Football London

Dele Alli has received a harsh dose of reality regarding his next career move following his most recent disappointment.

The former Tottenham star saw his contract cancelled by Serie A outfit Como at the beginning of September after managing just a single outing. The 29-year-old joined Cesc Fabregas' side in January on an 18-month deal following underwhelming periods with Everton and Besiktas.

However, he received his marching orders fewer than 10 minutes into his debut after being brought on as a substitute during Como's loss away to AC Milan in March. The ex-England international is now searching for a fresh challenge despite previously being regarded as one of the Premier League's most promising young talents.

Dele was linked with three Championship clubs in the immediate wake of his unsuccessful Italian adventure. Wrexham, Birmingham and West Brom were amongst those reportedly keen on acquiring his signature as an unattached player.

But Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson has later said he plans to allocate his final squad position to midfielder Ollie Rathbone, who is approaching a comeback from an ankle problem. Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has supported that choice after suggesting that any club signing Dele would be taking an enormous risk.

The former Bradford and Sunderland striker believes he may need to prove his worth during a trial period before another team gambles on him.

"It hasn't really worked out since he left Spurs," Goodman told Betway. He hasn't shown the same quality at Everton, Besiktas, and Como.

"He only played eight minutes for Como last season in Serie A, so it just hasn't happened for him. For me, it's a massive gamble for any club to take on a 29-year-old who has barely played in the past three or four seasons.

"I think it's a tragic story because he's such a talent, and I think the onus is solely on Dele Alli to find himself a club. Whether that means going on trial and taking your chance should it come your way. If I were Dele Alli, I would be happy to do that."

He added: "It's a tricky situation, but if you can get anything like the player that burst on the scene for MK Dons and then Spurs, where he excelled really, I think it's a gamble worth taking. The problem for the clubs linked with him is, you just don't know what he'll be like until he walks through the door."

Swansea were another Championship side also rumoured to be interested in signing Dele. However, the speculation was quickly quashed by manager Alan Sheehan.

"I can rule that out," he said this week. "I haven't heard that one at all right now. We've done our business unless something dramatically changes.

"Obviously Dele Alli is a wonderful player, so I don't want to comment anything on him or where he is, or how he's playing etc. But look, for Swansea City, I would say no right now."

Thomas Frank is holding his press conference on Friday ahead of Tottenham's return to Premier League action at West Ham.

It has been an international break like no other at Spurs due to the big change at the top that took place last week with Daniel Levy leaving his role as executive after 24 years at the helm of the north London club. Now CEO Vinai Venkatesham is the main man in charge with assistance from the part-time non-executive chairman Peter Charrington and backing from the Lewis family to push the club on.

It will also be the first press conference for Frank since the English transfer window closed with Randal Kolo Muani having arrived on deadline day, and the France international plus fellow new recruit Xavi Simons could be in line to make their Tottenham debuts at the London Stadium on Saturday evening.

The Lilywhites boss will deliver the latest injury news after players returned from international duty plus as update on Dominic Solanke's ankle problem, which saw the England international given injections to see whether it settled down during the international break.

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

Following Cristian Romero's big new contract at Tottenham there are plenty of other player deals that need to be sorted out over the coming months.

Spurs have got themselves into scenarios in recent years where they have either struggled to sell players at the right time or failed to tie down their star names to long-term contracts. They had to sell big names like Harry Kane and Son Heung-min for a fraction of their value as both entered the final year of their deals but managed to tie down Romero to a new four-year contract this summer.

It is a new-look Tottenham now with head coach Thomas Frank at the helm of the team and CEO Vinai Venkatesham in charge of the club, with the backing of the Lewis family, following Daniel Levy's departure after 24 years as executive chairman. Venkatesham has made it clear that there will be extra investment from the powers-that-be to help Spurs compete with their big-spending rivals in the Premier League.

Our Spurs reporter Alasdair Gold was asked a whole load of questions about the club and he did his best to answer as many as possible. Here's the full transcript of that Q&A below.

BradleyHuxter: "Interesting comments from Ange just now about him knowing he would be sacked, even before the Europa League final. How does that line up with the decision taking weeks to be announced after the season had ended and the board seemingly agonising about what to do?"

