Football London

Kota Takai has spoken for the first time as a Tottenham Hotspur player and confirmed the versatility that will be of real use to new head coach Thomas Frank.

Spurs signed the 20-year-old Japan international from Kawasaki Frontale on Tuesday for £5million after the centre-back flew over after his final game for the J.League side. He will now get involved in pre-season training with Frank and his new team-mates this week once his international clearance and work permit come through.

In his first interview with the club, Takai said he was looking forward to the challenge ahead ahead after quickly heading over from Japan, having said goodbye to the Kawasaki fans in an emotional ceremony within a sold-out stadium following their 2-1 win against Kashima Antlers.

"I played in the match with Kawasaki Frontale in the J.League on Saturday and I got on the plane the next day and I'm here today, now," he said. "Having arrived in London I'm full of excitement."

On where he can play at the back, the young defender confirmed that versatility that will serve him well under Frank: "My position is centre-back. I can play either side - right or left.

"I was born in Kanagawa, Japan. I've always played football since my childhood. The reason why I love football is because as a team we can improve our skills together."

Takai's journey at Kawasaki was rapid, making his debut in the first team at just 17 and going on to make 81 senior appearances for the club before making his Japan debut, with four World Cup qualifying appearances so far for the national side around an adductor injury last year.

"The J.League has very high intensity, and its level is high. I won the Young Player Award last year and I was very happy. I joined Team Japan. It was always my dream. I remember I had goosebumps when I went on the pitch for the first team as part of the national team," he said.

Now comes the challenge of the English game and the Japan international is keeping his focus on his initial target at the north London club.

"I've always watched the Premier League a lot, since I was little," he said. "At Spurs, my first aim is to be on the pitch for a match and do my best."

Alejo Veliz is set to depart Tottenham Hotspur on loan back to his former club Rosario Central.

football.london understands the 21-year-old is currently set to head back to Argentina on a straight loan that contains no option nor obligation to sign him permanently. It is expected to have an option to recall Veliz in the January transfer window should the loan not be going as planned or if another club wants to buy the striker.

Veliz was back in pre-season training with new head coach Thomas Frank and his staff this week, but he is not part of the Dane's plans for the coming season.

The young forward has made just eight appearances for Spurs since signing in 2023, scoring once, before being sent out on loans to La Liga to Sevilla and Espanyol, with varying degrees of success. He played just six times for the former in a half-season loan and got 29 appearances at the latter, scoring four times with a Copa del Rey hat-trick.

Tottenham's issues with club-trained numbers make it difficult to register Veliz in their European squad and he has struggled to break past homegrown strikers like Will Lankshear and Dane Scarlett at the club since his £13million move.

Now Veliz is set to head back to Rosario where he made his name, a club where he makes constant returns during his free time, including this summer, and both he and his former side have been keen on a reunion for the coming season. He will now play alongside Argentina legend Angel di Maria after his return to his boyhood club.

Tottenham have confirmed the signing of Kota Takai from J.League side Kawasaki Frontale, subject to international clearance and work permit.

The 20-year-old Japan international centre-back has agreed a deal with Spurs that will run until 2030. The Yokohama-born defender mad his first team debut for Kawasaki in April 2022 in an 8-0 victory over Guangzhou in the AFC Champions League. He said since earned the J.League’s Best Young Player award while making a total of 81 senior appearances in all competitions, scoring four goals, and he helped his team to the 2025 AFC Champions League final.

On the international stage, Takai has made four senior appearances for Japan in World Cup qualifying fixtures and in 2024 helped his country to win the AFC Under-23 Asian Cup. He also represented his country at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, reaching the quarter-finals of the tournament.

Takai becomes Spurs' third signing of the summer, albeit their first new face, with his £5million switch after the loan moves for Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso became permanent. Another new defender has also joined, having signed two years ago, in the shape of Luka Vuskovic from Hajduk Split after loan seasons in Poland and Belgium.

