Football London

Thomas Frank has handed a debut to Xavi Simons as Tottenham take on West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday evening.

With Tottenham's first Champions League game on Tuesday night against Villarreal, Frank had to make decisions over who could start in both games in quick succession and which players would only be in the starting line-up for one of the games. Frank has two new signings in his squad in Xavi and Randal Kolo Muani, who joined the club from RB Leipzig and PSG respectively, and while the Dutchman starts, his new French team-mate, who has not played since the beginning of July is among the substitutes.

Dominic Solanke remains out with his ankle problem but Mohammed Kudus starts in his first trip back to the London Stadium following his £55million move across the capital to Spurs in the summer.

Frank would have had various players at different stages of fitness and recovery with Rodrigo Bentancur and Richarlison the final ones to return from games in South America that kicked off at 12.30am UK time on Wednesday. With that in mind, Mathys Tel and Lucas Bergvall come into the team in what looks to be a 4-3-3 with Xavi on the left.

At left-back, Djed Spence starts against after making his England debut late on in the midweek win in Serbia with Destiny Udogie now back and fit and likely to start in Europe in midweek. There is no room for Archie Gray on a packed bench.

Here's the Tottenham team Frank has chosen to face the Hammers:

Tottenham Hotspur travel to the London Stadium this evening for a fierce clash with rivals West Ham United.

Spurs head into the fixture relatively satisfied by the start Thomas Frank has made in north London. After back-to-back victories to start the campaign, including an impressive away victory over Manchester City, Tottenham were brought down to Earth with a bump after losing at home to AFC Bournemouth.

They have Mohammed Kudus in their ranks who is expected to receive a less than warm reception on his first trip back to West Ham since his summer exit. As for the Hammers, they suffered a nightmare start to the season, while conceding eight goals in two matches.

However, the Hammers pulled off a magnificent 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest, before the international break, to ease some of the pressure off Graham Potter. Ahead of this huge London derby, football.london has taken a closer look at how you can follow all of the action.

What time is kick-off?

West Ham vs Spurs shall kick-off at 5.30pm (UK time) on Saturday, September 13.

How can I watch the match in the UK?

This fixture has been chosen for Sky Sports' TV coverage. As such, the match will be available on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.

Fans can also stream the match in the UK via either the Sky Sports App or a Now TV sports pass.

What if I'm not in the UK?

Due to the Premier League's global broadcast rights, supporters outside of the UK will, also, be able to follow the action. In the United States, for example, fuboTV and Peacock will be showing the game while DAZN, fuboTV and Amazon Prime have the rights in Canada.

Over in Asia, the fixture will be shown on Coupang Play in South Korea and U-NEXT in Japan. Meanwhile in Africa, most countries shall be showing the game live on SuperSport Premier League including Nigeria, Mozambique and South Africa.

As for in Europe, Spain shall show the game on DAZN, France will have it on Canal+ Foot, while Germany will be broadcasting the fixture on Sky Sport Premier League.

How else can I follow the fixture?

Welcome to football.london's live coverage of Tottenham's Premier League match at West Ham United this evening.

Thomas Frank has two exciting new Spurs signings to hand debuts to in Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani after the duo's arrivals from RB Leipzig and PSG respectively. He remains without striker Dominic Solanke though, who is yet to shake off an ankle problem that has dogged him since the summer.

This is also the first match of the post-Daniel Levy era at the club with the departure during the international break of the former executive chairman after 24 years at the helm. CEO Vinai Venkatesham will be the main man running the club on a day-to-day basis with backing from non-executive chairman Peter Charrington and the powerful Lewis family.

Alasdair Gold is in Stratford throughout the day to bring you live coverage of Tottenham's fifth match of the season which kicks off a packed schedule of fixtures over the coming month. Stay tuned for detailed updates and analysis from the London Stadium.

The international break is over and with that comes the return of the Premier League – and what better way to start a Saturday evening than a proper London derby.

As well as Millwall playing Charlton on the same day, West Ham will host their other big rivals, with Tottenham travelling to East London for a 5.30pm kick off.

The rivalry between West Ham and Spurs is no secret and became globally recognised 20 years ago in the film Green Street. Pete Dunham (played by Charlie Hunnam) famously mocked Tottenham for having both a “s***” football team and firm.

Another lead character in the film was Leo Gregory, 46, who played a fictional Inter City Firm hooligan called Bovver.

