed a number of times at the club's training base on Wednesday, including one where he was seen joking with teammate Jota Silva, with the club then uploading an image of their player to their X account on Thursday.

Amid the current transfer uncertainty, Gibbs-White had a smile on his face during the session as he waits to see what comes next for him. The player could potentially be back on the pitch for his club on Saturday when they take on Ligue 1 side AS Monaco at Chesterfield's SMH Group Stadium.

Forest were in fact in action at the same stadium last Saturday as they played out a goalless draw with Chesterfield in their first friendly of the summer. Gibbs-White did not feature in the game against the League Two side as he was part of a group of players who had been on international duty last month who had still not returned to training at Forest.

Now that he is back on the training field, he may get to play in the AS Monaco game as he tops up his fitness levels. Tottenham themselves are in action the same day as they travel to League One outfit Reading.

The game will be Thomas Frank's first in charge of Spurs and all fans will be keen to get a glimpse of how his side line up following the change of management in June. New signings Luka Vuskovic, Kota Takai and Mohammed Kudus could all make their Tottenham bows at the Select Car Leasing Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a fee in principle to sell goalkeeper Josh Keeley to Luton Town after failing to agree a new contract with the 22-year-old.

Keeley enjoyed a great season in League One with Leyton Orient, registering 16 clean sheets, as well as scoring a dramatic headed goal in an FA Cup tie against Oldham and receiving praise from Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola before earning a senior call-up to the Republic of Ireland squad at the end of the campaign.

football.londonreported earlier this month that Spurs had been engaging in ongoing talks over a new contract for Keeley. But with an agreement unable to be found, a permanent move now looks to be on the cards with a potential long-term contract at League One side Luton and regular first team football on the table as well as a chance to push on his international chances.

The young goalkeeper is due to meet the Hatters to discuss the project and a deal is expected to be concluded in the next 24 hours.

Tottenham are set to include a sell-on clause as part of the deal to sell the stopper as there is a belief he will go on to become a Premier League goalkeeper, but there is not believed at this time to be a buy-back clause involved. The problem is that Spurs have a trio of first team goalkeepers in Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky, who signed in January this year, and academy product Brandon Austin all tied down to long-term deals, which was always going to make it difficult for Keeley to break through into new head coach Thomas Frank's team.

The Irishman, who has been training this month with new goalkeeper coach Fabian Otte, is not helped by the fact that he cannot be considered homegrown despite spending the past three years at the club after arriving from St Patrick's Athletic. That makes it difficult to register him in European competition and has prevented him from getting into the reckoning ahead of academy product Austin despite having more senior match experience than the 26-year-old as well as that senior international call-up.

With Keeley between the sticks, Orient reached the League One Play-Off final but fell just short against Charlton at Wembley. The O's FA Cup exit came with a 2-1 defeat to Manchester City with a shot from the halfway line from Keeley's Spurs team-mate Jamie Donley forcing the home side's goal before the Irish goalkeeper kept an expensively-assembled City side at bay.

"We were lucky at the end because they had chances, but we created a lot, their keeper was really, really good and it was a tight game," Guardiola said of Keeley.

Orient boss Richie Wellens said after that game: "Josh was class and he’s been brilliant. I think 75% of his performances have been clean-sheets. He’s got good character for a young kid and he’ll only go on and develop potentially into a top-level Premier League goalkeeper if he keeps his feet on the ground."

However, Keeley, who has previously gone on loan to Barnet in the National League and then stepped up to League One with Orient last season, is set for pastures new.

Alfie Whiteman is now on the lookout for a new club after his long association with Tottenham came to an end last month. Coming through the club's system to become part of the first-team setup, the 26-year-old was limited to one senior appearance for his boyhood club but he did collect a Europa League final winners' medal in May following the team's 1-0 triumph over Manchester United.

Tottenham are well stocked in the goalkeeping department following the January arrival of Antonin Kinsky, thus seeing both Whiteman and Fraser Forster leave following the conclusion of their contracts at the end of June. Whiteman has very little first-team experience to his name but clubs such as Blackburn Rovers, Oxford United and Stoke City have been linked with the goalkeeper.