Takai said farewell to the Kawasaki fans with an emotional ceremony on Saturday after their 2-1 victory against high-flying Kashima Antlers in the J.League. Now he will take part in new Spurs head coach Thomas Frank's first pre-season at the north London club.

Monday brought the return of the Tottenham players to the Hotspur Way pitches but under a new head coach in Thomas Frank.

The Dane has begun to work with those squad members who have returned to the Enfield training complex with grass work beginning on Monday after the early time spent with the sport science staff, going through testing in the gym and blood work. The group of remaining international players will return later this week, while those involved at the under-21 and under-19 European Championships will be back a few days later.

Frank's big coaching staff includes Justin Cochrane, Chris Haslam, Matt Wells, Andreas Georgson, Cameron Campbell, Stuart Lewis and goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte and his assistant Dean Brill as well as analyst Joe Newton and the new-look team will be getting to work with the Spurs players and feeding back information to the head coach about them all.

So which players will be fighting for their Tottenham futures at the club over the next couple of weeks? Here are five members of the squad who could be heading out of the door if they do not catch the eye. We're not going to include Bryan Gil or Alejo Veliz here because the feeling seems to be that their futures already lie elsewhere.

Yves Bissouma

The Mali international played his part in the final few Europa League matches of last season but ultimately it was a difficult campaign for Bissouma which began with those disciplinary issues.

The midfielder, who turned 29 next month, started just 16 Premier League games and is now in the final 12 months of his contract. It was perhaps notable that Frank mentioned Rodrigo Bentancur in his first interview and wanting to fit him into his team, even though the Uruguayan is in the same contract position, but there was no mention of Bissouma.

It feels like Bissouma is heading towards the exit door this summer unless he can save his Tottenham future with a pre-season that wows the new head coach.

Ashley Phillips

Ashley Phillips never really got a chance under Ange Postecoglou, or was not rated by the Australian and his coaching staff, but did have two impressive loan spells in the Championship at Plymouth and Stoke where he earned plenty of plaudits.

The centre-back turned 20 a couple of weeks ago and he will be fully aware that the arrival of Luka Vuskovic and the soon to join him Kota Takai is going to only block the path further to ever playing a competitive match for Tottenham.

Frank will want to have a proper look at the big centre-back but Phillips is going to need to have the pre-season to end all pre-seasons to ensure his Spurs career doesn't just become a temporary rest stop between loans before leaving permanently.

Manor Solomon

The winger, who turns 26 this month, wants to stay and impress Frank but for a player signed on a free, Tottenham will know they can get good value for him after a big season in the second flight.

Solomon helped Leeds win the Championship and scored the goal that sealed it and in all he registered 23 goal involvements in 41 matches for the Elland Road side. The issue for the Israel international is that the club-trained issues mean he's unlikely to get into the European squad so appearances could be thin on the ground for him this season if he were to stay.

He's going to be full of confidence after that season at loan though and he should look bright in pre-season. Returning later this week following his international exploits, Solomon needs to make the case to stay at the club otherwise the exit door beckons.

Dane Scarlett

Dane Scarlett has two years left on his contract and this feels like the season when the 21-year-old striker needs to show that all of the praise he's received from previous Spurs managers about his potential was justified.

With a couple of homegrown players likely to stick around because of those club-trained requirements in the Champions League, it could be a shoot-out between Scarlett and Will Lankshear to remain with Frank and the squad this coming campaign.

The one who impresses the most in pre-season is likely to get the nod. Last season it was Lankshear with the two strikers swapping halfway through the campaign with Scarlett returning and Lankshear heading to West Brom. A few years back, Brentford had a bid accepted for Lankshear before he went to Spurs from Sheffield United so Frank will know all about him and want to see how he's developed.

Alfie Devine

Alfie Devine clearly has talent and has impressed in each of the past two pre-seasons at Tottenham and he has also worked with Justin Cochrane in the England set-up which bodes well.

Coming off a good season with Vuskovic at Westerlo, the problem is will the midfielder, who turned 21 next month, ever break through at the club due to the sheer numbers in his position?