Alasdair says: "I think there was a general assumption that he would be gone and he probably knew he was likely to but the euphoria around winning the final a first trophy in 17 years changed a lot of the fanbase's view on whether he had earned the chance to continue. Spurs had to pause because of the aesthetics of it all and let the emotions die down a bit."

JoeyG10: "Do you know of any players that Spurs are looking to hand a new contract to? There have been lots of rumours about Bentancur, but that’s gone all quiet, is there anyone else the club is hoping to extend?"

Alasdair says: "I think Rodrigo Bentancur is the obvious one and Thomas Frank really likes the Uruguayan so hopefully that will get done before it gets a bit nervy. A decision will have to be made over Richarlison if he can keep fit for the bulk of this season and then I would imagine it's about rewarding those who have impressed since arriving like Micky van de Ven, Pedro Porro and Dejan Kulusevski."

iandr: "Have you got any idea as to why the Lewis family picked this moment to get more hands on with the club? Feels like there have been plenty of opportunities to push the club forward, before this week."

Alasdair says: "It depends how you look at it. Technically the next generations of the Lewis family have only really been in a more powerful position since 2022 when Joe Lewis, now 88, stepped back as a person of control.

"His children Vivienne and Charles, now in their 60s, alongside Nick Beucher, who is married to Vivienne's daughter Joanna, have been growing in influence behind the scenes through their roles at Tavistock, who own ENIC who in turn own Spurs, to the point that now the family have driven these changes which resulted in Daniel Levy's departure.

"Those close to these later generations of the Lewis family say that they grew frustrated with the lack of success on the pitch and believe that the more modern hierarchy changes they have pushed through after a thorough review will change that.

"For Tottenham supporters, they'll need to know that this is truly something different and not just the same organisation but with different people. The next few transfer windows should give us an answer."

tottenhammakesmecry: "Is there any indication that there is more reorganisation coming in the off the field aspect of Tottenham?"

Alasdair says: "There will be little bits and pieces behind the scenes in various departments and we've seen a new chief marketing officer taken from Arsenal in the shape of Adam Gardiner, but I got the sense that Levy's departure was the final part of the jigsaw.

"I'm interested to see what it all means for Fabio Paratici. The Italian was someone who Levy trusted and new CEO Vinai Venkatesham will want someone with huge football knowledge alongside him as that's what he does, gathers experts in all fields around him.

"It will be fascinating to see whether it's still Paratici, who is believed to work well alongside Johan Lange."

Shuban: "With Russell Martin looking as if he is on borrowed time, do you worry that this could affect Mikey Moore?"

Alasdair says: "Hopefully not. Ashley Phillips played for three different managers at Stoke last season while on loan. If you've got the quality then you'll get in.

hotspur67: "Any news on the leadership group yet please?"

Alasdair says: "I will certainly be asking Thomas Frank about that today at his press conference if we don't hear first in the morning."

Jack00: "I know you've reported on Marc Guehi being a big target for Spurs in the past, do you think there's a chance we'd revisit that in January and try to beat Liverpool to his signature?"

Alasdair says: "I would imagine Spurs will keep an eye on his situation but you'd think Liverpool will be his destination as he'd already agreed to go there."

Annie27: "What do you think all the changes will mean for the women's team? They've often felt like an afterthought - do you think we'll see some decent investment now?"

Alasdair says: "I know Vinai Venkatesham was a big backer of the women's team at Arsenal and that should be the same at Spurs. Martin Ho seems to have made a good impact so far but they do need to strengthen after a relatively quiet transfer window. There was a point made of mentioning the women's team when it came to investment in the CEO's video this week so hopefully that's the case."

tomphillips64: "What are your honest opinions on Tottenham's summer window?"

Alasdair says: "Chaotic with some high profile misses. The club eventually brought in some real quality only to still be lacking in some areas. Key for me was that they made four signings that could all improve the starting XI rather than signing simply youngsters for the future or squad players. That's a big improvement in one respect but we'll find out by Christmas whether it was enough."

tottenhamdre: "When Poch was sacked, there were reports that his bond with Levy remained strong. What’s the sense of things between Ange and Levy post-sacking? Any murmurs about how that relationship stands now? How does it compare with other recent Tottenham managers?"