Bovver was one of the favourites from the movie, where he became a turncoat by informing members of Millwall’s firm about a “journo” in the West Ham ranks.

Leo is indeed a massive football fan in real life and he may well be at the London Stadium this weekend, but he will not be cheering on the players in claret and blue.

That’s because Leo is in fact a huge Spurs supporter, despite people still believing he follows the Hammers.

Back in May of this year, Bovver posted a clip of the film on his Instagram page, and one person commented: “Must have been hard playing a West Ham hooligan when you're a massive spurs fan. COYS.”

Replying, Leo said: “Nah was alright I was Bovver in those moments not me.”

He added a winky fancy before the person replied: “Fair enough. Would you have done it if it was Arsenal though?”

Leo responded with two laughy faces and another fan added: “Broke my heart finding out you’re Spurs.”

A third went with: “Classic film remember like yesterday can’t believe that was 20 years ago where has time gone my man.”

Leo once said the success of Green Street helped fund his home and away travels to watch his beloved Tottenham play. He is also not shy about teasing West Ham supporters.

He previously told All News Press: “With this film, West Ham financed my season to follow the Spurs. The funniest thing is when Hammers pounce on me seeing me around their stadium for a derby. They yell ‘Bovver, Bovver’ and ask me for an autograph. I still sign THFC [Tottenham Hotspur Football Club], they are shocked and I love it.”

Leo, who recently has been promoting clothes for Weekend Offender, also appeared in the football hooligan film Cass, another project based on West Ham fans, and one of his most recent roles was in Channel 4 drama Screw.

Tottenham are back in action this weekend - and it's their first match since the transfer window closed. Thomas Frank has been busy shaping his squad in his own mould throughout the summer.

A number of new faces arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium throughout the window, while a host of stars departed the club. And before Spurs' next game against West Ham at the London Stadium, the club's squad for the 2025/26 Premier League season has been finalised.

And it's no shock to see all of their summer signings involved. Bayern Munich midfielder Joao Palhinha is drafted straight in following his loan move, while Dutch midfielder Xavi Simons has also been handed a place.

Randal Kolo Muani and Mohammed Kudus are also given places following their switches from Juventus and West Ham respectively - and the latter expected to play against his former side this weekend.

A number of the summer arrivals are, however, named in the club's Under-21 list, hence why they have been 'omitted' from the official 25-man squad. That's the case with young defenders Luka Vuskovic and Kota Takai.

French forward Mathys Tel is also among the Under-21 players after making his loan switch from Bayern Munich permanent. He has, however, been omitted from Spurs' squad for the Champions League.

Elsewhere, there are a few more intriguing names included that might not otherwise have been. Midfielder James Maddison is expected to miss the vast majority of the current campaign with a serious knee injury.

But there could now be optimism that he can appear at least once before the end of the campaign - having been named in the squad. Meanwhile, Vuskovic, Alfie Moore and Alfie Devine are all included despite having sealed loan moves away from north London late in the summer window.

Elsewhere, key midfielder Lucas Bergvall is a noticeable omission from the senior list, but he's included among the Under-21 players, as are Archi Gray and Wilson Odobert.

Intriguingly, Spurs still have space to add more new faces to the squad should they want to. Frank's current squad boasts just 23 Over-21 players, meaning there is space for two new additions.

Whether they dip into the free agent market between now and January - or wait until the winter window opens - remains to be seen. Of Spurs' senior players, five are considered home grown; namely Brandon Austin, Djed Spence, Maddison, Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke.

Tottenham Hotspur Premier League squad;

Goalkeepers: Vicario, Kinsky, Austin*

Defenders: Van den Ven, Davies, Dragusin, Porro, Romero, Spence*, Udogie, Danso

Midfielders: Bentacur, Bissouma, Palhinha, Maddison*, Sarr, Simons

Attackers: Richarlison, Johnson*, Kolo Muani, Kudus, Kulusevski, Solanke*

Select U21 players

Bergvall, Devine, Gray, Lankshear, Moore, Odobert, Phillips, Scarlett, Takai, Tel, Vuskovic

Former Tottenham strikers Jermain Defoe and Bobby Zamora have backed Ange Postecoglou to thrive at new club Nottingham Forest. Postecoglou was sacked by Spurs in June despite leading the club to Europa League glory, but has only been out of the game for three months.