With two years left on his contract, Devine is probably due another deal, but would need to see a future for himself rather than just heading out on a third loan. He is a homegrown player for Spurs but sticking around purely for that might not be beneficial to his development. Frank will ultimately make the decision on what comes next for the England U20 international.

It comes as no surprise to see Tottenham fans focus on transfer incomings in N17 this summer. Plenty of work has to be done to improve Thomas Frank's squad as Spurs look to challenge on four fronts this season.

The north London club have already confirmed the permanent signings of Kevin Danso and Mathys Tel from Lens and Bayern Munich respectively, with Kota Takai to follow from Kawasaki Frontale in a £5million deal. Mohammed Kudus could potentially join them in making the move to Tottenham if a fee can be agreed on with West Ham for his services.

In terms of outgoings, Cristian Romero is constantly in the headlines regarding a switch to Atletico Madrid and Son Heung-min could head elsewhere after ten years at the club. One player Tottenham do have to make a decision on sooner rather than later is Yves Bissouma.

The Mali international is now in the final year of his contract at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Spurs must decide whether to extend his stay or sell him. It just hasn't quite happened for Bissouma at Tottenham with the midfielder unable to replicate his incredible Brighton & Hove Albion performances on a regular basis.

Bissouma has had his moments in a Spurs shirt, notably putting in a big shift to help Tottenham win the Europa League final against Manchester United back in May. Inconsistency has plagued his Spurs career, though, and it wasn't long before Lucas Bergvall moved ahead of him in the pecking order last term following his move from Djurgarden.

Just where exactly Bissouma is in Frank's Tottenham plan should become clear in the weeks ahead. The Dane is clearly a fan of the 28-year-old after namechecking him during his post-match press conference following Tottenham's win at Brentford in February.

“Their midfield – Dejan Kulusevski, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma – that is a very, very, very good Premier League midfield," claimed Frank. Having opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation at Brentford last season and possibly set to do the same at Spurs, it may be a question of who is the player to join Bentancur in the midfield two.

Bissouma, Bergvall, Pape Matar Sarr and Archie Gray are the midfielders for the 51-year-old to consider, with the possibility of Spurs moving for a new No.6 given they have been crying out for one over the past two seasons. There will be movement across the Tottenham squad in the weeks ahead, with midfield, the heartbeat of Frank's team, one position that could see alterations take place.

Reports from Italy suggest that Juventus could make a move for Bissouma as a replacement for Douglas Luiz. The ex-Aston Villa man could be set for a return to the Premier League after one year away and the 27-year-old will need to be replaced, thus seeing TuttoMercatoWeb mention Bissouma as an attainable target. The outlet report that Spurs want around €20million (£17million) to allow him to leave.

Cashing in on the ex-Lille man would allow Spurs to put the money towards other deals, perhaps the signing of a No.6 to take his place in Frank's midfield. Due to his inconsistent performances and his current contract status, it does make sense for Tottenham to part with him prior to the transfer deadline as they plan for the years ahead.

A new head coach does bring about a fresh start for all and Bissouma will be using this summer as an opportunity to make himself a permanent fixture of Frank's Tottenham team. It is a big few months coming up in the player's career.

Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank has now finalised his full coaching staff for the season ahead.

Frank arrived at Spurs last month with Justin Cochrane and Chris Haslam making the trip with him from Brentford as first team assistant coach and head of performance/first team assistant coach respectively. Joining them from the Bees was Joe Newton as first team coach analyst.

Ex-Manchester United and Arsenal coach Andreas Georgson, who previously worked with Frank at Brentford, has also arrived as first team assistant coach with an expertise in set pieces, both attacking and defensive. Cameron Campbell has now also joined Spurs as first team individual development coach having previously been head of player development at RB Leipzig.

football.london reported this week that Matt Wells, Ange Postecoglou's senior assistant coach, had been asked by Frank to remain on his staff to be joined by U18s coach Stuart Lewis in a new supporting role with the first team. Those two appointments have now been confirmed by the north London club.