UEFA has implemented a last-minute alteration to European competition squad regulations just days before the Champions League commences, with neglected Premier League stars poised to reap the rewards.

The continent's flagship tournament gets underway next week featuring a record-breaking six English sides with their improved co-efficient allowing five teams to qualify through their domestic finish. Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea and Newcastle United have also been joined by Europa League winners Tottenham.

The Gunners will be looking to go one better than last season by reaching the final and they kick off their campaign in Spain against Athletic Bilbao.

World champions Chelsea take on Harry Kane's Bayern Munich at Allianz Arena while Spurs welcome Villarreal to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

All of these sides - alongside fellow Champions League representatives Man City, Liverpool and Newcastle, Europa League participants Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, and Conference League entrants Crystal Palace - will now be permitted to alter their registered squads throughout the group stage.

UEFA announced in a statement on Thursday: "The Executive Committee approved an amendment to the 2025/26 UEFA men's club competitions' regulations to admit the temporary replacement of a maximum of one outfield player with long-term injury or illness during the league phase until matchday 6 included."

"The reasoning for the adaptation is to ensure that squad lists are not unfairly reduced and players are safeguarded from additional workload pressure."

Matchday 6 represents the concluding matchday in the initial Conference League league phase, whilst the Champions League and Europa League contest Matchday 7 and 8 of their league phases in the new year.

The specifics of what constitutes a 'long-term injury or illness' remain unclear, but this could potentially allow Chelsea to replace Liam Delap in their Champions League squad following his hamstring injury. New signing Facundo Buononotte may step into the void after expressing disappointment at being left out.

Other high-profile players who failed to make their respective Champions League squads include Liverpool's Federico Chiesa, Tottenham's Mathys Tel and Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus, who is currently nursing an injury.

UEFA has also revealed that Atletico Madrid's Wanda Metropolitano stadium will be the venue for the 2027 Champions League final. The last time it hosted the event was in 2019 when Liverpool triumphed over Tottenham 2-0 in an all-Premier League showdown.

Meanwhile, the Women's Champions League final in the same year will take place at the National Stadium in Warsaw, Poland.

Xavi Simons is pushing to make his Tottenham debut in their upcoming Premier League clash against West Ham United. The 22-year-old officially joined Spurs 24 hours before the visit of Bournemouth but was ineligible to feature as he had not been registered in time.

The club's new poster boy - following the departure of Son Heung-min - was instead unveiled in front of roughly 60,000 Tottenham supporters which left him rather emotional. The September international break and a fixture away to West Ham means it has and will continue to be some time before he plays at his new home.

However, he has been getting stuck in at Hotspur Way with his first full training session since joining taking place on Wednesday.

The previous eight days had been spent at Netherlands camp alongside international and new club teammate Micky van de Ven. Simons played 78 minutes of their 1-1 draw against Poland and was an unused substitute for the 3-2 victory over Lithuania.

Missing the latter likely meant he was raring to go at Spurs and minimal recovery was required with a similar scenario playing out for Cristian Romero. He came back to Hotspur Way earlier than expected with suspension meaning he would miss Argentina's second game of the break.

Pedro Porro, Lucas Bergvall, Rodrigo Bentancur, Richarlison, Brennan Johnson and Djed Spence were among the other Tottenham stars returning to north London over the last 24 hours. The latter was also awarded his first England cap after a bright start to the season at left-back.

Destiny Udogie will be fighting to reclaim that spot with a number of battles elsewhere on the pitch developing. Dominic Solanke and Richarlison look set to compete for the striker spot, assuming the former has overcome an ankle injury that has plagued him since pre-season.

Simons also looks set to be involved in one of those despite the fact he is the only natural No.10 available to Frank. That is because Pape Sarr has been exceptional in the role with his goal-scoring form continuing on international duty.

With limited sessions under Frank, it does seem unlikely Simons will start but he will be given plenty of opportunities. And he seems overjoyed at the decision to join Spurs over the likes of Chelsea and Bayern Munich.

