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Tottenham have already signed Andy Robertson and they are now working on several deals including Savinho and Marcos Senesi

James Maddison is delighted that Tottenham have signed Andy Robertson - and the club are now working on a deal for £50million-rated Manchester City star Savinho.

Tottenham confirmed the acquisition of Robertson on a free transfer on Friday, with Bournemouth defender Marcos Senesi also expected to arrive to bolster the club's defence.

Scotland skipper Robertson came close to making the switch to Spurs back in January, however Liverpool were unable to recall Kostas Tsimikas from his loan spell at Roma, forcing them to pull the plug on the deal.

Despite a change in the dugout at Spurs since then, new boss Roberto De Zerbi has sanctioned Robertson's arrival on 1st July, after the full-back opted to depart Anfield upon the expiry of his contract this month, having made 378 appearances for the Merseyside club.

Following the announcement on Friday, Maddison took to his Instagram story to reply to a video of Robertson and said "welcome Andrew" while also tagging the left-back with several heart-face emojis.

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Scotland captain Robertson replied "James" with a white heart emoji on his own Instagram story.

As well as signing Senesi, Spurs are now are poised to continue their busy summer in the transfer market with a swoop for Manchester City winger Savinho.

Spurs head coach De Zerbi is overseeing a substantial spending drive to strengthen the squad, with the £50m-rated Brazilian ready to make the move to North London.

On the arrival of Robertson, De Zerbi said: "Andy is someone I've admired for a number of years and he will bring outstanding technical qualities, experience, leadership and mentality to our team.

"He is a proven winner at the highest level over a long period and is someone who can be a big player for us, both on and off the pitch.

"I can't wait to start working with him and seeing the positive impact he will have on everyone around him."

Robertson's immediate priority will be leading Scotland at this summer's World Cup, though he will inject some much-needed experience and leadership into the Tottenham dressing room once he officially links up with the squad in July.

"I'm in America just now preparing for the World Cup, but I just wanted to send you a quick message to say I cannot wait to play for you guys," Robertson said in a short video message from Scotland's World Cup camp. "I cannot wait to meet you guys, I cannot wait to play in the stadium for the first time in front of you and I'm already looking forward next season."

Spurs needed a victory on the final day of the 2025-26 season at home to Everton to secure their Premier League status, but consecutive 17th-place finishes have prompted the club and their majority shareholders ENIC, headed by the Lewis family, to take decisive action.

A shortage of leaders within the squad, a desire to strengthen team culture and a determination to raise standards at the club's Hotspur Way training facility have all been identified as concerns, with Robertson's exemplary professionalism throughout nine years at Liverpool proving a crucial factor in his signing.

The dynamic full-back will offer competition at left-back to Destiny Udogie, who has been the undisputed first choice on the left side of the defence for each of the past three campaigns, despite being dogged by recurring injury issues.

Sporting director Johan Lange said: "We are delighted to welcome Andy to the club.

"First and foremost he is an outstanding left-back – one of the best of all time in the Premier League, and someone who will improve our squad.

"In addition, his quality, character and leadership have been evident throughout a career in which he has regularly competed for – and won – major honours.

"Andy's professionalism and commitment will also be invaluable to the development of our squad, and he shares our ambition and determination to bring success back to the club.

"We are excited for Andy's new chapter with us and look forward to having him here after the World Cup."

The 32-year-old Robertson began his career at Queen's Park in Scotland before a three-year spell at Hull attracted Liverpool's interest, where he secured two Premier League titles and lifted the Champions League trophy.

The Portuguese manager certainly made an impact on one Tottenham Hotspur striker during his time at the north London club

Carlos Vinicius believes his former Tottenham head coach Jose Mourinho is the best manager he has ever had and recounted the story of how he earned the Portuguese's trust.

Vinicius, now 31 and scoring plenty of goals back home in Brazil for Gremio, played just a single season at Spurs when he moved on loan from Benfica for the 2020/21 campaign. That meant he got to experience just over six months of working with Mourinho, who looks set to return to Real Madrid this summer.

Vinicius believes that nobody reads the game or a group of players as well as the former Chelsea, Manchester United and Inter Milan boss.

"With group management, with knowing how to win, with understanding the game like nobody else, Jose Mourinho. We’d go into a game and he’d say 'This is going to happen, this is going to happen, this is going to happen for the positive, and this is going to happen for the negative'. Then the game would unfold and you’d already know it," explained the striker in a long interview about his career with Globo Esporte, translated by Sport Witness.