The highly-rated 36-year-old Wells is the grandson of the legendary Tottenham double-winner Cliff Jones is believed to be friends with Cochrane after their years together as coaches in the club's academy.

Lewis, 37, has a growing reputation within the game, having picked up three trophies in as many years at Spurs, and has been promoted to become first team academy transition coach. As part of this newly-created role, he will help the development and integration of the young Tottenham players into the senior set-up. Spurs have begun advertising for a new U18s lead coach to replace him.

Postecoglou's goalkeeping coach Rob Burch has left the club with ex-Liverpool and USA goalkeeping coach Fabian Otte replacing him within the new-look staff.

Like Lewis, Dean Brill also steps up to become first team assistant goalkeeping coach, having previously worked as the head of academy goalkeeping at the club.

There is the possibility that Tottenham lose half of Ange Postecoglou's leadership group this summer. Following his appointment as head coach in June 2023, the Australian named Son Heung-min as his Tottenham captain and Cristian Romero and James Maddison as vice-captains.

The trio would later be joined in the leadership group by Guglielmo Vicario. Just how the leadership group will look under new head coach Thomas Frank remains to be seen.

Ahead of the 2025/26 season, Son has been linked with a move away from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after 10 years with the club. football.london reported last month that the skipper is more open to leaving Spurs than he ever has been before.

Then there is Romero, who continues to be linked with a move to Spanish side Atletico Madrid. The World Cup winner took a swipe at the club in an Instagram account when paying tribute to Postecoglou following his departure, and whether he wants to remain at Tottenham or head elsewhere could become clear in the weeks ahead.

Frank will certainly be hoping to keep Romero at the club as he is such a pivotal figure at the back for the Lilywhites. If both Romero and Son are to head for pastures new before the summer transfer window closes for business then the head coach will have a decision to make over the captaincy and also leadership group. So who else could step up and form part of the group?

Dejan Kulusevski is certainly someone who should be considered after wearing the captain's armband for Sweden over the past 12 months. He already appears to have made an impact in terms of his leadership on the international stage if Sweden left-back Ludwig Augustinsson's verdict is anything to go by.

"He has natural leadership qualities. He is a pusher," he told TV4. "He wants to move forward, he takes the initiative. He drives the team on the pitch and more and more in the dressing room.

"He is much more open and outgoing than before. He is growing more and more into a leader and he has a lot of experience at the highest level. It feels natural that it is he who takes the armband."

That area of Kulusevski's game has grown massively and he has been a leader for Tottenham on the pitch in terms of his performances even if he isn't wearing the armband. For someone who speaks honestly, has high ambitions at the football club and is a regular in the team, he could be the perfect player to step up.

Rodrigo Bentancur should also be under consideration for a leadership role as he is a pivotal figure in the middle of the park. The Uruguayan is someone who has been a guiding figure for Tottenham's young midfield stars and he would certainly be worthy of a more senior role.

Bentancur was in fact captain for Tottenham's 2-0 defeat against Crystal Palace at the start of May as Vicario, Romero and Son were on the bench and Maddison missing through injury. Rather than handing the honour to long-serving defender Ben Davies, Postecoglou gave the armband to Bentancur and that just shows how valued he was by the former boss.

One other possible contender for a leadership role could be Pedro Porro. After all, he was in every matchday squad last season and didn't miss a game through injury, which was in fact quite the feat considering the issues Tottenham had to deal with. The Spaniard is a very popular member of the Tottenham squad and is someone who has the attributes to be a leader.

Porro, who is very vocal, has in fact captained Spain Under-21s previously during a 3-0 win over Israel in November 2020. Amid the possibility of some players needing to step up if Son or Romero are to depart, Porro, Bentancur and Kulusevski could be key men in Frank's first season in charge.

The transfer noise continues around Cristian Romero, even if it's all quiet at Tottenham Hotspur; and that will be a familiar feeling at the north London club.