The Australian is being thrown in at the deep end, with Arsenal awaiting in his first Forest game. He will also arrive with a very different style to predecessor Nuno Espirito Santo, but there is a feeling he has the qualities to hit the ground running.

“I wasn't surprised [to see him back in the game so soon],” said Defoe, who is making his own way in the coaching space after spending time working with Spurs' academy when doing his badges. “Knowing Ange the man, he doesn't shy away from a challenge.

“The fact that he's got this opportunity, it's a massive football club, Nottingham Forest. Won a European trophy, I've mentioned that domestically he wasn't good but at the same time what an opportunity to go into an amazing football club and try to make a difference.

“He's a top manager, he said he was going to win and he does that. But that's football. Managers come and go, but then when you're out of work as a manager you can't wait to get back in. So that's just the game.”

Forest finished 27 points better off than Postecoglou’s Spurs last season, despite scoring six fewer goals. However, Zamora doesn’t think the stylistic differences compared to Nuno will cause too many issues “It's a very different style,” Zamora admitted.

“These are intelligent players, though. They're players that have all played at the very top level, so a change of formation, a change of style, okay, they'll get it, they'll understand it. Listen, they might love it and they might hit the ground running and really shock the Premier League.”

Upon taking over at the City Ground, Postecoglou made it clear he is out to win trophies. He set the same target at Spurs and delivered on it, and Defoe believes he deserves credit for aiming high and succeeding.

“People laughed when he said it but it was like 'That's what I believe',” he added. “Then he delivered it so we just have to hold our hands up and say 'if you say you're going to win a trophy and you win a trophy, what can you say?'”

Thomas Frank has plenty of decisions to make with his Tottenham line-up to face West Ham United on Saturday evening in the Premier League.

Spurs return to action after the international break and that means juggling various players at different stages of fitness with Rodrigo Bentancur and Richarlison the final ones to return from games in South America that kicked off at 12.30am UK time on Wednesday.

With Tottenham's first Champions League game coming up fast on Tuesday night against Villarreal, Frank will have to decide who can start in both games in quick succession and which players will only be in the starting line-up for one of the games.

Frank also has two new signings available in Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani, who joined the club from RB Leipzig and PSG respectively at the end of the transfer window.

"Both of them are looking good. Both of them are definitely in contention to be ready for the squad. Xavi, for natural reasons, is further down the line. He just started the first game for Holland and played a few games for Leipzig," explained the head coach. "Definitely in terms of Randal, it's been a while since he's played. Last time was in the Club World Cup. Hasn't trained really with PSG. So he is not as fit as Xavi, but he looks good."

If Xavi does come straight into Tottenham's starting line-up to provide some much-needed creativity then one of Bentancur, Joao Palhinha and Pape Matar Sarr would have to drop out of the midfield, unless Frank chose to use the 22-year-old Dutchman off the left flank.

There is also a decision to be made at left-back with Djed Spence making his England debut late on in their win in Serbia and Destiny Udogie now back and fit. One will likely start against West Ham and the other in Europe in midweek.

Mohammed Kudus will also make his first trip back to the London Stadium following his £55million move across the capital in the summer.

Here's the Tottenham team that we reckon Frank will select to face the Hammers:

Thomas Frank says he's felt the backing from the powerful Lewis family that owns Tottenham after the shock exit of Daniel Levy.

Staff inside Spurs were left stunned by Levy's departure after 24 years as chairman following a shake-up instigated by the Lewis family, who run ENIC, the company that in turn owns the north London club. The new powers-that-be behind Tottenham are siblings Vivienne and Charles Lewis, the children of former Spurs owner Joe Lewis, alongside Nick Beucher, who is married to Vivienne's daughter Joanna.

Frank was among those left shocked by the departure of Levy but has already felt the backing from the owners, who are expected to invest in the team to help them compete with their big-spending rivals.

"I’ve spoken to a few from the Lewis family and Peter Charrington, the new non-executive chairman. I also spoke to him before, of course he was on the board. So there’s been good, constructive conversations and I feel the backing and they’re happy," said the Dane.

"I think it’s fair to say things have gone quite quickly, so I’m also quite convinced that in the next couple of months I will be more aware of the future plans. Hopefully, we will make them together. I think that’s the best way to do it. Everything I sense, I feel and I’ve been told is positivity and backing."

