Football London

Tottenham Hotspur were reportedly one of several Premier League clubs that had their scouts in attendance at a huge match in Europe before the international break

Tottenham Hotspur scouts reportedly watched Porto beat Benfica on Sunday in O Classico. Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Roma are also said to have had onlookers at the Estadio do Dragao.

Liga Portugal champions Porto won 3-1 against a ten-man Benfica, who had former Spurs loanee Clement Lenglet sent off ten minutes before half-time for appearing to slap opposition striker Andre Silva. The hosts were in front at the time, thanks to Gabri Veiga's opener. Alexander Bah equalised early in the second half, but Victor Froholdt soon struck back, before Hwang In-beom made it three.

The Portuguese sports newspapers A Bola and Record list several teams that had scouts in attendance. The former also claimed that Spurs had eyes on the two clubs in their mid-January quarter-final of the Taca de Portugal.

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Porto won on that occasion, too, with former Southampton and Villa defender Jan Bednarek scoring that game's only goal. They were apparently in position for late April's semi-final second leg, too, which finished 0-0, meaning their opponents, Sporting, progressed after winning the first leg 1-0 at home.

Spurs are, therefore, no strangers to scouting in Portugal. However, this does not necessarily translate into transfers.

Pedro Porro is the last player to sign directly from a Primera Liga club. He joined the club from Sporting initially on loan in January 2023 with an obligation to buy at the end of that season.

Spurs, however, have done business with Portuguese teams since then. Most recently, Porto loaned Souza on the transfer deadline day of this summer window.

The left-back's presence on the team sheet could also explain why Spurs scouts were at the match. However, the Brazilian has yet to play for his new club, remaining an unused substitute in all three matches since joining them.

There were also links to several players on both sides during the summer. Multiple sources credited Spurs with an interest in Andreas Schjelderup, who came on as a substitute for the final quarter of an hour.

Anatoliy Trubin from the visitors is a goalkeeper whom the club have apparently been keen on. However, the Ukraine international has not played in any of their first seven league matches; academy graduate Samuel Soares is preferred in his place.

Vangelis Pavlidis is another player said to be under consideration. The striker did not score, but has 14 goals in 13 games this season.

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Jan Paul van Hecke didn't expect to be fighting for Premier League survival when he swapped the Amex for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer.

Jan Paul van Hecke has reflected on his difficult start to life at Tottenham Hotspur. The 26-year-old defender, whom the Lilywhites signed from Brighton for £52million at the start of the summer transfer window, hasn't quite had the desired impact in north London, with Robert De Zerbi set for another Premier League relegation battle.

On Sunday afternoon, Spurs plunged to the bottom of the English top-flight when Manchester United salvaged a point against Fulham at Craven Cottage. Although Alvaro Arbeloa's side have also only managed to bank two points so far this season, they have a marginally better goal difference than Tottenham.

Van Hecke has started each of the first five games of the new campaign, featuring alongside Micky van de Ven in two goalless draws and three defeats. Despite his best efforts, the former Seagulls centre-back hasn't managed to lead the Lilywhites to victory in the Premier League yet.

Before reporting for international duty, Van Hecke admitted that he didn't expect to be fighting for survival with Spurs this season. Speaking to Dutch outlet Algemeen Dagblad, the Netherlands international described the start to the campaign as 'unacceptable'.

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As quoted by Sport Witness, he said: "We had imagined it would be different. The way we play and concede goals is unacceptable."

When quizzed on the manner of the defeat to Aston Villa, Van Hecke pointed the finger at Andy Robertson, who, rather than concede a corner, chose to keep the ball in play while a man down and mistakenly gave possession to John McGinn inside the box.

Van Hecke continued: "The way the energy drained away from the team is simply not right. It couldn’t get any worse.

"You know you’re down to 10 men. Then it’s smarter to kick the ball out, so you can wait until Micky gets back.

"You say to each other: ‘Come on, boys. We are much better.’ And then you give it all away completely."

Despite some disappointing performances for Tottenham, Van Hecke was named in the Netherlands squad by Xavi Hernandez, who recently replaced Ronald Koeman as head coach.