"To me, he’s the one I respect the most. I realised it's not only because of the titles, but because of the person, the way he leads, the way he is. For me, Mourinho is top. The greatest of all."

The Brazilian explained how the Portuguese caught him off guard when he video-called to convince him to make the move to Tottenham during that transfer window.

"When they told me Mourinho was going to call me, I thought it was nonsense. Then he called me on FaceTime. I looked at the screen and though 'No way'," said Vinicius before remembering the manager's first words.

"He asked me how I was and then said 'look, don’t come here wearing flip-flops because it’s cold here!'. I imagined the angry Mourinho. The Mourinho we see from the outside.

"He started sending me messages. Like any other member of the club. Like a coordinator. Then I arrived and he would talk to me. Sometimes I thought 'My God, is this really the real Mourinho?'"

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Vinicius soon discovered what it took to get accepted into Mourinho's trusted circle of players even if the Spurs manager's unusual style confused him at first.

Having expected to be training with the starting players, the attacker initially found himself in his early weeks working with the fringe players who would not be involved in the next game.

"I arrived and two weeks pass, and he puts me to train with players who weren't going to play and I didn't understand anything," he said. "I was training, training, training. I even joked with Willian, who was at Chelsea and knows his little tricks.

"He would come with his hand in his jacket pocket, passing by and saying 'you're training very well, keep it up'. Training? He has to put me with 20, 22 players in the game, right? And I went to the assistants to find out what I did wrong. I thought I was dead.

"They said 'just keep working, just keep going'. I spent a week and a half like that, in the corner. Then he came to me and said 'You did not stop working. Now I’ve seen you’re one of mine. I can count on you'. He was testing me. Those are things that are very difficult to explain and very difficult to learn on coaching courses."

Vinicius was at Tottenham during a period when Spurs had some top attacking options in Harry Kane, Son Heung-min and Gareth Bale, as well as his compatriot Lucas Moura, but it was Kane who dazzled him the most.

"The one who really caught my attention was Harry Kane, because that’s the maximum level," he said. "One thing that really caught my attention about Harry Kane was that he'd score a hat-trick and the next morning nothing had changed. He'd just continue with his training. He's one of the most complete players I've ever seen.

"I'd even say a lot of people don't understand what Harry Kane really is. He's at an absurd level. Everything you can talk about when it comes to football, Harry Kane has it."

Former Tottenham chairman Alan Sugar played a pivotal role in the signing of one of the club's best ever players

Jurgen Klinsmann revealed his move to Tottenham was completed in two hours after meeting Alan Sugar on his yacht.

The Spurs icon joined the club after the 1994 World Cup and made an instant impact with 29 goals in 50 across all competitions in his only permanent season in north London.

The German had played under Arsene Wenger at Monaco for the previous two seasons and cited the insistence of Sugar - who was the Spurs chairman at the time - for speedily getting the deal done.

Speaking on The Overlap's Stick to Football podcast earlier this week, Klinsmann said: "I played the '94 World Cup in the United States and I had an agreement with Arsene that if a team comes and pays $2million, I'm allowed to go. Arsene said, 'I get you, I kept you now for two years here.'

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"I came back from the World Cup and I sat in my place in Monte Carlo and suddenly Alan Sugar calls and says, 'Hey, I'm the chairman of Tottenham Hotspur and we would like to talk to you if you're interested.' I said, 'Yeah absolutely I'm interested, where are you', [he said], 'I'm sitting on my yacht in the harbour.'

"I said, 'That's 300 yards away from me.' So, I walked down to him, we had a cappuccino, he explained the situation of the -12 points deduction because of financial mismanagement in the past and out of the FA Cup.

"The coach is Ossie Ardiles and I adored Argentinian football and I think it was done in 10 minutes. He threw out the numbers directly face to face. I said, 'This is what I earn here in Monaco, this is what I got here in Inter Milan and I want to have it kind of somewhere that is matching your best players at Spurs'.

"'I don't want to be off too much but I want to be recognised there financially too', and he says, 'Yeah we can do that.'" He left after just a year to join Bayern Munich but returned to Spurs on loan in 1997 where he scored nine goals in 18 games before hanging up his boots at the end of the season.