He added: "It’s very important to be transparent and to be clear, what are we are dealing with, what is the ambition, can we adjust expectations, are we on the same page, what is the strategy, are we aligned, that’s absolutely crucial.

"That was pretty clear since I’ve been appointed and through the transfer window, what are the targets, how did we want to do things, so that’s been good and I expect it to be good. In what direction are we working, are we aligned, what kind of strategy are we following so that should be absolutely clear."

Frank only dealt with Levy for three months before the Premier League's longest-serving chairman departed, with CEO Vinai Venkatesham now the man who will run Tottenham on a day-to-day basis.

"It happened Thursday, I was back on the training ground on Monday, and then we had four training sessions. It was not that Daniel was out there on the training pitch or in the meeting rooms. It is basically business as usual for me, because the transfer window closed when there was a lot of interaction," said the Dane.

"I don’t think it has changed too much for me personally so far so maybe it is too early to ask about that, but of course there are people who have worked with Daniel for so much longer which it is most likely more different for them."

Spurs begin the post-Levy era with a London derby at West Ham on Saturday evening. Frank will be without striker Dominic Solanke, who remains out with an ankle injury, but he will have new signings Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani in line to make their debuts after arriving late in the transfer window.

The match will also bring Mohammed Kudus back to the London Stadium after his £55million move across the capital to the Hammers' rivals with a hostile reception expected for the Ghana international.

West Ham have also said they will ban half-and-half scarves from the match and Frank agrees with that sentiment.

"I guess it’s a little bit odd between two clubs that maybe don’t like each other that much," he said. "They’re probably not selling that many so the one who came up with that idea probably isn't the world’s most wealthy guy!"

Frank has two midfielders who are in the final 10 months of their contracts at Spurs in Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma. The former appears to be a key man under the head coach while the latter could not find a move away during the transfer window as he recovers from a knee injury.

When asked whether he wanted the club to agree a new deal with Bentancur, Frank said: "I think first and foremost, I'm very happy with Rodri. He's been a very good player for us, a top professional in every aspect. I'm happy with him, he's happy with being here. I know that for a fact. Let's see what's going to happen in the future."

Bissouma is still being linked with a move away from the club with some transfer windows open beyond the English one, including the Turkish window which closes tonight (Friday) and the Saudi Pro League one remains open until September 23. However, the Spurs boss does not think there will be any further exits, which means the Mali international will remain part of Tottenham's domestic squad even if he's not been included in the Champions League one.

"I will be surprised if anyone is leaving us now so yes he’s part of the squad," said Frank.

Thomas Frank has provided Tottenham fitness updates on Dominic Solanke, Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani before the Premier League clash against West Ham United.

Spurs have already had their fair share of injury blows over the last month, with James Maddison, Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke all suffering muscular issues to join Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin on the injury list. The latter has returned to team training in recent days, however.

Despite being out of action, Kulusevski went away with the Sweden national team for their World Cup qualifiers, where he also discussed his knee injury and admitted he hopes to be back in a few months.

Udogie is the only one of those aforementioned names that featured in the defeat to Bournemouth before the September international break and that is almost guaranteed to be the case again for the trip to West Ham, with Frank confirming Solanke will miss out.

"Everyone returned from international duties well," he admitted in a Friday press conference at Hotspur Way. "Dom will not be available still. Don't expect it to be long but he will not be ready for this game."

Pushed further on the Spurs striker, Frank said: "I think right now we are doing everything we can – the medical team - to get on top of it and that’s what we’re focusing on. I get a feeling he is not too far away, but he’s just fallen short for this week."

Solanke has been dealing with this ankle problem since pre-season, with hope being that he would be available after a further two weeks to recover. The 27-year-old had also posted an Instagram story of himself in the gym and using a squat rack.

Two attackers that could feature at London Stadium are Simons and Kolo Muani, with both arriving late into the summer window from RB Leipzig and Paris Saint-Germain, respectively.

Unsurprisingly, Frank was asked if either could be involved against the Hammers on Saturday.

"Both are looking good. Both are in contention to be ready for the squad tomorrow," he said. "Xavi for the natural reasons is further down the line. He started for the Netherlands the other day. Randal hasn't played for a while, last time was the Club World Cup."

As for West Ham, Graham Potter does not appear to have many injury problems, with George Earthy and Luis Guilherme the only players unavailable prior to the two-week domestic pause. However, Niclas Fullkrug is now an injury doubt following his time away with Germany.