Following his first full training session, Simons uploaded a collage of photos to his Instagram with most of them showing him in action on the grass. The post was captioned: "happy boyyyy."

Even if he is given reduced minutes on Saturday evening at the London Stadium, a start will not be too far off with Spurs kicking off their Champions League campaign against Villareal at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Tuesday.

Following that, Spurs do not have a free midweek before the October international break with a Carabao Cup and another Champions League fixture on their schedule between games against Brighton, Wolves and Leeds United.

Thomas Frank will be hoping to have a key Tottenham player back in his matchday squad to face West Ham United after seeing a long-term absentee feature in team training for the first time in nearly eight months.

Injuries have already impacted the new Spurs boss, with Destiny Udogie and Dominic Solanke missing Premier League games after James Maddison underwent surgery on his knee. Minor fitness concerns have also seen summer signing Joao Palhinha handed reduced minutes.

As several injury problems were evident, it was clear that further investment was required, with Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani both arriving in the final few days of the summer window.

The latter remained at Hotspur Way over the international break, while Simons went away alongside Micky van de Ven to represent the Netherlands.

Tottenham's new attacking midfielder only played once, while captain Cristian Romero also missed Argentina's second World Cup qualifier due to suspension. New centre-back Kota Takai is also yet to make his debut as he continues to be plagued by a plantar fascia injury.

One Spurs defender that did not represent his country over the domestic pause was Radu Dragusin. He has been missing with a serious knee injury since mid-January, but he has now returned to full team training ahead of schedule.

Given the length of his absence and the severity of the injury that kept him out, it will likely be a few more weeks before he is back available. Dejan Kulusevski is another that has been forced to miss a significant period because of a knee issue but the man himself has hinted at when he might be back.

Speaking to Fotbollskanalen, he said: "The status is good. The rehab is going well. Every day I wake up with the same hunger and even more hunger with each passing day. I will be on a football pitch in the very, very near future. If everything goes, as it should, as it has so far, I'm very confident that I will be on the pitch in two to three months."

As for those that could immediately return, Yves Bissouma is likely to be back in contention after Frank revealed he wouldn't be out for "that long" at the end of August. Even if he is fit, with speculation still surrounding his future, he may continue to be omitted.

Solanke is another eyeing a return after missing the defeat to Bournemouth before the international break. Just a few days after that, he uploaded a photo on his Instagram story of him in the gym at Hotspur Way and noticeably without any obvious support on his ankle, which suggests he could be back soon.

As for their Saturday teatime opponents, West Ham, Niclas Fullkrug could miss out after Graham Potter revealed why he returned from the Germany camp early.

When asked for an injury update on Thursday, he said: "We've got Niclas, who has had a slight issue with his calf from international duty, so he came [back] early. He's trained lightly today, so we'll see how he reacts." Young midfielder George Earthy also still looks to be dealing with a foot injury, with Luis Guilherme also out.

Other than that, the Hammers have a clean bill of health, with Crysencio Summerville returning off the bench against Nottingham Forest. Deadline day signing Soungoutou Magassa is expected to be available along with Lucas Paqueta after a late move to Aston Villa did not go through.

Ange Postecoglou admitted he didn't have a great deal of interaction with Daniel Levy at Tottenham as both men enter new chapters in their lives.

Levy appointed the Australian in the summer of 2023 and after finishing fifth in his first season following the sale of Harry Kane to Bayern Munich just days before the opening fixture, Postecoglou won the Europa League in his following campaign to end the club's 17-year-old wait for a trophy in the chairman's tenure.

However, the Spurs head coach's decision to prioritise that European run over the Premier League with a weakened squad was not a popular one among the powers-that-be at the club and Tottenham duly finished 17th in the table with second string starting XIs. Within a few weeks of the celebrations surrounding the Lilywhites' first European trophy in 41 years, Postecoglou was sacked and replaced by Thomas Frank.

Just three months on and now Levy finds himself out of the door after the Lewis family pushed through plans to modernise the hierarchy structure of the club and the 63-year-old stepped down after almost a quarter of a century at the helm.