Discussing how the club's fanbase embraced him upon his initial arrival, Klinsmann said on talkSPORT 2's Sportsday: "The way the people welcomed me and the way things excelled on the pitch was amazing.

"I just felt so at home at Tottenham, with the people and with everything. That's why I'm always back in London as often as we can." Klinsmann's last managerial post was with South Korea's national team and prior to Roberto De Zerbi's appointment at Spurs, he refused to rule himself out of taking the job.

After Igor Tudor's sacking in March, he said on ESPN FC: "Who wouldn't want the job, it is Tottenham. Whoever you choose, you need a person who can connect to everyone emotionally, that knows the club, that feels the club, that feels the people.

"Because, to get out of this mess, they need to develop a fighting spirit, a really nasty, ugly, fighting spirit and that goes only over the emotions."

Tottenham could find themselves impacted by a Marcos Senesi U-turn ahead of the World Cup kicking off

Marcos Senesi appears set to be a late call-up to Argentina's World Cup squad with the decision possibly impacting Tottenham. The central defender, who is set to depart Bournemouth and officially join Spurs on July 1, was left out of Lionel Scaloni's squad but an injury statement could see a U-turn performed.

On Saturday, an Argentina statement read: "Defender Leonardo Balerdi suffered a muscle injury in the soleus of his right leg and will not be able to be part of the squad that will play the World Cup. Chin up, strength, and a speedy recovery, skinny!"

According to ESPN Argentina, Senesi is among the names that could be called up as Balerdi's replacement with Marcos Acuna, Nicolas Capaldo, Agustin Giay, Kevin Mac Allister and Martinez Quarta as others under consideration.

The latter and Senesi are the only two natural centre-backs in that list which suggests one of them will be replacing Balerdi. German Pezzella, who is the River Plate team-mate of Quarta, is another option for Scaloni.

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Tottenham captain Cristian Romero, Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Otamendi and Facundo Medina are the other central defenders in their squad.

Senesi's initial omission from Argentina's squad came as quite the shock to many following such an impressive season at Bournemouth.

The 29-year-old was part of their squad for the March international fixtures and if he is selected to represent his country, Spurs will almost certainly be impacted.

The World Cup final is due to take place on July 19, 2026 with pre-season for the 2026/27 campaign due to officially commence a few weeks later.

Argentina have a real chance of going deep in the tournament and if they do, Senesi is likely to arrive to Hotspur Way later than what was expected having initially been left out.

Senesi's girlfriend Kelci-Rose Bowers, who has also departed Bournemouth, has been posting regular updates of the pair out on holiday in Ibiza.

The Lilywhites have been in pole position to sign Senesi as a free agent since April but a move for Jan Paul Van Hecke and concerns over a potential hijack from other Premier League clubs have placed doubt over that.

Having lost Ibrahima Konate on a free, Liverpool were touted as a potential destination but reports state he will be joining Andy Robertson in north London next season having undergone his medical on Saturday and subsequently signed a four-year Tottenham contract.

The Tottenham Hotspur attacker has had a tough year but appeared to be showing some promising signs in a couple of new social media posts

Dejan Kulusevski's latest social media activity appears to suggest the Tottenham star's problematic knee is on the road to recovery after his difficult year.

The 26-year-old missed Spurs ' entire 2025/26 season after he suffered a patella injury in his right knee following a challenge from then Crystal Palace centre-back Marc Guehi in May 2025. The Swede underwent surgery soon after and then required a clean-up procedure this year following setbacks in his attempts to return during the season as he felt discomfort in that knee.

Kulusevski was desperate to at least return to fitness in time to be considered in Sweden's World Cup squad but he found out on the year anniversary of his injury that Graham Potter had decided not to include him among those travelling to the competition.

Potter said then that he hoped the Tottenham man would be back for his club's pre-season this summer and on Saturday Kulusevski uploaded a string of positive Instagram Story posts.

The first was a video of his Sweden team-mates about to board their flight to their World Cup training camp with the Spurs attacker writing above it: "Les go boyz, make it happen, make us proud."

What will have been more positive for Tottenham supporters though was his next Instagram Story which was an extended video clip of him playing his other sporting love, basketball, with some friends. Kulusevski was twisting, turning, accelerating, putting plenty of pressure on that right knee and moving around the court in the two-vs-two session, before setting up his team-mate to score.