"We've got Niclas, who has had a slight issue with his calf from international duty, so he came [back] early," Potter revealed on Thursday. "He's trained lightly today, so we'll see how he reacts."

Thomas Frank had plenty to discuss at his press conference on Friday afternoon ahead of Tottenham's return to Premier League action at West Ham United.

It has been a drama-packed international break Spurs with Daniel Levy stepping down from his role as executive chairman after 24 years at the top of the north London club as the Lewis family in charge of owners ENIC pushed through plans to modernise the hierarchy. CEO Vinai Venkatesham is the man in charge of that power structure with help from part-time non-executive chairman Peter Charrington.

It was the first press conference for Frank since the transfer window closed with Randal Kolo Muani arriving on loan on deadline day, and the France international plus fellow new recruit Xavi Simons are set to make their debuts at the London Stadium on Saturday.

The Tottenham boss delivered the latest injury news as players returned from international duty as well as an update on Dominic Solanke's ankle problem.

Our Spurs correspondent Alasdair Gold was among those putting the questions to Frank. Here is the full transcript from the press conference at Hotspur Way.

How is the squad looking with injuries?

Everyone is fine, everyone returned from international duties well so that's always positive. Very happy about that. Everyone seems to be in a good place. Dom will not be available still, don't expect it to be too long but he will not be available for this game.

What will Daniel's legacy be?

Daniel deserves massive praise. He's been here 24 years, must be one of the longest chairman that has been in the Premier League ever. The things he's built, the success he's been a massive part of, you can't praise that enough. I think the two big, big things is he's actually laid I would say the foundation for the future in terms of this fantastic world-class training centre and of course a world-class stadium. Both those two we are at a top level so we can build from there to hopefully compete with the best clubs in the future. That is Daniel.

Did you say goodbye?

Yes, I've spoken to him. I've only of course known Daniel, but not known Daniel if that makes sense, I've known of him I would say. The last three months is where I've spent more time with him so it's been brief. I've said thank you. I know it's not only him appointing me but he had probably the decisive words so I can only appreciate that in every aspect. I'll always be appreciating of that, very pleased with that. I wish him all the best going forward.

Does talk of takeover moves filter down and unsettle you and players?

I would say as Vinai was saying and quoted from on this going forward, it's not a new ownership, it's the same ownership. It's just the majority shareholders have more influence. They're very committed to the club, they want to build something good for the future. I would say for me the main thing I can do to do my job well is to focus on now and tomorrow against West Ham, huge London derby. That's my main thing. I'm probably also a bit of a problem where I just focus with what is in front of me.

You just mentioned West Ham tomorrow, how excited are you to experience that London derby for the first time as Spurs manager?

Very excited, I know it means a lot for the fans. We will go there and do everything we can to of course try to win the game. I think we're facing a West Ham team which I think maybe didn't have the best start. I think they got a very good win against Nottingham and I think they did well.

I think they've got some top players. I've known Graeme Potter for years and I've followed his fantastic work all the way from Sweden to Swansea to Brighton to Chelsea to now here. So big respect for him and his staff.

I know it will be difficult and I know this game tomorrow will be extremely difficult because no matter if West Ham were top of the league or bottom of the league or middle of the league, this game will just make them raise their level. So I expect an extremely difficult game, but we'll be ready for it and we're ready to attack.

Mohammed Kudus will return to the London Stadium for the first time since making that move from West Ham to Spurs, he said it's just another game for him, how do you think he'll handle that potentially hostile reception and atmosphere tomorrow?

I don't think they will applaud him. Maybe not. I'm pretty sure players and myself included, sometimes you feel the extra tension or extra noise. But then at a certain stage you get into your zone and then you don't really hear it.

I'm pretty sure it's the same for Kudus tomorrow. I'm pretty sure it's the same for all players that are playing in hostile environments. The thing he should do is focus on his game. That's what he can control.

Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani, are they in line to make their debut tomorrow?

Yeah, both of them are looking good. Both of them are definitely in contention to be ready for the squad. Xavi, for natural reasons, is further down the line. He just started the first game for Holland and played a few games for Leipzig. Definitely in terms of Randal, it's been a while since he's played. Last time was in the Club World Cup. Hasn't trained really with PSG. So he is not as fit as Xavi, but he looks good.

With Daniel it seemed to catch everyone by surprise, what does it mean for you and the club going forward when it comes to transfers?