"Xavi called me himself," added the Dutchman. "Very positive. I am looking forward to it. A fresh start after the World Cup. The fact that his philosophy leans on attacking football is wonderful."

While Van Hecke looks to impress his new national team gaffer, De Zerbi will be putting those who didn't get a call-up through their paces at Hotspur Way.

Speaking to reporters at the weekend, the Tottenham boss outlined his plan for the international break. He said: "I didn't speak with the players today (Saturday) because I didn't want to say nothing.

"No, I have nothing with them, but the players who go with the national team. They have to play and work.

"The other players, [James] Maddison, [Conor] Gallagher, [Dominic] Solanke, Tosin [Adarabioyo], [Marco] Senesi, Savio, for sure we have to work more, because also the physical condition, I didn't like even this game."

The Tottenham star has decided not to head off with his country as he looks to improve his fitness for Roberto De Zerbi

Mohammed Kudus has decided to remain at Tottenham rather than represent Ghana during this international break in order to improve his fitness.

The 26-year-old has not started a Premier League game since January 4 when he suffered a hamstring injury at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against Sunderland. However, he has returned to action in recent weeks, coming off the bench in the past four Premier League matches and starting in the Carabao Cup defeat at Liverpool last Tuesday night.

Kudus has looked understandably rusty, although he did grab his first assist of the season with his pass for Conor Gallagher to net Spurs ' first Premier League goal of the campaign on Saturday against Aston Villa. Kudus thought he had scored himself early in the second half, after coming on after the break, only for VAR to find Andy Robertson offside in the build-up.

Ghana boss Carlos Queiroz had named Kudus in his squad for this international break, able to call upon the attacker for the first time this year after a setback in training with his hamstring injury in April ruled him out of representing his country at the World Cup.

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However, it understood that the Tottenham man has decided to withdraw from the squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against the Ivory Coast and Gambia, in order to work on his fitness and sharpness over this three week period.

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After Pedro Porro was forced to limp off in Tottenham's home defeat to Aston Villa, the Spaniard has since spoken out after the disappointment

Pedro Porro has vowed to "come back stronger" after he picked up an injury in Tottenham's home defeat to Aston Villa. The World Cup winner's match was ended after just 19 minutes when he felt his hamstring.

It's a massive blow for Roberto De Zerbi's side, who had also been without the defender for most of the pre-season, as he was given an extended break to recover from the World Cup. "A small muscular problem" had forced him to miss the draw away against Everton and the League Cup defeat to Liverpool in the previous weeks.

It's currently unclear as to how long Porro is going to be injured for, but considering his Instagram post, it could be some time.

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He took to social media and wrote: "Sometimes you have to stop, take a breath and start again. Now it’s time to recover and trust the process.

"I’ll come back stronger, hungrier and more motivated than ever. This is just another obstacle on the road. See you soon."

His post comes after the Spanish FA confirmed Porro would no longer be joining his compatriots for the upcoming extended international break.

When asked about his defender's hamstring injury after the game, De Zerbi said: "Listen, Pedro, I said after the World Cup, I said the management of Pedro should be different.

"Because after the World Cup, [there are] many games. I don't know what the problem is. It's a hamstring, I think. Hopefully, it's not a big problem.”

Archie Gray was sent on from the bench to fill in for Porro after the injury. The Spaniard has since pulled out of Spain's squad for their upcoming Nations League fixtures.

Fulham's 1-1 draw against Manchester United on Sunday means De Zerbi's team will anchor the Premier League throughout the international break. They have began the campaign with two draws and three losses after the 3-2 loss to Aston Villa.

When Spurs were beaten by the Midlanders, De Zerbi said to talkSPORT: "It's a mental aspect for sure, but they have the right mentality. they work very well, they are good players.

"It's difficult to explain because, in my career, 14 years as a coach, I've never seen one team like us. So fragile, so inconsistent. You're good, or you're bad.

"You can't be very good in the first 30, 40 minutes, and then concede like this in this way. It's tough to accept for me."

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