The Swede then followed up that post with another one of him either before or after heading out on to a football pitch to work with a Spurs-branded football. Combined with his World Cup good luck post, it all felt like a concerted effort to remind everyone not to forget about him and that he is working hard to return.

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Kulusevski had returned from his rehabilitation abroad to be on the sidelines for Tottenham's crucial final day win against Everton under Roberto De Zerbi which saved the club's Premier League status.

Last week, Sweden's national team doctor Jonas Werner said at a press conference ahead of the World Cup that he has been in continuous contact with Kulusevski and Tottenham's medical team.

"It's been a long story with Dejan. He's done everything he can to get ready, but when it came to deciding [if he would make the squad] he wasn't," said Werner.

"The reason is that he hasn't played football in a year, but even the medical assessments made this spring have pointed in the direction that he wouldn't be ready."

Werner explained in more depth about the problem that Kulusevski faces with his knee.

"Cartilage injuries, like in Dejan's case, are troublesome. They are difficult to treat. Plus, he has it in a place that gets a lot of stress. The injury simply hasn't healed enough to handle that stress," he explained.

When asked if the attacker will be able to come back and play football again, the doctor said: "I have high hopes for that and I really hope so."

The Premier League have caused a stir with Tottenham Hotspur fans on social media after sharing a graphic of next season's Premier League table with Spurs in 20th place

Tottenham Hotspur are bottom of the 2026/27 Premier League table despite Spurs being alphabetically ahead of Sunderland.

The Premier League started a new season on Friday, with that change formalised during their annual general meeting. They have also refreshed the table, rearranging the 20 clubs in alphabetical order, but their standings show that 'Spurs' are below 'Sunderland'.

West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers being relegated last season means Tottenham would alphabetically be in 20th place. However, the league lists them as Spurs in their table and still positions them below the Black Cats before the season gets underway in August.

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One user X said in response to the table: "If you're going to call us Spurs it's definitely before Sunderland alphabetically."

Another account added: "Firstly, our proper name is Tottenham, not Spurs And secondly, if you’re going to call us Spurs, why are #THFC below Sunderland when P comes before U in the alphabet…"

The club asked to be called either 'Spurs' or 'Tottenham Hotspur' and not just 'Tottenham'. Some have suggested that using the former is due to a lack of space, but Nottingham Forest are named in full just two places ahead of them.

Whatever the reason, Spurs supporters are unhappy about it on social media. One more user on X said: "I hate the fact they call us spurs but alphabetically “Spurs” is not 20th in the league."

Fans of other clubs also noticed. A Manchester United fan account pointed out: "They put Spurs last even though they shouldn’t be alphabetically."

Confusion continues about the reason why, with another Spurs supporter asking: "Why are we the only team listed as our nickname? And if they’re using our nickname why is Sunderland above us??"

Others asked: "Does ‘u’ come before ‘p’ now in the alphabet?" One critique sarcastically said: "Great alphabet usage here....."

It is not just the case on this graphic shared across Premier League social media channels, either, which on X had over six million views inside 24 hours. They are also in the same position on the league's website, which also lists them as 'Spurs' rather than 'Tottenham Hotspur'.

The former Tottenham Hotspur defender has been speaking about the north London club and what he wants to do next in his future

Toby Alderweireld believes that the next few decisions made by Tottenham are going to be 'crucial' as to whether they move forward under Roberto De Zerbi or discover that it's three strikes and they're out.

This version of Spurs must feel somewhat alien to the Belgian centre-back. During his 236 appearances for the north London club they were fighting at the other end of the table with three top-three finishes under Mauricio Pochettino, including two title challenges, before reaching their first ever Champions League final in 2019 while finishing fourth in the Premier League.

In contrast, in the past two seasons Tottenham have twice finished 17th, albeit around winning the Europa League in 2025. The recently-finished campaign was nearly a disastrous one as the Lilywhites only escaped relegation on the final day of the season after 12 months in which they had four different head coaches at the helm.

In the second part of football.london's interview with Alderweireld - you can read part one here as he speaks about Van Hecke, Senesi, Vuskovic and Romero - the 37-year-old Belgian said Spurs need to get this summer's planning and execution spot on if they are to avoid another season from hell.

"We need stability and the next few choices are going to be crucial. Proven players, not that they are 35 or 36-years-old but proven a little bit in the Premier League, and the club needs players with desire, and they must give time," said the former defender.