I would say it's nothing that I expected. I don't think anyone expected it. A decision is made. We move forward. I think transfers going forward, of course, need to be, how can you say, not reconstructed, because that's not the right word. It was very clear how the roles were, let's say, for this window. There's somethings Daniel is involved in, something he's not involved in or was involved in. So that just needs to be changed a little bit.

I don't see it as a big thing. Definitely not impacting me too much that we find out what kind of players we'd like to get, and then someone needs to find out to negotiate that.

Does that mean you maybe want a bigger say, possibly, in some of the new targets you'd like to bring in? Is that fair?

No, I don't think that's fair. I think that's quite unfair. I think this window, I only experienced a good collaboration between me, Daniel, Vinai and Johan, where we were agreeing on what kind of targets we went for. So I expect the same going forward.

You left Mathys Tel out of your Champions League squad. You called him, but I was just wondering if you could explain why you'd done it and what you said to him?

Yeah, I think, first of all, that was an extremely difficult decision to make. I also think, in many ways, it was a bit unfair. I also think that the UEFA Champions League lists are not big enough. We know the load on the players is getting bigger and bigger. We have said it many times, we are hopefully playing 60-plus games. That's without international games.

So some of them can be involved in up to 70 games. So I think that we need probably a bigger squad. I can't understand why we need to limit ourselves.

I actually like the idea of the club-trained players. I think it's a good thing, every team needs to develop their own players. So I think that's good. Of course, that limits us a little bit as it stands. Hopefully, we get it after that, but because we had a less number, I had to make a decision now instead of making a decision before a team selection.

Before I name, for example, I name 20 or 23 players tomorrow. For Champions League, you can name even more. So anyway, the squad you're naming before every game, it's, you know, performance, all that. Now I need to name it before I really know Mathys and I think he's done well. I just had to take a tough decision.

I think he's been extremely mature. He's 20-years-old. The way he handled it, the way he trains, everything about him, extremely impressive.

With Xavi and Randal Kolo Muani, they're very versatile players, have you got in your mind yet where you see them performing on the pitch for you more often than not?

I have some ideas. I think it's still a team I'm learning. I get to know better and better. Of course, I have key ideas, but, you know, something is to look from the outside, another thing is to, as I say, feel them. You're around them. You speak to them. You watch them live, training, games. You watch the game back with, like, a very specific view.

And then I have some ideas how I want to do it, and then you get surprised. Okay, that could look good, and other times you need to change a bit. So I learn about the team and the players.

Xavi, I see him mainly as a 10 or a left-sided player or left winger. Whereas Kolo, I see he can him playing as striker and he can play both wings, I would say.

Dominic Solanke, this ankle injury has been going on since the summer, how are you dealing with it and is there the potential to have surgery down the line?

I think right now we are doing everything we can – the medical team - to get on top of it and that’s what we’re focusing on. I get a feeling he is not too far away, but he’s just fallen short for this week.

You said you would name your leadership group after the transfer window, have you?

It’s a big note on my paper and I need to do that. The answer is no. Very honest huh?

How do you reflect on transfer window as a whole now with Kolo Muani coming in on deadline day? Did you want more players?

I would say I am really happy with the squad. I think the club have done a very good job and the club is especially Daniel and Johan. Of course there is Vinai but Daniel and Johan are the two main guys that have been the driver of it. I think actually it is very impressive with what they’ve been doing and how committed they have been to improving the squad. I think it is two big signings Kudus and Xavi Simons, two top players I am convinced will help us massively and then we have two very good loan deals on two other good top players. Yeah, I’m pleased with the squad.

The whole world found out on that Thursday around 6pm that Daniel Levy was leaving – when did you find out? I'm guessing it wasn’t the notification on X?

No, no (smiles). I was of course involved but it was not early, early. It is something between the shareholders and CEO and then they informed us who would take care of the football side of things at the right time.

Is it business as usual as Vinai says? Was he who you dealt with before anyway and how much did you speak with Daniel Levy on a day-to-day basis?

I would say the whole idea of getting Vinai is was to have a day-to-day person to speak to and I speak a lot with Vinai, but he’s like the CEO and then there is Johan, who is the technical director. So, with all due respect, I think I speak more football with him (Lange) which is the way it should be. Then of course because Daniel has been so integral and such a big part of Tottenham, of course it was natural I had conversations with him.