Postecoglou is now the head coach of Nottingham Forest and was asked what he made of Levy's departure from the club.

"I don't think it's the kind of forum for me to speak about that at length," he said. "Again, I didn't have a great deal of interaction with Daniel. I tend to get on with my daily business and do what I need to do.

"He was there for a very long time. He invested a hell of a lot in the football club in terms of building it up to where it was.

"Obviously, he appointed me so I've got to be thankful for that. Hopefully I repaid him with winning a trophy which they haven’t had in a long time."

Postecoglou also spoke about his own departure from Spurs and how he figured his time in north London was coming to a close.

"It wasn't great, I knew it was coming so it wasn't a surprise," he said. "I knew it was coming a fair way before the final, but we won it and had the parade and had a great three days and I didn't want to tarnish that, but I knew it was done.

"From my perspective, I had the chance to process it. Whether I feel it was unjust, other people make those decisions, they make those determinations. That's up to them, you have to ask them their own reasoning for it.

"What I do know is I had two years where it was very, very challenging but we were with some fantastic people in the football department."

The 60-year-old added: "The supporters, we've put through some tough times, but there isn't a Spurs supporter that I come across now that doesn't want to hug me and take me home for dinner.

"So I must have done something right. I think ultimately that's what we do it for. I'm very proud of what we achieved there. It will always take a special place in my heart.

"How it ended, I don't really think about it a lot. To be fair, I've done it a couple of times myself. I left Celtic and I'm sure that they were disappointed when I left. You understand that's part of the business we're in. But that's okay. It's allowed me now to move into this (Forest) and maybe that's happened for a reason."

Thomas Frank could add three players to his squad this weekend. On Saturday afternoon, Tottenham Hotspur will lock horns with West Ham at the London Stadium as they look to return to winning ways.

Just before the international break, Bournemouth ended the Lilywhites' perfect start to the new Premier League season. Spurs had enjoyed wins over Burnley and Manchester City in the opening couple of weeks, but the Cherries stopped them in their tracks.

Meanwhile, the Hammers stormed past Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, bouncing back from successive defeats. West Ham may fancy their chances after claiming their first three points of the season.

However, they've only won one of their last eight meetings with Tottenham across all competitions. This weekend, Frank looks set to add some big names to his squad.

Randal Kolo Muani, who the Lilywhites signed from Paris Saint-Germain on loan on deadline day, will be hoping to make his debut against West Ham. Upon his arrival in north London, the Tottenham boss described him as a 'quality player' who will offer great versatility across the frontline.

Speaking to the club website, Frank said: "Randal is a quality player who has proven himself over a number of years, playing for big teams in the Champions League and also with good experience for the France national team.

"He's a good age, in the prime of his career, has good qualities that will suit both us and the Premier League, and gives us a different option in the final third being able to play out wide and through the middle. We are all excited for what Randal can add to the squad, and I'm looking forward to working with him."

Kolo Muani was the club's fourth senior signing of the summer, following Mohammed Kudus, Joao Palhinha and Xavi Simons. The latter of whom will also hope to make his debut for Tottenham this weekend.

Simons, who was heavily linked with a move to Chelsea, joined Spurs from RB Leipzig in a deal worth £51m. Shortly after penning a five-year deal with the north Londoners, the 22-year-old attacking midfielder reported for international duty.

He was dropped to the bench for the Netherlands' 3-2 win over Lithuania following his disappointing performance in a 1-1 draw with Poland a few days prior. Dominic Solanke could reappear in Frank's squad this weekend.

The 27-year-old striker has been nursing an injury over the international break. He finally made his return to action at the start of the season, coming off the bench against Burnley and Manchester City.

Solanke missed the 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth due to an ankle issue. When quizzed on the England international's fitness last month, Frank said: "Yeah got a minor issue with his ankle. That’s been a little bit grumbling also in the pre-season.

"It’s just too much for this game and now we have international break so hopefully he can be ready after that."

As international breaks go this has been one of the most eventful in the recent history of Tottenham Hotspur with huge changes at the top of the Premier League club.