Spurs and long-running transfer sagas with plenty of noise around them are a common occurrence. Think Gareth Bale and Luka Modric in the past and Harry Kane for most of his goal-plundering years at the north London club. Every summer with the England captain brought noise aplenty with interested clubs stoking up the atmosphere and attempting to unsettle the player and those around Tottenham.

All three of those players did eventually leave Tottenham but it was not when everyone expected they would depart, often a year or two later. In total they exited the Premier League club for abroad for a combined figure of roughly £220million including add-ons.

So the moral to the story seems to be that if you are going to take away one of Spurs' star players, then you are going to have to wait and pay the price tag.

This year, the subject of all the noise at Tottenham is Romero. As with Bayern's vocal pursuit of Kane two years ago when club officials spouted his name in interviews most weeks, so Atletico Madrid's interest in the World Cup-winning centre-back has been anything but reserved.

When Diego Simeone was asked in the mixed zone after the Club World Cup defeat to PSG about the Spurs defender he reportedly replied with a grin: "Do I want Cuti Romero? Of course! He's a great player."

The Spanish media reports around the Tottenham man have been similarly big and bold, with claims that Simeone calls Romero every day trying to get the move done for his compatriot and the view of some of the press there is that Spurs are expected to give in to the might of Atletico's powerful approach eventually for the 27-year-old.

The problem for Simeone is that if he has indeed been calling Romero every day, then he's been calling the wrong person. The phone number of chairman Daniel Levy is the one he really needs.

With two years left on the Argentine's contract and Romero having just been named as the player of the tournament in the Europa League and man of the match in that final in Bilbao, his price as a World Cup winner and two-time Copa America winner is going to be large. Don't forget, this was the man Lionel Messi declared 'the best defender in the world'.

So bearing in mind Levy's previous stance over star players - think Sir Alex Ferguson saying that dealing with the Spurs chairman over Dimitar Berbatov was more painful than his hip replacement - and you would imagine that the certainty over a deal in the Spanish media is more than a touch premature.

Tottenham signed Romero permanently for around £42million in 2022, after a first season technically on loan from Atalanta. Bearing in mind everything he's won since then for country and now club, suggestions that Spurs might accept a deal worth just a few million or so in profit seems a bit far-fetched.

For Spurs to even consider a bid it will have to be seriously head-turning for a player who in the words of former Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou makes those alongside him "walk a bit taller".

Recent reports coming out of Spain have suggested that Atletico had made a new bid of just €55million (£47.3million) with a potential further €15million (£12.9million) in add-ons.

However, football.london understands that at this point Tottenham have not received a new or recent bid for Romero. It's again worth looking at how close that reported base figure is to what they signed the Argentine for in the first place.

With all the noise in Spain, it seems to be quiet on the Romero front currently at Spurs. Whether that changes or not will likely depend on the player on his return in the coming days.

The centre-back is expected back at pre-season training at Hotspur Way among the group of internationals due later this week. New boss Thomas Frank is understood to be excited about working with Romero and wants him in his backline this season. As Simeone suggested, who wouldn't?

The aggressive nature of the Dane's brand of football should suit Romero, who enjoyed such a role under Postecoglou. It's also worth noting that up until this point, the centre-back has been respectful about Tottenham as a club he has affection for, albeit venting his feelings on some of the decisions taken by the hierarchy over the years.

The defender did say that he would like to play in La Liga at some point in his career, but he will also have Champions League football this coming season on the menu at Spurs. It's not like he would be slumming it in N17 if he were to stick around.

At 27-years-old, time is still on Romero's side and he may not have even reached his peak as a centre-back. He has now won a trophy with Spurs, the first club prize of his career, and he will know that he did so while not being available for much of last season due to injury.

All eyes will be on his return this week and that first meeting with Thomas Frank. There's plenty of noise around Cristian Romero but Tottenham will just want quiet focus in the weeks ahead.

Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United remains a transfer that has potential, rather than being a done deal.

The Red Devils have been attempting to sign the Cameroon forward from Brentford for some time, but have yet to conclude a deal for the 25-year-old.