"De Zerbi, give him time, and get the fans back on your side by playing positive football, like a team that really wants to play for the badge. That feeling, because what you can say about the fans, the fans are the club, that's it. You have to know this and how they supported the team in the last couple of weeks of the season was unbelievable.

"You need to use that. The players need to know 'look, this is something special, this is not normal' and if you get this, I think everything will work out. Everyone needs to work very hard to get back in that position, because one time, two times, third time you're out, and it's difficult to come back again."

It's noticeable throughout that Alderweireld still calls Tottenham "we". The Belgian, who racked up 127 caps for his country, spent six years of his career in N17 before - after a season in Qatar - he wrapped up his playing days with a remarkable fairytale ending at his hometown club Royal Antwerp.

Not only did he win the Belgian Cup with them but a month later on the final day of the season the centre-back crashed home a stunning 94-minute rocket of a goal to hand Antwerp their first league title in 66 years. The following season he led them into the Champions League group stages for the first time in their history before announcing that he would retire at the end of that 2024/25 campaign.

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So what has Alderweireld been doing in the past year since he hung up his boots? Well he made headlines after performing as Oehoe the Owl in the Belgian version of The Masked Singer. Videos of his performances and unmasking went viral across social media as the most unexpected of reality show contestants.

Around that Alderweireld has been ticking off those things in life that he just could not do as a footballer, but now he's starting to get the itch to become involved in the sport again.

"I climbed a mountain in Peru! Some stuff like this. Things that I never could do in my football career. I do some punditry work on the Champions League and the national team and then I have my liquor company (MM Antverpia), of course, that's going very well in Belgium. I'm happy with that," he said.

"I decided to go away a little bit from football, to step back, because I think for 20 years I've been in there. I needed to get refreshed, breathe a little bit and then see what opportunities were there. And after a year now, I'm starting to get the feeling back that I really want to get involved."

Don't expect Alderweireld to be the next Tottenham head coach though.

"I never want to be a manager because it's like one day you're the best and you win games, then you get sacked and then you get all over the world," he said. "I want something for the long term, so I can help and build on a bigger story, not like today, tomorrow, and then the next day is different. I don't like this.

"So if something is coming and there's opportunities...not to be arrogant, but a lot of things came on my path, but I said 'no, no, no' because I really want to find something that is 'okay that's what I want to do'. I'm waiting a little bit for that and I think you need a year to experience other things.

"Then when you go back into football, you go in fresh and you want to go back again. Because if I do something, people that know me know I do everything 100%. It demands a lot of time and effort, but I think I'm coming a little bit more back into football."

Alderweireld's long-time central defensive partner Jan Vertonghen has spoken in the past about potentially becoming a sporting director at a club and that also appeals to his fellow Ajax academy graduate.

"Yeah, that's something. Of course, I will never be so arrogant to say I will be very good at it," said Alderweireld. "You need to learn things, but other than that, I think we've been in football. We know how the world works a little bit and you can learn stuff like this.

"For some things, of course, you can have a degree but it's like I went to school [in football]. There's everything you learn on the pitch, off the pitch, close to the people that work there, you know. Everything in theory is good and I know this, but you have to feel and to know 'I'm good at this and I'm not good at that'. And I'm good at a lot of things, but a lot more things I'm not good at.

"And those are the things you want to know. Of course, there's some pressure. You need to perform. That's always like this, but it's something more stable. I can really work for a long term and try to help a team in a different way than becoming a manager."

So perhaps while Alderweireld might not be the man in the dugout in the future for Tottenham, he could be found operating higher up within his old club one day. First though, he needs to complete something not many sporting directors can boast - a huge tattoo that will cover his entire back.

"It's not finished yet. I'm working on it. It needs a couple more sessions, but it's going well. It's recovery time now," he said.

So what's it going to be?

"Oh, nobody knows! I will show it on my Instagram when it's finished!" came the coy response.

Like that art being inked on to his skin, both Alderweireld and Tottenham remain unfinished in what they want to achieve. Both will hopefully be back in the game sooner rather than later.

Roberto De Zerbi is looking to rebuild the squad following a difficult season that saw Tottenham survive relegation on the final day

Tottenham are poised to continue their busy summer in the transfer market with a swoop for Manchester City winger Savinho.