It could be at fellow Championship side Portsmouth where he is playing his football from August onwards, though, as he is currently on trial at the south coast club. Whiteman was not part of Pompey's squad for their 5-0 victory at Farnborough on Wednesday evening but he is currently training with John Mousinho's side at present in hope of earning a permanent contract.

"We changed the two keepers last night, that was all and that was the plan," the Portsmouth boss told The News on why Whiteman wasn't involved against the National League South outfit. "So Alfie’s still here, training with us and will probably feature at the weekend. It’s one where we’re looking at the situation.

"One thing we’re keen to do is have four goalkeepers. One reason for that is for squad depth, but it’s also really beneficial for training. All of the time, or pretty much every single week we’re going to have training sessions where we use four goalkeepers because we have two small-sided games.

"We need that quality because we’ve stepped up a level from where we’ve been for the past couple of years. We have let Toby [Steward] go out on loan so rather than have training goalkeepers or ruining an academy session it’s really important for us to have that squad depth."

Forster and Sergio Reguilon have yet to acquire new clubs since their Tottenham exit but the hope will be that they can secure a move ahead of the new term kicking off. Timo Werner is now back at RB Leipzig after his Spurs loan came to an end, with an exit from the German club appearing to be the on the cards in the weeks ahead.

The Morgan Gibbs-White transfer saga looks set to rumble on.

Nottingham Forest have written to both Tottenham Hotspur and Gibbs-White's agent threatening them with legal action over what they claim to have been an illegal transfer approach for the player.

Spurs attempted to sign the 25-year-old last week and made an approach which triggered the £60million release clause in the midfielder's contract. However, Forest are claiming that an illegal approach was made and believe the confidential nature of that clause was breached with claims that Tottenham submitted a bid worth the exact amount required to trigger it.

Forest have been trying for some time to tie the 25-year-old down to a longer contract at the City Ground, with an increased release clause, to no effect in recent months.

Spurs remain hopeful of getting a deal over the line to sign the England international but it remains to be seen whether the threat of legal action from Forest merely delays the transfer or stops it from happening completely.

Former Tottenham player Jamie O'Hara has been left "disgusted" by the situation and had some words of advice for Gibbs-White, who is understood to only want to sign for Spurs.

Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, O'Hara said: "Morgan Gibbs-White should go to the PFA, he should sue Nottingham Forest, and he should refuse to train.

"He has signed a contract and there’s a release clause of £60million in there. He knows it’s in there, his agent knows it’s in there and Nottingham Forest know that it’s in there. He has agreed to that contract on those terms, whether he has become a better player at Forest that is worth more than £60million, that’s on him.

"Now when someone finds out about the release clause, which happens every day in football, people find stuff out and agents talk, Nottingham Forest suddenly decide they can’t have that, and the clause is confidential? What do you mean confidential? It's a release clause in a player’s contract; he’s entitled to know about it and tell people about it. What is going on here?

"Evangelos Marinakis has had an absolute stinker and his club are going to lose Morgan Gibbs-White for £60million because he’s done better than they expected and someone found out. It’s a disgrace."

Thomas Frank will be in the dugout for the first time as Tottenham head coach on Saturday. Spurs start their pre-season fixtures with a game away at League One side Reading.

It has been a busy couple of weeks for the new Tottenham boss after getting down to work with his squad at the club's Hotspur Way base. Using the time to get his football philosophy across and take a good look at his players as they fight for a position in his starting XI, Saturday's game in Berkshire will give a glimpse of what's to come for Spurs under the Dane.

The 51-year-old currently has the vast majority of his squad to work with due to no senior international football tournaments taking place this summer. Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert, Mikey Moore and Mathys Tel will be the last to return after playing international football until the end of June.

Due to the sheer size of his squad, Frank will want to take a closer look at his players on the pitch before any final transfer decisions are made. Although his starting XI may be a bit mix and match at Reading, Frank can actually go extremely strong if he wants to see his best Tottenham team in action at the first time of asking.

Here we take a look at the strongest team he can field at the Select Car Leasing Stadium this weekend.