Mbeumo wants to make the move to United, although Brentford sporting director Phil Giles admitted he could yet stay at the Gtech Community Stadium this summer.

"There's significant interest in Bryan, I think it's been documented and publicised about his current preference, from what I understand, if needs be he'd be happy to stay at Brentford next year as well," Giles said.

"It's not a given that he's going to depart this summer, he had a great season last season, if we get the right offer there's potentially a deal to be done."

United imposed their own deadline on sealing the deal for Mbeumo, with the Red Devils wanting to complete the transfer before the start of pre-season. That deadline has, however, now passed, with the United players returning to Carrington on Monday and it remains to be seen if they will continue to pursue a deal for Mbeumo.

Tottenham, with former Bees manager Thomas Frank now in charge, had also been linked with a move for Mbeumo, although turned their attentions towards West Ham forward Mohammed Kudus upon hearing Mbeumo wanted the move to Old Trafford.

But Spurs could still be in the race to sign Mbeumo, given they have seen bid rejected by the Hammers for Kudus.

United have had two bids - £55million and £62.5million - rejected by Brentford and have yet to return to the Bees with a third proposal.

Having signed Mathys Tel permanently following a loan move last season and with Kota Takai set to complete a £5million move to north London from J.League team Kawasaki Frontale, Spurs are yet to make their first big-money transfer of the summer transfer window.

Mbeumo could be up for grabs once again and Frank would be only too happy to reunite with the player he spent six years developing in west London.

Tottenham Hotspur are after a marquee signing to kickstart the summer for new manager Thomas Frank, and West Ham's Mohammed Kudus is the top target as his departure grows more likely - and some fans in the football.london comments section reckon he would be a great addition to hone Spurs' attack as they look to make a big improvement next season.

The 24-year-old reportedly has an £85m release clause for Premier League clubs which is only active in the first 10 days of July. West Ham will be in no great rush to sell, with the forward's contract running until 2028. It's been claimed that Spurs have already submitted a bid worth £50 million for the Ghana international, but this has been rejected and the club will have to improve their offer if they are set on bringing Kudus in.

Kudus has been one of the Hammers' most exciting players since his £38 million move back in 2023, and his versatility means that he can play all across the forward line, despite being most often deployed out wide. Spurs look to have been beaten out by Manchester United in their pursuit for Brentford's Bryan Mbeumo, and are after more forward options this year.

The move would be a great one to start off the Thomas Frank era, according to some fans. Reader Atxspurs says: "I think Mo could become a superstar for us under Frank. Mbuemo is great, but he's been leveled up as much as he's going to under TF.

"Eze, amazing as he is, at 27, he's also maxed out I believe. Kudus is already pretty incredible, and his ceiling is stratospheric. Frank wanted Brennan before, maybe he envisions him as a LW/LF being right footed, with Mo on the right. With his dribbling and passing he can be a great creator as well as goalscorer."

Commenter HarrowSpur writes: "Kudus isn’t top draw but he’s much better than Johnson who is at best a one trick pony. We lost 22 games last season mainly because our front 3 were pants and the midfield nonexistent."

On our Facebook page, Glenn Jenkin writes: "Kudus would be a good signing. He had a dip in form last season. I am sure Frank can get the best out of him."

Matt Taylor says: "Kudus is a talent, just give him the freedom in the middle of the park to do his thing and he will do well."

Others are down on the prospect of Kudus joining Spurs, for a variety of reasons. Troilus writes: "Why would anyone pay 60 mill for Kudus, by that reckoning Johnson is worth 150 mill."

Kim1980 says: "Kudus has been disappointing for 2 seasons now. And they price him at 60 million while there is talk about Romero who is worth at least 80-100 million."

Dean1959 writes: "Perhaps a failure to have appropriate finances in place is why the previous statement signings have all gone by and Kudus has become the 'marquee' name. As if he's worth the same 60m to us as Romero."

Thomfire says: "I really fail to see how anyone could see Kudus as a marquee signing. He scored just 5 goals last season for West Ham which does not suggest someone who commands a £65m fee."