Spurs head coach Roberto De Zerbi is overseeing a substantial spending drive to strengthen the squad, with the £50m-rated Brazilian ready to make the move to North London.

This follows Tottenham securing the free transfer of former Liverpool left-back Andy Robertson, bringing much-needed experience to the club.

The club have also agreed a deal in principle for Bournemouth's centre-half Marcos Senesi, while they also want Brighton's £70m-rated defender Jan Paul ven Hecke. An initial offer has been knocked back, though negotiations are continuing.

The pursuit of Savinho signals Tottenham's serious intent this summer, as the club's hierarchy look to completely overhaul a squad that only secured their top-flight status on the final day of last season.

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The 22-year-old was a target for Spurs last summer, but City held firm and the Brazilian was equally determined to remain and battle for his place.

However, with City embarking on their own rebuilding project, Savinho is now keen to embrace a fresh challenge at Spurs and will push to get the move over the line.

Departures also look likely, with Cristian Romero expected to leave the club, while there is considerable interest in Mathys Tel.

On Friday, Tottenham announced the signing of former Liverpool defender Robertson on a free transfer.

Scotland captain Robertson was close to a move to Spurs in January, but Liverpool were unable to bring back Kostas Tsimikas from his loan at Roma and pulled the plug on the switch.

Even though Tottenham have since changed manager, De Zerbi has given the green light for Robertson to join on July 1 after he made the decision to leave Anfield at the expiration of his contract this month after 378 appearances for Liverpool.

De Zerbi said: “Andy is someone I’ve admired for a number of years and he will bring outstanding technical qualities, experience, leadership and mentality to our team.

“He is a proven winner at the highest level over a long period and is someone who can be a big player for us, both on and off the pitch.

“I can’t wait to start working with him and seeing the positive impact he will have on everyone around him.”

Robertson’s immediate focus will be on captaining Scotland at this summer’s World Cup, but he will bring much-needed leadership at Tottenham once he officially joins the squad in July.

“I’m in America just now preparing for the World Cup, but I just wanted to send you a quick message to say I cannot wait to play for you guys,” Robertson said in a short video message from Scotland’s World Cup camp.

“I cannot wait to meet you guys, I cannot wait to play in the stadium for the first time in front of you and I’m already looking forward next season.”

The Tottenham youngster had a big moment in only his second international appearance as the Republic of Ireland gave Canada a World Cup warm-up

Mason Melia was denied the opportunity to send the perfect summer message to Roberto De Zerbi as he saw a big chance saved late on in the Republic of Ireland's 1-1 draw in Canada.

The 18-year-old striker is so highly rated in his homeland that he was called up by Heimir Hallgrimsson to make his senior Irish debut before he has even been in a matchday squad for Tottenham. After just a couple of minutes late on in the friendly win against Qatar in Dublin last week, Melia experienced his first transatlantic trip with the senior team as they eventually gave Jesse Marsch's Canada side a tough World Cup warm-up game in Montreal on Friday night.

Ireland struggled in the first half against their hosts and former Spurs forward Troy Parrott flicked a Canadian corner on and it hit Jake O'Brien and bounced in for an own goal. The visitors reorganised and improved in the second half and while Parrott's 59th minute penalty was saved, Chiedozie Ogbene nipped in ahead of him to ram home the rebound to level the match.

Melia made his entrance in the 70th minute and had a huge chance to win the friendly game 12 minutes later. As the Irish broke up the pitch, an Ogbene ball from the right fell perfectly to the teenager in the Canadian box after Niko Sigur made a mess of his clearance and completely missed it.

The Spurs youngster reacted quickly, controlling the ball with his right foot before hitting a low shot that the hosts' diving goalkeeper Max Crepeau did well to get a hand to and then gathered at the second attempt, leaving Melia with his hands on his head as his first senior international goal eluded him on this occasion.

"That’s just football. You get your chances and he got his because he’s a willing runner," said Hallgrimsson. "He went in behind and all of a sudden he was one on one with the keeper Sometimes you score. Sometimes you are the hero."

Melia, who joined Spurs in January from St Patrick's Athletic after the deal was agreed last year, had needed to overcome a back issue and a chest infection before finally getting to work at Tottenham in April for the club's U21s. Despite his age, he had played 98 senior games for St Pat's before arriving in north London, scoring 25 goals and providing eight assists, so he is well aware of the physicality of the men's game.