Last week brought the end of Daniel Levy's 24-year tenure as chairman with the Lewis family behind club owners' ENIC exerting more influence over proceedings and stepping into a more public position of power. With Levy having been the main man at the top of Tottenham for almost a quarter of a century, it is set to be a very new era at the north London club with CEO Vinai Venkatesham in charge on a day-to-day basis.

There are plenty of questions on the Spurs supporters' lips over what comes next, whether more money will now be spent, if the club could still be sold and whether the Lilywhites' struggles to push on over the years truly lay at Levy's door or were part of something bigger.

There is also the signings of Xavi Simons and Randal Kolo Muani, who could both make their Tottenham debuts this weekend for Thomas Frank in the derby at West Ham United on Saturday evening.

Our Tottenham reporter Alasdair Gold will be answering as many of your questions on the club and the current news around it as possible. He will be discussing all of the above and all things Tottenham Hotspur in the chatroom below in the comments section. You can take part and ask about any topics that cross your mind about the club.

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All you have to do is sign up is submit your question, register your details and you can then take part in the discussion. (You can also sign up by clicking on the silhouette on the top right-hand corner of the screen). While you wait for yours and others' answers, be sure to check out all of the latest content around the latest Spurs news on the site .

Ange Postecoglou has said his sacking from Tottenham was "unusual" mainly because it has never happened to him before and he did think it would finish after winning a trophy.

The 60-year-old ended Spurs' 17-year trophy drought as he led the club to their Europa League triumph in Bilbao against Manchester United in May. However, Postecoglou was sacked just weeks later because of the club's 17th-placed finish in the Premier League as Postecoglou prioritised the European competition, a decision that did not go down well with some within the Tottenham hierarchy.

He was replaced by Thomas Frank in N17 and now Postecoglou has a new job after taking over from Nuno Espirito Santo as the head coach of Nottingham Forest and in his first press conference on Thursday he was asked about his departure from Spurs.

"It was unusual because it's never happened to me before. It's the first time I've been sacked. It's the first time I've had an off-season off. You wonder about the next opportunity. What I did know was I really keen to go to a club that would give me the platform to continue what I've been doing in my career," he said.

"If you asked me at the start of the year if a job with Nottingham Forest was a possibility then I'd have said no because of the job Nuno had done. The opportunity presented itself and I was here to take it."

On that exit from Spurs, he added: "It wasn't great, I knew it was coming before the final. It wasn't a surprise. We had the parade but I knew it was done. From my perspective you have a chance to process that. We put the Spurs supporters through some tough times but there isn’t a Spurs fan that I have come across that doesn’t hug me and want to take me out for dinner, so I must have done something right!"

Postecoglou is taking over from Espirito Santo, a former Tottenham manager himself, he said: "It's the nature of football. You don't really know what circumstances you'll take over. Until Steve Cooper took over the club, they weren't looking as though they were going to be in the Premier League. They've had two excellent managers who have done fantastic work.

"You certainly don't know when these things come to an end. I certainly didn't think I would finish up after winning a trophy."

The former Spurs boss has been mocked for his attacking football over the years and he was quick to knock that criticism down.

"If you look at my first year at Spurs we finished fifth. Fifth would've got you a Champions League spot any other year. And we were really aggressive with our football," he said. "People say it doesn't work. But finishing fifth after taking over a team, and we'd just lost a generational talent in Harry Kane.

"My last year was a different year for sure and we had to adjust the way we did things, and it bought us success. But I'm never going to go away from my principles. I want my team to play football and it's exciting, it gets people talking. From my perspective I'll always try and do things a little bit differently."

He added: "They're missing everything because they're not watching what I do. I do love my teams to attack and score goals, but the one constant in my career is everywhere I've gone I've won things. Sometimes that's done in a slightly different way. If you go back to the start of my career I've played every system there is. Three at the back, four at the back, five at the back.

"I've done 4-4-2 for a whole season. It's a challenging world. There used to be a melting pot of different ideas and opinions. It seems to be a melting pot of the same opinion these days. It'd be nice if everyone took a step back."

On winning trophies in his second year, the Australian said: "I have won things in my first year. I won the double at Celtic. So yeah [I do win trophies in my first year]. I may have to to have a second year here!"