After his Irish debut last week the teenager was left buzzing by the sudden rise in his career.

"It was a surreal moment to come on, even though it was short but I had all my family there and it was a dream for me to make my debut, especially in the Aviva, so buzzing," Melia told RTE. "It shows there is a path if you prove what you can do on the pitch in League of Ireland, you're going to get your chance. There's a lot of LOI players in the squad at the moment. But yeah, there is a chance."

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Now Melia is aiming to impress Spurs boss De Zerbi this summer after getting involved in some of the Italian's training sessions last month.

"When I first went over, it was quite hard," he said. "They found a little niggle in my back, but I just had to get myself right, all the other stuff off the pitch right.

"But since I've been back fit, I've been feeling really good and obviously getting my call-up here, so something must be going well. But I'm enjoying it at the moment. I've been playing just to get my fitness back mainly. Scoring is always nice."

Now Melia must wait to see whether he remains with Spurs this season or gets sent out on loan to play more minutes to help his development.

"It's hard to say right now. I know they want me to come in, do my pre-season and pretty much go from there," he said. "But there isn't really a structural plan at the bottom for what my future is. I'm really open to anything. I just want to get playing.

"It's nice for De Zerbi to see that I've made my international debut, but I just want to make a good impression when I get back in pre-season."

Roberto De Zerbi has sealed his first summer signing at Tottenham but already has his second transfer of the window lined up

Tottenham Hotspur are already up and running in the summer transfer market after confirming the arrival of Andy Robertson. And in-keeping with the free agent theme, Spurs' next recruitment decision needs to be the signing of Bournemouth's Marcos Senesi after the defender confirmed he'll be leaving the Vitality Stadium.

One of the Premier League's stand-out central defenders in recent years, the recently turned 29-year-old is, in short, too bright an opportunity to pass up. Roberto De Zerbi's biggest priority by far this summer has to be tightening up a defence that shipped 57 Premier League goals this season and Senesi comes with too much upside to ignore.

Lionel Scaloni has, for some reason, decided to go without the Concordia-born star for his World Cup 2026 squad. That makes negotiations all the simpler from a Spurs perspective in that there need not be any delay in committing to talks with the player and his representatives.

That also comes with the added risk that if Tottenham don't move quickly and with intent, another suitor could swoop in. All the more reason to ensure he becomes the club's highest priority as their next recruit.

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Micky van de Ven's future remains up for discussion amid a swell of interest in his signature. That fear has been somewhat allayed after securing top-flight survival but there are other factors at play that force the need for additions at centre-back all the same.

Captain Cristian Romero continues to be linked with a move away from north London once the World Cup is over. There's also the Luka Vukskovic situation to consider after the youngster's marvellous campaign on loan at Hamburg, though he too is being touted for a big move away.

It remains to be seen whether Ben Davies will be offered a new short-term extension, though it's possible the Welsh defender leaves this summer. There are also doubts over whether Joao Palhinha will sign permanently from Bayern Munich and the Portugal star was a key defensive presence at the base of midfield.

Speaking to football.london recently, club legend Toby Alderweireld commented on the links to Senesi and Brighton's Jan Paul van Hecke. He rated both deals highly, though Van Hecke comes with the not-so-slight complication that he's expected to cost in excess of £70million.

"They both know the Premier League. That's good, because I think Spurs now need stability," said the Belgian. "They need to know the players can perform every week, week in, week out. They perform on a good level. Of course, a transfer to a new club, it's always a bit different, but they know the Premier League and that's very important.

"Because next season, it's impossible that we go back to this [awful] period. So I think it's understanding they are looking for players who are proven in the Premier League. That's something they should do. They should have a little bit more security in that."

Alderweireld rightly went on to stress Spurs "don't have the time" to wait on transfers that may need time to adapt to the Premier League. Senesi has proved over the course of his four years in England that he's up to the task, and his free agent status mitigates any concern caused by the fact he's slightly older than Spurs may want in an ideal signing.

In the event Vuskovic is committed to trying his hand under De Zerbi, it would ease the defensive burden greatly. However, that appears a big 'if' amid rumours of interest from Bayern, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain.

In the meantime, it would be folly to ignore the opportunity presented by the free signing of Senesi. The South American would be an ideal replacement in the event compatriot Romero decides to leave but Spurs have to act now as a statement of intent to get back in the ring for top-six contention.